Underrated 80s
An evolving list of 80s movies that I feel all deserve more love. Some of these films make the list for having low average user ratings. Others are here for having very few user ratings. All of these are movies I like. (Though some are certainly better than others!) Here, then, is my list of the best unappreciated, misunderstood and/or unknown 80s movies that I particularly enjoyed, films that surely deserve higher ratings and/or a bigger audience.
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- DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.
- DirectorJoel DeMottStarsJoel DeMottJeff KreinesMark RanceThe film chronicles filmmaker Joel DeMott, significant other/film partner Jeff Kreines and filmmaker Mark Rance as they head to Michigan to make a low budget horror film.
- DirectorJoe CampStarsChevy ChaseJane SeymourBenjeanA murdered detective must avenge his murder after he is reincarnated as a dog.
- DirectorAlbie ThomsStarsKenneth BrownNat YoungAmanda BerryOver the course of 48 hours, three stories intertwine: Joe is looking for drugs; Leilane has run away from home, and Paul is unemployed and angry.
- DirectorAlan RudolphStarsMeat LoafKaki HunterArt CarneyA young Texas good ol' boy has a knack with electronic equipment, and that talent gets him a job as a roadie with a raucous travelling rock-and-roll show.
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsGrant PageMonique van de VenMargaret GerardWhile working on a TV show in Los Angeles, famed Australian stuntman Grant Page helps an up-and-coming fantasy-themed rock band develop special effects and dangerous stunts for their act.
- DirectorRobert GreenwaldStarsOlivia Newton-JohnGene KellyMichael BeckA struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.
- DirectorDavid CarradineStarsDavid CarradineBarbara HersheyMichael GreeneIn a small town in rural Kansas, a troubled veteran attempts to restore an old merry-go-round ride.
- DirectorUmberto LenziStarsGiovanni Lombardo RadiceLorraine De SelleDanilo MatteiThree friends set out to disprove cannibalism on a trip to the Amazonian jungle, where they meet two men trying to escape a vicious cannibal tribe.
- DirectorAl AdamsonStarsDon StewartJennifer HoultonHoward SegalA carnival magician with actual magic powers works with a talking chimp. The magician and the chimp soon become the stars of the carnival, drawing in big crowds. However, the wild-animal trainer decides to kidnap Alex and sell him.
- DirectorJulia St. VincentStarsJohn HolmesSekaJesie St. JamesA documentary about John C. Holmes, who was the biggest star in the adult film industry in more ways than one.
- DirectorJimmy HustonStarsCecile BagdadiJoel S. RiceRalph BrownA psycho killer shows up on college campus to slash up pretty co-eds and dumb jocks.
- DirectorHerb FreedStarsChristopher GeorgePatch MackenzieE. Danny MurphyA masked killer begins murdering students on the school track team after a track runner dies upon completion of a 30 second 200-meter race.
- DirectorSheldon RenanStarsChuck RileyEd DorrisThomas NoguchiA documentary of the decline of America. It features footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowMonty MontgomeryStarsWillem DafoeJ. Don FergusonRobert GordonTrouble ensues when a motorcycle gang stops in a small southern town while heading to the races at Daytona.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsVincent PriceJohn CarradineAnthony SteelA writer of horror stories is invited to a "monster club" by a mysterious old gentleman. There, three gruesome stories are told to him; between each story some musicians play their songs.
- DirectorDusan MakavejevStarsSusan AnspachErland JosephsonPer OscarssonA bored wealthy housewife on the verge of insanity cuts loose with some lively Yugoslavian immigrants who delight in their bohemian lifestyle.
- DirectorMichael LaughlinStarsMichael MurphyLouise FletcherDan ShorA scientist is experimenting with teenagers and turning them into murderers.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsAudrey HepburnBen GazzaraPatti HansenA madcap private-eye caper about a team of detectives who are following, and are being followed by, a group of beautiful women.
- DirectorRalph L. ThomasStarsNick MancusoSaul RubinekMeg FosterDavid is a young man seduced by a religious cult that uses starvation, exhaustion, and brainwashing to mold recruits into money hustling disciples of a messiah-like leader. Chronicles David's chilling transformation into a gaunt, mindless shadow of his former self...and his ultimate salvation when friends and family launch a plan to kidnap and deprogram him.
- DirectorDerek BurbidgeStarsWall of VoodooStan RidgwayMarc MorelandLive performances from dozens of leading early-1980s musical acts - rock, punk, ska, reggae - it's all here.
- DirectorPhilo BregsteinStarsPier Paolo PasoliniAlberto MoraviaLaura BettiDocumentary on the life and death of Pier Paolo Pasolini.
