Best 1980s Horror Films to Watch Halloween 2023
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While we love horror movies from every decade, nothing beats the thrills and chills that come from a classic 1980s horror film. Let’s face it, we were spoiled in the 1980s with classics that spawned from beloved franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th.
Some horror movies from the 1980s are truly terrifying and have haunted our nightmares since we first saw them, while others are a little bit more on the nostalgic and/or lighter side of the horror genre. Either way, we’re ready to be on the edge of our seats every single time.
With Halloween right around the corner, we’re earring up every spooky film we can find: the family-friendly ones on Disney+ to the truly terrifying flicks on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+. However, to mix things up, we also wanna go back in time to the golden age of slashers and supernatural movies: the 1980s.
From franchise favorites like Hellraiser to Slumber Party Massacre to horror comedies like Once Bitten and Fight Night, there’s something for everyone!
Check out which 1980s horror films you should binge this Halloween season below:
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‘Re-Animator’ (1985)
You really think we weren’t going to add the 1985 horror movie Re-Animator?! If you don’t know, it’s about two medical students trying to reanimate the dead.
'Re-Animator' (1985)
‘The Blob’ (1988)
The Blob is the beloved remake of the same name. Basically, it’s about a deadly entity from space that crash-lands in a small town, which then begins consuming everyone.
Rent on AppleTV+
‘Cujo’ (1983)
If you love dogs, maybe skip this one because this movie, based on the Stephen King novel, is about a St. Bernard dog who turns vicious after being bitten by a rabid bat. In fact, he’s so vicious that her terrorizes a young mom and her child.
Rent on AppleTV+
‘The Fly’ (1986)
Starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, The Fly is about an experiment that goes wrong. The story follows a scientist accidentally fusing his DNA with a housefly during a teleportation experiment. As you can imagine, things go South quickly.
'The Fly' (1986)
‘Beetlejuice’ (1988)
If you want something more light-hearted, but with a touch of horror, you can’t go wrong with Beetlejuice. The classic 1980s film follows a recently deceased couple who are trying to get the new inhabitants of their home to leave, and so, they hire a mischievous ghost named Beetlejuice to help them.
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‘Prom Night’ (1980)
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, the 1980 film Prom Night follows a group of high school graduates stalked by a masked killer, who seemingly has a score to settle with them.
'Prom Night' (1980)
‘Phenomena’ (1985)
Starring Jennifer Connelly, Phenomena is a wild ride, following telekentic girl who uses her powers to stop a murderous cult leader. No, seriously, it’s an insane film.
'Phenomena' (1985)
‘Once Bitten’ (1985)
In Once Bitten, Jim Carrey plays a virgin who is preyed upon by a supermodelesque vampire who needs to retain her youth by feeding on a virgin every few years.
‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ (1986)
Either you’ve never heard of this film, or it scarred you; there’s no in-between. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a realistic portrayal of a serial killer’s methodical murders, and shows how he teaches an acquaintance to do the same.
Rent on AppleTV+
‘Near Dark’ (1987)
Near Dark (1987) is about a young man who is turned into a vampire and must learn to navigate both worlds.
Rent on AppleTV+
‘Scanners’ (1981)
Scanners is about a group of individuals with powerful psychic abilities battling against a rival group with the same abilities, but, you guessed it, are evil. It’s the crazy sci-fi horror you love from the 80s.
‘Funhouse’ (1981)
Funhouse is a pretty messed up movie, to put it delicately. It’s about a group of teenagers who get trapped inside a funhouse during a Halloween party, and there are killers among them.
'Funhouse' (1981)
‘Watcher in the Woods’ (1980)
We need that good ‘ol classic Disney horror, and none are more iconic than Watcher in the Woods. The beloved film is about a mother-daughter duo who returns to the childhood home, but are haunted by a missing girl.
‘Final Terror’ (1981)
Final Terror is a 1981 horror film about a group of friends who are stalked by a mysterious killer. Its gorey, it’s campy, it’s everything we love about 1980s horror films.
