Hellraiser (1987)
[9] Clive Barker holds nothing sacred, least of all flesh, in exploring the fine line between love and pain in this sado-masochistic fantasy. The movie throbs with an intense, dark passion -- dark enough for a woman to love the…
The Lost Boys (1987)
[9]
The public will never let director Joel Schumacher live down his Batman movies, but let’s not forget that before there were nipples on the Batsuit, there was The Lost Boys. A divorced mother brings her two sons to a coastal California town to live with their grandfather and make a new life for themselves. There’s just one problem. The whole town is prey for a gang of vampires!
Aliens (1986)
[10]
James Cameron accomplishes a rare feat with a sequel that doesn’t shame the original and succeeds on its own merits. Aliens is so different in tone than the original Alien, I think of it as a sequel only in name (this goes for all the Alien movies). In a smart move, Cameron decided not to compete with Ridley Scott in the areas of horror and suspense. Aliens is decidedly a combat movie.
The Hitcher (1986)
[9] In this vastly underrated thriller, a teenager (C. Thomas Howell) picks up a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer) in the middle of a rainy night and barely escapes to tell the tale. Unfortunately, that first night's narrow escape from the psychotic…
The Fly (1986)
[9] David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly is still the most fowl and disgusting film I have ever seen. It just about makes me barf every time I see it, and I love that. Jeff Goldblum plays an inventor who…
Fright Night (1985)
[9]
As the horror genre shifted full-bore into gore and kill counts in the ’80s, Tom Holland (Child’s Play) wrote and directed this Valentine to a simpler, more classic way of spooky storytelling. Fright Night is about a high school boy (William Ragsdale) who teams up with a TV horror host on the outs (Roddy McDowell) to rescue his friends and family from a vampire (Chris Sarandon) who has taken up residence next door.Â
Gremlins (1984)
[10] Does it mean anything that Gremlins is my favorite Christmas movie? Am I bad person because I eschew the sentimentality of It's A Wonderful Life for the malevolent rampage of little green monsters? Actually, sentimentality plays a big part…
Ghostbusters (1984)
[9] When New York City becomes increasingly afflicted with ghost-sightings and demonic possessions, it's up to a rag-tag team of self-proclaimed 'Ghostbusters' to save the world from the imminent arrival of a destructive, ancient god. Ghostbusters succeeds as both a…
Poltergeist (1982)
[10]
A suburban family seeks the help of paranormal investigators after their youngest daughter is kidnapped by malevolent spirits inside their own home. Poltergeist, written and produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), is an emotional and visceral thrill ride that I have cherished since childhood. The story’s family, the Frelings, are quirky but entirely believable. You get invested in them before the supernatural shit hits the fan, and this gives weight to all the scares and spectacle that follows.
The Evil Dead (1981)
[9] Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) puts five young people in a cabin in the woods and lets all hell break loose. The Evil Dead is a true independent, low budget marvel, filmed on the director's dime whenever he could get…