Sean Paul Murphy, Writer

Sean Paul Murphy, Writer
Sean Paul Murphy, Storyteller

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Top 10 Horror Films of 1980s

I am a horror fan. Always have been. Always will be. I grew up on a steady diet of late night horror films in the bygone era of Friday and/or Saturday night horror hosts. I wanted to write a blog about my Top 10 Horror Films, but I had far too many favorites to choose from. Therefore, I plan to do a series of blogs dealing with specific decades. This time we will be looking at the 1980s -- a very good decade for horror.

Now I must define what I consider horror. Many people place The Silence of The Lambs on their lists of top horror films. I do not consider films about murderers or criminals to be horror films unless there is a supernatural aspect. (That's why you will not be seeing the chilling and effective Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer on this list.) The main problem with this distinction will come in the 1990s and beyond with the popularity of "torture porn" films. However, since I generally do not enjoy those films, few would be considered for the list anyway.

I do include most sci-fi thrillers in the horror film genre if the protagonist(s) are menaced by an alien entity or man-made technological threat. I do not include films featuring unenhanced natural threats, like the shark in Jaws. Don't expect to see that film on my 70s list.

With those limitations in mind, here's my list:

10. DEAD & BURIED, 1981
Directed by Gary Sherman
Screenplay by Ronald Shusett & Dan O'Bannon. Story by Jeff Milar & Alex Stern.
Novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

The sheriff of a small seaside town, James Farentino, deals with a growing dread that his wife, Melody Anderson, might be involved in a series of gruesome murders as he plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with the coroner/funeral director Jack Albertson. The horror heightens as the dead seem to be coming back as citizens of the community.

This film is probably the least known of the films on my list. Although it was a theatrical feature, it does have a distinct made-for-TV movie vibe, probably as a result of the presence of actors like Farentino and Albertson (who gives a rare dark performance.) Still, it is a well-acted, chilling little film intelligently written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon, names you will see again on this list.  If you haven't seen this film, check it out.  Here's the trailer:



9. DAY OF THE DEAD, 1985
Written and Directed by George A. Romero

Tensions rise between a group of scientists tasked with ending a zombie apocalypse and the soldiers assigned to keep them supplied with fresh specimens for experimentation in this claustrophobic gore-fest by undead auteur George A. Romero.

Romero is the undisputed father of the modern zombie genre. Zombie fans revere his original trilogy, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, the way Star Wars fans revere the original trilogy. (And, like in the original Star Wars trilogy, the second film is the best one.) Even without the unwelcome appearance of Ewoks, Day of the Dead is the weakest of the three films. The acting is uneven and often over the top and a good portion of the film is devoted simply to people shouting at each other. However, it features some amazing practical make-up and gore effects. Plus, you have to love Bub. He's everybody's favorite zombie.



8. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, 1981
Written and Directed by John Landis

Two American tourists backpacking on the moors, David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, are attacked by a werewolf. Dunne is killed.  Naughton survives, but he is now a werewolf, too, and followed by the mangled ghosts of his victims in this horror comedy.

I was really taken with this film upon its initial release, but it definitely has its flaws. The mix between the comedy and the horror is uneven, and the relationships, especially between Naughton and Jenny Agutter, are not effectively developed. Also, the ending is somewhat abrupt. Structurally, the film ends at what feels like it should be The Big Gloom at the end of the second act. I wanted more at the end of the film even when I saw it the first time, but I couldn't articulate why until I became a screenwriter. On the bright side, the film has some very effective sequences and some of the most amazing make-up effects produced up to that time. However, I have to subtract some points for the film being written and directed by John Landis. I haven't forgotten how his recklessness cost Vic Murrow and two children, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Sin-Yi Chen, their lives.



7. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, 1985
Directed by Dan O'Bannon
Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon. Story by Rudy Ricci & John Steiner & Russell Streiner

After the success of the original Night of the Living Dead [Full Movie Here], director George A. Romero and producers John Russo and Russell Streiner reserved sequel rights.  Romero could use the word "Dead" in his sequels and the producers could use the words "Living Dead" in their sequels, This is the first Living Dead sequel. Fortunately, Dan O'Bannon was brought onto the project and turned the initially serious script into one of the better horror comedies.

In this film, James Karen trains a new employee, Thom Matthews, on his duties at a medical supply company. In the process, Karen explains that the events of the film Night of the Living Dead really happened, and, as a result of an Army screw-up, some of the bodies were in containers in the basement of the building. When the two accidentally break the seal on one of the containers, a new zombie plague begins.

Although the punk rock ethos dates the film, it is enlivened by sharp writing and good performances, particularly by the old hands James Karen, Clu Gulager and  Don Calfa. This is the second of three films on this list featuring the name of Dan O'Bannon, who proved to be the go-to guy in 80s horror.




6. NEAR DARK, 1987
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Written by Kathryn Bigelow & Eric Red

A farm boy, Adrian Pasdar, finds himself seduced by a beautiful drifter, Jenny Wright, only to find himself a reluctant member of a roving band of white-trash vampires. Tensions rise with the other members of the group, led by the inimitable Lance Henricksen, when the farm boy resists the urge to kill and become a full member.

Kathryn Bigelow would later win an Academy Award for directing The Hurt Locker, but this film is definitely more fun. This proto-"True Blood" is a great re-imaging of the vampire myth for modern times. It also benefits from great performances from Lance Henricksen and the late Bill Paxton. I always love me some Lance Henricksen. If I get to do a horror film, I will have to write a role for him!



