This article has spoilers for many of the 1980s’ slasher movies discussed.
- Conan Gray New Album Release Date 2024, Who is Conan Gray? Early Life, Career and More
- Who are Damian Marley Parents? Meet Bob Marley and Cindy Breakspeare
- Caleb Coffee Accident, What Happened to Caleb Coffee?
- Netflix’s One Day Ending Explained, What Happened to Emma and Dexter?
- Who Plays Kaia On Virgin River? Who Is Kandyse Mcclure?
The slasher subgenre of horror movies burst onto the scene in the early 1980s in the wake of John Carpenter’s 1978 juggernaut Halloween and the first Friday the 13th. While slashers have continued into the present day, and many of the more modern titles have become instant classics in their own right, there’s nothing quite like the first wave of ’80s slashers. With their final girls, gory practical effects, and whodunit narratives, the tropes seen in these films would go on to inspire the groundbreaking Scream franchise and other meta-slasher horror comedies.
You are watching: 10 Essential Early ’80s Slashers Streaming For Free On Tubi
For horror fans who might be new to the slasher subgenre, or for more seasoned fans looking for a rewatch, Tubi offers several titles from the early wave of slasher movies. From underrated gems to some of the most infamous titles ever produced, the free streaming service has a little something for everyone.
10
Pieces (1982)
Directed By Juan Piquer Simón
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Pieces
Not Rated
Horror
Mystery
Thriller
Release Date
September 23, 1983
Runtime
85 Minutes
Director
Juan Piquer Simón
Writers
Dick Randall, Roberto Loyola, Juan Piquer Simón
Cast
See All
-
Christopher George
-
Lynda Day George
-
Frank Braña
-
Edmund Purdom
A frustrated Boston detective searches for the maniac responsible for mutilating a number of women in campus.
Main Genre
Horror
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Pieces isn’t exactly a good movie, but it’s one of the most entertaining so-bad-it’s-good movies out there. A black-clad killer goes on a rampage on a college campus, hacking up co-eds with a chainsaw and other weapons. The film features a college student protagonist, Kendall, who is inexplicably loved by the local police force — with one cop proclaiming he trusts the kid with is life. The love and admiration they have for Kendall, who doesn’t prove himself to be exceptional in any way, is just one of the many absurd quirks Pieces offers viewers.
With numerous quotable moments, questionable acting choices, unforgettable line deliveries, and, of course, plenty of gratuitous violence, Pieces delivers the goods. The movie also contains one of the most wild and nonsensical endings ever conceived; it’s certain to send audience members into hysterics. Perfect for a party, or for anyone looking for a bloody good laugh.
9
Hell Night (1981)
Directed By Tom DeSimone
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Hell Night
R
Horror
Thriller
Release Date
August 28, 1981
Runtime
101 Minutes
Director
Tom DeSimone
Writers
Randy Feldman
Cast
See All
-
Linda Blair
-
Vincent Van Patten
-
Peter Barton
-
Kevin Brophy
Hell Night, directed by Tom DeSimone, follows four college pledges who must spend a night in a deserted mansion as part of their initiation. They encounter the monstrous remnants of a family massacre, leading to a terrifying ordeal as they are pursued throughout the night.
Main Genre
Horror
Studio(s)
BLT Productions, Media Home Entertainment
Distributor(s)
Compass International Pictures
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Starring Linda Blair in one of her post-The Exorcist horror movie roles, Hell Night follows a group of Greek pledges who stay the night in an abandoned mansion where a man murdered his entire family years before. Naturally, someone — or something — starts picking the students off one by one. Paced well and featuring some solid jolts, Hell Night gets the job done when it comes to the slasher basics, but it’s also unique for utilizing elements of the haunted house narrative.
Blair’s Marti is an interesting character, as she comes from a lower-class background, setting her at odds with her wealthy classmates. She discusses the differences between their classes with Jeff, Marti’s love interest and one of the few of his ilk that doesn’t seem to enjoy fraternity life all that much. This theme of class disparity isn’t explored as deeply as one might hope, but its very presence in the film makes Hell Night an interesting entry into the slasher canon.
