Some of the best horror films came from the 1980s, delivering everything from supernatural thrills and bloody slashers to psychological horror and dark comedies. It’s the decade that Freddy Krueger and Chucky and turned Jason Voorhees into a horror icon. The best part? These classics still give us plenty of reasons to sleep with the lights on.
Ready to revisit the original films inspiring so many remakes in the 2020s, or looking to discover a new favorite? We’ve rounded up our picks for the best 80s horror movies, ranked from least to most scary.
Rankings take into account three main criteria: how creepy it is, how gory it is and how suspenseful it is (i.e., jump scares).
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20 Best 80s Horror Movies to Watch This Spooky Season
Don’t be scared… come take a look.
20. ‘Gremlins’ (1984)
Creepiness: Low
Goriness: Low
Suspense: Moderate
More of a dark comedy about creepy creatures than a horror film, but a classic nonetheless, Gremlins tells the story of young Billy Peltzer after he is given a strange creature called a Mogwai as a pet. Along with the pet come three crucial rules to follow. When those rules are inevitably broken, a group of mischievous and dangerous gremlins is unleashed on the town, causing havoc. Gremlins blends comedy with horror, offering both laughs and scares.
19. ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ (1987)
Creepiness: Low
Goriness: Low
Suspense: Low
In the quiet New England town of Eastwick, three women unknowingly summon the man of their dreams after wishing for a little excitement in their love lives. Enter Daryl Van Horne, a wealthy, eccentric newcomer who charms all three women before revealing his true identity as the devil himself. As his increasingly manipulative behavior threatens to turn their lives upside down, the women discover they have supernatural powers of their own and decide to give the devil a taste of his own medicine.
18. ‘Dead Calm’ (1989)
Creepiness: Low to Moderate
Goriness: Low
Suspense: High
Toeing the line between psychological thriller and horror is Dead Calm, the 1989 film starring Nicole Kidman. The movie follows a grieving couple on a yacht in the middle of the ocean. That might not sound too bad, but when they find a drifting ship with a single survivor who claims his crew was killed by food poisoning, things take a turn, and the couple quickly realizes that this man may not be the person they thought he was.
17. ‘Children of the Corn’ (1984)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: Moderate
Suspense: Moderate
A cult horror for the ages, Children of the Corn begins when a young couple stumbles upon a rural town where the children, following the orders of a mysterious boy preacher, have killed all the adults and worship a sinister entity in the cornfields. The couple must survive the children’s deadly devotion to “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” and, boy, is it creepy.
16. ‘Fright Night’ (1985)
Creepiness: Low
Goriness: High
Suspense: Moderate
When teenager Charley Brewster becomes convinced that his charming new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire responsible for a string of disappearances, nobody believes him. Desperate to stop Jerry before he claims another victim, Charley turns to Peter Vincent, a washed-up actor and late-night TV vampire hunter who knows more about fighting fictional monsters than real ones.
15. ‘Child’s Play’ (1988)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: Moderate
Suspense: Moderate
Child’s Play is not only a classic 80s slasher film, but it’s also the birthplace of the iconically terrifying doll, Chucky. And it all begins when a dying serial killer transfers his soul into a Good Guy doll named Chucky. Knowing that, it’s no surprise the seemingly innocent toy comes to life and begins a murder spree. Young Andy, who owns the doll, must convince the adults around him of Chucky’s true nature before it’s too late.
14. ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ (1985)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: High
Suspense: Moderate
When two employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a mysterious chemical gas, they unknowingly unleash a zombie outbreak on Louisville, Kentucky. As the infection spreads to a nearby cemetery, a group of punk rock teenagers finds themselves fighting off hordes of the undead that can run, talk and are nearly impossible to kill. Known for its mix of horror and punk humor, this film also popularized the concept of zombies eating brains.
13. ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ (1986)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: Very High
Suspense: Moderate
Leatherface is back in this outrageous sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original horror classic, and this time, the chainsaw-wielding killer and his cannibalistic family have their sights set on a Texas radio DJ. When Stretch accidentally records one of their murders, she becomes the family’s next target, while a former Texas Ranger sets out to bring them down. Trading much of the original’s gritty atmosphere for over-the-top violence and dark comedy, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is every bit as bloody as its title suggests.
12. ‘An American Werewolf in London’ (1981)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: High
Suspense: Moderate
Two American tourists are attacked by a werewolf while backpacking in the English countryside, leaving one of them dead and the other cursed with the lycanthropic affliction. As he transforms into a werewolf under the full moon, the surviving friend must confront his monstrous new reality. The film is known for its mix of horror and dark humor, alongside groundbreaking transformation scenes.
11. ‘The Blob’ (1988)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: High
Suspense: High
A seemingly harmless meteorite crashes near a small California town, unleashing a gelatinous alien organism with an appetite for human flesh. As the creature grows larger with every victim it consumes, a group of teenagers attempts to stop it before the entire town becomes its next meal. A remake of the 1958 sci-fi horror classic, The Blob takes full advantage of its gruesome practical effects, delivering some of the decade’s most stomach-turning deaths.
