A Glean movie guide
Hidden Gems of 80s Horror
The best horror you haven't seen.
Beyond the slashers: discover the decade's most effective cult classics and forgotten nightmares.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Changeling
A masterclass in atmosphere and one of the most chilling ghost stories ever put to film.
After a tragic event happens, composer John Russell moves to Seattle to try to overcome it and build a new and peaceful life in a lonely big house that has been uninhabited for many years. But, soon after, the obscure history of such an old mansion and his own past begin to haunt him.
- 02
Possession
A visceral, high-intensity descent into madness featuring an unforgettable lead performance.
A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.
- 03
Near Dark
A stylish, gritty reimagining of vampire lore set against the backdrop of the American West.
A farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars.
- 04
The Hitcher
A relentless road-trip nightmare powered by Rutger Hauer’s terrifyingly calm performance.
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
- 05
The Blob
A rare remake that surpasses the original with incredible practical effects and genuine tension.
In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches.
- 06
Prince of Darkness
John Carpenter blends science and the supernatural in this claustrophobic, dread-filled cult classic.
A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.
- 07
Night of the Creeps
A joyful, genre-mashing tribute to B-movies that perfectly balances scares and 80s charm.
In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.
- 08
The Hidden
A fast-paced, high-concept sci-fi thriller that feels like a lost action-horror masterpiece.
When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
- 09
Society
A biting social satire that culminates in some of the most creative body horror in cinema history.
Bill Whitney is worried that he is different to his sister and parents. They mix with other upper-class people while Bill is more down to earth. Even his girlfriend seems a bit odd. All is revealed when Bill returns home to find a party in full swing.
- 10
Dead & Buried
An eerie, small-town mystery with a unique premise and a hauntingly grim atmosphere.
After a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses appear to be coming back to life and living normally as locals in the small town.