80's Horror Movies

More Horror movie trailers of the 1980s

2012-01-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

Scorpion Releasing is releasing THE INCUBUS and THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW as part of KATARINA'S NIGHTMARE THEATER (as in Katarina Leigh Waters) shortly.

80s Horror Trailer Compilation

2011-12-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

Have a Horrific Thanksgiving! Eli Roth to make a feature film of Thanksgiving

2011-11-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving the fake trailer directed by Eli Roth for the Grindhouse double feature. I always thought this would have mad a better movie than either of the two that were made and wished they would make a full length version. Looks like my wish may come true according to IMDb , Roth will be directing a feature-film version of Thanksgiving to be released in 2013.

The Hunger (1983)

2011-10-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

The Hunger (1983) Starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve and is probably one of the most stylish horror movies you'll ever see. This vampire flick is filled with some awesome visuals.The film is excellently acted-a stunningly beautiful Catherine Deneuve is truly memorable as Miriam-an ageless vampire and former Egyptian queen.There is plenty of blood and vampire lesbian sex,so everyone who is into horror films or Goth music should see this cult flick.The opening scene with Bauhaus playing "Bela Lugosi is Dead" is priceless!

This film was also the inspiration for the showtime series The Hunger (1997) hosted by Terrence Stamp, one of my favorite and most original horror anthology series. It featured a phenomenal cast of familiar faces (including Karen Black, Joanna Cassidy, Daniel Craig, Bruce Davison, Giancarlo Esposito, Colin Ferguson, Jason Flemyng, Balthazar Getty, Lena Headey, Margot Kidder, Sally Kirkland, Jason Scott Lee, Chad Lowe, Stephen McHattie and Timothy Spall) as you’ve never seen them before.

An Exclusive Interview with Horror Actress Maria Olsen

2011-07-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Lopez

80s Horror; How did you get involved in Acting?

Maria; I've literally been on stage since I was six years old, but, as there was no film industry to speak of in East London, the small South African town that I grew up in, I was only able to make the transition from stage to screen after I moved to Los Angeles in 2005. I remember watching the performances of such amazing actresses as Jane Fonda and Jodie Foster while I was growing up and thinking that, if I ever got to LA, I was sure I could do what they did. Well - lol - now's my chance to find out, right?

80s Horror; What did you do before you got involved in the movie business ?

Maria; I worked for several firms of accountants in the bankruptcy administration departments, and actually practiced as a Bankruptcy Trustee for about 15 years. I was constantly active in theater, though, and 2008 saw me make the final break from the accounting world when I chose to get into acting full time and appear in a show Off-Broadway.

80s Horror; What do you do for fun?

Maria; I work for fun... Seriously, the saying that goes "do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life" is TRUE! When I'm not acting, producing, directing or writing, though, I'm reading (usually horror!) or knitting my Scary Scarves =)

80s Horror; Which has been your favorite character that you have performed?

Maria; Although I have truly loved every role that I've played, the two that stand out so far is the guileless and extremely brave Sophomore in Tim Curley's fantasy/sci-fi feature "The Mudman" (which should be released in the near future) and the forbidding Mrs Dodds/The Fury in Fox's "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief", directed by the totally awesome Chris Columbus. Zombie Rose in Patrick Horvath's zom-com "Die-ner (Get It?)" is also a favorite, as is the mentally unstable nurse in Dan Donley's "Shellter", and both of these films are now available online. But there are so many amazing roles I've played - like the Demon in Claudia Damasceno's "Feed Me", Ophy Bork in David Molinari's "The Bork", and the Screaming Lady in Mark Edwin Robinson's "The Levenger Tapes" - that it's almost impossible to put one above another...

80s Horror; What was your most challenging role so far and why ?

Maria; One of my most challenging roles was The Mother in Damon Shalit's "African Gothic" as I performed the role in another language: Afrikaans. Now, I am fairly fluent in Afrikaans but, at the time of shooting, I hadn't spoken it for over six years AND it was my second language, not my first, so AG was a fun and interesting shoot. For physically challenging roles, "Percy Jackson" must come out on top as I did all my own stunts including wire and harness work (which was absolutely FANTASTIC btw!). As far as emotionally challenging roles go, I play intense and dramatic roles all the time so, for instance, being asked to sustain a crying fit on set for six or so hours is not unusual for me. On set filming Jason Bognacki's feature "Another", I actually developed being emotionally available into a fine art as Jason likes say things like "OK, for this take, I'd like to see some tears...and...ACTION!". I adore this sort of challenge, though, and Jason is, by the way, one of the most innovative and uniquely edgy forces in indie horror film making today, and I love the time I spend on set with him.

