31 Horror Flicks from the 1980s You Can Stream Right Now for Free for Spooky Season

The Nest (1987)

Rated R

Genetically altered cockroaches that mutate Thing-like into what they consume. Check. Lisa Langlois. Check. Nudity? Sorry, not in this horror flick. Menacing camera moving through the grass with buzzing? Check.

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Curtains (1983)

Rated R

Canadian slasher flick that probably had the phrase, “it’s Curtains for you!” on movie posters. It hinges on an aging actress who commits herself to an asylum to explore a role and the young women brought in by the director auditioning to replace her. Murder and mayhem ensue.

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Dolls (1986)

Rated R

When two groups of travellers are stranded in the rain, they find shelter in a house run by elderly dollmakers. It seems the dolls were once wicked people, and are giving the wicked a taste of their own medicine. Is there anyone pure enough to survive?

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The Burning (1981)

Rated R

In a world full of Cropsy-themed slasher clones, be The Burning. It also helps to have a killer raft murder scene that haunts many people to this day.

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Slaughter High (1986)

Rated R

Not all movies are as straight-forward as this 1986 slasher, but then sometimes it doesn’t need a twist to be fun. While pretty much everything is obvious from the first opening of the film, it ends up being a fun watch with friends and beer.

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Frightmare (1981)

Rated R

Love Jeffrey Combs? Then check out his horror debut in Frightmare! Ailing actor Conrad makes a dark deal to continue murdering after death, and wayward theater teens are happy to show up and do stupid things so they can be murdered post-haste!

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Blades (1989)

Rated R

Did you ever wish Caddyshack‘s lawn mower would cut up the competition? Me too, so I loved this little Jaws parody flick. Grab a beer or twelve and have a great time!

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Slaughterhouse (1987)

Rated R

When the owner of a slaughterhouse is forced into forclosure, he compels his huge, murderous, not-quite-right-in-the-head son to murder those responsible…and anyone who gets in his way…or happens to be hanging out around the pig farm.

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Luther the Geek (1989)

Rated R

The most fun you’ve ever had with a freaky dude who has steel teeth and bites the heads off chickens. Perfect spooky month viewing.

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Slugs (1988)

Rated R

I love a good “nature gone wild” flick like Food of the Gods or Deadly Eyes or Squirm, and Slugs certainly delivers when it comes to slugs with teeth killing everyone in sight!

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American Gothic (1987)

Rated R

A group of college students try to help their friend after the death of her child and charter a plane to an island retreat in the Pacific Northwest. Due to engine troubles, they are forced to land and end up in a cabin with an elderly couple and their infantile adult children.

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Crawlspace (1986)

Rated R

Klaus Kinski pulls off one of the creepiest roles of his career as a landlord of an apartment building with secret passageways, murder devices, and torture chambers. Oh, and he’s also the son of a Nazi surgeon so he already has some big issues.

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Maniac (1980)

Rated R

One of the most brutal films I remember from my youth, Maniac had some of the most horrific effects in the cinema. It also made me want to be a special effects artist! The shotgun scene was filmed on location without a license, so they shot and zoomed off in a get-away car.

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Slaughterhouse Rock (1987)

Rated R

If you fancy convoluted plots, then Slaughterhouse Rock has one for you. A heavy-metal singer’s ghost tries to help a dude whose brother is possessed by a cannibal demon…on Alcatraz. With a soundtrack by Devo. You read that right.

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Uninvited (1987)

Rated PG-13

I dig genetically mutated animals, and a mutant cat that barfs up mutant cats on George Kennedy’s yacht is a goldmine!

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Motel Hell (1980)

Rated R

In Motel Hell, a brother and sister capture travellers and bury them up to their necks to ready them for the butcher’s block. After all, when it comes to grinding sausage, it takes all kinds of meat to get that special flavor…

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The House on Sorority Row (1982)

Rated R

The House on Sorority Row is an example of the failure of democracy. Every time a big decision is to be made, an obvious good choice exists but the rest of the sorority votes against it, leading to drama and dead college girls.

