Why is ’80s Horror So Popular?
The Enduring Relevance of ’80s Horror
The 1980s are widely considered one of the glory eras for horror movies. Countless modern genre films have either been set in the ’80s or have attempted to emulate the movies from that era.
House of the Devil, In A Violent Nature, Mandy, and Maxxxine are just a few examples of 21st century movies that are heavily influenced by ’80s horror. But why is ’80s horror so popular? I’m not trying to argue with its success – it’s one of my favorite eras as well!
But why this decade over all the others? The ’70s had great horror movies, too. In fact, I’d argue that the quality of the average ’70s horror movie is higher than the quality of the average ’80s horror film.
So what is it about this era that has kept it relevant, even though it ended over three decades ago? Well, there are some great reasons for the enduring love of ’80s horror. Let me count the ways.
Practical Effects
The ’80s were the last full decade before computer effects became commonplace. Special effects technicians had to find ingenious ways to make their movies’ creations come to life. This was doubly true for horror films, which often had limited resources.
Even basic gore effects, which are super easy to do today, took some real work in the ’80s. Tom Savini, for example, was famous for finding clever ways to convincingly kill off the characters in the original Friday the 13th and other slasher movies.
CGI has done amazing stuff, but it’s great to have something tangible on screen. Just look at the incredible werewolf transformation scenes in An American Werewolf in London and the eye-popping dream world effects in the early Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
Practical effects are still often used in horror today. They’re generally cheaper than CGI and add authenticity. I think they’re also pleasantly nostalgic for many people.
A New Generation of Horror Icons
Freddy, Jason, and Chucky are familiar names in popular culture, even to people who never watch horror movies. All of them originated in the 1980s. If you expand the timeframe just a little, and look at 1978-1991, you can add Michael Myers and Hannibal Lecter as well.
Not to mention the lesser known, but still popular, characters like Pinhead and The Tall Man, who were introduced during this time period.
So, why did this particular era produce so many famous horror icons? Some of it is probably just coincidence. It also may have to do with the enormous number of horror movies that were produced during this time. With so many different villains, it was inevitable that some would catch on with the public.
I think you also have to give credit to the original Halloween. Jason wouldn’t exist if Michael didn’t, and Freddy (and later Chucky) wouldn’t exist if their slasher predecessors hadn’t paved the way. Halloween started a domino effect that helped lead to the creation of other horror icons.
The VHS Explosion
The 1980s were the initial era of widespread video rental stores. For the first time ever, the general public could rent films and watch them in the comfort of their own homes. Mom and pop VHS shops sprouted up across North America in a time before they became a sea of homogenized Blockbusters.
Of course, studios were looking to cash in on this new medium. Horror quickly became popular on VHS. The creepy box art in video rental horror sections tantalized kids and adults alike.
Some studios even made films directly for the VHS market, bypassing theaters completely. These movies needed outrageous gimmicks to stand out on the shelf.
Entries like Sledgehammer (a hilariously inept microbudget slasher that claimed to be the first VHS horror movie) were designed catch the eyes of renters and make a quick profit. Some of them later gained cult followings among fans of cheesy low budget ’80s horror.
A Distinctive Visual Style
When you see a screenshot of an ’80s horror movie, you can tell right away that it’s from that era. Not only did the ’80s have distinctive (and weird) clothing and hair styles, but the movies of the era often feature bright vivid colors and neon lights.
The unique visual aesthetic of ’80s horror, plus the grimy and fuzzy images associated with VHS, has been imitated many times. House of the Devil, which I mentioned in the introduction, has deliberately grainy cinematography because director Ti West wanted to simulate the look of early video tapes.
How about the irony of modern filmmakers, who have easy access to high definition technology, deliberately making their films look they’re being played on run-down VHS tapes? The nostalgia factor is strong here.
Sheer Volume
Due to the exploding popularity of VHS, the number of horror movies skyrocketed in the ’80s. This was the first era in which sequels became commonplace, and studios were determined to milk their cash cows for as long as they could.
There were eight Friday the 13ths, five Nightmare on Elm Streets, and four Halloweens released from 1980-1989. Not to mention three Poltergeists, three Sleepaway Camps, and two Texas Chainsaw Massacres.
Hundreds of horror movies hit theaters and/or VHS during the decade. Slashers in particular were extremely common. The early ’80s were filled with silent masked slashers like Michael and Jason. The latter half of the decade featured many Freddy-inspired wisecracking villains.
If you want an extremely comprehensive survey of 1980s horror films, and have approximately 15 hours to spare (yes, really), I recommend watching the first three installments of the In Search of Darkness documentary series.
Will Horror Ever Have Another Decade Like the ’80s?
The short answer is no. The ’80s were a perfect storm of factors converging together to create a horror renaissance. Lightning doesn’t often strike twice.
That said, there’s no reason to think that the popularity of ’80s horror is going to cease anytime soon. It’s popular with younger generations who weren’t even born during that era.
This is most likely because the famous horror icons discussed above have continued to appear in sequels and other media, keeping them relevant in the modern era. New fans will want to go back to the early movies to see where the characters began.
I was a small child in the ’80s and didn’t start watching these films until a few years after the decade ended. But that hasn’t stopped the ’80s (and the ’70s when I wasn’t even born) from being my favorite horror eras.
This is a great sign for the continuing popularity of ’80s horror movies. They’re aging like fine wine. Filmmakers will continue to be influenced by this classic era for the foreseeable future.