5. THE EVIL DEAD, 1981
Written and Directed by Sam Raimi

Five friends go to spend a weekend at a cabin in the woods that was previously used by a professor translating an ancient demonic text.  All hell breaks loose when they play a recording of the professor reading a spell.

I found myself in a bit of a quandary regarding this film. Do I include this version, the original, on the list, or the  1987 "sequel" The Evil Dead II, which is essentially a remake of the first film with a higher budget. Although I consider the second version to be better, I included the first version on the basis of sheer originality. I must confess that the first film slipped completely under my radar when it was theatrically released. I didn't see it until it came out on VHS. I was instantly smitten. Sam Raimi's directorial talent was evident immediately, but it didn't hurt to have Bruce Campbell in the lead role.



4. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, 1984
Written and Directed by Wes Craven

A supernatural killer murders local teenagers in their dreams.

In this film, Wes Craven birthed the most iconic monster of the 1980s cinema horror: Freddy Krueger. Krueger, with his burned face, his glove of blades, and his jaunty hat, quipped his way through more killings than Roger Moore's James Bond. He was played with style by Robert Englund in a seemingly endless series of sequels. The sequels certainly yielded diminishing returns over time, but the first film epitomized a great idea executed in an admirable fashion. This film also introduced us to the young Johnny Depp. That was a good thing.  At first.



3. ALIENS, 1986
Directed by James Cameron
Screenplay by James Cameron
Story by James Cameron, David Giler and Walter Hill
Based on characters created by Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) travels with a futuristic military unit to a recently colonized planet to battle the seemingly unbeatable aliens.

Although a lot of familiar names from this list show up here (Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Lance Henricksen and Bill Paxton), this film is really James Cameron's baby. Structurally, the film seems to fit more into the military action genre than either a horror or even science fiction.  The structure would have worked just as well if these characters were fighting Nazis instead during World War II. The characters are sharply-drawn and well-written and the action is exciting and well-paced.  It is a different kind of film than the original Alien, but just as good in its own way. None of the following sequels managed to live up to these first two films. A must see.



2. THE THING, 1982
Directed by John Carpenter
Screenplay by Bill Lancaster. Story by John W. Campbell, Jr.

An isolated team at an antarctic station find themselves battling a deadly alien life form with the power to duplicate its victims.

This film is a remake of 1951's The Thing From Another World. That was an excellent film for its time, and will probably make my list for that decade, but this version is superior. This paranoid creature feature hums on all cylinders throughout. The all-male cast oozes early-80s machismo. Martin Scorsese had Robert DeNiro as his cinematic alter-ego. John Carpenter had Kurt Russell, and in this film Kurt finally achieves maximum Russellness. He was a fun actor to watch throughout the 80s. He was always convincing as a tough guy, but always displayed a cynical, laconic sense of humor. I was delighted to see him make a comeback in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. Additionally, this film boasted great production values and art direction and first rate practical creature effects. Few of today's computer-generated monsters hold a candle to the effects in this film.



1. THE SHINING, 1980
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson.  Novel by Stephen King.

The winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel falls prey to evil spirits inhabiting the place and tries to murder his wife and telepathic son.

Stanley Kubrick was one of the true masters of cinema. It shouldn't be surprising that when he decided to make a horror movie, he would make one of the best ones ever. Yes, I know it veered away from the book. Yes, I know Stephen King didn't like it. I don't care. This is pure cinema. This is a genuinely creepy and scary film with great, albeit over the top performances, by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. This film is one of the few true masterpieces of the genre. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

On a more serious note, I don't know if Kubrick's reputed bullying of Shelley Duvall to get the performance he wanted constitutes a #MeToo moment, but it certainly wasn't cool. That said, I do not boycott this film.


Honorable mention:

DEMONS, 1985.  I can't believe I couldn't make room for this little Italian gem. It is definitely worth checking out. FRIGHT NIGHT, 1985. I really enjoyed this suburban vampire tale but it just didn't have the gravitas to make the list. FRIDAY THE 13TH, 1980. Effective, but to me, Jason is just a summery rip-off of Michael Myers. PHANTASM II, 1988. This sequel is more straightforward and logical than the original film, but doesn't pack the same emotional punch. THE LOST BOYS, 1987. Another excellent update on the vampire myth that caught the zeitgeist of the time. It is sad to learn the set was a bit of a pedophile smorgasbord. THE RE-ANIMATOR, 1985. Great little Lovecraft adaptation, but I couldn't see dropping any of the other films to put it in the Top 10. GREMLINS, 1984. It's really not a horror movie, is it? HELLRAISER, 1987. I certainly appreciate the iconic character of Pinhead, but the film itself doesn't rise to the level of a classic.  Check out our podcast on it. POLTERGEIST, 1982. A good movie, but more Spielberg than Hooper. It lacks the subversive edge to make the Top 10.

Here's the Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast's review of 1987's Hellraiser:



Other Lists:



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2 comments:

  1. Free SubscribersJuly 14, 2021 at 5:03 AM

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  2. WolverinaMarch 29, 2023 at 5:31 PM

    I would also put Inferno (1980, sequel to Suspiria (1977)), Cujo (1983) and The Fog (1980) in my list.

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