80s Horror; What current or upcoming project are you most excited about?

Maria; I'm attached to several horror feature films at the moment, and I'm really thrilled about being able to act in all of them. On the list are Craig Ouellette's "Straight on till Morning", Steven Gladstone's "The Resurrection of Blake House", Cinephreak Pictures' (Jakob Bilinski's) "Visiting Hours", Mike Lopez's "Lizzie Bordon", Erik Herrera's "Ghostclown" and Carl Lindbergh's "Bunnyman 2". I'm also getting into producing - as MOnsterworks66 - and, at present, I'm attached as producer to Jon Craig's "The Road Killer" and, as producer and, hopefully, actor, to Jane Whitney's "The Stranger", where I'm co-producing with Devra Sari Zabot. Through MOnsterworks66, I'm also busy developing a number of feature horror projects, and I can see that I'm going to have LOTS of work to do in the future (BUT there's always room for more lol)...

Photo by Jason Bognacki Maria's IMDB Page

On the Set of The Walking Dead Season 2 July 7, 2011 Newnan GA

2011-07-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

The hit AMC series Walking Dead is filming tonight in my hometown of Newnan, Georgia at Newnan High School and Drake Stadium. I was able to get some pretty good shots as the crew was setting up they are supposed to be filming all night till about 4 AM and have advised local residents to please excuse the late night gun fire.

A few interesting things to note if you look at the school bus it reads King County Schools on the side which is where the series started out and where Rick Grimes was Sheriff, so it appears there will either be a return to King county of more likely a flashback to the events at the beginning of the zombie outbreak when Rick was in the coma. The other thing I noticed was there were 2 ambulances and 3 sheriff cars all clearly "movie" vehicles and not the real thing which further points to the flashback episode because there were certainly no EMS, police or ambulance services around when the episode left off. The one strange thing about the police cars is they were marked "Linden County Sheriff Dept." maybe a neighboring county to the fictional King county ?

Underneath the military style tents seen in two of the pictures was what looked like a makeshift field hospital with cots set up.

MY HOMETOWN IS BEING INVADED BY ZOMBIES....AGAIN !

2011-07-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my hometown of Newnan, Georgia (just south of Atlanta) was invaded by the cast and crew of Zombieland, here's some pictures of downtown just a few blocks from my house.

This year the cast of the TV show Walking Dead are here at locations all over the county filming season 2 of what has become one of my favorite shows. I can't wait for the next season to start, and as an added bonus hoping to see some of my hometown area in a few scenes !

Return of the Living Dead review by special guest contributor Jamie Mills

2011-07-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

“How Do You Kill Something that’s already dead?” well that’s what Freddy and Frank asked when the dead come to life in this horrific film called Return of the Living Dead. Freddy’s first night on the job at a medical supply warehouse was suppose to be a walk in the cemetery but he ended up getting more than what he bargained for when his boss released an unknown chemical in the warehouse. You think dealing with one zombie is enough just wait and see what happens when they try get rid of it.

Watching this film I give the FX Special Effects three empty eye sockets as zombies pop up from the ground with the tune “Partytime” in the background. As I watched the actors Thom Mathews, Clu Gulager, and Don Calfa try to fight off zombies and come up a plan to get rid of the zombies, I just had to put on a toothless smile and watch as the movie unfolded.

Jamie Mills

A book entitled 'The Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead' by authors Christian Sellers and Gary Smart was released in 2010. The book includes hundreds of previously unseen images, exclusive interviews with various cast and crew and charts the rise and fall of the franchise.

Horror Hosts page Coming Soon

2011-06-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Who's your favorite horror host ? Elvira is of course the one most people are familiar with and I must admit until I watched American Scary (2009) even I was not aware of the wide variety of horror hosts that once existed in the various local TV channels. With names like Zacherley, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Vampira, Ghoulardi and local Atlanta favorite Bestoink Dooley these unique individuals helped keep horror alive and to many viewers they were like old friends to share a night in front of the TV with. I can remember watching Elvira's Movie Macabre with my sister on late nights when I was allowed to stay up that late back in the early 80s and I really credit that show with being the seed that grew into a life long love of everything Horror.

