The Best Horror Movies From the ’80s – menshealth.com

Nightmare on Elm Street/The Shining/Gremlins

Ah, the '80sa decade probably best remembered by its big hair, leg warmers, and mulletsbut let's not forget the gruesome, chill-inducing, and oh-so-wonderfully-terrifying horror movies that came to define the genre for generations to come.

Take A Nightmare on Elm Street, a film that still fuels our nightmares (and also turned us off striped sweaters forever). Or the bloodbath and masterpiece that is Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. (We're scared of long, empty corridors to this day.) And who could forget the most terrifying holiday horror movie of all: Gremlins.

Sure, modern horror's great, but scary flicks from the '80s weren't afraid to have take chances, so join us on our terrifying trip down memory lane: Here are 15 of the best horror films from the '80s, from total classics to the weird and experimental sort that'll make you hide under the covers.

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1Gremlins (1980)

What happens when a bunch of troublemaking Furby-like dolls terrorize a small town on Christmas day? That's what Gremlins explores, and we're really happy our parents gave us G.I. Joes growing up instead.

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2A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

This Wes Craven '80s flick which spawned a handful of sequels dug into people's ultimate fear: What if our nightmares were real? And what if there was no way to escape them? Freddy Kruger remains the GOAT of the decade's horror villains.

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3The Shining (1980)

A novelist and his family are tasked with watching over a hotel in the Rocky Mountains during a particularly harsh winter season, which, as you likely know, spirals into utter madness. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

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4Poltergeist (1982)

A family is stalked by an otherworldly figure casting a dark shadow on their home (which also has the ability to reach them through their television set, our other worst fear).

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5The Thing (1982)

A group of American researchers in Antartica witness a helicopter shooting at a sled dog that's entered their camponly to discover the dog is not the friendly, cuddle-up-to-you kind. (We'll save you from any spoilers.)

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6Aliens (1986)

Legendary for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because the sequel somehow managed to be better than the already great original. We stan Sigourney!

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7Evil Dead (1981)

A group of young college students descend upon an isolated cabin in the woodswhere all good things happenand encounter the ultimate demonic figure in this gory flick.

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8Cujo (1983)

We have a lot of feelings about Cujo. Is it the best horror flick ever? Probably not. But it's entertaining as hell, and it's even funnier when you realize that the dog is played by a mechanical dog and a stuntman in certain shots.

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9Friday the 13th (1980)

At the time of this classic flick's release, it was critically panned. Still, it was massively popular at the box-office and gave rise to 11 (yes, 11) sequels. Here's where it all began.

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10Videodrome (1983)

A David Cronenberg special, Videodrome follows the president of a TV station that stumbles across the dark web of television when he finds a show that tortures its characters. Is it all fiction, though? (You can pretty much guess the answer.)

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11Child's Play (1988)

There are plenty of villains on this list to be terrified of, but alas, nothing scares us more than Chucky. Here's where the Child's Play franchise was born.

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12The Fly (1986)

Jeff Goldblum goes through the ultimate transformation in this horror classic, and we're just really happy to see him in any capacity.

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13Christine (1983)

What if the villain was a murderous and blood-thirsty car......said no one ever, until Stephen King wrote a novel about it, later adapted into this horror classic.

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14Pet Sematary (1989)

Another brilliant Stephen King film adaptation, Pet Sematary explores one family's experience with the tragic loss of their sonand what they're willing to do to see him again.

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15Fright Night (1985)

What happens when a vampire becomes your next door neighbor and pursues both your mom and girlfriend? We know now thanks to this cult classic (also remade in 2011).

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The Best Horror Movies From the '80s - menshealth.com

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero