Slasher films have been big business since Italian filmmaker Mario Bava shocked the world with A Bay of Blood. Prior to that, Psycho had set the foundation, but the giallo film is what put all the major pillars in place. Overall, the 1980s are recognized as the most fertile years for the horror subgenre because the decade introduced fans to some of the most iconic fictional murderers. We had Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Chucky, and many more.
When we think of the best ‘80s slasher movies, pictures like Friday the 13th and Child’s Play immediately come to mind. But even though these films were wildly popular, they weren’t the best, according to critics. A few other films capture the best of the subgenre while crafting compelling tales and delivering solid scares. They range from the trashy to the stylish, but fans can expect high-level entertainment no matter what side of the room the blood falls on.
The following are the best ‘80s slasher offerings, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
10 The Prowler (1981)
75%
The film begins with the return home of a WW2 veteran who was the recipient of a “Dear John Letter”. After swiftly dispatching a courting couple in a Gazebo we leap to present day where a college celebration becomes the hunting ground for a uniform-clad killer.
- Release Date
- June 26, 1981
- Director
- Joseph Zito
- Cast
- Vicky Dawson , Christopher Goutman , Lawrence Tierney , Farley Granger , Cindy Weintraub
- Runtime
- 89 Minutes
Director Joseph Zito is better known for making Chuck Norris hits like Missing in Action and Invasion U.S.A., but in the early ‘80s, he gave us The Prowler, a story that’s still tied to the military, but features a deranged vet rather than a heroic one. The film revolves around college students in a coastal California town as they are stalked and murdered by a World War II veteran during a graduation party.
Horror from an Unexpected Party
With its analysis of psychological trauma and strong performances by the entire cast. The Prowler is a key entry in the genre. Most Rotten Tomatoes-certified critics felt the director was bold for painting a World War II vet as a villain (something most movies at the time never dared to do). Additionally, the movie feels distinctive because it gives the killer a unique costume. Here, the mysterious murderer walks around in army gear, suggesting that those we hope to protect us might be the ones who harm us.
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9 The Burning (1981)
77%
The Burning
At summer camp, some teenagers pull a prank on the camp’s caretaker, Cropsy (Lou David). But the joke goes terribly wrong, and the teens leave Cropsy for dead after setting him on fire. But no one keeps Cropsy down. A few years later, the burned and disfigured caretaker returns to camp equipped with his trusty shears, ready to unleash his particular brand of vengeance on a whole new group of teens. The murderous Cropsy stalks the campers in the woods, one by one.
- Release Date
- May 8, 1981
- Director
- Tony Maylam
- Runtime
- 91 min
Teens never know better in horror movies, and in The Burning a few of them pull a dangerous prank on the summer camp caretaker, Cropsy (Lou David). The playful moment goes terribly wrong, and the teens leave Cropsy with severe burns. Years later, the burned and disfigured caretaker reappears, armed with his shears, and ready for revenge.
Better Than Friday the 13th
Initial reviewers panned The Burning for its similarities to Friday the 13th, but contemporary reviewers agree that it’s the better film. Directed by Tony Maylam, it is an elaborately structured roundelay of chases and murders and a heady horror film that’s as much about scares as it is about the importance of respecting others.
Sean S. Cunningham’s film obviously comes to mind as an influence on this gorish prank-gone-wrong tale, but the stunning cinematography, creative kills, and adorably bold set designs are all Tony Maylam’s doing.
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8 Strange Behavior (1980)
80%
Strange Behavior concerns a group of teenagers in a small town who suddenly get the urge to kill. A different teen commits each murder, and because there is no obvious motivation, the police are left baffled. Soon, they get a big break, learning that the murders are all linked to weird experiments being conducted at a local college.
There Is a Good Reason for the Strange Behavior
Before the ‘80s, the slasher genre had mostly focused on the normal, and, occasionally, the supernatural. Strange Behaviorbecame one of the first films to infuse sci-fi elements into murderous mayhem, and critics loved it. Though the teens seem preternaturally gifted for a life of violence, we learn that they might not be doing it willingly. But what more is in store?
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7 Tenebrae (1982)
81%
Tenebrae is a bloody disgusting film with a slice of Italian visual flair. While visiting Rome to promote his latest murder mystery novel, American writer Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) discovers that someone is reenacting the killings in his books. Dozens of people get murdered, and with the police not making any progress, Neal chooses to do some digging with the help of his assistant.
Tackling Toxic Fandom
Inspired by threats that director Dario Argento received from obsessed fans, Tenebrae is wildly terrifying. Most critics felt it was a more mature and realistic sibling to Hollywood slasher films, and they were right. A film about the deep fractures that fiction creates in the fanbase, it derives its emotional strength from both the crimes and the protagonist’s frantic actions. The exploration of themes like dualism and sexual aberration, also make this moving, tightly coiled, scary giallo film timeless and topical.
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6 Sleepaway Camp (1983)
81%
- Release Date
- November 18, 1983
- Director
- Robert Hiltzik
- Runtime
- 88
In Sleepaway Camp, young Angela — ably played by an intense young Felissa Rose — is forced to live with her overbearing aunt when her parents get killed in an accident. Years later, Aunty sends her to Camp Arawak, and once she arrives, strange murders begin happening. Is she the culprit? What’s her motivation? You’ll love the answers to these questions as they aren’t as straightforward as they might seem.
