i love all sorts of horror movies, but horror movies from the 80s just have something...special...maybe there's real creative value in the brazen, cringeless, first-thought-best-thought cocaine era of film.

maybe i'm heavily biased, because i'm the kind of person to hear the line "death by stereo!" and go "oh hell yeah."

either way, here are some of my favorites.


jump to: fright night | re-animator | evil dead II | the lost boys | the thing | pumpkinhead


fright night (1985) is my favorite movie of all time.

it has it all: a fruit bat-inspired vampire in a[n admittedly subtext-only but it's absolutely there] gay relationship with his familiar, a vincent price-type character, a creepy little sidekick, giant boobs as a side-effect of the curse of vampirism, sparks on the soundtrack...come on!!!

check out the trailer:






re-animator (1985) was my favorite movie from ages 12-17 and had a huge influence on me -- both the movie itself and the online fandom surrounding it. there are so many things i'm into now because of other people who were also fans of re-animator.

this movie dares to ask the question: what if frankenstein was gay as hell?

check out the trailer:






evil dead II (1987) is my favorite of the original evil dead trilogy. i've watched it so many times, though not in a while...

the practical makeup fx in this movie are bonkers. that was my dream career when i was younger (being born at just the right time in history to watch practical fx disappear in favor of CGI and having a latex allergy really killed that though) and this movie was incredibly inspirational.

check out the trailer:






the lost boys (1987) fucking slaps and i'll hear no arguments.

the fashion, the soundtrack, the vibes...this movie is immaculate 80s cheese. oh and dianne wiest is there!! love her!!

as much as i love fright night, if you had to choose one vampire movie to watch, i'd recommend this one.

check out the trailer:






john carpenter's the thing (1982) might be the best movie ever made, if you ask me.

everything about this movie is amazing. it's gruesome and suspenseful and keeps you thinking about it long after it's over. i kind of don't even want to say any more in case you haven't seen it already, other than please do.

check out the trailer:






pumpkinhead (1988) rules. lance henriksen summons a demon to avenge the death of his son. the demon is called pumpkinhead and doesn't have an actual pumpkin for a head but is a jacked-up monster thing. hell yeah.




check out the trailer: