The Goonies (1985)

The Goonies (1985)

[8] A group of kids who call themselves the Goonies rally together for one last adventure before they're all forced by a real estate meanie to move away from their Pacific northwest coastal community. They find a map and follow…
Firstborn (1984)

Firstborn (1984)

[6] Christopher Collet plays a tenth-grader whose divorced mother brings a drug-dealing boyfriend home in this drama from Michael Apted (Nell, Gorillas in the Mist). The movie is pretty solid for its first two-thirds, ratcheting up the tension and creating…
The Last American Virgin (1982)

The Last American Virgin (1982)

[7] While we were all enjoying the happy horny homogeneity of early '80s teen sex comedies, along came The Last American Virgin, a remake of a 1978 Israeli film Lemon Popsicle. It starts off like any other of its ilk,…
The Burning (1981)

The Burning (1981)

[7] This stand-alone slasher flick from Bob and Harvey Weinstein (the first Miramax film production) rivals the best of the Friday the 13th fare. The requisite nubile flesh and gory kill scenes are here, but the teen protagonists are more…
Flowers in the Attic (1987)

Flowers in the Attic (1987)

[8] This film version of V.C. Andrews' popular novel is considerably toned down, but it's still a wonderfully creepy and sadistic melodrama. A widower takes her four children to live with their grandmother, who views them all as vile sinners.…
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

[8] Frank Oz directs the film version of Howard Ashman's dark musical comedy (which was in turn based on Roger Corman's original film). Rick Moranis plays a hapless flower shop employee who discovers an exciting new plant that brings much…
The Entity (1982)

The Entity (1982)

[7] Barbara Hershey plays a single mother who is repeatedly sexually assaulted by an invisible force. I was impressed with how brutal and explicit the attacks are, right down to some creepy special effects that simulate the squeezing of Hershey's…
Friday the 13th: The Franchise (1980-2009)

Friday the 13th: The Franchise (1980-2009)

#12: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)  [2] This is the worst of the Fridays. The subtitle is a misleading marketing gimmick, as Jason only arrives in Manhattan for the last twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes are…
Scanners (1981)

Scanners (1981)

[6] A scientist sends a man with dangerous telepathic powers on a mission to destroy a renegade adversary with similar powers. David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Dead Zone) wrote and directed Scanners, so you know it's sure to be a bit…
Urban Cowboy (1980)

Urban Cowboy (1980)

[6] John Travolta and Debra Winger star as impetuous young lovers who meet at a Houston honky-tonk bar, get married, and struggle to keep their relationship together. I enjoyed the first half of the movie more than the second. You…