Best Horror Films of 1981

The Hand

Oliver Stone's first directorial ... a great deal to a few effective suspense scenes -- but it belongs in a better film than this. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

This groundbreaking, darkly-comic horror ... Roger Corman, but never strays from the path to genuine horror, particularly when Rob Bottin's chilling monsters are onscreen. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Saturday the 14th

In this early '80s ... Benjamin, who is married to Prentiss in real life, also appeared in the horror satire Love at First Bite. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The Final Conflict

The second sequel to ... was the final theatrical installment of the Omen series, the made-for-TV Omen IV: The Awakening appeared a decade later. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Halloween II

While John Carpenter's 1978 ... by the time producers Hill, Moustapha Akkad and Irwin Yablans revived the series in 1988 for three more sequels. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Invaders of the Lost Gold

Escorting a valuable gold ... as they contend with cannibals, fearsome jungle animals, harsh elements, and the most dangerous foe of all: human greed. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Strange Behavior

Dead Kids, aka Strange ... sexually menacing as the mad doc's assistant, but Louise Fletcher's wasted role may make viewers pine for Nurse Ratched. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Scanners

The title of this ... at the 1983 Fantasporto Film Festival, Scanners was followed by a pair of sequels, neither of which involved Cronenberg. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The Final Terror

This mediocre slasher film ... dull, save for Metcalf's well-handled death scene, and the obligatory "telling of the legend" is less spooky than obnoxious. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Bloody Birthday

Sort of a triple-threat ... then released to video to capitalize on the already-waning trend of Friday the 13th sequels and their hellish offspring. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The Prowler

In this gory (the ... the dance again. Unfortunately, the vet hears about the dance and comes back to do a little more killing. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Dead and Buried

Dan O'Bannon and Ronald ... cable and remains a minor cult favorite today thanks to its singular blend of creepy atmosphere and gruesome shocks. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Happy Birthday to Me

Certainly the low point ... latecomers may be more able to comprehend it than those bemused viewers who watched the film from the beginning. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The Funhouse

This low-budget horror film ... Koontz under the pseudonym "Owen West," is actually far more frightening than the film on which it was based. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Hell Night

This plodding, derivative slasher ... stylish look, though mired by underlit photography and silly performances. Blair is appealing, but her role is sadly underwritten. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Parasite

In this gory sci-fi ... Parasite was Demi Moore's second film, shot while she was still a regular on the daytime serial General Hospital. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Encounter of the Spooky Kind

Courageous Cheung (Sammo Hung) ... evil Master face off as possessed marionettes guided by the spells and incantations of their powerful Taoist priest rivals. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The Burning

Apart from early appearances ... slaughter aboard a boat. The remaining teens are brutally picked off one by one until Cropsy is finally defeated. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Midnight

In this occult horror ... protagonists solidly one-dimensional, tipping the balance more toward the minus -- which may be a plus to some viewers. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Piranha II: The Spawning

This poorly scripted horror ... but second-rate special effects, this film in no way presages the coming success of its debut director, James Cameron. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Antropophagus

In this Z-grade Italian ... for eating his own family after they were shipwrecked. Italian shlockmeister Joe D'Amato directed this yummy bit of fun. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Alien Contamination

Following the surprising success ... made of badly painted papier-mache, requiring 96 separate cuts to look convincing in its big scene. It didn't work. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Don't Go in the Woods

Four campers venture into ... he returns to the deadly forest to rescue her and get revenge for the ordeal they've all suffered through. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Final Exam

Since this no-brainer is ... this subgenre) also manages to rob the film of whatever cheap thrills it might have been able to provide. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Friday the 13th, Part 2

Two months after the ... The young couple's only hope to defeat the fiend lies in psych major Ginny's insights in Jason's mental state. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The House by the Cemetery

This cult horror film ... indications that all else is dispensible pretext - gore is the goal and it is delivered in sickening doses. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Kiss Daddy Goodbye

Two unusual children have ... Daddy Goodbye has also been released as Caution, Children At Play, The Vengeful Dead and Revenge Of The Zombie. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

My Bloody Valentine

It's Valentine's Day in ... same name, which helped establish England's late-'80s shoegazer sound and paved the way for the post-rock of the 1990s. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

The Beyond

This gruesome Louisiana-set horror ... (by Dardano Sacchetti, Giorgio Mariuzzo and director Lucio Fulci) tends to wander and the pacing is a trifle slow. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Student Bodies

In this slasher film ... and Downhill Racer) opted to take his name off the picture, instead using the Director's Guild pseudonym Alan Smithee. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Macumba Sexual

Jesus Franco's surrealistic voodoo ... her intended victims, and the director turns in a funny cameo as a voyeuristic janitor who collects stuffed fish. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Don't Go Near the Park

Don't Go Near the ... two of the van rapists, and their fiery demise at least provides some measure of revenge for the audience. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Day of the Triffids

British sci-fi author John ... of the Triffids was telecast by America's Arts cable service (later known as A&E) in the spring of 1984. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Cannibal Ferox

Primarily a showcase for ... only, this nauseatingly effective shocker features a brief appearance by adult-film star Richard Bolla as a New York policeman. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Crocodile

If Jaws left you ... move in for the kill, residents of the small seaside community quickly begin falling prey to the voracious predator. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

Mystics in Bali

This region-specific horror film ... continued to blend Eastern and Western horror elements in later, even wilder efforts like Lady Terminator and Dangerous Seductress. [ best horror films - 1981 ]

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