The horror films of the 1980s were a mixed bag, with the decade treating fans to some of the finest horror masterpieces ever put on film (like David Lynch’s Blue Velvet and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining) and some of the worst (Maximum Overdrive, Jaws: The Revenge, Piranha II: The Spawning).
After the success of John Carpenter’s seminal 1978 indie hit Halloween inspired a wave of slashers, the ‘80s brought some of horror cinema’s most iconic villains, from Chucky to Jason Voorhees to Freddy Krueger. And the ‘80s’ most memorable horror villains weren’t just gimmicky killers; there was also an evil car, a shapeshifting alien, and an angry dad with writer’s block.
Christine (Christine)
Adapted by John Carpenter from the Stephen King novel of the same name, Christine revolves around a pretty unique horror villain: an evil car. Keith Gordon stars as a timid high schooler who becomes more confident after fixing up an old 1958 Plymouth Fury that turns out to be possessed.
His personality takes a toxic turn as the car’s influence takes over, and when he’s targeted by bullies, Christine goes out and kills the bullies one by one.
Warren Stacy (10 To Midnight)
Charles Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson collaborated on a few exploitation hits throughout the ‘80s. They mostly fall into the action genre, but 10 to Midnight veers into horror territory with a psycho-killer antagonist who embodies the very real terror of misogyny.
Played to sinister effect by Eugene M. Davis, Warren Stacy kills women who reject his creepy advances. Bronson plays a hard-boiled detective determined to bring the killer to justice while legal loopholes keep him on the street.
The Predator (Predator)
Legend has it that Predator originated as a Hollywood inside joke that Rocky Balboa had nobody left to fight on Earth, so he’d have to fight an alien in the next sequel. Decades after Predator was released to critical acclaim and box office success, the bloodthirsty alien fought by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s musclebound military Rocky stand-in “Dutch” remains one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time.
Whether it’s ripping off Carl Weathers’ arm or effortlessly lifting Schwarzenegger off the ground, the Predator is constantly showing off its immense strength. Stan Winston’s typical breathtaking designs are etched in the memories of audiences – both when it’s wearing its mysterious mask and the “ugly motherf*****” underneath.
Chucky (Child’s Play)
One of the many inventive subversions on the slasher formula that appeared in movie theaters in the 1980s was a doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer in Child’s Play.
Horror works best when it takes something that the audience finds safe and comforting – like a toy – and makes it terrifying. Chucky is a “Good Guy” doll who wants to murder a child. The character is bolstered by hilariously hammed-up line deliveries by voice actor Brad Dourif.
David Powers (The Lost Boys)
Between the unnerving vampires of Hammer Horror and the romantic vampires of The Twilight Saga, The Lost Boys gave ‘80s moviegoers a band of cool-as-ice vampires, led by a decidedly badass Kiefer Sutherland as the darkly charming David Powers.
David is so charismatic that he lures new recruits into a life of vampirism. The truly haunting thing about David is that he’s set up as the movie’s big bad, but turns out to be a mere underling of Max, the film’s true antagonist.
Pamela Voorhees (Friday The 13th)
The recurring villain of the Friday the 13th franchise, Jason Voorhees, is undoubtedly iconic with his hockey mask and his machete and his casual approach to mass murder. But his mother Pamela made for a much more effective villain in the 1980 original. Formerly known as a game show panelist, Betsy Palmer gives an unforgettably haunting turn as Mrs. Voorhees.
Victor Miller’s script brilliantly flips Psycho’s twist on its head. In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller masterpiece (widely regarded to be the first slasher), the audience is led to believe that the mother is the killer when it’s really the son. In Friday the 13th, it’s the other way around.
Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
Arguably David Lynch’s finest film, Blue Velvet contrasts Dennis Hopper’s sadistic pimp character, Frank Booth, with Kyle MacLachlan’s everyman protagonist Jeffrey Beaumont in interesting ways.
Jeffrey immediately despises Frank after watching him terrorize Dorothy through the slats of a closet door. But throughout the movie, he’s shocked to notice some of Frank’s darkest tendencies in his own behavior. Like every great hero-villain dynamic, Blue Velvet compares the similarities shared by its protagonist and antagonist.
The Thing (The Thing)
The titular shapeshifting alien in The Thing presents the perfect horror setup. It’s able to seamlessly disguise itself as anything, including one of the protagonists holed up together, so nobody can trust anybody.
The Thing is brought to life beautifully by the groundbreaking special effects by Rob Bottin – who, according to IndieWire, was just 22 when he worked on the movie.
Jack Torrance (The Shining)
Jack Nicholson’s take on Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s wildly unfaithful adaptation of The Shining is very different from the character’s portrayal in the book. In Stephen King’s novel, Jack is a genuinely good man who is corrupted by the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel. But in the movie, Nicholson’s Jack is angry and spiteful from the very beginning.
Kubrick suggests that the Overlook might not be haunted at all and what drives Jack into a murderous rage is the isolation and his underlying hatred of his family alone, which is much more terrifying.
Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)
Six years after Halloween laid out the slasher blueprint, the subgenre was getting pretty stale and overdone. And then Wes Craven gave slashers a second wind by introducing overtly supernatural elements in his 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. Freddy is the ultimate boogeyman, stalking unsuspecting teenagers in their dreams.
Robert Englund nails the balance of off-the-wall wackiness and unsettling supernatural menace. He’s authentically terrifying as a paranormal child killer, but also disturbingly charming, thanks to his one-liners and goofy demeanor.