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80s horror movies
- Thread starter CarpeDeezNutz
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Rockandrollclown
lookwhatyou'vedone
I'll have to check it out. I love some Fulci.
afternoon delight
Member
The Changeling with George C. Scott
We gotta go back to the 80s for good horror movies
Because nowdays we only have "indie horror movie excelent magical beautiful metaphor but its not a horror movie its just a really boring movie"
Honestly. It was the last great wave of movies and horror directors.
Lord_Balkan
Member
Check out We Are Still Here. My personal favorite from recent memory.
I thought It Follows was pretty good for a contemporary horror film that was essentially an 80's slasher film. I only really had a problem with the thing of evil, or boogeyman, of the film but it was still well made and fun to watch.
I have to watch it again. I didn't like it at all, but people seem to dig it?
I was so disappointed and typically love slow burn horror.
Lord_Balkan
Member
If you really like Fulci movies, this movie was basically a Fulci love letter. It is a slow burn that devolves into utter insanity and madness. For me, The Babadook and It Follows start off strong and completely fall of in the last 1/3rd where We Are Still Here has some amazing payoff.
If you like films like The Beyond and House By The Cemetery then you will most likely like We Are Still Here.
Nathan_Drake
Member
oh myyyyyyyy.
80s horror films were my childhood. divorced parents and dad didnt care. Puppet Master anyone?!
Count Dookkake
Member
Spectacular nudity and some neat FX.
Violence Jack
Member
Speaking of Fulci, I think this is my favorite of his outside of The Beyond and Don't Torture A Duckling.
One of the cut scenes was actually used as the VHS cover in Japan showing a brutal eye slashing aftermath.
One of the cut scenes was actually used as the VHS cover in Japan showing a brutal eye slashing aftermath.
Count Dookkake
Member
New York Ripper is god-tier sleaze.
I feel gross even thinking about it.
I feel gross even thinking about it.
I do love Fulci and I enjoyed Badadook and It Follows much more. I'll give it another shot.
That's being rebooted by the team that made Bone Tomahawk. I shit you not.
Most 80s horror does not hold up, unless by holding up you mean it's hilariously terrible looking rather than "scary". That's not to say I think modern horror is any better but I'll just say it's hard being a horror fan
for something not mentioned ITT already I guess I'll say
severely underrated, definitely up there with 1, 3 and New Nightmare imo
I just watched Sleepaway Camp for the first time and that was one 80s horror that actually did hold up. So much better than any Friday the 13th movie.
Violence Jack
Member
Most 80s horror does not hold up, unless by holding up you mean it's hilariously terrible looking rather than "scary". That's not to say I think modern horror is any better but I'll just say it's hard being a horror fan
for something not mentioned ITT already I guess I'll say
severely underrated, definitely up there with 1, 3 and New Nightmare imo
I just watched Sleepaway Camp for the first time and that was one 80s horror that actually did hold up. So much better than any Friday the 13th movie.
I liked ANOES 4 well enough, but there were some pretty good F13 movies. I found Friday the 13th Part 4 to be one of, if not the best F13 film, and it's the only one of them I've ever seen uncut.
SillyEskimo
Member
I believe Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4 were shot simultaneously. I remember seeing an interview with Englund how they would have the sets and scenes set up for both movies and he would walk from one lot to the next. He didn't even know which scenes were for which movie as he was acting.
Lord_Balkan
Member
Most 80s horror does not hold up, unless by holding up you mean it's hilariously terrible looking rather than "scary". That's not to say I think modern horror is any better but I'll just say it's hard being a horror fan
for something not mentioned ITT already I guess I'll say
severely underrated, definitely up there with 1, 3 and New Nightmare imo
I just watched Sleepaway Camp for the first time and that was one 80s horror that actually did hold up. So much better than any Friday the 13th movie.
I have watched Nightmare On Elm Street 4 thousands of times. It was one of the two VHS tapes we had growing up... that and The Terminator. So I know every single line in those movies.
I also love the Tuesday Knight intro song..