8
Happy Birthday To Me (1981)
Directed By J. Lee Thompson
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Happy Birthday to Me
R
Horror
Mystery
Release Date
May 15, 1981
Runtime
110 minutes
Director
J. Lee Thompson
Writers
John C.W. Saxton, Peter Jobin, Timothy Bond
Producers
André Link
Cast
See All
-
Glenn Ford
Dr. David Faraday
-
Melissa Sue Anderson
Virginia Wainwright
-
Lawrence Dane
Hal Wainwright
-
Sharon Acker
Estelle Wainwright
Happy Birthday to Me is a Canadian slasher film directed by J. Lee Thompson. Released in 1981, the movie follows Virginia, a student at a prestigious academy, who grapples with blackouts as her friends are targeted by a series of mysterious murders leading up to her 18th birthday.
Main Genre
Horror
Studio(s)
Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC), Famous Players, The Birthday Film Company
Distributor(s)
Columbia Pictures
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Helmed by J. Lee Thompson, director of the original 1962 Cape Fear, Happy Birthday to Me features an oddball plot focusing on teenage members of an exclusive school clique getting killed off by an unseen murderer. Unseen, that is, until the film reveals the killer a little after the middle of the film, then subverts that reveal with a wild, albeit implausible, final act twist. It’s altogether a satisfying end to one of the more unique slashers to emerge during the first wave of films.
Related
10 Shocking Horror Movie Moments That Made Us Audibly Gasp
The greatest horror movies feature shocking scenes that make viewers audibly gasp due to their extreme nature or their significance.
Posts
The poster for Happy Birthday to Me gives away one of the movie’s most inventive kills, involving a shish kebab skewer, though the decision to include the image on promotional materials made the poster just as iconic as the scene itself. And while the shish kebab scene might be the film’s most memorable moment, it’s not the only gnarly murder the movie has to offer.
7
Terror Train (1980)
Directed By Roger Spottiswood
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Terror Train
R
Horror
Release Date
October 3, 1980
Runtime
97 Minutes
Director
Roger Spottiswoode
Writers
T.Y. Drake
Producers
Daniel Grodnik, Harold Greenberg
Cast
See All
-
See more : Vanessa Williams Ethnicity, What is Vanessa Williams’s Ethnicity?
Jamie Lee Curtis
Carne
-
David Copperfield
Alana Maxwell
-
Ben Johnson
Doc Manley
Terror Train is a 1980 horror film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Set during a New Year’s Eve costume party aboard a train, the film follows a group of college students who are stalked by a masked killer seeking revenge for a fraternity prank gone wrong. The narrative unfolds with a series of suspenseful and chilling events as the partygoers try to identify and stop the murderer.
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Starring venerable scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, who belts out a few of her trademark blood-curdling shrieks in the film, Terror Train makes excellent use of its often claustrophobic locomotive setting. Viewers can really feel the proverbial noose tighten around Curtis’s character’s neck as the killer, who mostly wears a Groucho Marx costume, slashes his way through her friends aboard the train.
Like some other films of the early slasher era, Terror Train dips its toes into transphobic waters. It turns out the killer has been disguising himself as a magician’s female assistant in order to maneuver through the crowd largely unnoticed. While this depiction isn’t as offensive as that of other movies — the female disguise is just another illusion performed by the magic-obsessed killer — it still unintentionally equates gender-bending with psychotic murderousness.
6
The Prowler (1981)
Directed By Joseph Zito
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
The Prowler
R
Horror
Mystery
Thriller
Release Date
June 26, 1981
Runtime
89 Minutes
Director
Joseph Zito
Writers
Glenn Leopold, Neal Barbera, Eric Lewald
Cast
See All
-
Vicky Dawson
-
Christopher Goutman
-
Lawrence Tierney
-
Farley Granger
A mysterious killer, dressed in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, terrorizes a small town during its graduation dance, echoing a gruesome double murder from 35 years ago. As the killer stalks the town’s youth, the community faces a terrifying night of bloodshed and suspense.
Main Genre
Horror
Studio(s)
Graduation
Distributor(s)
VCII Home Entertainment
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
The Prowler isn’t discussed as much as some of its slasher companions, but it’s an underrated gem worth checking out, particularly for the absolutely nasty gore effects from “The Sultan of Splatter”, Tom Savini. Director Joseph Zito would go on to helm Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter three years later, but his chops as an expert slasher director are on full display here. He crafts a brutal, often intense, and altogether satisfying film that never fails to entertain.