- DirectorTim BurstallStarsJohn Phillip LawMel GibsonSam NeillA group of Australian commandos launch a secret mission against Japanese forces in World War II.
- DirectorRichard JefferiesStarsJames Earl JonesJosé FerrerLila KedrovaAn adventurer hunting for treasure in Greece accidentally frees a monster that forces local villagers to sacrifice virgins.
- DirectorPatrick MontgomeryStarsJohn LennonPaul McCartneyGeorge HarrisonThe history of the great British rock band.
- DirectorDickie JobsonStarsCountrymanHiram KellerCarl BradshawA young American couple crash-lands their plane in Jamaica. A fisherman rescues them and leads them away from the authorities, who have fabricated a story about the plane, involving drug and arms smuggling by the CIA, to gain popularity in an upcoming election.
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsPaul Le MatCatherine HicksStephen McHattieA divorced mother, her young son and her new boyfriend set out on a road trip through Death Valley and run afoul of a local serial killer.
- DirectorCaleb DeschanelStarsRaul JuliaGriffin O'NealDesi ArnazTeenager Danny Masters, the son of the late Harry Masters, considered the second best escape artist in history, wants to follow in his father's footsteps, he already a skilled but untested magician. As far as Danny knows, his father died in a dangerous escape routine. Escaping from under his grandmother's roof, Danny, in a step to achieve his goal as they have all his father's old professional paraphernalia, reunites with his Aunt Sibyl and Uncle Burke in the town of Harding where they have a mind-reading act, she who actually can read minds but which only impinges on the smoke and mirrors they've developed with the act itself. In his wanderings around Harding, Danny gets involved with corrupt Stu Quiñones, and indirectly with Stu's equally corrupt father, the town's mayor, Leon Quiñones. This father/son pair no longer associate with each other as although Stu aspires to be as corrupt as his father, Stu's activities are a little too brazen and public for a politician with which to deal. In those dealings, Danny devises what is largely seen as a publicity stunt in reality to get the one up on the Quiñoneses, but in which he will have to show his true mettle as a great escape artist. In the process, Danny may also provide some justice for his father, the true nature of his death which Danny learns along the way.
- DirectorArnold SchwartzmanStarsElizabeth TaylorOrson WellesSimon WiesenthalOrson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor compassionately narrate this harrowing documentary about Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany, which soon turned into a notoriously industrious plan to wipe them from existence.
- DirectorDean StockwellNeil YoungStarsNeil YoungRuss TamblynDean StockwellThe new owner of a roadside diner stuck in a town built around an always leaking nuclear power plant plans to torch the place to collect insurance. However, an assortment of bizare characters and weird events (such as spaceships flying around) gets in his way.
- DirectorRobert GreenwaldStarsMartin SheenJane AlexanderEmilio EstevezA teenage delinquent who goes on a drunken joyride is left in jail overnight by his parents in the hope that he might learn a lesson from it.
- DirectorH.B. HalickiStarsH.B. HalickiChristopher StoneSusan ShawJunkman and movie-maker Harlan Hollis struggles to stay alive when a jealous partner in his company hires goons to kill him. Full of amazing car chases, fantastic crashes, and edge-of-your-seat action.
- DirectorJean-Claude LordStarsMichael IronsideLee GrantLinda PurlA deranged, misogynistic killer assaults a journalist. When he discovers that she survived the attack, he follows her to the hospital to finish her off.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsSean ConneryGeorge GrizzardRobert ConradA TV reporter finds himself in the middle of an Arab leader buying two portable nukes, terrorists, arms dealer, a reporter/CIA spy killed, a US president ordering a K-I-L-L etc.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsMichael McKeanSean YoungGary FriedkinIn a zany parody of hospital soap operas, a new batch of doctors begins their internship at City Hospital.
- DirectorRobert J. RosenthalStarsScott BaioWillie AamesRobert MandanA high school science nerd gains telekinetic powers after a laboratory accident and uses them for revenge upon bullies.
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsDavid ArgueJohn LeyNicole KidmanA trio of teen BMX enthusiasts become entangled with a group of bank robbers after discovering their cache of walkie-talkies.
- DirectorEnzo G. CastellariStarsMark GregoryHenry SilvaValeria D'ObiciA rag-tag group of people must fight extermination squads amid their ruined city.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsDee WallaceDaniel Hugh KellyDanny PintauroCujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.
- DirectorMichael PressmanStarsDan AykroydHoward HessemanDonna DixonA pimp on the run trusts his sex workers to a meek professor of literature, who accepts the challenge.