And even today the horror host tradition lives on on you tube and in basement production facilities all over the world. You can buy their DVDs or download their shows online in many cases. We are adding a new feature to the 80s Horror site to showcase some of the best work of these horror gurus from all over the world, if anyone has any suggestions as to a good host that deserves mention please let me know.

"Campy" 80s Horror Movies

2011-06-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, time for summer camp ! That means chiggers, poison ivy, campfire games and of course slashers killing innocent campers with all manners of camping instruments ! Here are three of my favorite summer camp related Horror Movies from the 1980s in no particular order, I didn't include any of the Friday The 13th only because everyone knows about those.

Sleepaway Camp Madman
The Burning

Madman Marz Redeux Updates

2011-06-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Madman Marz Updates : The producers are working hard to get the new version into production. Pick up the original in the new CODE RED 30 Year Anniversary MADMAN DVD release at Amazon.com or rent it on iTunes or from YouTube's new movie rental department.
Don't say his name above a whisper. Madman Marz is waiting.. watching!Like MadmanMarzMovie on Facebook and get all the info and talk about it. I'll keep you all posted on any updates, till then follow the facebook page to show your support !

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Zombie Nightmare

2011-05-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Zombie Nightmare ( 1986) I always loved Mystery Science Theater 3000 especially the last few seasons and really hated to see it come to an end. This is one of my favorite episodes because it combines MST3K and classic 80's Horror. The Plot: When a young baseball player is struck and killed by a car full of rambunctious teens, his grieving mother convinces a mysterious voodoo priestess to resurrect her son, allowing his zombied corpse the vengeance necessary to finally rest in peace. With Adam West,as the police detective and classic 80s players Tia Carrere, Jon Mikl Thor, Lots of Cheese and Laughs ! also available uncut and on instant view

The Changeling (1980)

2011-05-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Changeling (1980) This is a really entertaining and truly scary horror movie, a great one to watch late at night. It was recommended to me by a good friend who is also a movie buff but not into horror at all, so I was skeptical going into it but really loved it. George C Scott gives an awesome performance as always. Not a lot of cheese or gore like most of the movies I recommend but just a really good horror movie with great atmosphere that sticks with you. Trivia: The movie is based on events which supposedly took place at a house in Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s. The Chessman Park neighborhood in the movie is a reference to Cheesman Park in Denver, where the original haunting transpired.

If you enjoy this one you should also check out The Hand (1981) with Michael Cain.

Sledgehammer (1983) finally on DVD

2011-05-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Sledgehammer (1983) finally on DVD Intervision is proud to present the return of the first shot-on-tape slasher movie for the home video market as well as one of the rarest genre films of all! The plot is familiar: A group of friends comes to party at a backwoods house where a legacy of brutality awaits. But within this minimalist '80s mélange of food fights, feathered hair and abusive slow-motion lurks a relentless synth score, bizarre sexual subtexts and a disturbing shape-shifting behemoth killer. The result is 85 minutes of fever-dream depravity, now loaded with brand-new Bonus Features that put it all in skull-shattering perspective. Former Playgirl centerfold Ted Prior (RAW NERVE, DEADLY PREY) stars in this nightmare-logic shocker from writer/ director David A. Prior (KILLER WORKOUT) where the lines between twisted horror and historic gore are pounded to a pulp...by SLEDGEHAMMER. Bonus features include: Audio Commentary With Director David A. Prior, Audio Commentary With Bleeding Skull Creators Joseph A. Ziemba And Dan Budnik, Hammertime: Featurette With DESTROY ALL MOVIES!!! Author Zack Carlson SledgehammerLand: Featurette With Cinefamily Programmers Hadrian Belove And Tom Fitzgerald, Interview With Director David A. Prior. releases 05/11/2011 PRE ORDER HERE

The Last Horror Film (Uncut Special Edition) (1985)

2011-05-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

"The Last Horror Film" aka "Fanatic", is about a taxi driver from New York named Vinny (Joe Spinell best known for his iconic role in Maniac ) who's obsessed with the famous actress, Jana Bates. He leaves his mother after getting up money to go to the Cannes Film Festival to try and get her into a moie that he wrote, the only problem is he can't get to her. Now what do you do in a situation where you're obsessed with an actress but you can't get close because of heavy security? Go to anyone associated with her. He comes in contact with many people around her including her ex-husband, agent, producer, and others. And wadya know, they all turn up dead, starting with Jana's ex and director, but no one does much about the deaths because they think they're all just part of a joke. Now that everyone around her is dead Jana is free for Vinny's taking and it all comes down to the superior ending!

