Slashers from 1980
by jodiefaster | created - 25 Feb 2023 | updated - 26 Feb 2023 | PublicAll the slashers I could find from 1980. Some might not be explicitly slashers but are close enough or clearly influenced the coming wave of 80s slashers. *This list comes from other 1980s slasher lists, books, documentaries, and podcasts
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1. The Grim Reaper (1980)
R | 92 min | Horror
A group of friends and a hitchhiker become stranded on a tourist island where they are stalked by a disfigured cannibalistic killer who is prowling the island after killing its residents.
Director: Joe D'Amato | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi, Margaret Mazzantini
Votes: 6,968
2. The Beasts (1980)
90 min | Horror, Thriller
A father seeks revenge from a gang of thugs who raped his daughter and murdered his son.
Director: Dennis Yu | Stars: Eddie Chan, Sing Chen, Kent Cheng, Ching Yee Chong
Votes: 248
3. Blood Beach (1980)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Something is attacking and killing people on the beach. David and Mariana, old friends, search for clues where they played as kids to uncover the mysterious creature.
Director: Jeffrey Bloom | Stars: David Huffman, Marianna Hill, Burt Young, Otis Young
Votes: 2,861
4. Bloodrage (1980)
78 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
A sexually frustrated young man kills hookers.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: James Johnson, Judith-Marie Bergan, Jerry McGee, Ian Scott
Votes: 366
5. The Boogey Man (1980)
R | 82 min | Horror
Through the reflection in the mirror, a girl witnesses her mother's boyfriend's murder.
Director: Ulli Lommel | Stars: Suzanna Love, John Carradine, Ron James, Nicholas Love
Votes: 5,106 | Gross: $4.50M
6. The Children (1980)
R | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.
Director: Max Kalmanowicz | Stars: Martin Shakar, Gil Rogers, Gale Garnett, Shannon Bolin
Votes: 2,747
7. Christmas Evil (1980)
R | 100 min | Horror, Thriller
A toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.
Director: Lewis Jackson | Stars: Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull, Andy Fenwick
Votes: 8,572
8. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,042 | Gross: $19.80M
9. Deadline (1980)
R | 90 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A popular horror writer whose family life is falling apart struggles to write his next horror movie.
Director: Mario Azzopardi | Stars: Stephen Young, Sharon Masters, Marvin Goldhar, Jeannie Elias
Votes: 791
10. Demented (1980)
R | 87 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
After being gang raped and institutionalized, a woman suffers nightmares while under the care of her unfaithful husband, and finally snaps when a group of masked youths decide to invade her house.
Director: Arthur Jeffreys | Stars: Sallee Young, Harry Reems, Deborah Alter, Kathryn Clayton
Votes: 761
11. Don't Answer the Phone! (1980)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A deeply disturbed Vietnam veteran terrorizes the young women of Los Angeles and taunts a radio psychologist with descriptions of his grisly crimes.
Director: Robert Hammer | Stars: James Westmoreland, Ben Frank, Flo Lawrence, Nicholas Worth
Votes: 2,161
12. Don't Go in the House (1979)
R | 82 min | Horror
A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.
Director: Joseph Ellison | Stars: Dan Grimaldi, Charles Bonet, Bill Ricci, Robert Carnegie
Votes: 5,241
* Released in 1980
13. Dressed to Kill (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon
Votes: 48,221 | Gross: $31.90M
14. The Exterminator (1980)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him.
Director: James Glickenhaus | Stars: Robert Ginty, Samantha Eggar, Christopher George, Steve James
Votes: 6,560
15. Fade to Black (1980)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A shy, lonely film buff embarks on a killing spree against those who browbeat and betray him, all the while stalking his idol, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike.
Director: Vernon Zimmerman | Stars: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Gwynne Gilford, Norman Burton
Votes: 4,995
16. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,437 | Gross: $39.75M
17. Funeral Home (1980)
R | 93 min | Horror, Thriller
A young woman arrives at her grandmother's house, which used to be a funeral home, to help her turn the place into a bed-and-breakfast inn. After they open, however, guests begin disappearing or turning up dead.
