Guilty Pleasures From the 1980's! Movie-Gasm x 100
So It would be easy just to throw out every good movie from the 80's, but let's refine things just a bit and say that it can't be epic or great, and it can't be bad either. Mostly films that had mixed critical reviews, and/or the quirkiness of the decade. You won't find Sixteen Candles on the list(I actually score that a 10), and you won't find Raider's or Back to the Future on the list either. However, Back the the Future 2 fits the description; as does Temple of Doom. All films on the list I rate 5/10 or higher(save one:Breakin').
These are definitely films that, while not great or academy award-winners - certainly could put a smile on the face of nearly anyone, especially those who grew up during the era. Most weren't blockbusters(some were like ROcky4), but many garnered VHS rental fame, or had the campiness or unbelievable, unabashed fun to make them eligible for my list.
Sticking with 100 - so here's a short just missed(let's call it 'a little bit TOO guilty'):Bad Taste, Pumpkinhead, Rolling Thunder, Waxwork, Halloween 2, cherry 2000.
These are definitely films that, while not great or academy award-winners - certainly could put a smile on the face of nearly anyone, especially those who grew up during the era. Most weren't blockbusters(some were like ROcky4), but many garnered VHS rental fame, or had the campiness or unbelievable, unabashed fun to make them eligible for my list.
Sticking with 100 - so here's a short just missed(let's call it 'a little bit TOO guilty'):Bad Taste, Pumpkinhead, Rolling Thunder, Waxwork, Halloween 2, cherry 2000.
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- DirectorMike HodgesStarsSam J. JonesMelody AndersonMax von SydowA football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.This film is probably the quintessential example. Queen soundtrack. Color Splash. Solid cast, but Sam and Melody fit the camp aspect at the same time, and the film just seems to look and feel like the old comic, all-the-while ushering-in one of the best guilty pleasures from the 80's, in 1980.
- DirectorBoaz DavidsonStarsLawrence MonosonDiane FranklinSteve AntinPizza delivery boy Gary, loudmouth David and hunky Rick are three high school students out to lose their virginity any way they can. Gary falls for transfer student Karen, who gets involved with Rick.Quite possibly the best soundtrack of all-time. A serious film in sex-romp clothes. Quirky, funny, and tragic. This is 80's.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsKen MarshallLysette AnthonyFreddie JonesA prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet, Krull.Flash Gordon light.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreCarole BouquetTopolSecret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.This is one of my top 3 Bond films. It really captures the era, and has a great balance of comedy and action.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsWilliam KattKay LenzGeorge WendtA troubled writer moves into a haunted house after inheriting it from his aunt.House has a bit of a "B" movie look, but it's creepy and mysterious. It's a film that's hard to stop watching once you've started.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael ParéDiane LaneRick MoranisA mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.the 3 music montages are just cheesy as heck, but this is one fantastic little fantasy/rock-flick/actioner. Pare' is a bit wooden at times, but Diane Lane was as hot as a 4-alarm fire.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaCharles NapierRambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.The first film "First Blood" was a bit too good and a bit too serious to make the list, but this sequel is surely a guilty pleasure. The chick's acting is god-awful, but who's in this for the acting?
- DirectorDesmond DavisStarsLaurence OlivierHarry HamlinClaire BloomPerseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.It's very camp with the stop-action monsters and the suspect acting, but it's also pure, unadulterated fun.
- DirectorJoseph ZitoStarsChuck NorrisM. Emmet WalshDavid TressColonel Braddock launches a mission deep into the jungles of Vietnam to find the POW camp that he escaped from and free the Americans still held captive there.See Rambo:First Blood part 2. Same thing here.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsFred WardJoel GreyWilford BrimleyAn officially "dead" cop is trained to become an extraordinary unique assassin in service of the US President.Remo was a film that came out of nowhere. Many cheesy 80's aspects, but it's still an original spy film that involves very little brain power and smiles.
- DirectorNick CastleStarsLance GuestRobert PrestonKay E. KuterHigh schooler Alex Rogan conquers the Starfighter video game, only to find out it was just a test, and is transported to another planet. He has been recruited to join a team of the best starfighters to defend their world from the attack.An adult-child enters a video game world? I mean this film just sounds ridiculous, but it has some great theme music, some nice horror aspects, and remains fun from start to finish.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsTaimakVanityChristopher MurneyIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.Unbelievably cheesy music. Ridiculous effects. BUT, we still love this cult-classic 80's inner-city kung-fu flick.