The masked killer, dressed in full World War II-era combat fatigues, dispatches his victims with the cold ferocity of a trained soldier. He is dispassionate and indiscriminate in his killing, neither enjoying it nor hating it. It’s just a job that must be done. This gritty quality to the many murder scenes, combined with the ultra-realistic effects Savini is known for, makes them all the more disquieting. This makes the titular villain of The Prowler one of the best slasher villains of all time.
5
The Burning (1981)
Directed By Tony Maylam
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
The Burning
R
Horror
Release Date
May 8, 1981
Runtime
91 Minutes
Director
Tony Maylam
Writers
Harvey Weinstein, Tony Maylam, Brad Grey
Cast
See All
-
Leah Ayres
-
Brian Backer
-
Larry Joshua
-
Ned Eisenberg
In “The Burning,” a horrific prank gone wrong leaves camp caretaker Cropsy horrifically disfigured and burning with vengeance. After years of recovery, he returns to the familiar campgrounds, now filled with new, unsuspecting campers. Wielding a pair of deadly garden shears, Cropsy embarks on a brutal killing spree, targeting the campers one by one.
Main Genre
Horror
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Another in a long line of slasher films featuring the effects work of Tom Savini, The Burning also boasts a few big-name actors making their screen debuts — namely, Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter. It’s also notable for being the first writing and producing credit of Harvey Weinstein, who rode the slasher wave to fame and fortune, and later spurred the #MeToo movement with his vile actions.
Those who have seen it know it is hands down one of the most gruesome ’80s horror movie death scenes, and a fine showcase of Savini’s bloody work
Apart from the cast and crew, The Burning also gained infamy for one particular scene, in which a number of the teenage characters are slaughtered on a raft by the film’s slasher, a garden sheers-wielding burnt man named Cropsy hell-bent on revenge. Those who have seen it know it is hands down one of the most gruesome ’80s horror movie death scenes, and a fine showcase of Savini’s bloody work.
4
Prom Night (1980)
Directed By Paul Lynch
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Prom Night
R
Horror
Thriller
Release Date
July 18, 1980
Runtime
93 Minutes
Director
Paul Lynch
Writers
William Gray
Sequel(s)
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, Prom Night III: The Last Kiss, Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil
Cast
See All
-
See more : Vanessa Williams Ethnicity, What is Vanessa Williams’s Ethnicity?
Jamie Lee Curtis
-
Leslie Nielsen
-
Casey Stevens
-
Eddie Benton
Paul Lynch’s Prom Night is a slasher film released in 1980 and follows the students of a high school stalked relentlessly by a serial killer leading up to their prom night. Following the death of a young girl named Robin six years prior, her surviving siblings prepare for their big night as a killer begins to target those close to them, seemingly related to the incident.
Studio(s)
Simcom Productions, Prom Night Productions
Distributor(s)
AVCO Embassy Pictures
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Jamie Lee Curtis screams and screams again in Prom Night, a good old-fashioned whodunit in which the principal characters being stalked and killed hold a terrible secret from their past. The violence here is a bit more subdued, save for a few memorable kills sprinkled throughout. Prom Night is perhaps more famous for its disco dance numbers, in which Curtis out-steps her partner by leaps and bounds. The scenes are a perfect time capsule of the era, and part of what makes Prom Night so endearing.
Naturally, the real draw here is Curtis’s performance as Kim, the film’s final girl. Curtis always brings a sense of affability to these characters, and Kim is no exception. Audiences have no trouble rooting for her survival as the bodies pile up around her and the ski-masked killer closes in. Unfortunately, there isn’t much chance for Curtis and the villain to go to toe, as she does in Halloween and other slasher films, before the killer is unmasked and dispatched.
3
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Directed By Robert Hiltzik
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Sleepaway Camp
R
Horror
Release Date
November 18, 1983
Runtime
84 minutes
Director
Robert Hiltzik
Writers
Robert Hiltzik
Cast
See All
-
Jonathan Tiersten
-
Mike Kellin
-
Felissa Rose
-
Karen Fields
The 1983 cult classic slasher horror Sleepaway Camp follows Angela Baker (Felissa Rose), an introverted teenage girl who’s sent to summer camp years after a traumatizing event deeply affected her. However, she is constantly bullied and abused, and everyone at Camp Arawak begins to die, one by one.