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The Mutilator (1984)

Rated R

After accidentally killing his mother while cleaning a gun, Ed grows up to be a rather normal guy with college buddies, so when they need to find a place to go over break, his family cabin in the woods seems like a solid bet. But Ed’s insane father is also lurking there… Chop, chop college kiddies.

Watch The Mutilator on Tubi:

Scarecrows (1988)

Rated R

After a heist, the crew kidnap a pilot and his daughter to fly them to Mexico, as was the fashion of the time. But one thief jumps out and they land in the middle of a graveyard with killer scarecrows all around. If they catch you, you become one.

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Basket Case (1982)

Rated R

When you have a tumor twin removed, the most logical thing to do would be to carry it around in a box so you will always be connected, even if it is a cannibalistic evil mutant tumor twin. Family is a beautiful thing.

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Neon Maniacs (1986)

Rated R

The Golden Gate Bridge is many things: a symbol of architectural beauty, a San Fran landmark, a tourist trap, and home to a nest of diabolical monsters. Like the various Hellraiser movies, the maniacs are themed after their method of execution or appearance.

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Re-Animator (1985)

Rated R

If you’re ever asked the question, “do you want to see more Jeffrey Combs?” and your answer is anything but “HELL YEAH” then I really pity you. This is the movie that put him on the horror map. He plays a scientist attempting to reanimate dead tissue, but his methods are a little less than ethical. He holes up in a house with a grad student and things go spectacularly wrong as he continues his experiments in secret.

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Brain Damage (1988)

Rated R

After waking up with a parasite attached to his brain stem, Brian’s life is turned upside down. The parasite can release a euphoric enzyme into his system or inflict horrible pain unless he gives it what it wants: human brains.

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Phenomena (1985)

Rated R

Jennifer Connelly was a huge crush after Labyrinth, and when I saw Phenomena (Creepers as it was known in my neck of the woods), I fell in love with her all over again, despite being able to summon insects. Maybe because of it. Crushes are weird that way.

After being sent to a remote boarding school, Jennifer discovers she is both a sleepwalker and telepathically linked to insects. She uses the insects to find murder victims with the help of an entomologist and his chimpanzee assistant.

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Black Roses (1988)

Rated R

When a rock and roll band shows up in town to play three nights of music, teens begin going crazy and their parents wind up dead. Only a mild-mannered high school teacher can stop the demonic music from tearing his town apart, even if he has to burn it down to do it!

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Dead and Buried (1981)

Rated R

Sheriff Dan Gillis tries to figure out what is happening in his sleepy town of Potters Bluff as residents turn against tourists and begin killing them. And then, the dead start coming back to life. Could his wife be involved? The coroner? It is a slow-burn horror flick with a surprising twist.

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Demons (1985)

Rated R

Didn’t get enough of Urbano Barberini in the Gor flicks? Well, give Demons a try!

As theater-goers flood to a screening of a mysterious movie, they are trapped in the cinema with bloodthirsty demons. And a bite from a demon creates more.

Watch Demons on Plex:

Waxwork (1988)

Rated R

When a group of friends receive an invitation to a new Waxwork museum, they get more than they bargained for as they enter exhibits and may end up trapped forever in wax.

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The Stuff (1985)

Rated R

A new delectible treat is on the market, and the world cannot get enough of it. However, this treat is alive and consuming those who eat it. It is: The Stuff.

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Society (1989)

Rated R

The rich aren’t just a different class of people. They’re a whole different species! As Bill Whitney, an adopted son into a wealthy family, learns more about his family at his sister’s sweet sixteen, he realizes all of society is an orgy of flesh-melting creatures who eat the poor.

Watch Society on Plex:

From Beyond (1986)

Rated R

When scientists create a Resonator to see things beyond the normal scope of reality, those creatures From Beyond begin to break through and change the scientists in horrific ways.

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