- DirectorJames TobackStarsNastassja KinskiRudolf NureyevHarvey KeitelWisconsin farm girl Elizabeth Carlson leaves her family and her English-teacher lover behind, and escapes to New York City, where she soon makes a career for herself as a fashion model. During a private viewing of paintings, she is approached by a mysterious man whose motives are not clear.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsJohn FriedrichAdrian ZmedErnest Harden Jr.A group of rangers go camping on unfamiliar forest grounds. All's well until the group members start getting killed by a cunning killer in the woods.
- DirectorPaul NicholasStarsAnthony FranciosaSybil DanningIsabelle MejiasA teenage girl whose inaction caused her mother's death arranges a similarly gruesome fate for her stepmother and brother.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsYoshiko SakumaSayuri YoshinagaYûko KotegawaThe orphaned Makioka sisters look for a husband for their third sister, Yukiko, as the rebellious youngest sister, Taeko, is kept waiting her turn.
- DirectorAdam SmallPeter StuartStarsM. Otis BeardDennis DanellBrent LilesA documentary following the 1982 tour of punk bands Youth Brigade and Social Distortion.
- DirectorYves BoissetStarsLee MarvinMiou-MiouJean CarmetA fugitive on the run from the law, and carrying several million dollars, hides out in the home of a farm family. The tables turn when the family proves to be even more criminally oriented than he is--and begins to terrorize him instead of the other way around.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsMatt DillonHector ElizondoMolly McCarthyA recent high-school graduate unsure of his future gets a summer job at the Flamingo beach club, and meets the charismatic Phil Brody.
- DirectorLawrence DaneStarsCynthia DaleRichard RebiereWalter George AltonA small "Dance-ercize" studio fights for its existence against the unscrupulous owner of a rival club. The conflict boils down to a "Dance Marathon" to settle the score.
- DirectorLarry StewartPeter CraneStarsVera MilesClu GulagerDaphne ZunigaAn amnesiac sorority member who has been plagued by a recurring nightmare is stalked alongside other coeds by a killer in a deserted department store where they are completing a hazing ritual.
- DirectorColin EgglestonStarsP.J. SolesKit TaylorGrigor TaylorA woman living in Dallas discovers that her husband, from New Zealand, is actually a crazed serial killer who murders prostitutes. She helps the authorities arrest him, and he is sent to a hospital for the criminally insane. Just when she's starting to get her life back together, she learns that he's escaped from the institution and is after her. She flees to Australia and winds up staying in a house owned by a wealthy young man, who turns out to have dark secrets of his own.
- DirectorStephen CarpenterJeffrey ObrowStarsSuzy StokeyWarren LincolnLisa EricksonA few people come into possession of an ancient Aztec doll. However, the doll is possessed by an evil spirit, which takes over their bodies.
- DirectorCharles E. Sellier Jr.StarsLilyan ChauvinGilmer McCormickToni NeroLittle Billy witnesses his parents getting killed by Santa after being warned by his senile grandpa that Santa punishes those who are naughty. Now Billy is 18 and out of the orphanage, and he has just become Santa himself.
- DirectorCorey BlechmanStarsRalph MacchioBetty BuckleySeason HubleyA teenager must cope with a disease that causes him to age at an astonishing rate.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruce SpenceWandjuk MarikaRoy MarikaA geologist employed by an Australian mining company finds himself disputing the rights of some aborigines who believe their land to be sacred.
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsMaxwell CaulfieldCharlie SheenPatti D'ArbanvilleRoy and Bo leave their small California town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to Los Angeles. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.
- DirectorIvan PasserStarsPeter O'TooleMariel HemingwayVincent SpanoAn eccentric scientist teaches a student in his own manner while he looks for a way to clone his deceased wife.
- DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsShannon PresbyLori LoughlinJames SpaderA brother and sister arrive in a small town to help their relatives run an amusement park, and they find the town is terrorized by a local street gang.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsDaniel JenkinsNeill BarryJane CurtinO.C. and Stiggs aren't your average unhappy teenagers. They not only despise their suburban surroundings, they plot against them. They seek revenge against the middle-class Schwab family, who embody all they detest: the middle class.
- DirectorJohn HuckertStarsJames Carroll PlasterWelton Benjamin JohnsonJohn HuckertTwo elderly World War II buddies are living - and dying - together in their small home. One becomes a patient where salvage-worthy, older attributes are combined with useable, younger body parts. He returns, unrecognized by the other.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsChishû RyûWerner HerzogYûharu AtsutaMoved by the work of director Yasujirô Ozu, Wim Wenders travels to Japan in search of the Tokyo seen in Ozu's films.
