Firestarter (1984)

Firestarter (1984)

[7] A father and daughter are on the run from a secret government group that experimented on them, giving them frightening powers of telekinesis and spontaneous combustion. David Keith (An Officer and a Gentleman) and Drew Barrymore (E.T.) play our fleeing heroes,…
Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984)

Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984)

[3] Pia Zadora and Craig Sheffer star in a no-budget sci-fi rock opera that's so abominable, it's almost charming. When a bunch of space dudes in pink costumes land on Earth looking for the source of rock music, they find it in…
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

[6] A 1943 Navy experiment to cloak a ship from enemy radar accidentally sends two sailors forty-one years into the future. Once they arrive in 1984, they are pursued by the military and begin suffering a mysterious illness that threatens their lives unless…
Razorback (1984)

Razorback (1984)

[6] Razorback is a passable midnight horror movie from Russell Mulcahy, who would go on to direct the cult fave Highlander a few years later. Razorback is about a giant boar that terrorizes the Australian outback. After an American reporter disappears, her husband…
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

[7] Once they're displaced from their dorm by the college's alpha-male fraternity, a bunch of science geeks take it upon themselves to create a new fraternity and challenge the college's preferential treatment of jocks. Revenge of the Nerds contains its fair share…
Footloose (1984)

Footloose (1984)

[8] At first sight, you might mistake Footloose for just another teen rebellion movie, but Herbert Ross' (Steel Magnolias) sensitive direction and committed performances from John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest help the film transcend its genre. The story about a town where dancing…
The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)

The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)

[6] Intentionally bizarre and overwrought, I'm not sure what to make of this adaptation of John Irving's novel about an extended, eccentric family that moves into a down-trodden hotel. I liked a previous Irving adaptation, The World According to Garp, much better.…
Dune (1984)

Dune (1984)

[9] Dino DeLaurentiis foots the bill for this gravely ambitious film adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel about the messianic rise of an off-lander who rallies a reclusive desert civilization in a fight against galactic takeover. Hot off The Elephant Man,…
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

[7] This film and Top Gun are the ones that really launched the Simpson/Bruckheimer brand of action/comedy that would dominate the box office through the late 80s and 90s. (Even after Simpson's death in '96, Bruckheimer is still a top name in…
Blood Simple (1984)

Blood Simple (1984)

[8] The Coen Brothers broke onto the film scene with this claustrophobic mystery/thriller featuring Frances McDormand, John Getz, and Dan Hedaya in a murderous love triangle. M. Emmet Walsh complicates matters for all of them as a hitman for hire. The concept…