Top 25 Horror Movies 1981-1990
by b1tn1k | created - 02 Oct 2011 | updated - 02 Oct 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,333 | Gross: $2.40M
2. Scanners (1981)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane
Votes: 61,725 | Gross: $14.23M
3. The Hunger (1983)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror
A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young
Votes: 29,036 | Gross: $5.98M
4. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 102,933 | Gross: $2.12M
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
Votes: 262,384 | Gross: $25.50M
6. Children of the Corn (1984)
R | 92 min | Horror, Thriller
A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.
Director: Fritz Kiersch | Stars: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, John Franklin
Votes: 57,314 | Gross: $14.57M
7. Crimewave (1985)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A pair of whacked-out cartoon-like exterminator/hitmen kill the owner of a burglar-alarm company, and stalk the partner who hired them, his wife, and a nerd framed for the murder, who tells the story in flashback from the electric chair.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Louise Lasser, Brion James, Paul L. Smith, Sheree J. Wilson
Votes: 6,740 | Gross: $0.00M
8. Gothic (1986)
R | 87 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The Shelleys visit Lord Byron and compete to write a horror story.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Myriam Cyr
Votes: 8,862 | Gross: $0.92M
9. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 201,823 | Gross: $40.46M
10. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,792 | Gross: $17.19M
11. Bad Taste (1987)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
The population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Terry Potter, Pete O'Herne, Craig Smith, Mike Minett
Votes: 49,118
12. Epidemic (1987)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Horror
A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Allan De Waal, Ole Ernst, Michael Gelting, Colin Gilder
Votes: 6,101
13. Hellraiser (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Votes: 140,462 | Gross: $14.56M
14. Prince of Darkness (1987)
R | 102 min | Horror
A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong
Votes: 49,940 | Gross: $14.18M
15. The Lost Boys (1987)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes
Votes: 161,067 | Gross: $32.22M
16. They Live (1988)
R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower
Votes: 145,409 | Gross: $13.01M
17. Pet Sematary (1989)
R | 103 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist
Votes: 114,988 | Gross: $57.47M
18. Puppet Master (1989 Video)
R | 90 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Psychics find themselves plotted against by a former colleague, who committed suicide after discovering animated, murderous puppets.
Director: David Schmoeller | Stars: Paul Le Mat, William Hickey, Irene Miracle, Jimmie F. Skaggs
Votes: 12,776
19. Santa Sangre (1989)
NC-17 | 123 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky | Stars: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell, Thelma Tixou
Votes: 23,317
20. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Votes: 25,914
21. Shocker (1989)
R | 109 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
After being sent to the electric chair, a serial killer uses electricity to come back from the dead and carry out his vengeance on the football player who turned him in to the police.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Michael Murphy, Mitch Pileggi, John Tesh, Heather Langenkamp
Votes: 17,707 | Gross: $16.55M
22. Flatliners (1990)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Five medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin
Votes: 93,400 | Gross: $61.49M
23. Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
R | 85 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
The ultimate weapon which was meant to be safe for the mankind produces global side effects including time slides and disappearances.The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817's Switzerland.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: John Hurt, Raul Julia, Nick Brimble, Bridget Fonda
Votes: 4,129 | Gross: $0.33M
24. Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven
Votes: 117,841 | Gross: $26.12M
25. Nightbreed (1990)
R | 102 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg, Anne Bobby, Charles Haid
Votes: 26,411 | Gross: $8.86M
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