I watched a couple this past month for spooky season, and I think the 80s is probably my favorite decade for horror.
A couple weeks ago I watchedThe Fly, which was just an incredible film. The practical effects still largely hold up, but the acting is what really carried the story. The only thing that kind of bugged (🪰) me about it was that
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her creepo boss became a hero at the end.
I also just saw Hellraiser, which I’d always been curious about since I saw the VHS cover as a kid: the guy with the nails in his face looked terrifying! This is another one where the practical effects hold up, but is really held together by the characters and their relationships. I liked when
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Kirsty was banishing the cenobites at the end, and her boyfriend tried to take the box from her to finish it, but she slapped his hand away to do it herself. It was a really small moment, but told you a lot about her as a character.
My favorite 80s horror though is The Thing. I swear I’m not that into body horror, it’s just that all the best 80s horror movies were pushing the boundaries, and that’s where the line was for a lot of people. Again, this one has amazing practical effects, but the actors and writing carried the movie.
So, what’s your favorite 80s horror?
Yes and no. It was pretty fucking scary in it’s time. We’d all seen Alien and the destruction one caused, now we’re presented with shitloads of them.
Scary, yes. Horror? Not so much. Alien was absolutely a horror film and my mom told me I wasn’t allowed to see it when I was a kid. She also told me I wasn’t allowed to watch Friday the 13th, which was a lost cause, as I was literally born on Friday the 13th. I’m scarred but those scars definitely did NOT come from watching awesome 80’s horror flicks.
From how i remember it, it stop being scary when Ripley internally said “you don’t take this one!” Then became the equivalent to a sister of battle with a flamer and auto cannon. What a great character.