Director: William Fruet | Stars: Kay Hawtrey, Lesleh Donaldson, Barry Morse, Dean Garbett
Votes: 1,607
18. He Knows You're Alone (1980)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A young bride-to-be is being stalked upon by a serial killer in Staten Island. She gets help from a former lover, but will they manage to escape?
Director: Armand Mastroianni | Stars: Don Scardino, Caitlin O'Heaney, Elizabeth Kemp, Tom Rolfing
Votes: 4,238
19. House on the Edge of the Park (1980)
91 min | Horror, Thriller
Two low-life punks invite themselves to a party at a posh villa and after being taunted by their snobbish hosts, hold everyone hostage and subject them to various forms of torture and mayhem.
Director: Ruggero Deodato | Stars: David Hess, Annie Belle, Christian Borromeo, Giovanni Lombardo Radice
Votes: 5,941
20. The Long Island Cannibal Massacre (1980)
95 min | Horror, Thriller
A series of horrible murders prompts a massive police investigation. Inspector James Cameron, a two-fisted roughneck with his own philosophy on handling crime, heads the investigation. A ... See full summary »
Director: Nathan Schiff | Stars: John Smihula, Fred Borges, Michael Siegal, Paul Smihula
Votes: 251
21. Macabre (1980)
Unrated | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A middle-aged woman, traumatized from the death of her adulterous lover, moves into a room at a New Orleans boarding house where the blind landlord becomes suspicious to her activities of continuing her affair with her dead lover.
Director: Lamberto Bava | Stars: Bernice Stegers, Stanko Molnar, Veronica Zinny, Roberto Posse
Votes: 3,089
22. Maniac (1980)
18+ | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton, Kelly Piper
Votes: 20,213
23. Moodupani (1980)
131 min | Crime, Thriller
A successful businessman develops a hatred towards women as a result of his troubled childhood, which involved the separation of his parents owing to his father's affection towards a prostitute.
Director: Balu Mahendra | Stars: Prathap Pothen, Shobha, Malasia Bhaskar, Gandhimathi
Votes: 2,125
24. Motel Hell (1980)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A seemingly friendly farmer and his sister kidnap unsuspecting travelers and bury them alive, using them to create the "special meat" they are famous for.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod
Votes: 13,611 | Gross: $6.34M
25. Mother's Day (1980)
Unrated | 91 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Two brothers kidnap and brutalize three women for the pleasure of their demented mother.
Director: Charles Kaufman | Stars: Tiana Pierce, Nancy Hendrickson, Deborah Luce, Frederick Coffin
Votes: 6,202
26. New Year's Evil (1980)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
During a New Year's Eve celebration, a Los Angeles disc jockey receives a phone call saying that when New Year's strikes in each time zone, someone will be murdered - and she will be the last one.
Director: Emmett Alston | Stars: Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace, Grant Cramer
Votes: 3,845
27. Night of the Demon (1980)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror
An anthropologist and his students attempt to track down a Bigfoot responsible for a rash of violent murders, only to uncover something even more sinister.
Director: James C. Wasson | Stars: Michael Cutt, Joy Allen, Bob Collins, Jody Lazarus
Votes: 2,516
28. Patrick Still Lives (1980)
92 min | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi
Five people receive an anonymous letter revealing a secret of theirs and inviting them to come stay at a mansion that houses a clinic run by a corrupt doctor who experiments on the brain of his comatose son.
Director: Mario Landi | Stars: Sacha Pitoëff, Gianni Dei, Mariangela Giordano, Carmen Russo
Votes: 958
29. Phobia (1980)
R | 91 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A psychiatrist involved in a radical new therapy comes under suspicion when his patients are murdered, each according to their individual phobias.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Paul Michael Glaser, Susan Hogan, John Colicos, David Bolt
Votes: 837 | Gross: $0.06M
30. Prom Night (1980)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
At a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.
Director: Paul Lynch | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin
Votes: 20,923 | Gross: $14.80M
31. Saboot (1980)
132 min | Mystery, Thriller
Dharamdas is killed by Dhanraj and his man later one by one Dharamdas killers are killed but it puts question to everyone as whose behind all this killings?
