Hello once again, readers! I hope everyone’s lead-up to Halloween has been going well over the last few weeks. For me, so many of the horror films that I tend to revisit throughout the month to get me ready for October 31st hail from the greatest decade in horror: the 1980s. Between the mind-blowing special effects, the wildly inventive stories from some of the greatest genre filmmakers, and the memorable performances, although there have been a lot of strong eras of horror, the ’80s is undoubtedly the most unforgettable as a whole.
So, for today’s From Streams to Screams, I thought it would be fun to put together a collection of films that are currently streaming on various platforms (including Hulu, Netflix, Shudder, Vudu, and Tubi TV) that helped shape the landscape of modern genre cinema. Regardless of how much time passes, we’ve yet to see a decade as wonderfully weird as the 1980s, and here are 43 movies to help you celebrate this memorable time in horror cinema.
The Fog (Available on Shudder)
Ghosts of shipwrecked sailors return to a seaside village on the 100-year anniversary of their deaths.
Child’s Play (Available on Vudu & Hulu & Tubi TV)
A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll's next victim.
Creepshow 2 (Available on Shudder)
The rotting creep returns to spin three scary stories.
Waxwork (Available on Tubi TV)
Several friends are invited to a wax museum after hours, where they discover that the wax figures are alive — and ready for them to join the exhibit.
Re-Animator (Available on Shudder)
This beloved 80s cult horror hit follows a student who brings the dead back to life.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (Available on Hulu)
Cassandra Peterson stars in this sexy comedy hit, filled with wild wisecracks, campy chaos and scary movie spoofs.
Slaughter High (Available on Vudu)
In high school, Marty was the kid all the students teased, taunted and tortured mercilessly. One day, things went too far - one of their jokes backfired, disfiguring Marty for life. Now, five years later, Marty has arranged for a special reunion for all his high school “friends.”
Prom Night (Available on Tubi TV)
A masked killer stalks the teenagers responsible for the accidental death of a little girl at the high-school prom six years earlier.
The Fly (1986) (Available on Hulu)
In a remake of the 1958 cult classic, a young scientist transforms himself into a fly in an experiment gone horribly wrong.
The Howling (Available on Shudder)
In Joe Dante’s 1981 horror classic, a reporter encounters werewolves while staying at a rural resort.
Night of the Creeps (Available on Vudu)
In this campy chiller, a college couple, in 1959, see an object plummet to Earth like a meteor. The boy accidentally swallows a space-slug that shoots out. In 1986, two freshmen roam the campus and stumble across a corpse, that comes to life.
Hellraiser (Available on Netflix & Hulu)
After losing his earthly form to demons from another dimension, an undead man asks his ex-mistress for human sacrifices to rebuild his body.
My Bloody Valentine (Available on Tubi TV & Hulu)
20 years ago, a tragic accident on Valentine's Day took the lives of 5 miners when supervisors left their posts to attend a Valentine's Day dance. On the disaster's first anniversary, the only survivor returns to the town for bloody revenge.
Street Trash (Available on Shudder)
A psychotic Vietnam vet and toxic booze threaten the lives of a group of homeless men.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Available on Hulu)
Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
Pieces (Available on Tubi TV)
Young coeds are being cut up by a chainsaw killer on a college campus. And, the killer is attempting to put together a human jigsaw puzzle made from their body parts.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (Available on Hulu)
A modest shack in Texas hides a nightmare of ten years earlier and now the unending quest of bloody massacres and torture continues.
Lady in White (Available on Vudu)
Frankie Scarlatti (Lukas Haas) lives in a small town with a deadly secret. For a decade, a serial child killer has eluded police, and the death toll continues to rise. Then one night Frankie gets locked in his school and witnesses the ghost of the first victim getting murdered. Aided by the restless spirit, Frankie sets out to bring her assailant to justice.
The Gate (Available on Shudder & Tubi TV)
Two boys accidentally dig up the gate to hell and summon an army of tiny demons.
Stephen King’s Children of the Corn (Available on Netflix & Hulu)
A couple stranded in a rural town falls into the hands of a group of children who murder all of the adults at the command of their leader.