A Near-Flawless Horror Film with a Wild Ending
Undoubtedly one of the scariest horror movies of the ‘80s, Sleepaway Camp features all kinds of brutal murders, from a person getting shot in the neck with an arrow, to another having a swarm of bees unleashed on their head. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus sums up the movie perfectly, describing it as “a standard teen slasher elevated by occasional moments of John Waters-esque weirdness.” Apart from the creepy moments, the film explores many issues endemic to teen life (notably introversion and sexuality) and wraps them up in the most mind-blowing ending you will ever see in a horror movie.
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5 Dressed to Kill (1980)
83%
Dressed to Kill
An unhappy middle-aged housewife named Kate (Angie Dickinson) one day has an affair with a man she met at an art gallery. When leaving his apartment, she turns back to get her wedding ring but is brutally killed in the elevator by a mysterious blonde woman wearing dark sunglasses. Only one person witnessed the crime, a high-class call girl named Liz (Nancy Allen) who is now the prime murder suspect and the next target of the assailant.
- Release Date
- July 25, 1980
Dressed to Kill made critics compare Brian De Palma to Alfred Hitchcock but he has strayed far away from the Master of Suspense’s path ever since. In his erotic slasher film, events spiral out of control when a prostitute witnesses the murder of a housewife. Police soon learn a homicide-obsessed blonde woman desensitized to violence is on the loose, and she enjoys slashing throats using a razor.
The Best of De Palma?
Bleak, morose, and bizarre, this murder mayhem with no ounce of pity or logic. But if you’re both in a Halloween and erotic sort of mood, feast on it. De Palma invokes every slasher cliché in the book, only to subvert all of them in arch Coen-ian fashion. Interestingly, he was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Director. However, critics didn’t feel he was bad. The RT critics consensus states that the film “stylishly encapsulates writer-director Brian De Palma’s signature strengths.”
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4 The Stepfather (1989)
89%
- Release Date
- October 16, 2009
- Director
- Nelson McCormick
- Runtime
- 104
Loosely based on the life of long-term fugitive and mass murderer John List, The Stepfather stars Terry O’Quinn as a serial killer who woos a widow and marries her after killing his previous family and changing his identity. As his murderous tendencies continue, his stepdaughter slowly becomes suspicious of him and devises ways to stop him.
Horror in a Domestic Setting
This brutally shocking slasher film delivers irresistible entertainment, evoking the rarely-discussed atmosphere of toxic families. Star Terry O’Quinn is incredibly aloof, and Jill Schoelen plays the stepdaughter as curious, inquisitive and brave, all at once. Box office numbers were dismal, but most critics were in awe. Though there was no consensus, the general feeling was this was yet another refreshing entry in an ‘80s landscape that was overflowing with teen slasher films.
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3 Opera (1987)
90%
In Opera, life seemingly changes for the better for theater actress Betty (Cristina Marsillach) when she is given the lead role in an Avant-Garde version of Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth. However, a masked figure begins murdering everyone around her while sparing her. He seems to know her, so she does some digging while trying to keep the police out of it. Who is it and what does he/she want?
The Best of Dario Argento
Undoubtedly one of Dario Argento’s finest movies, the harrowing feature uses the backdrop of theater arts to portray one woman’s inner disintegration. The director draws influences from Phantom of the Opera but the director still manages to serve something better by using inventive camera techniques, bizarre gothic environments, and creative murder sequences. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus sums it up brilliantly, stating that the filmmaker “hits his decadently bloody high notes here.”
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2 A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
94%
- Release Date
- November 9, 1984
- Runtime
- 91 minutes
A Nightmare on Elm Street’s plot concerns a group of Midwestern teenagers being targeted by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a killer who can murder people through their dreams, as revenge against their parents who burned him alive years earlier. The film is one of the first to be produced by New Line Cinema and features Johnny Depp in an early role.
The Ultimate ‘80s Slasher Film
The Rotten Tomatoes summary acknowledges that A Nightmare on Elm Street’s “intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day.” It is the ultimate Wes Craven movie. The horror sequences are extremely wild and nerve-jangling, and the distinctive Robert Englund persona – cagey, self-reliant, composed under pressure – is fully molded and conjured. Unsurprisingly, a major franchise was born out of this.
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1 Evil Dead Trap (1988)
100%
In Evil Dead Trap, things take an unexpected turn for TV show host Nami Tsuchiya (Minako Omo) when she asks her viewers to send in home movies. One of the films she receives is the snuff kind, shot at a disused military base. Curious, she takes a camera crew there to investigate, and once they arrive, they are murdered one by one in grisly ways until only Nami remains.
A High Point in Japanese Cinema
No certified critic hates Evil Dead Trap, and it isn’t hard to see why. Most praise highlights the film’s cinematography, and special effects, labeling them superior to anything else that came out in the late 1980s. That’s something most people will agree with after the closing credits start rolling. This biting, supernatural-themed slasher takes hopelessness to a whole new level, with bizarre results.
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