This film is great! It's definantly not your typical independent film. It's more! Alot more! You see the main character Vinny start to slowly crack and descend into complete madness. He calls his mother from time to time and breaks down. This film has less gore but more story than "Maniac". Definantly worth checking out, I recomend it to anyone. AVAILABLE HERE

The Ray Bradbury Theater - Complete Series (65 Episodes) (1985)

2011-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, The Ray Bradbury Theater is back on DVD!!! This forgotten classic is a must for all anthology lovers (Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Amazing Stories, Friday The 13th, Tales From The Crypt, Tales From The Darkside).

The Show began on HBO and showcased some high profile names from the 1980s. William Shatner, Jeff Goldblume, Leslie Neilson, Peter O'Toole, and Drew Barrymore to name a few. It was moved to the USA Network and apparently thrived enough to have been on until the early 1990s. Personally, I think the show would have been better off if it would have stayed on HBO because the early episodes are a few minutes longer and being on a paid movie channel they attracted bigger names. Plus, the original opening to the show with Ray walking around his office was a lot more atmospheric and creepy than the later episodes on the USA Network. This is a great series I only recently discovered and any lover of 80s Horror will love this series. This has to be my second favorite anthonlgy next to Tales From The Crypt.

Complete Series Available From Amazon for Only $14.99

Not Of This Earth (1988)(Roger Corman's Cult Classics)

2011-03-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

When a mysterious stranger (Arthur Roberts, Up In Smoke) arrives in town, he hires Nadine (Traci Lords, Blade, Cry-Baby) as his private nurse. Although the pay is great, she becomes more and more suspicious of the stranger when his request for blood transfusions become more frequent. After some junior detective work, Nadine finds out that her new boss is not who he appears to be . . . and he is not even from our planet!
Cult filmmaker Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall, Deathstalker II) offers his take on Roger Cormans 1957 cult classic.
Jim Wynorski is quite possibly the finest B movie director ever. His Sorority House Massacre II is a masterpiece of slasher horror. Deathstalker II's incredible contrast with the rest of the series pushes a good movie up another notch. Jim W. does it again with Not of this Earth.
The opening scene lasts about 2 or 3 minutes and after seeing it, you just know you are in for a treat. The credits are better than ten other B movies put together. They show an amazing array aliens, space combat, and special effects. The best part is that the credit sequence really has very little to do with the movie you are about to see. That kind of attention to detail is hard to find in big budget movie, and in a B movie it is practically unheard of!
Traci Lords plays a very attractive nurse who is hired to take care of the mysterious Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson is does an incredible job as an emotionless alien, and the resulting comedy is priceless (or without value, depending on your point of view). Anyway, I got a kick out of Traci's coworker, Jeremy, the surly bodyguard/driver/cook who wears leather no finger gloves and a nice looking chauffer uniform.
I recommend this movie to any fan of cheesy science fiction. It is entertaining throughout.GET IT HERE !

House (1986)

2011-02-23T23:32:00.000-08:00

You Can Normally Tell How Great a B-Horror is by...the creation of a sequel. House is no exception. As a comedy-horror, "House" broke ground in the 1980s to set the bar higher for B movies. This was a must see B-horror when it came out. It is still good by today's standards, having stood the test of time. Good rock-n-roll sound track too. George Wendt as the quirky neighbor is classic, and William Katt, a very B actor, is perhaps in his finest performance (where's the Academy?). The baby sitting scene was one that I enjoyed as he tells the 3 year old, "How would you like to play with a nice plastic bag?" It is a must for any B horror movie collection. Notice the shadow of the boom mic in the closet? In fact IMDb lists over 2 dozen such goofs for this movie. Could make for a good drinking party to list all the goofs and then point them out as the movie progresses. around $9.00 on DVD from Amazon

Dark Night Of The Scarecrow (1981)

2010-12-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

When young Marylee Williams (Tonya Crowe) is found viciously mauled, all hell breaks loose in her small rural town. Officious postmaster Otis P. Hazelrigg (Charles Durning) leads a gang of bigots in pursuit of the suspect: her mentally challenged friend Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake). Finding him hiding inside a scarecrow, they exact brutal mob "justice"...only to discover a tragic mistake! Now a strange apparition stalks the land seeking each of them out, as the legend of the Scarecrow begins. Product Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround; 96 minutes; Color; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA NR; Year 1981;

I can't believe this gem of horror is finally being released on DVD. I'm glad VCI Entertainment stepped up to the plate on this one, just like they did when they released Gargoyles, which is another made-for-tv classic. Dark Night of the Scarecrow has everything going for it and then some. It's got actors who know how to act, spooky atmosphere, a decent script, great kill scenes, and of course, a healthy does of the supernatural.