I was talking about Sleepaway Camp being better than F13 movies, considering how similar they are (slasher at camp, kills all in first person essentially) but personally I've always liked Freddy and Micheal much more than Jason.
also, Sleepaway Camp 2 any good? At least worth a watch?
Rockandrollclown
lookwhatyou'vedone
No....God no. The Sleepaway Camp sequels are really awful. They have nothing in common with the original other than taking place at a summer camp, and are a good example of everything that can be wrong with an 80s slasher movie.
Edit: Unless you intentionally want to watch a really shitty movie to riff on.
I don't remember the sequels (I barely remember the first) but the sequels have a solid fan base.
Nathan_Drake
Member
Violence Jack
Member
Sorry, I missed that part.
Yeah, Sleepaway Camp 2 and 3 were both pretty shitty. They turned Angela into some wise cracking counselor if I remember correctly, and even the original actress for her turned down roles in those films because the script was so awful. It also had this oddly placed girl who was really racist, throwing around slurs for no reason.
Add me to the "Tenebrae is my favorite giallo" camp.
And yeah, the Sleepaway Camp sequels... 2 is shitty cheese, but I managed to get a few chuckles out of it at least. 3 starts having to resort to reusing footage from 2, plus I guess they ran out of ideas for kills because the villain beats like three victims to death with a stick. How creative. 4 isn't even a real movie, just an hour of footage from the first three films cut together plus maybe five minutes of home-movie-quality new footage scattered throughout.
Return to Sleepaway Camp is the true sequel, and it's far better than the earlier "sequels." It's still not very good, but there are a few moments when it manages to recapture a tiny bit of the magic of the original.
Yeah, that's how I've always thought of it. In the same way sci-fi is a setting, horror is a theme, or even more nebulously, a tone or mood. It's not always about what the story is, but about how it's presented.
Possession. It's not really your standard horror film though, it's very surreal in its presentation and that turns some people off.
And yeah, the Sleepaway Camp sequels... 2 is shitty cheese, but I managed to get a few chuckles out of it at least. 3 starts having to resort to reusing footage from 2, plus I guess they ran out of ideas for kills because the villain beats like three victims to death with a stick. How creative. 4 isn't even a real movie, just an hour of footage from the first three films cut together plus maybe five minutes of home-movie-quality new footage scattered throughout.
Return to Sleepaway Camp is the true sequel, and it's far better than the earlier "sequels." It's still not very good, but there are a few moments when it manages to recapture a tiny bit of the magic of the original.
Yeah, that's how I've always thought of it. In the same way sci-fi is a setting, horror is a theme, or even more nebulously, a tone or mood. It's not always about what the story is, but about how it's presented.
Possession. It's not really your standard horror film though, it's very surreal in its presentation and that turns some people off.
MagnaderAlpha
Member
I thought you meant the whole "theory" brought up by "learned college students" of how Chuckie is only a split personality of Andy, and Andy is really doing all the shit. There are actually some people who refuse to look at any fantasy at face value and always try to rationalize everything, which usually comes down to the main characters suffering from some sort of mental illness. Nah, in Child's Play, Chuckie's real, a supernatural doll with the soul of a serial killer.
Lord_Balkan
Member
I thought you meant the whole "theory" brought up by "learned college students" of how Chuckie is only a split personality of Andy, and Andy is really doing all the shit. There are actually some people who refuse to look at any fantasy at face value and always try to rationalize everything, which usually comes down to the main characters suffering from some sort of mental illness. Nah, in Child's Play, Chuckie's real, a supernatural doll with the soul of a serial killer.
Speaking on that... I think the downfall of a lot of modern horror has to do with audience expectations and the fact that the general audience does not suspend disbelief and requires an explanation for everything.
Guillermo Del Toro was talking about this, and I am paraphrasing, but he said that horror is basically a fairy tale. Once Upon A Time there were goblins or zombies or whatever, and if you don't like it then 'fuck off' (his words not mine). People these days seem to be less willing to suspend disbelief in horror movies and the movies have been suffering because of that.