- DirectorHal NeedhamRalph BakshiStarsBurt ReynoldsDom DeLuiseDean MartinThe original characters from The Cannonball Run (1981) race across the country once more in various cars and trucks.
- DirectorSylvester StalloneStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungRocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsLouis Gossett Jr.Jason GedrickDavid SuchetA young pilot plans a rescue mission when his father, an Air Force Colonel, is shot down over enemy territory and captured.
- DirectorJoel SilbergStarsLucinda DickeyAdolfo QuinonesMichael ChambersA struggling young jazz dancer meets up with two break-dancers. Together they become the sensation of the street crowds.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsPatrick SwayzeC. Thomas HowellLea ThompsonIt is the dawn of World War III. In the west mountains of America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces.
- DirectorFred DekkerStarsJason LivelyTom AtkinsSteve MarshallAlien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.
- DirectorRobert ButlerStarsTim MathesonJennifer RunyonStephen FurstBob McGraw is in his 12th year of college, goofing his way through life, until he has to win a river rafting race with three college buddies.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBruce AbbottBarbara CramptonAfter an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsCraig WassonMelanie GriffithGregg HenryA young actor's obsession with spying on a beautiful woman who lives nearby leads to a baffling series of events with drastic consequences.
- DirectorJoe DanteCarl GottliebPeter HortonStarsRosanna ArquetteMichelle PfeifferArsenio HallA spoof of low budget 1950s science-fiction movies, interspersed with various comedy sketches and fake commercials making fun of late-night television.
- DirectorPaul FlahertyStarsJohn CandyJeffrey JonesAnnie PottsHarry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
- DirectorJeff KanewStarsAnthony EdwardsLinda FiorentinoJsu GarciaJonathan plays Gotcha with fellow college students, testing ability as assassin or mark, using paintball guns on campus. He flies to Paris on vacation and, with a woman taking his virginity, on to Berlin, where the game/ammo gets real.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey 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.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames WoodsDebbie HarrySonja SmitsA programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellSarah BerryDan HicksAsh Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsLung TiLeslie CheungChow Yun-FatA reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsLeslie CheungChow Yun-FatLung TiA restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.
- DirectorSteve De JarnattStarsAnthony EdwardsMare WinninghamJohn AgarA young man hears a chance phone call telling him that a nuclear war has started and missiles will hit his city in 70 minutes.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.
- DirectorJerry BelsonStarsMark BlankfieldBess ArmstrongKrista ErricksonDr Daniel Jekyll researching into drugs that would help mankind avoid surgery discovers a white powder that unleashes the animal in every man, and in his case turning him from a shy and timid doctor into a wild sex crazed party animal. To the delight and dismay of both his rich fiancée and stripper girlfriend.
- DirectorZane BuzbyStarsCharles GrodinRobin Pearson RoseJohn AshtonGeorge Lollar takes his family on vacation with "Club Sand", a shoddy and untrustworthy company. On their tropical island, they find soldiers everywhere, an unhelpful staff, inhospitable accommodation and undesirable holiday makers, but everyone except for George manages to have fun in the sun.
- DirectorJoan Micklin SilverStarsPatrick DempseyKate JacksonRobert GintyRandy is still unfocused after 2 years in college. When his dad refuses to keep paying his tuition, he gets a job delivering pizzas. Several alluring cougars pay him $200 for pizza delivery and "services rendered." As for their husbands.
- DirectorThom EberhardtStarsCatherine Mary StewartKelli MaroneyRobert BeltranA comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsVal KilmerStacy PeraltaDaniel AdesAn uptight teenage prodigy enters a top engineering college, but feels awkward among the freewheeling students. When a professor aims to turn their laser project into a military weapon, he and his offbeat roommate plot to ruin the plan.
- DirectorSteve BarronStarsLenny von DohlenVirginia MadsenMaxwell CaulfieldAn artificially intelligent PC and his human owner find themselves in a romantic rivalry over a woman.
