Top Five '80s Horror Movies

In the 1980s pretty much everything was cheesy, including the movies. This is especially true of horror movies, which are campy by nature to begin with. However, some horror movies from the '80s are truly standout.

Jack Nicholson's performance in 1980's The Shining, directed by the brilliant Stanley Kubrick, is one of the most chillingly memorable characters of all time. While most Steven King books tend to somehow get slaughtered in the transition to film, this one really holds up. Nothing like it had been done before and, despite many copycat preempts, nothing similar since then has been anywhere near as good.

Sequels usually aren't my thing, but I really did enjoy Halloween II. The 1981 continuation of the 1978 original retains Jamie Lee Curtis in the lead role. Since many sequels, especially in a notoriously low-budget genre, have difficulty keeping actors in a role from film to film, this gains the movie an incredible amount of respect. The action is fast-paced and the cliché is minimal, making this film highly re-watchable as well. It does an excellent job of expanding upon the saga of Michael Meyers and his bloodthirsty, risen-from-the-dead compulsion to kill that always seems to plague the reanimated.

Sleepaway Camp makes the list for its shock value. It's not the blood or the slashing that is shocking, but it's the true identity of the killer that will really leave you reeling. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it, but you won't be expecting it! It's a plot twist unlike any other in the genre, making it truly unique and original.

While the plot twists in Sleepaway Camp may be original, the summer camp setting is not. In 1980's Friday the 13th, Jason Voorhees is another risen-from-the-dead horror slashmonger, this time out to get a summer camp where he drowned as a child. The original was so wildly successful that to date it has spawned 11 sequels and remakes. The ending of the original is unforgettable, helping to earn it a spot amongst the greatest horror movies of all time.

Perhaps one of the most interesting villains to come out of '80s horror is Freddy Kreuger, the twisted bad guy in 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. This incredibly successful horror franchise is unique in its premise; Freddy can only get to you in your dreams. The special effects and creepily imaginative deaths helped make this film a staple of the genre, which has be remade and sequelized almost as much as Friday the 13th. Another revisit is even planned for 2010 release.