TOP 50 Best Horror Movies Of The 1980s Ranked

One decade. Fifty films. Every practical creature, every masked killer, every nightmare the 1980s ever put on screen. No decade shaped modern horror quite like the eighties — the slasher became an industry unto itself, and a handful of directors quietly built the visual language horror still leans on today. So instead of one countdown, we did all fifty. Fair warning: right at the top, we ranked a film that flopped so badly on release its own studio called it a disaster — above the movie most critics still call the greatest horror film ever made. You're going to have opinions. Good. 0:00 – Intro 1:00 – #50 Xtro (1982) 2:23 – #49 Prom Night (1980) 3:47 – #48 Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) 5:09 – #47 Firestarter (1984) 6:29 – #46 Trick or Treat (1986) 7:56 – #45 Children of the Corn (1984) 9:17 – #44 The Entity (1982) 10:39 – #43 Basket Case (1982) 12:00 – #42 The Fog (1980) 13:21 – #41 The Changeling (1980) 14:46 – #40 Maniac (1980) 16:08 – #39 My Bloody Valentine (1981) 17:31 – #38 Motel Hell (1980) 18:58 – #37 The Burning (1981) 20:27 – #36 Friday the 13th (1980) 22:00 – #35 Sleepaway Camp (1983) 23:27 – #34 Society (1989) 24:56 – #33 From Beyond (1986) 26:21 – #32 The Blob (1988) 27:44 – #31 Cat People (1982) 29:09 – #30 Halloween II (1981) 30:31 – #29 Scanners (1981) 31:58 – #28 The Howling (1981) 33:23 – #27 Demons (1985) 34:49 – #26 Night of the Creeps (1986) 36:13 – #25 The Dead Zone (1983) 37:40 – #24 Christine (1983) 39:04 – #23 Videodrome (1983) 40:34 – #22 Prince of Darkness (1987) 42:02 – #21 Fright Night (1985) 43:30 – #20 The Return of the Living Dead (1985) 44:56 – #19 Creepshow (1982) 46:23 – #18 Child's Play (1988) 47:49 – #17 Gremlins (1984) 49:12 – #16 A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) 50:38 – #15 Near Dark (1987) 52:03 – #14 The Lost Boys (1987) 53:25 – #13 Pet Sematary (1989) 55:03 – #12 The Evil Dead (1981) 56:32 – #11 Re-Animator (1985) 57:59 – #10 Day of the Dead (1985) 59:32 – #9 The Fly (1986) 1:00:58 – #8 Hellraiser (1987) 1:02:28 – #7 Evil Dead II (1987) 1:03:55 – #6 An American Werewolf in London (1981) 1:05:24 – #5 A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 1:06:51 – #4 Poltergeist (1982) 1:08:21 – #3 The Stuff (1985) 1:09:49 – #2 The Shining (1980) 1:11:14 – #1 The Thing (1982) 1:12:51 – Outro Tell us how furious you are that we put The Thing above The Shining, tell us which 80s classic we somehow left off a list of fifty, and if any of these are still unwatched, you now have the single greatest homework assignment of your life waiting for you. Subscribe for more decade-spanning deep dives into the horror movies worth arguing about. #80sHorror #HorrorMovies #MovieRankings