Studio(s)
Columbia Pictures
Distributor(s)
Columbia Pictures
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
It’s impossible to discuss Sleepaway Camp without addressing its infamous and controversial twist ending, in which it’s revealed that the film’s protagonist, Angela, is not only the killer, but in fact biologically a male. Turns out, Angela’s demented Aunt Martha forced Angela to adopt a girl’s persona at a young age, and this gender confusion manifests itself as a desire to kill anyone who wrongs Angela or gets too close to their secret. It’s by and large one of the most unforgettable horror movie twist endings in history.
Critics and horror fans alike are divided on whether the ending of Sleepaway Camp is transphobic or not, though some positive assessments assert that the film is an over-the-top warning against forcing individuals to conform to gender and sexual identities they don’t actually identify with, making the film perversely pro-trans in its messaging. After all, the surreally cartoonish and selfish Aunt Martha is the film’s true villain, a figure more horrifying than any ghastly deeds committed by Angela, of which there are many.
2
Maniac (1980)
Directed By William Lustig
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Maniac
NR
Horror
Release Date
November 14, 1980
Runtime
88 minutes
Director
William Lustig
Writers
Joe Spinell
Producers
Andrew W. Garroni
Cast
See All
-
Caroline Munro
Anna D’Antoni
-
Joe Spinell
Frank Zito
-
Abigail Clayton
Rita
-
Nelia Bacmeister
Carmen Zito
Maniac, released in 1980, follows a deeply disturbed man in New York City who, haunted by memories of his abusive childhood, becomes a serial killer targeting young women. The film explores his twisted psyche as he crosses paths with a photographer named Anna.
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
One of the grimiest slashers ever made, Maniac eschews a whodunit narrative by focusing its attention on the killer, Frank Zito, as he hunts and kills women on the streets of New York City. The film is instantly unpleasant in this way, but brilliantly so, as it becomes more of a psychological study of a twisted mind, seen from the killer’s point of view. Still, going along with Zito for his nightly work is difficult to watch, and viewers aren’t terribly sad when he meets his inevitable end.
Related
10 Most Underrated Horror Villains Of The 1980s
The 1980s were full of horror film icons, but not every villain from a scary movie got their just desserts in pop culture, going woefully underrated.
Posts
3
The effects work by Tom Savini is as gnarly as ever here, with one particularly memorable moment occurring early in Maniac, when a character played by Savini gets his head exploded by a shotgun blast to the face. The other highlight is the film’s finale, in which the ghosts of Zito’s victims tear the killer to pieces, which echoes Savini’s work on Dawn of the Dead and other zombie movies.
1
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
Directed By Amy Jones
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
See more : 10 Actors We Want To See In Den Of Thieves 3
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
The Slumber Party Massacre
R
Horror
Comedy
Release Date
November 12, 1982
Runtime
77 Minutes
Director
Amy Holden Jones
Writers
Rita Mae Brown, Amy Holden Jones
Cast
See All
-
Michelle Michaels
Trish
-
Robin Stille
Valerie
-
Michael Villella
Russ Thorn
-
Debra De Liso
Kim
The Slumber Party Massacre is a horror film that centers on a group of high school basketball teammates whose slumber party is violently interrupted by an escaped psychopath armed with a power drill. The film explores themes of survival and terror as the teens are forced to confront their deadly uninvited guest.
Main Genre
Horror
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Written by noted feminist activist Rita Mae Brown and one of the few slashers to be directed by a woman, Amy Jones, The Slumber Party Massacre is a deadpan, self-aware slasher movie, full of meta jokes and characters who seem to know they’re in a horror movie. It subverts many of the slasher tropes throughout, but its most notable subversion is the absence of a final girl; there are several survivors in the film, all of whom get to triumph over the driller killer in the end.
In this way, The Slumber Party Massacre avoids singling out one woman as more virtuous, and therefore more deserving of survival, than all of her peers. The horror film also subverts the “sex equals death” rule of the slasher film by largely removing the subject from the conversation. The killer isn’t enraged by promiscuous women exclusively — he hates and kills them indiscriminately, representing the wholesale disdain for women seen in patriarchal societies.
Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment