Skip to main content

The best ’80s horror movies: Stream these longtime favorites

The '80s was one of the best decades in the history of the genre.

The Shining
Warner Bros.

Horror movies are a little like grocery stores–through good times and bad, people will always turn to them. That doesn’t mean that the genre doesn’t grow and change, because horror has definitely evolved in the last 40 years. Even so, there are still plenty of gems from the 1980s worth considering if you’re someone who loves horror.

We’ve pulled together a list of the very best ’80s horror movies that you should definitely make time for. Check them out, and decided for yourself whether they’re still petrifying.

Recommended Videos

Evil Dead II (1987)

Evil Dead II
84m
Genre
Horror, Comedy, Fantasy
Stars
Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks
Directed by
Sam Raimi
Watch on Amazon
Nobody does horror quite the way that Sam Raimi does, and Evil Dead 2 is the best example of his sensibility. What starts as a fairly standard story about a group of kids who go to a cabin in the woods and unleash demonic forces eventually turns into a genuinely silly movie about one man’s attempts to overcome those forces. Thanks to the utter commitment of Bruce Campbell as Ash, and Raimi’s visual inventiveness, Evil Dead 2 is the kind of horror movie that’s designed to make you laugh. It’s become a classic precisely because it knows exactly what it’s doing from minute one.
EVIL DEAD II - Clip - Directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell

The Thing (1982)

The Thing
109m
Genre
Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction
Stars
Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley
Directed by
John Carpenter
Watch on Peacock
John Carpenter has directed some of the greatest horror movies ever made, and The Thing is certainly one of them. The film follows a group of scientists living in the arctic who come upon a sled dog that is actually an shapeshifting alien in disguise. As they realize that the force they’re fighting can take on the shape of those it kills, the movie becomes a cat and mouse game as they attempt to figure out who among them is not really who they claim to be. Filled with incredible special effects, and gripping central performance from Kurt Russell, and an ingenious premise, The Thing holds up perfectly.
The Thing Official Trailer #1 - Keith David Movie (1982) HD

The Shining (1980)

The Shining
144m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Watch on max
A horror movie so iconic that it almost feels silly to include it, The Shining is still one of the scariest movies ever made. Telling the story of a small family whose patriarch takes a job caretaking for a remote, Colorado hotel during the offseason, the movie follows the family’s father as he slowly loses his mind. There’s clearly something wrong with this hotel, which is filled with spirits and ghosts, and it’s those spirits that ultimately convince this man to murder his family. Stanley Kubrick reminds us what a complete master he is here, and The Shining is just as disturbing for everything it doesn’t tell us as for everything it does.
The Shining - Official Trailer [1980] HD

Aliens (1986)

Aliens
137m
Genre
Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
Stars
Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn
Directed by
James Cameron
Watch on Hulu
The original Alien is much more of a straightforward horror movie than Aliens, which melds horror and action. Even so, Aliens still has several sequence that are genuinely terrifying, in part because it fully understands how to take advantage of the horror of the xenomorphs. James Cameron has an almost intuitive sense of how to thrill his audience, but long before Ripley gets her triumphant moment near the film’s conclusion, Aliens is characterized in part by an even larger death toll than the first installment.
Aliens (1986) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

Videodrome (1983)

Videodrome
88m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery
Stars
James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits
Directed by
David Cronenberg
Watch on Peacock
An admittedly blunt but undeniably effective horror movie about what people actually want from their entertainment, Videodrome follows the executive of a small TV network who is looking for anyway to juice his ratings. When he stumbles upon Videodrome, a program dedicated to various forms of torture and pain, he buys in, only to discover that everything he’s witnessing is not as fake as he believed it to be. Directed by David Cronenberg, Videodrome is filled with horrific imagery, but it’s also an important reminder of how much we can sometimes enjoy the horror.
Videodrome Original Trailer (David Cronenberg, 1983)

Possession (1981)

Possession
124m
Genre
Horror
Stars
Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen
Directed by
Andrzej Żuławski
Watch on Amazon
One of the most disturbing movies about possession ever made, and one of the less famous movies on this list, Possession will keep you on your toes. The movie begins as a marital drama about an affair that crumbles a marriage, only to escalate into something much more supernatural as we learn exactly one partner has been hiding from the other. Featuring an incredible performance from Isabelle Adjani, Possession is genuinely disturbing in ways that will take you by surprise, even if you’re someone who considers themselves a horror expert.
Possession (1981) - Official Trailer