Directors: Shyam Ramsay, Tulsi Ramsay | Stars: Navin Nischol, Vidya Sinha, Kaajal Kiran, Om Shivpuri
Votes: 115
32. The Saviour (1980)
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Inspector Tom is a tough cop, but has a soft side. Once a week, he plays day foster father to a young boy in an orphanage.
Director: Ronny Yu | Stars: Ying Bai, Gigi Suk Yee Wong, Kent Cheng, Chia-Li Li
Votes: 235
33. Schizoid (1980)
R | 89 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
An advice columnist in the midst of getting a divorce begins receiving threatening notes from an anonymous stalker. Meanwhile, members of her group therapy session are being murdered by an unknown assailant.
Director: David Paulsen | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Donna Wilkes, Marianna Hill, Craig Wasson
Votes: 1,975
34. Shadows of the Mind (1980)
80 min | Horror, Thriller
Years after being traumatized by witnessing the drowning deaths of her beloved father and stepmother as a child, a wealthy young woman is released from a sanitarium and returns to the ... See full synopsis »
Director: Roger Watkins | Stars: Marion Joyce, Erik Rolfe, G.E. Barrymore, Bianca Sloane
Votes: 131
35. Stage Fright (1980)
82 min | Horror, Thriller
A stage actress - who is hiding a deep trauma over the car accident that killed her mother - finds herself living a new nightmare when her fellow cast members are butchered by a glass-wielding killer.
Director: John D. Lamond | Stars: Jenny Neumann, Gary Sweet, Nina Landis, Max Phipps
Votes: 876
36. Terror on Tour (1980)
Not Rated | 87 min | Crime, Horror, Music
A rock band called "The Clowns" comes under suspicion of murder when several prostitutes are killed by individuals made up like members of the band.
Director: Don Edmonds | Stars: Rick Styles, Chip Greenman, Rich Pemberton, Dave Galluzzo
Votes: 443
37. Terror Train (1980)
R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Three years after a prank went terribly awry, the six college students responsible are targeted by a masked killer at a New Year's Eve party aboard a moving train.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, David Copperfield
Votes: 13,848
38. To All a Goodnight (1980)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenagers at a party find themselves being stalked by a maniacal killer in a Santa Claus costume.
Director: David Hess | Stars: Jennifer Runyon, Forrest Swonsen, Linda Gentile, William Lauer
Votes: 2,355
39. Trhauma (1980)
72 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of people spend a weekend at a remote villa. Soon, one by one, they are picked off by a homicidal maniac.
Director: Gianni Martucci | Stars: Gaetano Russo, Domitilla Cavazza, Roberto Posse, Timothy Wood
Votes: 208
40. The Unseen (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
Three female reporters find themselves staying overnight in a house occupied by a hostile being that lurks in the basement.
Director: Danny Steinmann | Stars: Barbara Bach, Sydney Lassick, Lelia Goldoni, Karen Lamm
Votes: 2,302
41. Vengeance (1980)
91 min | Drama, Thriller
Four criminals murder a jeweler and his family before kidnapping a senator's granddaughter. She and her boyfriend fight back, killing the gang one by one until her final confrontation with the last member.
Director: Bob Bliss | Stars: Sally Lockett, Nicholas Jacquez, Bob Elliott, Walter Addison
Votes: 126
42. Without Warning (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Sandy and Greg are teenagers who go camping, despite warnings not to, with their friends. They soon encounter aliens, who are using the area as a hunting ground.
Director: Greydon Clark | Stars: Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Tarah Nutter, Christopher S. Nelson
Votes: 4,700
43. Zoom In: Rape Apartments (1980)
Not Rated | 68 min | Horror, Mystery
Saeko, a somewhat enigmatic young woman, is brutally beaten with a rock and raped by a man wearing a dark-colored mask and black gloves. She eventually recovers, but not long afterwards a ... See full summary »
Director: Naosuke Kurosawa | Stars: Erina Miyai, Yôko Azusa, Yûko Ôsaki, Yûko Araragi
Votes: 185
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