The 10 Best Horror Movies of 1980

Ah, the 1980's, perhaps the most beloved decade for horror movies ever and understandably so. While, I personally prefer the 70's (I LOVE the grittiness and boldness of that era!), the 80's is easily, and by far, my second favorite era. A long time ago, I actually did a list of the top of each decade (more or less), but I feel it's time to redo that. So, if you read those pieces (the 80s one, in particular) ignore those and think of this as the TRUE official list by me, Master Gio!

We begin with the first year, with many of these movies being produced or still influenced by the 70's, this is a much more gritty batch of movies that what was to come. You'll see a good amount of Italian horror here and beyond, because, let's face it, they were making the best genre flicks on the fucking planet. So let's get to this list!

Honorable Mentions: 
The Fog
Altered States

Don't Answer the Phone
The Shining 

10. Inferno- The second installment in Dario Argento's Three Mother's Trilogy is one of his most beautiful movies. It is also quite possibly his most incomprehensible. Plot and story are thrown out the fucking window. But, that is fine when the movie, itself, is this wild and over the top. A visually stunning tour-de-force, it also has some great gory kills, an amazing soundtrack, and beautiful women, in other words everything you have come to love and expect in an Argento flick.





9. Don't Go in the House- This mean little psycho slasher has some incredibly strong acting, especially from Dan Grimaldi as the whack-job with a thing for fire. Well, fire and immolating setting beautiful women  with his flame thrower in a steel room that he creates. Disturbing and dark, this one of those early "nasty slashers" that will get under your skin.






8. Doctor Butcher M.D. (AKA Zombie Holocaust)- This wild and fun Italian gorefest combines two of Italy's most popular horror sub-genres, zombies and cannibals. And, it does the later without any of the vile animal killing or more depressing aspects. As a matter of fact, it is an absolute blast to watch. Check out my retrospective on it here.







7. Mother's Day- This early release from Troma Films, from Lloyd Kaufman's own brother Charles Kaufman, is a dark as fuck black comedy mixed with a rape/ revenge and killer hill-billy movie. Three pretty city girls are kidnapped, humiliated, beaten, raped, and one even killed by two cretins and their psychotic mother. It is a very nasty flick with graphic violence and unsavory subject matter. But, it is all well done and worthy of its cult status. I mean, no less an expert than Eli Roth has sung its praises. It also inspired a very different and, in my humble opinion even better remake in 2010.

6. Maniac- William Lustig's controversial, disturbing, and extremely graphic slasher was once condemned as misogynistic crap. But, over time it got recognized as the classic it was meant to be. That never softened its image, though. Joe Spinell gives an amazing performance as the psycho killer who hunts down, brutally kills beautiful women, and scalps them for use with his mannequins. Tom Savini's gore effects are realistic and and along with its dark mood really set itself apart from the stalk and slash movies that were to come.

5. Dressed to Kill- Brain De Palma's mix of psycho horror and erotic thriller ranks among the master's best work in the genre. The exhilarating and violent elevator attack, which was one of the scenes that needed to be cut down to get an R-rating, is one of my favorite scenes in any De Palma flick. Well, acted, sexy, stylish, and bloody, he is at the top his game, before his several missteps to come.






4. City of the Living Dead (AKA The Gates of Hell)- Lucio Fulci's supernatural zombie flick is low on plot but high on style and splatter. A priest hangs himself and opens the gates of hell. The film drips with atmosphere and blood, with at least two scenes that rank among the best gore scenes by anyone (a hot girl barfing up her guts and some weird dude getting a power-drill inside one side of his out the other). Plus, cult favorites Christopher George and the beautiful Catriona MacCall make for very likable heroes. And, sure the ending doesn't make a lot of sense, but this time around you won't care. Trust me!


3. Humanoids from the Deep- This is a wild and bloody monster romp from Roger Corman's production company. In it, sea monsters kill men and rape women for mating purposes. Aside from the dog killings at the beginning, this one is always a blast to watch and something that would NEVER be made today. You can read more of my thought on it here.







2. Cannibal Holocaust- Ruggero Deodato's masterpiece is perhaps the single most controversial horror film in cinema history. And, while yes the real animal violence is utterly repellent and completely deplorable, there is nonetheless a great movie in here. One that haunts you days after you see it and exploits what it also seems to condemn. The definitive and greatest extreme horror movie ever made, I go into further detail about it here.





1. Friday the 13th- One of the most oft-ripped-off horror films in history, this excellent trendsetter is a classic of the genre. Unlike its brain-dead sequels and the wanna-bes it inspired, Sean Cunningham's splatter flick is actually scary and builds suspense excellently. Between its likable characters, good acting, graphic FX by Savini, classic score, excellent climax, and one of the greatest endings in genre history, there is no doubt about it: Friday the 13th is the best horror movie of 1980 and one of the greatest slashers ever fucking made.