- DirectorJack SholderStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael NouriClaudia ChristianA cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsPeter MacNicolCaitlin ClarkeRalph RichardsonA young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
- DirectorMartin RosenStarsJohn HurtChristopher BenjaminJames BolamTwo dogs escape from a laboratory and are hunted as possible carriers of the bubonic plague.
- DirectorRobert BorisStarsRob LoweAlly SheedyAmanda PaysA young American hustler pursues the girl of his dreams to Oxford, where he must enroll to obtain her.
- DirectorJames FrawleyStarsStephen GeoffreysSheree J. WilsonCameron DyeTwo fraternity brothers take advantage of their nerdy pledge's generous parents to spend time with him in Palm Springs and encourage him to mingle with girls, but things don't go as planned when they run into rival fraternity members.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsTom CruiseJackie Earle HaleyJohn StockwellSet in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.
- DirectorAlan MetterStarsRodney DangerfieldSally KellermanBurt YoungTo help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.
- DirectorHugh WilsonStarsSteve GuttenbergG.W. BaileyKim CattrallThe mayor declares that anyone can enroll in the police academy irrespective of their physical condition or education level, and many misfits descend on the academy, including a young troublemaker who's forced to apply or go to jail.
- DirectorJoe RothStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerAdrian PasdarWesley SnipesAlek is an immigrant who has just moved to the U. S. He was banned from competing for the USSR Olympic boxing team because of his religion. Depressed and alcoholic, he finds happiness and redemption when he trains two fighters.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJennifer O'NeillStephen LackPatrick McGoohanA 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.
- DirectorGreg BeemanStarsCorey HaimCorey FeldmanCarol KaneA teen decides to go for a night on the town with his friends despite flunking his driver's test.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsAnthony Michael HallIlan Mitchell-SmithKelly LeBrockTwo high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
- DirectorRod DanielStarsMichael J. FoxJames HamptonSusan UrsittiAn ordinary high school student discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree.
- DirectorJeff KanewStarsRobert CarradineAnthony EdwardsTimothy BusfieldAt Adams College, a group of bullied outcasts and misfits resolve to fight back for their peace and self-respect.
- DirectorMichael GottliebStarsAndrew McCarthyKim CattrallEstelle GettyA young artist, searching for his vocation, makes a mannequin so perfect he falls in love with it. Finding the mannequin in a store window, he gets a job there and his creation comes to life.
- DirectorTom HollandStarsChris SarandonWilliam RagsdaleAmanda Bearse"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.
- DirectorAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceApollonia KoteroMorris DayA young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellKim CattrallDennis DunA rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
- DirectorSteven LisbergerStarsJeff BridgesBruce BoxleitnerDavid WarnerA computer hacker is abducted into the digital world and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.
- DirectorLisa GottliebStarsJoyce HyserClayton RohnerBilly JayneTerry feels discriminated against when the summer jobs at the Sun Tribune go to two guys. She decides to do something about it. She dresses like a guy and gets a haircut. Will students at the other high school notice? Girls notice "him".
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsDennis HopperCaroline WilliamsJim SiedowA radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas marshal hunts them.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- DirectorGeorge BowersStarsRob MorrowJohnny DeppEmily LongstrethTwo adolescent boys, staying at a Florida resort, are captivated by chasing girls, but their fate holds more surprises.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsSylvester StalloneDonald SutherlandJohn AmosWith only six months left of his sentence, inmate Frank Leone is transferred from a minimum security prison to a maximum security prison by a vindictive warden.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsTom SelleckF. Murray AbrahamLaila RobinsA man is framed by two corrupt cops for drugs. After he gets out of prison, he comes after them.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsChristopher LambertSean ConneryClancy BrownAn immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsChevy ChaseDan AykroydMark StewartTwo bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War.
- DirectorRowdy HerringtonStarsPatrick SwayzeKelly LynchSam ElliottA bouncer hired to clean up the baddest honkytonk in a Missouri town. Armed with a black belt in karate and a degree in philosophy, Patrick Swayze sets out to tame the Double Deuce for its owner.
- DirectorRick MoranisDave ThomasStarsRick MoranisDave ThomasMax von SydowCanada's most famous hosers, Bob and Doug McKenzie, get jobs at the Elsinore Brewery, only to learn that something is rotten with the state of it.