- DirectorLarry GrossStarsAdam BaldwinDeborah ForemanRene AuberjonoisThe Cobras, a vicious street gang, rule an embattled high school with their violent brand of terror. But they're headed for a showdown when an ex-gang-member-gone-good challenges their brutal reign.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsJeff BridgesRosanna ArquetteAlexandra PaulA former police detective, still recovering from his alcohol addiction, is seemingly drawn into L.A's criminal underworld after stumbling upon a local drug ring.
- DirectorHarley CokelissStarsTommy Lee JonesLinda HamiltonRobert VaughnA thief, Quint, is hired by the Justice Department to steal incriminating tapes from a corrupt corporation. The tapes vanish when Quint hides them in the back of a hydrodynamic powered racing car that is stolen by a hot car ring.
- DirectorJim WynorskiStarsKelli MaroneyTony O'DellRussell ToddA group of young shopping mall employees stay behind for a late night party in one of the stores. When the mall goes on lock-down before they can get out, the robot security system malfunctions, and goes on a killing spree.
- DirectorDavid SchmoellerStarsKlaus KinskiTalia BalsamBarbara WhinneryA man who runs an apartment house for women is the demented son of a Nazi surgeon who has the house equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms and torture and murder devices.
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsNed ManningNatalie McCurryPeter WhitfordIn a dystopian future Australia, a health nut and his tag-along girlfriend become trapped in a drive-in cinema that has become a concentration camp for delinquent youths and immigrants.
- DirectorRene DaalderStarsTomata Du PlentyDino LeeHelen HeavenAfter the nuclear annihilation of the planet, the last member of a small society of survivors finds himself trapped in an underground control room, where he recounts the history of his world through musical numbers.
- DirectorTom DeSimoneStarsLinda CarolWendy O. WilliamsPat AstA new group of girls arrives at Pridemore Juvenile Facility, where the brutal warden plays favoritism with a few, and treats the rest like animals. But one girl is not taking this horrible treatment lying down.
- DirectorCraig BaldwinUsing instructions for constructing a rocket as a frame, the film explores the exploitation of Zaire (as was), by Western governments and corporations culminating in the establishment of a German rocket research company in the country.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsDennis HopperCaroline WilliamsJim SiedowA radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas marshal hunts them.
- DirectorLyndall HobbsStarsFrankie AvalonAnnette FunicelloLori LoughlinFrankie and Annette, having grown up and put aside their beach-partying lifestyle, visit their daughter in Southern California and discover there's still some wild times left in them.
- DirectorJoe CampStarsRed SteagallFrank InnBenjeanBenji is left in the wilderness after an accident. Can he survive?
- StarsJudd NelsonFredric LehneBrian McNamaraRon Levin, a wealthy businessman, has disappeared. No body is found, but there was a list with instructions in his house - a recipe for murder. Its author Joe Hunt is the defendant. The successful young business man had formed a team of prestigious former fellow students for a risky project which should make them all rich. His partners claim they didn't know about the means.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsPeter BoyleElliott GouldBrian BenbenA dramatized historical recreation of the Chicago Conspiracy trial with present testimonies by many of the participants.
- DirectorDavid A. PriorStarsCameron MitchellTroy DonahueTed PriorA group of sadistic mercenaries kidnap people off the streets and set them loose on the grounds of their secret camp, so the "students" at the camp can learn how to track down and kill their prey.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsCharles BronsonKay LenzJohn P. RyanArchitect/vigilante Paul Kersey takes on the members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend's daughter dies from an overdose.
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsJon CryerDaniel RoebuckFleaThree punk-loving New York City dudes need a change and drive a VW Beetle to California. After rednecks kill one of them in Arizona, they want justice. A cute girl helps them.
- DirectorDiane KeatonStarsMichael AgbabianJames AllportLazaro ArvizuA series of interviews are conducted concerning people's beliefs towards the possibility of an afterlife. The interviews are filmed against a set of strange backdrops, and are intercut with clips from classic films and a variety of stock footage.
- DirectorBob GiraldiStarsJon CryerKeith CooganAnnabeth GishA stockbroker on the run from the mob decides to hide out from them by enrolling as a high-school student.
- DirectorElaine MayStarsWarren BeattyDustin HoffmanIsabelle AdjaniTwo terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the C.I.A., the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.
- DirectorHarley CokelissStarsBurt ReynoldsCliff RobertsonKenneth McMillanAn ex-C.I.A. hit man running from his past finds just how difficult it is to retire when he runs across a small town controlled by mercenaries and a family that's resisting their control.