10. ‘Friday the 13th’ (1980)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: High
Suspense: Moderate
A groundbreaking film for the classic “murdered at sleepaway camp” horror trope, Friday the 13th does not disappoint. A group of camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake are stalked and brutally murdered by a mysterious killer while attempting to reopen the summer camp, which has a dark past. The film introduced audiences to the iconic character of Jason Voorhees, though his mother is the central villain in this installment. The movie’s brutal kills and suspenseful atmosphere cemented it as a slasher classic.
9. ‘The Howling’ (1981)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: High
Suspense: High
After a terrifying encounter with a serial killer leaves her traumatized, TV reporter Karen White retreats to a secluded mountain resort known as the Colony to recover. But her peaceful getaway takes a disturbing turn when she discovers that the retreat’s residents are hiding a monstrous secret: they’re werewolves. Directed by Joe Dante, The Howling is best remembered for its gruesome transformation sequences and groundbreaking practical effects that helped redefine werewolf horror in the 1980s.
8. ‘Poltergeist’ (1982)
Creepiness: High
Goriness: Low
Suspense: High
What was once a typical, happy family quickly turns to nightmare when their home is haunted by malevolent spirits that kidnap their youngest daughter. As the supernatural forces grow stronger, the family enlists the help of paranormal experts to rescue the girl from the spirit world. The film is known for its eerie atmosphere and special effects, creating a sense of dread around the everyday setting of the family home.
7. ‘Pet Sematary’ (1989)
Creepiness: Very High
Goriness: High
Suspense: High
Based on Stephen King’s novel, Pet Sematary follows the Creed family after they move into a new home in rural Maine, where an ancient burial ground holds the power to bring the dead back to life. But when tragedy strikes, grieving father Louis Creed discovers that some things are better left buried. Between its disturbing depictions of death, gruesome imagery and one particularly unsettling little boy, Pet Sematary is still one of the creepiest Stephen King adaptations to hit the big screen.
6. ‘The Fly’ (1986)
Creepiness: High
Goriness: High
Suspense: Moderate
In this body horror masterpiece directed by David Cronenberg, scientist Seth Brundle’s teleportation experiment goes horribly wrong when his DNA merges with that of a housefly. As he slowly mutates into a grotesque human-fly hybrid, his body and mind deteriorate, leading to tragic consequences. The film is both terrifying and poignant, with an emphasis on graphic body transformations and science fiction elements.
5. ‘The Shining’ (1980)
Creepiness: High
Goriness: Moderate
Suspense: High
Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Shining follows Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson), a writer and recovering alcoholic, who takes a job as a winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel. As the winter storm traps his family inside, Jack slowly loses his grip on reality, leading to a terrifying descent into madness, influenced by the supernatural forces within the hotel. His son, Danny, has psychic abilities, or “the shining,” which allow him to witness the horrors hidden within the hotel’s history, adding another layer to this well-crafted horror story.
4. ‘Hellraiser’ (1987)
Creepiness: High
Goriness: Very High
Suspense: High
A man accidentally opens a portal to a hellish dimension in Hellraiser. By solving an ancient puzzle box, he summons the sadistic Cenobites — otherworldly beings led by the iconic Pinhead. The Cenobites, who derive pleasure from extreme pain and suffering, subject Frank to horrific tortures in their dimension. The film’s twisted themes of desire, pain and horror are brought to life through graphic depictions of violence and torture, making it one of the most notorious films of its time.
3. ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: High
Suspense: High
In this slasher classic directed by Wes Craven, a group of teenagers is terrorized in their dreams by the sadistic Freddy Krueger, a disfigured killer who wields a bladed glove. As Freddy’s attacks escalate, the teens realize that if they die in their dreams, they die in real life. A Nightmare on Elm Street blends surreal dream sequences with gruesome kills, cementing Freddy as one of horror’s most iconic villains.
2. ‘The Evil Dead’ (1981)
Creepiness: Moderate
Goriness: Very High
Suspense: High
A group of friends retreat to a remote cabin, where they accidentally unleash an ancient evil after reading from the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead. Possessions, grotesque violence and demonic horrors ensue as the group fights for survival against supernatural forces. The film, directed by the iconic Sam Raimi, is renowned for its relentless pace, disturbing imagery and use of practical effects. Not to mention it’s excessive blood and gore. The film also kicked off an entire horror franchise that continues to expand more than four decades later.
1. ‘The Thing’ (1982)
Creepiness: Very High
Goriness: High
Suspense: High
Set in a remote Antarctic research station, The Thing follows a group of scientists who encounter a shape-shifting alien that can mimic any living organism. As paranoia sets in, the group turns on each other, unsure of who is human and who has been taken over by the alien. John Carpenter’s direction, combined with groundbreaking practical effects, creates an atmosphere of dread and intense body horror.
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