- DirectorW.D. RichterStarsPeter WellerJohn LithgowEllen BarkinAdventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.
- DirectorStephen KingStarsEmilio EstevezPat HingleLaura HarringtonA group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.
- DirectorColin HigginsStarsJane FondaLily TomlinDolly PartonThree female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.
- DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKeith GordonJohn StockwellAlexandra PaulA nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsAndrew McCarthyJonathan SilvermanCatherine Mary StewartTwo idiots try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsHal HolbrookLeslie NielsenAdrienne Barbeau"Creepshow" is a 1982 movie that tells five grisly tales from a children's comic book: a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.
- DirectorMichael GornickStarsGeorge KennedyLois ChilesDomenick JohnThree macabre tales from the latest issue of a boy's favorite comic book, dealing with a vengeful wooden Native American, a monstrous blob in a lake, and an undying hitchhiker.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsKurt RussellJack WardenGerrit GrahamWhen the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsGene HackmanPatrick SwayzeRobert StackTen years after his son went M.I.A. in Vietnam, U.S. Marine retired Colonel Jason Rhodes assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneBrigitte NielsenReni SantoniA tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far-reaching plans.
- DirectorPaul Michael GlaserStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerMaria Conchita AlonsoYaphet KottoIn a dystopian America, a falsely convicted policeman gets his shot at freedom when he must forcibly participate in a TV game show where convicts, runners, must battle killers for their freedom.
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsMichael J. FoxKiefer SutherlandPhoebe CatesA disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.
- DirectorStewart RaffillStarsRobert UrichMary CrosbyMichael D. RobertsIn a distant future scarce of water, space pirates get caught after stealing ice from a spaceship. They are sold to a princess looking for her dad. He might have found a planet abundant with water.
- DirectorPhil JoanouStarsCasey SiemaszkoAnnie RyanRichard TysonA nerd gets himself in hot water with the new bully, a quiet bad boy who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day's end.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsTom SelleckCynthia RhodesGene SimmonsIn the near future, a police officer specializes in malfunctioning robots. When a robot turns out to have been programmed to kill, he begins to uncover a homicidal plot to create killer robots... and his son becomes a target.
- DirectorFred DekkerStarsAndre GowerRobby KigerStephen MachtA group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
- DirectorSavage Steve HollandStarsJohn CusackDemi MooreLinda WarrenAn aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.
- DirectorSavage Steve HollandStarsJohn CusackDavid Ogden StiersKim DarbyAfter his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellLee Van CleefErnest BorgnineIn 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayJohn CandyHarold RamisTwo friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsTom CruiseBryan BrownElisabeth ShueA talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.
- DirectorTom MankiewiczStarsDan AykroydTom HanksChristopher PlummerThe equally strait-laced and "by-the-book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.
- DirectorNeal IsraelStarsTom HanksTawny KitaenAdrian ZmedA soon-to-be-married man's friends throw him the ultimate bachelor party.
- DirectorChristian DuguayStarsPeter WellerRoy DupuisJennifer RubinA military commander stationed off planet during an interplanetary war travels through the devastated landscape to negotiate a peace treaty, but discovers that the primitive robots they built to kill enemy combatants have gained sentience.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsA group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
- DirectorMartin DavidsonStarsWilliam PetersenVirginia MadsenDermot MulroneyStory of the Tampico Stogies, a low minor-league baseball team, and its star player and manager, Stud' Cantrell, as they battle for the league championship amidst the corruption and racism of the American south.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonAfter visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.
- DirectorPeter MarkleStarsRob LoweCynthia GibbPatrick SwayzeA 17 year old farm boy is offered an ice hockey tryout. His brother drives him to Canada. He has fast legs, slow fists, but is chosen. Will he learn to use his fists and play ice hockey the Canuck way? Will he get the coach's cute daughter?
- DirectorCary MedowayStarsGary HershbergerRobert KrantzJonna Leigh StackSam Kehoe moves from Seattle to a new school in California. Trying to make friends, Sam manages to free up the honeymoon suite in his dad's motel so his friends are able to use the room for sex.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsBetsy PalmerAmy SteelJohn FureyFive years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.