Limb loss and laughs: four 80’s horror films to watch this Halloween
The 80’s was certainly a great decade for Horror films. You have the start of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play (Chucky) and the Alien franchise and of course iconic films such as The Shining and The Thing. The lack of CGI meant the use of actual gore and grisly special effects and they often didn’t take themselves too seriously. They are a great source of laughs and scares, so here are four horror films I recommend you watch this Halloween:
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Beetlejuice (1988) –. Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin) Maitland are recently deceased, but have a hard time in the afterlife when the Deetz family move from New York into their quaint country home and Delia Deetz unleashes her ghastly taste in interior design. Desperate to frighten the Deetz away, the Mailtands seek the help of the crude Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) and his unconventional methods. This Tim Burton film is the perfect mix of bizarre horror and comedy, turning the usual focus from those being haunted onto those doing the haunting, with some banging tunes by Harry Belafonte. 27 years on and Burton is working on a sequel, with Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton reprising their roles.
Evil Dead 2 (1987) –Whilst the whole trilogy is worthwhile, arguably the second Evil Dead: Dead by Dawn is the highlight. It follows the typical cabin in the woods trope, as Ash (Bruce Campbell) takes his girlfriend Linda for a romantic getaway. But it descends into chaos when he unwittingly summons the Evil Dead and he must battle them armed with bad-ass one liners and a chainsaw for a hand. This film is a brilliant mix of gore and comedy and a personal favourite. It is to be followed this Halloween by a new TV series, Ash vs. Evil Dead, with Campbell and director Sam Raimi back on board. Groovy.
Image: Renaissance Pictures
Fright Night (1985) – Charlie Brewster has a new neighbour, Jerry Dandridge, and he’s convinced he’s a vampire, though no one believes him. With the recent wave of vampire films and TV shows thanks to the lacklustre Twilight franchise, it’s difficult to remember a time when vampires were cool. Well, look no further than Fright Night’s Jerry Dandridge. Chris Sarandon’s Jerry Dandridge is effortlessly cool and sensuously smooth. Aside from Chris Sarandon, the strength of the film lies in its comedy and its heart, with genuinely likeable characters, particularly that of the sweet Peter Vincent ‘Vampire Killer’. If you enjoy it, it’s worth checking out the decent 2011 remake currently on Netflix if you want to see a sultry Colin Farrell as Jerry Dandridge and David Tennant as a Criss Angel-like Peter Vincent in tight leather pants.
Image: Columbia Pictures
Image: Film Futures
Hellraiser (1987) – The film follows Frank who, seeking new carnal pleasures, solves a mysterious puzzle box, thus summoning the hellish ‘Cenobites’ (the iconic Pinhead among them), from an alternative dimension who tear his body apart. By chance it is discovered the only way he can be resurrected is by the spilling of blood. Unlike many horror films of the 80’s, Hellraiser is much more serious in tone, with dark undertones of sadomasochism, it was praised as being both disturbing and intelligent. It is a surreal masterpiece in horror that has spawned numerous sequels and in 2013, original creator, Clive Barker announced plans for a remake, so hopefully that should be coming soon.
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