HORROR FILM OF THE 1980s
This is the one-stop place for those who prefer the gruesome Horror film Horror of the 1980s!
Off-screen creeps or on-screen gore? What’s your preference? The horror films of the 1980s ushered a turning point in cinematic horror, if only because of one key element – special effects! Prior to the 80s we had fun with classic monsters, cool make-up, shadows and fog. Stop motion and other key special effects still splattered some horror on the screen. But that was nothing compared with the visual gorefest that the filmmakers and effects wizards dished out for us in the 80s. Filmmakers revealed what was left to our imaginations, and contributed to a distinction of cinematic horror tastes. Do we like to see the monster popping a victim’s head like a pimple, or do we prefer leaving it off screen, and seeing a bit of gore spatter a horrified face?
For those who cherish witnessing the visceral as it happens on screen, here’s a list of some classic gore from the era:
An American Werewolf in London – this isn’t a series of dissolves transforming Lon Chaney into the hairy classic. Poor David becomes a werewolf and we experience the painful transformation with him.
Alien – okay technically it was released in 1979, but this film sets the standard for horror in the 80s. Great monster, gruesome deaths, a fantastic balance of suspense and visceral bloodshed.
John Carpenter’s The Thing. Like Alien, this puts an ensemble in a tight spot with a monster. They just don’t know who the monster is next!
The Fly – hmmm, we had been curious about how a fly eats.
Evil Dead – we place the whole trilogy on the play table, but nods to the first two installments for low-budget gore.
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