The Fly (1986)

The Fly
96m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction
Stars
Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Directed by
David Cronenberg
Watch on Amazon
Another Cronenberg movie well worth checking out, The Fly is the director at his most extreme, at least in terms of body horror. The film tells the story of a scientist who begins turning into a fly after a teleportation experiment goes ever so slightly awry. Jeff Goldblum is admirably game as the scientist who is slowly losing control of his faculties, and Geena Davis might be even better as his girlfriend, a woman who realizes that the man she loves is slowly being replaced by something genuinely disturbing.
The Fly | #TBT Trailer | 20th Century FOX

Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist
114m
Genre
Horror
Stars
Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight
Directed by
Tobe Hooper
Watch on Amazon
The ultimate horror movie of the Reagan era, Poltergeist tells the story of a California family who move into a new home only to discover that it’s very, very haunted. While the ghosts in their house initially seem gentle and playful, things eventually take a much more menacing turn. Confined largely to a single home, Poltergeist is impressive in part because of all the ways the movie is able to take advantage of that single location. Rumors have always abounded that Steven Spielberg essentially directed this movie, and if that’s the case, it certainly shows.
Poltergeist (1982) Official Trailer - JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson Horror Movie HD
Movie images and data from:
Joe Allen
Contributor
Joe Allen is a freelance culture writer based in upstate New York. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The…
February’s top picks: What to stream on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ has an impressive library that includes great movies and shows
Austin Butler in Masters of the Air.

When computer company Apple announced that it was getting into the streaming TV game, there were plenty of people who were skeptical about the company's ability to pull it off. Why would the tech giant, which is most known for the Macintosh and the iPhone, have any credibility in making television shows? It doesn't seem the two ideas would mesh in any meaningful way, but in the years since Apple TV Plus launched, the company has come up with some pretty impressive original shows, and it picked up a Best Picture Oscar on top of that.
What's even more impressive is that these Apple TV+ shows and movies run the gamut from comedy to drama, and they are all set in wildly different and imaginative places. Any loyal Apple customer, and I am definitely one, will tell you that they buy their stuff because it's simply better than the alternative. As it turns out, the same thing is true for the streaming service.
If you're looking for more great stuff to stream, you should also check out our lists of the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, and the best shows on Disney+.

Masters of the Air (2024)

Read more
Your guide to the best movies on Max this February
New to Max? Here are the top movies to start with
Timothee Chalamet in Dune Part 2

Now that HBO Max has rebranded as Max, it's the right time to get acquainted with all of the great movies to watch on the streaming service. In addition to large portions of the Warner Bros. catalog, it also has tons of seminal, classic films, as well as plenty of foreign releases. Because the catalog is so big and rich, there are about 250 titles that could go on this list. There's a wealth of options to choose from whether you're into action movies or comedies, and you shouldn't feel limited by the selection below.
Max is, in my estimation, the best service to turn to for a complete history of cinema. The streamer doesn't have every great movie, but it has more than any other streaming service, and it's been crucial in filling in some blindspots for me.
Instead, you should treat it as a jumping-off point of HBO Max movies, which will hopefully allow you to explore many of the titles that didn't quite make the cut. Max has great movies in every genre and from every period of film history. This is just a sampling of the best movies on Max. And if you're looking for more Max content, we've rounded up the best shows on Max to watch right now.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Read more
The best Netflix movies: Top picks for February
Pick from this definitive list that covers all genres of movies to stream on Netflix
Netflix logo on TV with red backlighting

Although it's now only one big player in an even bigger streaming market, Netflix still manages to crank out plenty of stuff to keep its users subscribing. That glut of good movies on Netflix is great if all you want is to never get bored, but it can make it difficult to figure out which things are actually worth your time and which aren't. If that's your goal, we've got you covered. This list is a combination of great Netflix original movies and good movies to watch that Netflix is currently housing on its service, and it even includes a few great Netflix action movies. What unites these movies, though, is that they are the very best Netflix movies currently available.
Netflix is, for many people, including myself, the first place you go when you're looking for great stuff to watch. And if I'm being honest, there's tons of crap to wade through. Thankfully, this list will help you find the best stuff right away.
If you're looking for films to watch on some of Netflix's competitors, we've also found the best Amazon Prime movies, the best Hulu movies, and the best Disney+ movies. You can also check out some new Netflix movies at the bottom of this post.

Blackhat (2015)

Read more