What are your choices for the best horror movies of 1980? Let me know in the comments section below. And, keep your eyes open for 1981!

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"Doctor Butcher M.D.".- He's Still Making House Calls! (Blu-ray Review and Retrospective)

Also known as Zombie Holocaust (Zombi Holocaust), Doctor Butcher M.D. is one of the wildest and most fun of the extreme gore films that Italy was putting out in the 70s and 80s. It's legacy has made into one of the quitessential gorehound favorites.

Our story begins as a rash of limb robbing from corpses is occurring at hospitals and morgues across New York City. Soon, one hospital worker is caught chomping down on a human heart (hey, when you get hungry, ya gotta eat, right?). Our heroes, anthropology expert and morgue assistant Lori ( the beautiful Alexandra Delli Coli) and Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch from Lucio Fulci' Zombie) come to the realization that this all has to with a cannibal tribe. They are head off to the Asian islands, where said tribes can be found, accompanied by his assistant George (Peter O'Neal), and his hottie reporter girlfriend Susan (Sherry Buchanan). There they meet Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brien), who Peter knows. They ultimately end up on an island where there not only cannibals but zombies, as well! Soon they begin to fall prey to them both. And, they learn that the good Dr. Obrero has been conducting experiments to resurrect the dead, resulting in the aforementioned zombies!

When, Zombie Holocaust was bought and distributed in the US, it underwent the ingenious title change and an even more ingenious ad campaign. They also added a 2.5 minute opening showcasing some zombies and taken from an unfinished flick called Tales that'll Tear Your Heart Out. They also re-edited some stuff for pacing reasons, as well as changed the musical score. The result was a HUGE hit in grindhouse theaters and, eventually, on VHS.

The movie was released, in the movies, by Aquarius Releasing, who also released bunch of exploitation movies, including Make Them Die Slowly (Cannibal Ferox) and Buried Alive (Beyond the Darkness). There is an excellent interview with Terry Levene, from Aquarius, on the brand new Severin Films Blu-ray release, where he talks about advertising these movies and more. It's a fascinating talk about an era long gone, of grindhouse sleazefests being played in Times Square. Levene knew how to promote movies like this, as there was a fucking Doctor Butcher M.D. flatbed truck (left) that ran promotions of it. Can you imagine a movie like this doing that today? Fuck no.

The movie, itself, might be seen by some film snobs as bad. But, fuck those people. As a good amount of its appeal is found in its inherit cheesiness. The acting ranges from adequate to bad, but it's always memorable and fits the film nicely. The makeup FX are much in the same vein. Some of it is great, some is far from that. One hilarious moment has the aforementioned cannibal that chewed on a human heart jumping out the window to escape capture. When he hits the floor we see it's a mannequin whose fucking arm falls off! The next shot is our actor with his arm intact! Too fucking funny!

The extreme gore in this movie rocks motherfucking hard. Cannibalism, bullet hits, brain surgery, autopsies, machetes to the head, immolation, a spectacular motor-blade to the head, throat slicing, and more make this S.O.B. hit a 10 on the splatter-meter. Yet, unlike most cannibal movies there is not a single once of mean spiritedness, and even better, no, real or otherwise, violence against animals.

This being an Italian flick, we also get lovely ladies and skin. And, said skin all comes from our lead lady, Alexandra Delli Coli, who has a truly spectacular body. She is fully naked and shows us some great full frontal, including her blonde bush!

There are also some choice bits of dialogue, many coming from the good Doctor Butcher, himself. Perhaps the best one is when he tells our hero how is "Determined to have" his "brain!" It's fucking classic! Both he and McCulloch play great against each other and are endlessly likable.

I first saw this flick on Shriek Show's old DVD release, which means I saw it in its original Italian cut. I fucking loved it! It would be a movie I would pop in every so often and even showed my friends, who had a blast watching it, too. But, now you can see both cuts on the aforementioned Severin Blu-ray release. The movie looks damn good, though, ya gotta understand that this movie will never look great due to its budget and inherit quality. The added beginning in Doctor Butcher looks particularly haggard, but there is something of an added charm in that, I think.

The sound is great regardless of which version you put in. Loud and pumping, the 2.0 mix really adds to giving it new life. Then there is the exhaustive special features, which I have only just begun to watch! They include a shitload of interviews with cast members and people from the exploitation film world (in particular those connected to old Times Square), trailers, and even documentaries of then vs. now NYC. It's all fascinating not just if you are a fan of this classick but of exploitation horror, in general .

The packaging is really cool, as you get a double sided cover, featuring poster art from both version of the movie. And, a limited amount of them come with a fucking barf bag! How fucking kick ass is that?!

The overall result is one of the best Blu-ray releases for horror fans this year. The movie has endured for this long because it is everything gore loving horror fans and B-movie fans want. Highly recommended, this Doctor is ready to come to your house in high definition!

Movie: 3.5 out of 4
Picture: 3 out of 5
Sound: 3.5
Extras: 5

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