'Final Terror' (1981)
‘Fright Night’ (1985)
The 1985 film Fright Night follows a boy who is convinced his neighbor is a vampire who has been wreaking havoc on the small town. With the help of his girlfriend, his best frenemy, and a television star named Peter Vincent, they try to discover the truth about the mysterious neighbor.
‘The Shining’ (1980)
Based on the Stephen King novel by the same name, The Shining follows a family that is plagued by bad occurrences when the father’s influenced by sinister forces and the son sees horrific images of the past and present.
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‘Gremlins’ (1984)
While Gizmo remains one of the cutest things to ever grace the screen, Gremlins showed people that even the cutest furry creatures can have a dark side.
‘The Thing’ (1982)
All bets are off when a group of researchers encounter a shape-shifting alien that takes on the appearance of its victims. The Thing has it all, and is the perfect horror sci-fi to get you feeling spooked.
‘Dead and Buried’ (1981)
Dead and Buried is about a small town plagued by a series of mysterious deaths. It involves a detective trying to solve it all, and a really sketchy local undertaker.
Rent on AppleTV+
‘Aliens’ (1986)
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Aliens follows her character trying to save herself, her crew, and a little girl from the Alien Queen and her offspring.
‘April Fool’s Day’ (1986)
April Fool’s Day is a cult classic for a reason. The 1986 horror film follows nine college students staying at a friend’s remote island, and soon, they’re getting killed off one by one. But nothing is as it seems in this secluded home.
'April Fool's Day' (1986)
‘Poltergeist’ (1982)
Poltergeist is as frightening as it gets, especially when a demonic source takes over this family’s home.
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‘Hellraiser’ (1987)
The 1987 horror classic Hellraiser follows a woman who finds her brother-in-law’s nearly fully resurrected body. She starts killing to save them from the demons, but things, as you can expect, go crazy.
‘The Evil Dead’ (1981)
1981’s The Evil Dead is a tale as old as time. Five kids go to party, and end up releasing flesh-possessing demons into the world. Yknow, the usual.
‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984)
No talk of the 1980s horror genre would be complete without the movie that started the franchise: A Nightmare on Elm Street. The film follows a group of kids terrorized in their dreams by a demon with knives for fingers. But if they die in their dreams, they die in real life.
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‘The Slumber Party Massacre’ (1982)
Both written and directed by women, The Slumber Party Massacre is a meta-horror film that follows a teenager’s slumber party gone wrong after an escaped psychotic serial killer attacks them.
‘The Lost Boys’ (1987)
After two brothers move to a new town, they’re confronted with a gruesome truth: there are vampires, and they’re ready to mess everything up.
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‘Creepshow’ (1982)
Creepshow is the perfect spooky anthology that has it all: from a plague of cockroaches to vengeful zombies.
‘Child’s Play’ (1988)
The Chucky fandom all started with the 1988 classic Child’s Play, which follows the grave mistake a mother accidentally gives her son a doll that is possessed with a serial killer’s mind.
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‘Happy Birthday to Me’ (1981)
Happy Birthday to Me follows a group of friends who all end up going missing or dying, but all of them disappear in a way that lines up with the events of Virginia’s birthday.
‘An American Werewolf in London’ (1981)
Two college kids’ lives are changed forever after being attacked in the woods on a hike. While they’re convinced it was a werewolf, the town says otherwise in An American Werewolf in London.
Rent on AppleTV+
‘The Fog’ (1980)
Starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Janet Leigh, the classic 1980 film The Fog follows an unearthly fog that changes everything in a small town.
‘Friday the 13th’ (1980)
After the decades-old murders remain unsolved, camp counselors reopen Camp Crystal Lake, only to be slaughtered one-by-one.
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‘Night of the Comet’ (1984)
After a comet wipes out most of the planet, two Valley Girls have to fight against cannibal zombies that were made after the Night of the Comet.
Watch it on Tubi.
