Horror Movies Set in the 1980s
MaXXXine, Ti West’s final film in the horror X trilogy, premieres this weekend (July 5) and takes us to Hollywood in 1985. Set 7 years after the events in X, Mia Goth reprises her role as adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx trying to get her big break. A mysterious killer however is stalking the starlets of Hollywood and threatens to reveal her sinister past. MaXXXine also stars Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon.
If you’re looking for more horror movies set in the 1980s (not films made in the 1980s), here are 8 suggestions to check out after watching MaXXXine.
American Psycho (2000)
Cast: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage, Chloë Sevigny, Reese Witherspoon, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Mathis, Jared Leto, Matt Ross
Synopsis: “In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night.”
Where to watch: Netflix, Plex, Tubi
Censor (2021)
Cast: Niamh Algar, Nicholas Burns, Vincent Franklin, Sophia La Porta, Adrian Schiller
Synopsis: “When film censor Enid (Niamh Algar) discovers an eerie horror video that speaks directly to her sister’s mysterious disappearance, she resolves to unravel the puzzle behind the film and its enigmatic director-a quest that will blur the lines between fiction and reality in terrifying ways.”
Where to watch: Fubo, Hoopla, Hulu, Kanopy
The House of the Devil (2009) (Also directed by Ti West)
Cast: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, A. J. Bowen, Dee Wallace, Danielle Noe
Synopsis: “In 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.”
Where to watch: AMC+, Freevee, Peacock, Shudder, Tubi, Vudu
Let Me In (2010)
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Elias Koteas, Richard Jenkins, Cara Buono, Dylan Minnette, Sasha Barrese
Synopsis: “Follows a bullied 12-year-old boy who befriends and develops a romantic relationship with a child vampire girl in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during the early 1980s.”
Where to watch: Pluto TV, Tubi
Mandy (2018)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache
Synopsis: “Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.”
Where to watch: AMC+, Hoopla, Hulu, Plex, The Roku Channel, Shudder
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Cast: Chris Smith, Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Katie Featherston, Jessica Tyler Brown, Sprague Grayden, Dustin Ingram
Synopsis: “In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity called Toby, who resides in their home.”
Where to watch: Max
Summer of 84 (2018)
Cast: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Tiera Skovbye, Rich Sommer, Jason Gray-Stanford, Shauna Johannesen
Synopsis: “After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous.”
Where to watch: Hoopla, Shudder
V/H/S/85 (2023)
Cast: Jordan Belfi, Kelli Garner, James Ransone, Freddy Rodríguez, Gabriela Roel, Alex Galick, Anna Sundberg
Synopsis: “An ominous mixtape blends never before seen snuff footage with nightmarish newscasts and disturbing home video to create a surreal, analog mashup of the forgotten 80s.”
Where to watch: AMC+, Shudder