1980

The shining

1981

The possession

The 80s started really well when it came to horror movies. The great Stanley Kubrick shows what he can do when it comes to horror and it's absolutely amazing. Everything in this movie is well thought over, it's creepy and it has scenes you probably never forget. I can't praise this one enough, it's just one of the best horror ever made. Stephen King the writer of the shining was never satisfied how Kubrick portrayed his work, well maybe that was a good thing.

1982

The thing

Andrzej Zulawski famous for European arthouse movies, really made something special here. How he got Isabelle Adjani to act the way she did in this movie is a miracle and one of the best acting performances I have ever seen. An American Mark comes home to his wife and discovers his wife wants a divorce. She starts to act real strange and more bizarre every day, so Mark get's suspicious destined to find out what's going on. Every horror fan should see this one!

1983

Videodrome

A masterpiece of John Carpenter and a very entertaining one. Great special effects that are not even annoying today when watching it. A group of American scientists find some dead Norwegians and a strange out of the ordinary mutilated body. They take it with them to research what happened. Not knowing they just invited an alien entity into their base. Paranoia and mistrust between the characters really makes you sit on the edge of your seat. Don't miss this one!

1984

A nightmare on elm street

The second Cronenberg movie on the list, and this is quite the surreal one. Going back when television still meant something and VHS and Betamax where competing. A sleazy manager of a cable television station stumbles across a mysterious torture porn broadcast somewhere in Asia. He thinks this might be a big breakthrough and want to use this material, that's when his life take some bizarre turns. A surreal movie with a super hot Debby Harry.....I'm definitely in 

1985

Return of the living dead

Mister Freddy Krueger another huge horror icon that got milked out with endless sequals and remakes. Great work of Wes Craven that created this monster and story. In my opinion this first one is the only relevant one you should see. It's absolutely creepy and could really give you some nightmares if you are sensitive to horror movies....and that's exactly why this one can mess with your head. Nightmares about Freddy is the last thing you want.

1986

House

Horror comedy was a huge thing in the 80s and I have to say some real great ones are made. Return of the living dead is one of them, it's ridiculous, over the top and really entertaining. Simple story, punk rock, titties flying on a graveyard....hell what do you want more? The special effects are still great and the acting is not irritating. I can watch this movie over and over again. Highly recommended with a couple of drinks on a Saturday night.

1987

Evil dead 2

House is another comedy horror hybrid movie you see so much in the 80s. It really has some creepy scenes but then it just turns over into comedy and throughout the movie it goes back and forth. A successful writer inherits a creepy house of his aunt. He start to write another book about his war experiences in Vietnam, but get distracted by weird occurrences. This movie is a great horror adventure movie with some comedy to lighten it up....worth the watch

1988

Zombi 3

A sequel on a somewhat more serious 'The evil dead' with more budget and I have to say more quality. This amazing horror comedy has it all, demonic possessions, chainsaws, gore, shotguns, hallucinations, chopped off limbs and a suffering hero that's getting sick of being bullied around by evil supernatural occurrences and fight's back. If you like this movie then I am sure you will watch it a couple more times in the future. Evil dead 2 is just a lot of fun!

1989

Pet semetary

Maybe a weird choice but if you love zombie movies you might like this one. Lucio Fulci the director only made around 50 min of this movie, because he had a some disputes with the producers. Bruno Mattei took over to finish the movie, set in the Philippines. This is a low budget zombie movie but very fast paced and a lot action scenes. It's outdated but it doesn't bore you and that's important with these kind of movies. For 1988 this is my choice.

Go to the 90s

One of the best movie adaptations of a Stephen King story. Pet sematary is a great portray of losing a loved one and what people would do to have just one more moment with them. Watch this one alone at night and I am sure it will still creep you out. They recently made a remake but I advice you to skip it. This original one is far better in almost everything.