The Monster Squad (Available on Hulu)
Dracula is alive. In fact, he plans to rule the world and that is why he seeks the help of other legendary monsters. However, a bunch of kids regarded by their peers as losers uncover the plan and prepare for a counter strike.
Deadtime Stories (Available on Shudder)
A babysitting uncle tells three horrific spins on the bedtime story in this 80s anthology.
Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (Available on Tubi TV & Vudu)
At his sister's funeral, Ben meets an occult expert who knows the secret behind her death. Now, they must battle dark forces together.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (Available on Netflix & Hulu)
The nightmares never end for a young woman – memories of her father’s skinned corpse, her uncle’s reanimated body – but the worst is yet to come.
Twilight Zone: The Movie (Available on Vudu)
Rod Serling's classic science-fiction drama is translated to the silver screen through a unique collaboration from four of the industry's top creators.
The Wraith (Available on Shudder)
A mysterious racer with special powers takes on a gang of vicious car-racing killers.
Monkey Shines (Available on Hulu)
A telepathic bond develops between a man and his monkey.
Opera (Available on Vudu)
When a young opera singer takes over the leading role in an avant-garde presentation of Verdi's Macbeth, she triggers the madness of a crazed fan who repeatedly forces the diva to watch the brutal murders of her friends.
Chopping Mall (Available on Tubi TV)
Eight teenagers are trapped after hours in a high-tech shopping mall and pursued by three murderous security robots out of control.
Basket Case (Available on Shudder)
A man begins killing off the people who separated him from his deformed Siamese twin.
The Stepfather (Available on Amazon Prime & Tubi TV)
After murdering his entire family, a man remarries a widow with a teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do it all over again.
Night of the Comet (Available on Vudu)
A huge comet passes near the earth, vaporizing nearly the whole planet. Only a few teenagers, who were inside a steel movie projection booth, survive - all those outside were turned to dust. But a few partially exposed people are now hideous, blood-thirsty zombies – and they begin a hunt for the last remaining humans.
The Evil Dead (Available on Shudder)
In 1979, a group of college students who, during a weekend getaway, find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented. When they unwittingly unleash evil spirits and demons while reading incantations from the book, that's when the real havoc begins. As each of the kids, one by one, are possessed by the demons they've let loose, body parts and bodily fluids go a-flying until only one young man is left to face down the Evil Dead.
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (Available on Tubi TV & Vudu)
A couple of teenagers break into a secret government science lab and steal a frozen corpse for a high school prank and accidentally awaken the corpse which turns out to be a CHUD (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller), that goes on a killing spree.
Return of the Living Dead Part II (Available on Vudu)
Special effects dominate this sequel to the 1985 smash undead thriller, where once again the dead are brought back to life, this time in a small town cemetery.
Dead Ringers (Available on Shudder)
Twin gynecologists get caught in a love triangle in David Cronenberg’s body horror masterpiece.
The Horror Show (Available on Vudu)
A maniacal mass murderer returns from the depths of hell to seek revenge on the cop who captured him in this supernatural horror classic that stars Lance Henriksen and DeDee Pfeiffer.
Dolls (Available on Tubi TV & Vudu)
The Hartwicke's vast collection of dolls is fun to play with and nice to look at, but beneath the painted faces of their lifelike dolls lie murderous creatures with a vengeance for blood!
Pet Sematary (Available on Amazon Prime)
For most families, moving is a new beginning. But for the Creeds, it could be the beginning of the end. Because they've just moved in next door to a place that children built with broken dreams, the Pet Sematary.
Night of the Demons (Available on Amazon Prime & Tubi TV)
A group of teenagers attend a party at a funeral parlor on Halloween night, where they accidentally release a demon that possesses one of them.
Dead & Buried (Available on Vudu)
It seems that a number of strangers who have crossed through the town of Potters Bluff have not only been brutally murdered, but have turned up in town as locals after being killed. Sure that there must be some explanation, the sheriff and the town mortician try to uncover the mystery.
Gothic (Available on Tubi TV)
Story of the night that Mary Shelley gave birth to the horror classic "Frankenstein".
Humanoids from the Deep (Available on Tubi TV)
A fisherman (Doug McClure) and a scientist (Ann Turkel) fight back when mossy sea monsters assault women.
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In case you missed them, check here to read all of our 2018 special features celebrating the Halloween season!
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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