Whether they’re nostalgic or genuinely good, horror films from the 1980s had a certain style to them. This not only made them unique, but they also introduced cliches that still appear in horror movies made today. However, some of these cliches have not aged well and therefore don’t appear as much in current movies.
Because for all the timeless scares that 80s horror movies produced, they were very much a product of their time. Plus with different rating systems and a stronger sensitivity to certain subjects, films can’t get away with all the same things that 80s horror movies did.
10 Classic - Haunted Places Full Of Angry Ghosts
Though this horror cliche has existed in literature, it was arguably popularized in media by The Amityville Horror movie from 1979. From there, similar horror films in the 80s followed which included The Shining and Poltergeist.
Even recent horror films focus on haunted places such as Crimson Peak and Winchester. So why do we keep coming back to this cliche? Well, like UFO stories, it plays with our fear of the unknown. Then combined with the dark history of a place, this fear manifests as scary ghosts that want vengeance for past actions regardless of who has to pay the consequences.
9 Not - Tiny Monsters Which Overpower Humans
Following the popularity of the Gremlins franchise, the 80s had multiple horror films that featured tiny menaces whether it was literal monsters or possessed dolls/puppets. Now the latter cliche had appeared in prior television shows like The Twilight Zone, but not to the same extent.
As kids, we may have found these kinds of movies scary because it’s crazy to think something so tiny could take out a full-grown person. Yet from an adult perspective, this idea comes across as unintentionally funny since the creatures are so small. Plus, the obvious commercialism these things lent themselves to make them seem less scary by today’s standards.
8 Classic - Creepy Kids With Murderous Intentions
While pint-sized monsters are a novelty, menacing kids are arguably universal because it contrasts with the usual notion that they’re innocent. Starting with films like The Bad Seed, this cliche became more common in the 70s and especially the 80s.
From a zombie toddler in Pet Sematary to an entire cult in Children of the Corn, kids came in various shades of creepiness. Even if the kids were innocent, they still managed to be creepy in several 80s films. As this cliche continues to be used in modern horror films such as Hereditary, it’s further testament that creepy kids are still scary.
7 Not - Final Girl Has To Be A Virgin
If there’s one horror genre that’s definitely associated with the 80s, it’s the slasher movie. While films like Psycho were precursors, the first popular slasher was John Carpenter’s Halloween. Thus, we got several cliches within this genre including the Final Girl trope.
Usually the main character of a slasher, the Final Girl was distinguished by her innocence and virginity. Anyone else that didn’t fit either of these would get eliminated. Now this concept may seem feminist, but it plays into the traditional notion that women have to be pure to be worth saving. Although since the 80s, Final Girls have evolved.
6 Classic - Distinct Killers That Stole The Show
Like the Universal Monsters before them, killers from 80s slashers were not only distinct in design but they also drew most of the film’s attention once they showed up. While some were supernatural like Freddy Krueger, most of them just refused to die like Michael Myers.
But after the 90s, these kinds of killers became sparse in later decades until recently with movies like Happy Death Day. Another change that recent slashers have done is make their killers more sympathetic by going into their backstories. But if we’re being honest, that’s not why we found these killers appealing to begin with.
5 Not - Bullying That’s Ignored By The Authorities
Though the problem of bullying is universal, the way it was depicted in 80s horror movies and even into the 90s is certainly dated. Not only is the level of harassment that the bullies did in these movies ridiculous, but the fact that they’re ignored by authority figures is unrealistic.
Now that doesn’t mean scenarios like this didn’t happen, but it ignores the complex nature of bullying itself and what authority figures can do to prevent such things. Plus, the Internet has changed the way bullying is done so physical and verbal threats in-person aren’t as prevalent these days.
4 Classic - Decent Practical Effects
In spite of all the advancements that CGI has made from a filmmaking perspective, there is something more genuine about practical effects that CGI can’t replicate. This is exemplified in the 80s, where practical effects were at the height of their craft.
We can especially see this in horror movies, ranging from The Thing to the 1986 remake of The Fly. The monsters in these films were not only well designed but they were visually distinct because they were real to an extent. Now CGI can be good too, though it can only do so much to recreate the real thing.
3 Not - Gratuitous Nudity
Because the PG-13 rating was relatively new at the time, most horror films in the 80s tended to be R-rated. So there was a lot of nudity in these movies since porn became mainstream in the 70s and thus filmmakers pushed the boundaries of censorship.
Yet from a modern perspective, these films’ constant emphasis on female nudity as opposed to men comes across as sexist. Then coupled with the violent deaths that would happen to women who partake in sex and/or drugs and alcohol, it becomes misogynistic. While this treatment of nudity still continues today, it doesn’t appear in many mainstream films.
2 Classic - Characters That Were Easy To Relate To
No matter how high the body count was in 80s horror movies, there was at least one relatable character. Whether it was a virgin girl or a guy with a gun, we rooted for these people to take down the killer and/or monster because they were generally likable.
Then following the advent of Torture Porn in the early 2000s, almost all the characters in modern horror movies were unlikable and thus we didn’t feel sympathetic when they died. But there are exceptions to this such as Tree from Happy Death Day, who redeems herself, and Erin from You’re Next.
1 Not - Senseless Violence
Aside from nudity, there were also a lot of graphically violent scenes in 80s horror movies. While some like Silent Night, Deadly Night were considered controversial at the time for their level of violence that didn’t stop similar ones from being made.
Now objectively, there’s nothing wrong with violence so long as it suits the message of the film. But the violence in most 80s horror films was mainly done for the sake of entertainment without much substance to it. Current horror films, on the other hand, are smarter when it comes to using violence in relation to their themes and arguably better handled.
Tags: Horror
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