Casey Chong takes a trip back 40 years to look at the best horror movies of 1985…
1985 may have been a banner year for hit movies that reached the pop-culture milestones, notably Back to the Future, The Goonies and Rambo: First Blood Part II. But let’s not forget the horror genre, which equally enjoyed its varying degrees of success, exploring a wide range of creativity and even taking risks in blending different elements altogether. Here’s our curated list of the top ten horror movies of 1985…
House
Steve Miner’s take on the familiar haunted-house trope in aptly titled House begins with an earlier stretch detailing from a delivery boy’s shocking discovery, to Roger Cobb (William Katt) residing in the very place owned by his late aunt, Elizabeth (Susan French), to write his latest novel. Miner chooses to play it straight at first, but things get weirder as the movie progresses, with the presence of monsters lurking somewhere in the house.
The shifting tone from serious to comedic is jarring, while the movie’s recurring subplot of Roger’s past during the Vietnam War feels oddly disconnected. Compared to Miner’s earlier works at the time with his two Friday the 13th movies, House is rather restrained on its horror violence and gore factors, even though it’s hard to deny the movie’s otherwise uneven horror-comedy hybrid has its certain irreverent charm. House was a hit back in 1985, grossing over $22 million on a $3 million budget, more than enough to spawn three sequels between 1987 and 1992.
Phenomena
It’s a mixed bag of giallo where Dario Argento, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Franco Ferrini, follows the story of a teenage Jennifer Corvino (a very young Jennifer Connelly in one of her earlier roles) possessing a psychic power and a unique ability to communicate with insects. The setting takes place in the Swiss Alps’ elite boarding school, where a series of grisly murders revolving around young girls soon becomes the major plot point.
The pace is erratic, and the story often meanders around, but Phenomena does have its moments, notably Jennifer Connelly’s childlike innocence and angelic persona, which help to elevate the movie. Argento’s unique visual flair brings out an effective mix of dreamlike imagery, graphic deaths (the decapitation scene comes to mind), and, at one point, a nod to Don’t Look Now’s shocking reveal. The movie is also notable for its well-crafted opening stretch: a teenage Danish tourist misses a bus, leaving her stranded and all alone before she subsequently finds herself terrorized by an unseen killer.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
1985 saw two of the most iconic horror franchises, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, both trying to pivot into a fresh direction beyond the typical slasher trope with mixed results. For Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, director and co-writer Danny Steinmann flips the script by turning the fifth chapter into a murder mystery. The mystery in question revolves around whether Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd), who is now in his teenage years (the previous movie was played by Corey Feldman), is following the footsteps of the notorious serial killer, Jason Voorhees.
The movie constantly throws in red herrings to make us assume he might be a copycat or that supposedly dead Voorhees at the end of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is still alive after all. The murder-mystery angle may have been a refreshing change of pace, but the execution is rather disjointed. Steinmann doesn’t completely abandon the franchise’s tried-and-tested formula, as he retains the usual trifecta of gore, violence and gratuitous nudity.
SEE ALSO: Every Friday the 13th Movie Ranked From Worst to Best
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Of all the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels in the franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is often seen as a black sheep. It feels like a 180-degree turn from Wes Craven’s superior 1984 genre classic, drastically turning from the original’s terrifying dream-invasion horror to the possession genre. The latter is especially true with the introduction of a new protagonist, played by Mark Patton as Jesse Walsh, where he and his family recently moved into a new suburban home formerly occupied by the Thompsons in the first movie. Since then, Jesse experiences recurring nightmares about Freddy Krueger, with the opening stretch capturing the malevolent and playful spirit of the franchise: a seemingly ordinary day in a school bus turns into a surreal nightmare.
Despite the subtitle of this sequel, it’s not as straightforward as you think. The so-called “Freddy’s Revenge” isn’t about the notorious child killer exacting vengeance against whoever defeated or wronged him the last time around. That aside, it’s hard to deny that Jack Sholder, who would later go on to direct The Hidden, manages to make the film stand out in a few other areas. The movie’s underlying gay subtext, using Freddy as a visual representation of Jesse’s repressed sexual identity as a closeted homosexual feels timelier by today’s standards. The sequel also boasts plenty of nasty gore and violence, notably the pool party massacre and Freddy possessing Jesse’s body before bursting out of his stomach, reminiscent of the chest-bursting scene in Alien.
Demons
Imagine watching a violent horror film in a cinema, and an outbreak takes place after one of the audiences accidentally has her face scratched by a weird-looking mask displayed in the lobby. That scratch gradually turns her into a bloodthirsty, monstrous demon, and she starts attacking her friend. And soon, one by one, they suffer from a similar fate, leaving the rest of the survivors fighting for their lives while trapped inside the cinema.