I always seem to come back to The Babadook when this topic comes up, but it's a really relevant issue surrounding that movie. (Note: I am not attempting to discuss the quality of the movie here, so let's just leave that out of it for now.)
It seems like a lot of people feel that The Babadook HAS to be about mental illness and grief and that the supernatural stuff is all in the mother's head, and then the other group of people thinks the supernatural HAS to be real and the thematic elements are just kind of there. What I'm always trying to argue is that it can be both. Yes, the monster clearly represents the mother's grief, resentment, etc., but within the context of the film it's also a real monster, and it poses a real threat. It can be a metaphor and still be real.
Now I did think the film kind of flubbed that up at the end, but my point still stands. People are too black and white about these sorts of things. Open yourself up to multiple interpretations and realize that they are not all mutually exclusive.
It seems like a lot of people feel that The Babadook HAS to be about mental illness and grief and that the supernatural stuff is all in the mother's head, and then the other group of people thinks the supernatural HAS to be real and the thematic elements are just kind of there. What I'm always trying to argue is that it can be both. Yes, the monster clearly represents the mother's grief, resentment, etc., but within the context of the film it's also a real monster, and it poses a real threat. It can be a metaphor and still be real.
Now I did think the film kind of flubbed that up at the end, but my point still stands. People are too black and white about these sorts of things. Open yourself up to multiple interpretations and realize that they are not all mutually exclusive.
SillyEskimo
Member
Yup. Same thing can be said with Pan's Labyrinth and the Orphanage.
Astral Dog
Member
And
others were already mentioned
IdreamofHIME
Member
Is there a movie like Demons where someone cuts their face on a mask and turns evil, but the mask is wooden?
...or have my childhood memories mixed together Demons and Jim Carreys The Mask?
You're thinking of Childs Play 3 and it was never banned. The gutter press (daily mail/daily mirror)made up a story that the killers binged on horror movies before the killing. They literally made it up.
This theory was thrown out during the court case.
The movie was intially withdrawn from public sale by the distributor during this "video nasty" witch hunt and then softly rereleased after the court case was over and the dust had settled on the witch hunt.
...or have my childhood memories mixed together Demons and Jim Carreys The Mask?
You're thinking of Childs Play 3 and it was never banned. The gutter press (daily mail/daily mirror)made up a story that the killers binged on horror movies before the killing. They literally made it up.
This theory was thrown out during the court case.
The movie was intially withdrawn from public sale by the distributor during this "video nasty" witch hunt and then softly rereleased after the court case was over and the dust had settled on the witch hunt.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
I would be so down to watch an 80s horror version of "The Jaunt" by Stephen King my fav story right now, hard to wrap my head around a 10th of a second expand to an eternity.
Awesome to see that this thread got bumped.
there's a really amazing book that came out a few months ago that's an awesome collection of video box art from the 80's called, naturally, 'VHS Cover Art'. Definitely worth a look if you guys are nostalgic for when you'd sneak off to the horror section at the video store to gaze at the lurid airbrushed covers:
http://www.vhsvideocoverart.com/
there's a really amazing book that came out a few months ago that's an awesome collection of video box art from the 80's called, naturally, 'VHS Cover Art'. Definitely worth a look if you guys are nostalgic for when you'd sneak off to the horror section at the video store to gaze at the lurid airbrushed covers:
http://www.vhsvideocoverart.com/
Like what? Personally I think most 90's horror is a little too slick, lost some of the natural grit 80's horror had. The advent of CGI didn't help either. Part of what made 80's horror great was that the practical special makeup effects kept getting better and better, and effects houses kept trying to one-up each other throughout the decade.
Personally, both Evil Dead 2 and Re-Animator are better than almost everything in the 90's, with the exception of Dead Alive / Braindead, and even that owes its existence to those earlier movies.
They weren't shot simultaneously but he didn't have much downtime between shoots. I remember him saying that at the start of part 4 he just wasn't feeling it but once he saw some stuff edited together and realized it was going to be like an MTV nightmare he really started getting into it.
mariachi507
Member
This is the best thread to bump. I've actually been stocking up on blu's the past couple of months preparing for October. The majority of which has come from the 80's.