Evil Laugh (1988)

2010-08-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago something terrible happened in this house... This weekend it's about to happen AGAIN.

Driving up to the mountains, Connie, (Kim McKamy) Johnny, (Steven Baio) Tina, (Jody Gibson) Mark, (Myles O'Brien) Sammy, (Tony Griffin) Barney, (Jerold Pearson) and Betty, (Karyn O'Brien) arrive at a remote house to help clean it up for a friend. When they realize that they're all alone for the weekend, they try to do the work by themselves and nearly get the job finished. When clues start to add up that something is wrong with their friend, they also find that there's nothing to worry about as well. When they suddenly start to realize that there may be something else going on, they stumble across a maniacal killer righting wrongs for a past incident in the house, forcing them to get out of the house away from the killer.

"Evil Laugh" isn't a masterpiece,but it works as a cheesy slasher flick-and I mean REALLY cheesy slasher flick.There's some nudity and plenty of gore.I love especially the scene when one moron gets a machete through the groin.Oh,and there is this stupid sequence where someone has his head microwaved while the door is still open-yeah,right!!!The acting is completely awful,but overlook that and you have a cheesy,completely unscary,but funny as hell slasher.Watch it in pair with another cheesefest "Psycho Cop" and you'll have lots of fun. WATCH FOR FREE HERE

MADMAN UPDATES

2010-07-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Madman will go live on iTunes by Halloween.
The featurette on the new DVD has come in at 90 mintues and promises to be great !
I just had a chance to watch the movie again last week this is a true classic of the genre and deserves a lot more credit than it gets. You all need to put it on your list to watch or watch again if you haven't seen it lately.
The 3D Re-Imagining of the Historic 80's Slasher hit, MADMAN, is coming.

Like them on Facebook and Follow on Twitter for the latest news.
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September 2010... Coming from Code Red Video
The original 80's slasher hit, MADMAN, including:
New Featurette: The Legend Lives: 30 Years of Madman

Latest MADMAN news

2010-07-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

Rent MADMAN in HD today for only $1.99 @ http://www.youtube.com/store
Also possible contest coming to this blog to win Madman signed memorabilia signed by Producer Gary Sales and Madman Marz himself ! Check back soon.

MADMAN: 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION DVD from CODE RED

2010-06-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

"It is said if you say his name above a whisper in the woods, he will hear you... and he will come for you."

I actually just broke down 2 days ago and bought a used VHS copy of Madman (1982) on Amazon because I didn't have a copy of it on DVD and the DVD s were selling for $50 plus. Seems every time I do this whatever movie it is comes out on DVD the next month, in fact that's what I thought as I was ordering it yesterday ! Then I got this email yesterday from Gary Sales the producer of Madman.

Hi:

This is Gary Sales, the producer of MADMAN Your 80's blog is the perfect place to let our MADMAN MARZ fanz know all the great things that are happening.

I'm rebooting MADMAN MARZ beginning with a brand new 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION MADMAN DVD from CODE RED.

It's coming in late September, complete with THE LEGEND LIVES: 30 YEARS OF MADMAN, a new Featurette (over an hour long) by horror filmmakers, Victor Bonacora and Dave Beinlich.

In addition, I've included over 100 vintage images from my personal collection and some music and links to Band Fans for Madman who've written and recorded ours and their own songs.

IN ADDITION: I'm in talks with studios and foreign buyers about doing, MADMAN MARZ, The 3D Re-Imagining for theatrical release in 2011.

What are the odds ? Great news for horror fans either way I really look foward to finally owning a DVD copy of this classic slasher. I will keep you all updated as I get more info.

The Prowler (1981)

2010-05-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

Another great 80s slasher now available on DVD and Blu-Ray

The Prowler 1981 now on DVD and Blu-Ray

Trivia for The Prowler

Trailer

Scary but Cute and some just silly Creature Movies ot the 80s

2010-04-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

Not sure where it all started but I think the success of Gremlins probably had something to do with it. Here's a few of those loveable little creatures from the mid 80's. I love all these little guys, great cheesy fun !

Critters (1986)

Ghoulies/Ghoulies 2 (1987)

Hobgoblins (20th Anniversary Special Edition) (1987)