- DirectorSusan SeidelmanStarsJohn MalkovichAnn MagnusonGlenne HeadlyA reclusive scientist, Jeff Peters (Malkovich), builds a robot, Ulysses, which looks exactly like himself and is set to go on a long-term space mission. Since the (real) scientist seems to lack all emotions, he is unable to program his (lack of) emotion into his automaton, and an eccentric woman is hired to "educate" the robot on human behavior. In the end, she falls in love--but is it with the robot or with Mr. Right?
- DirectorTony PalmerStarsMaria CallasGiuseppe Di StefanoCarlo Maria GiuliniA decade after his original film on her, Tony Palmer returns to the subject of Maria Callas, this time for ITV's flagship arts show.
- DirectorNick ZeddStarsNick ZeddRockets RedglareFlip CrowleyZedd is minding his business, when he is stopped by a cop who accuses him of being a junkie. After a short argument he is beaten and dragged to the police station. At the station he is interrogated by a detective (Rockets Redglare) and the police chief. After being beaten and tortured several more times, Nick Zedd's character mutilates himself with some hedge cutters.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsElaine StritchDenholm ElliottMia FarrowAt a summer house in Vermont, neighbor Howard falls in love with Lane, who's in a relationship with Peter, who's falling for Stephanie, who's married with children.
- DirectorHenry JaglomStarsHenry JaglomAndrea MarcovicciMichael EmilA Hollywood film director assembles a group of friends and strangers for a social gathering on Valentine's Day in a deserted movie theatre where he interviews them all on their opinions on love and loneliness.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsWilliam DevaneLauren HuttonJohn RatzenbergerScott McKenzie, a history professor, becomes involved with two time travelers from the year 2586 after making a discovery in an old photograph from 1886.
- DirectorDonald CammellStarsDavid KeithCathy MoriartyAlan RosenbergSomebody's killing rich married women in their homes - latest in a rich desert community outside Tucson. A married sound expert is prime suspect.
- DirectorRobert EnglundStarsStephen GeoffreysPatrick O'BryanJim MetzlerPeople who dial 976-EVIL receive supernatural powers and turn into satanic killers. When Spike dialed 976-EVIL, he knew it was an expensive toll call, but he didn't know that he'd have to pay for it with his soul.
- DirectorMick GarrisStarsScott GrimesLiane CurtisTerrence MannEggs of the small but voracious alien creatures called Crites are left behind on earth and, after hatching, set their appetites on the small farm town of Grover's Bend.
- DirectorMark GoldblattStarsTreat WilliamsJoe PiscopoLindsay FrostA cop is killed investigating a strange case of resurrected corpses. His partner and a pathologist resurrect him, but he only has a limited time before he starts to decompose, and he uses it to chase down the diabolical man who killed him.
- DirectorEmmett AlstonStarsGeorge KennedyDavid Michael O'NeillPamela GilbertA man and his daughter are attacked in the woods by what they believe is a Bigfoot-type creature. However, they soon begin to suspect that they may have stumbled onto a nest of aliens in a hidden spacecraft.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsGeena DavisJeff GoldblumJim CarreyA Southern California girl befriends three furry aliens after their spaceship lands in her swimming pool.
- DirectorMarisa SilverStarsAlan BoyceKeanu ReevesPamela GidleyA man who seemingly has it all together, being smart, talented, funny, and popular, is secretly overwhelmed by expectations of himself and those of his parents, and suffers what is assumed to be a horrible accident.
- DirectorGary ShermanStarsHeather O'RourkeTom SkerrittNancy AllenCarol Anne is staying with her aunt in a high-rise building, where the supernatural forces haunting her make their return.
- DirectorPeter MacDonaldStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaMarc de JongeRambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
- DirectorDon CoscarelliStarsLance HenriksenMark RolstonSteve AntinA group on an Outward Bound-type adventure runs across a paramilitary team with a sadistic leader who has harmful intentions towards anyone who may find themselves in their path.
- DirectorBill FishmanStarsJohn CusackTim RobbinsMary CrosbyA couple of creative losers accidently become big shots in the video music industry.
- DirectorKen KwapisStarsCyndi LauperJeff GoldblumRamon BieriTwo psychics are hired to find the location of a lost Incan city Located somewhere in the Ecuadorian mountains, that is said to hide a great treasure.
- DirectorJim WheatKen WheatStarsJillian McWhirterPamela AdlonRamy ZadaA college class, Psychology of Fear, has a new teacher who believes that you have to feel fear to understand it. A group of students convene at the teacher's house, where scary stories are told.