I love how Arrow takes these trashy movies like The Mutilator and Blood Rage and basically treats them as if they are Citizen Kane. I'm tempted to buy a region-free blu ray player just to be able to start collecting their older releases. With that plus the Criterion sale coming up, pray for my wallet. It's going to need it.
The 90's for me was an odd decade for horror. Many director's from the 80's either fell off or just disappeared, and it seems like the genre didn't know how to evolve from the campy/creative films from the decade before. Many of the icon's from the slasher boom just went creatively bankrupt and the end of the 90's unfortunately began the unfortunate trend of PG-13 cgi laden films like The Haunting. There were still plenty of gems though.
Audition
The Blair Witch Project
Cemetery Man
New Nightmare
Scream
Jacob's Ladder - Haven't seen
The Devil's Backbone
Ringu
In the Mouth of Madness
Misery
All Great Films.
I love how Arrow takes these trashy movies like The Mutilator and Blood Rage and basically treats them as if they are Citizen Kane. I'm tempted to buy a region-free blu ray player just to be able to start collecting their older releases. With that plus the Criterion sale coming up, pray for my wallet. It's going to need it.
The 90's for me was an odd decade for horror. Many director's from the 80's either fell off or just disappeared, and it seems like the genre didn't know how to evolve from the campy/creative films from the decade before. Many of the icon's from the slasher boom just went creatively bankrupt and the end of the 90's unfortunately began the unfortunate trend of PG-13 cgi laden films like The Haunting. There were still plenty of gems though.
Audition
The Blair Witch Project
Cemetery Man
New Nightmare
Scream
Jacob's Ladder - Haven't seen
The Devil's Backbone
Ringu
In the Mouth of Madness
Misery
All Great Films.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but I didn't see The Hunger mentioned here.
While a complete artifact of its era, it's not your usual 80's schlock. It had a surprisingly solid cast headed by Catherine Deneuve, David fucking Bowie and Susan Sarandon, some AMAZING visuals and a killer soundtrack. It inspired generations of goths and dared to portray vampirism as something both predatory and deeply sexual.
Its opening credits sequence set to the tune of Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi's Dead is still legendary and sets the mood for the rest of the film.
Vampire movies haven't been this cool since then.
While a complete artifact of its era, it's not your usual 80's schlock. It had a surprisingly solid cast headed by Catherine Deneuve, David fucking Bowie and Susan Sarandon, some AMAZING visuals and a killer soundtrack. It inspired generations of goths and dared to portray vampirism as something both predatory and deeply sexual.
Its opening credits sequence set to the tune of Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi's Dead is still legendary and sets the mood for the rest of the film.
Vampire movies haven't been this cool since then.
theusedversion
Member
Love, love 80's movies. Here is my collection of 80's horror. What am I missing? Should definitely add the Critters movies to my collection.
Btw, should Wraith be considered a horror movie?
Btw, should Wraith be considered a horror movie?
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Love, love 80's movies. Here is my collection of 80's horror. What am I missing? Should definitely add the Critters movies to my collection.
Btw, should Wraith be considered a horror movie?
I don't think it is, but I'm not offended by its presence or anything.
I'm also dead sure that Shocker was the VHS hit that turned out to be just thanks to its amazing poster and cover.
theusedversion
Member
Perhaps sci-fi then? It's kind of a weird movie. Not sure where it belongs.
Oooh, I need Waxworks and The Howling. Actually don't remember if they are any good but I remember the covers from my childhood.
Love, love 80's movies. Here is my collection of 80's horror. What am I missing? Should definitely add the Critters movies to my collection.
Btw, should Wraith be considered a horror movie?
Killer Klowns From Outer Space, of course.
theusedversion
Member
Needs Dead & Buried, Night of the Creeps, The Thing, The Fly, Prince of Darkness and The Beyond. And Demons 1! You've got 2 there, but not 1!
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