Lamberto Bava, who directed Dario Argento’s screenplay, made good use of the unique single-location setting to maximize tension and a whole lot of gore. The latter is especially true with a copious amount of elaborate practical effects, makeup and creature design. Demons is also a quintessential B-horror movie which embraces its wildly over-the-top nature, cheesy dialogue and dubbing. Logic is thrown out of the window in favor of all things frenetic, in-your-face mayhem. The success of Demons led Bava and Argento to return for another round a year later in Demons 2.
The Stuff
Writer-director Larry Cohen combines science fiction, horror and comedy in The Stuff, all wrapped in a satirical bite poking at the corporate greed and consumerism. So, the stuff here refers to the strange white substance with the gooey and creamy consistency of a marshmallow and ice cream hybrid. Let’s just say the stuff has increased the people’s appetite, given how addictively sweet it turns out to be.
Bizarre? Yes, and in the way that Cohen can pull it off without losing sight of what he wants to say here. At the heart of the movie is Michael Moriarty, whose hilariously deadpan performance as an ex-FBI agent tasked to investigate the origin of the substance is the highlight here.
Day of the Dead
Sure, George A. Romero’s final chapter of his original zombie trilogy isn’t as popular as his first two movies, Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, but Day of the Dead remains one of those misunderstood masterpieces that deserve better recognition. You have to give it to Romero for not repeating himself, as he goes deep for a bleaker tone in exploring the mistrust of human relationships in times of a crisis, which, in this case, is the zombie apocalypse. Not to mention the mounting paranoia that creeps up on a team of scientists and soldiers stationed below the underground missile bunker.
Interestingly, Romero subverts his zombie genre by making the undead more like the victims of circumstances and the humans, particularly the increasingly disillusioned soldiers led by Captain Henry Rhodes (Joseph Pilato), become the antagonists driven by anxiety and fear. The introduction of Bub (Sherman Howard), the zombie in captivity that manages to be domesticated, serves as the unlikely heart and soul of the movie.
The Return of the Living Dead
Whereas George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead leans towards the dark and somber tones, Dan O’Bannon’s directorial debut goes for the polar opposite by incorporating zombie horror and irreverent comedy. The zombies even possess a sense of intelligence and even speak, primarily through the recurring use of “brains”. The story boasts a wickedly fun premise: A veteran foreman named Frank (James Karen) shows his new colleague Freddy (Thom Mathews) the military-owned canisters with cadavers on the inside stored in the basement of their medical supply warehouse workplace.
What follows next is a silly mistake that unwittingly unleashes the 245 Trioxin gas and triggers a zombie outbreak. Bannon doesn’t shy away from excessive gore and violence – the primary must-haves in a zombie genre, and this movie has them in spades to satisfy the horror fans. The Return of the Living Dead is also fast-paced and darkly humorous, complete with a punk-heavy soundtrack which perfectly captures the movie’s overall rebellious tone and structure.
Re-Animator
Leave it to the tag team of Stuart Gordon (director), Brian Yuzna (producer) and Jeffrey Combs (actor) to bring us one of the best horror movies of 1985, and even in the all-time list for the genre, in Re-Animator. Gordon, who also co-wrote the screenplay, has a field day combining the Lovecraftian-style horror trope with pitch-black comedy, weird sci-fi angle and a whole lot of over-the-top gore and violence.
It’s a gleefully absurd B-movie at its finest, with Combs headlining the movie as the unhinged medical student Herbert West in his quest to resurrect dead bodies with his experimental serum. The movie benefits from a taut 86-minute runtime, where the story just gets crazier and weirder as it goes. The success of Re-Animator spawned two more movies; Bride of Re-Animator and Beyond Re-Animator.
Fright Night
Horror comedy can be a tricky hybrid, especially if one is looking to find the right balance between the two different genres without cancelling each other out. Tom Holland – in his directorial debut – has no problem cracking that code in Fright Night, resulting in an entertaining genre mishmash which seamlessly combines traditional vampire tropes with the then-contemporary 1980s hook, and a spookily hilarious tone.
The setup revolves around a 17-year-old teenager, Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale), who believes that his newly arrived next-door neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (a scene-stealing Chris Sarandon), is a vampire. Holland, who also wrote the screenplay, uses that angle to play around with his paranoia and suspicion. He knows well how to build tension regardless of utilizing the atmospheric dread or showcasing impressive practical vampire effects. Fright Night was a hit both critically and financially, making just enough to warrant a 1988 sequel before the movie received a reboot treatment in 2011 and its sequel two years later.
SEE ALSO: Fright Night: A Timeless Blend of Horror, Comedy and Cool
What are your favourite horror movies of 1985? Let us know on our socials @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
