Slashers have been a staple of thehorrorgenre for a long time. These films laid the foundation to showcase excessive violence and gore on the screen. A heinous act that’s essentially elevated to an art form by people with the talent to make these elements look realistic or mindlessly idiotic and entertaining. A slasher is amusing because it doesn’t require high production value or talent or other genres. The story is not always the leading trait for most slashers, although many of the best slashers have excellent yet simplistic scripts.
Slashers became a thing in Hollywood thanks to Bob Clark and his 1974 offeringBlack Christmas. John Carpenter would be the one to increase their profilewithHalloweenin 1978. The success ofHalloweeninspired endless new slashers throughout the ’80s. Many of these films had similar traits, such as masked killers, stalking victims, and a somewhat definite resolution open to new entries. Many franchises, such asFriday the 13th,Hellraiser, and other properties, succeeded in this landscape. Other offerings crashed and burned but gained a cult following with time.
With our brief introduction out of the way, it’s time to dive in and learn everything you need about the most underrated slasher flicks of the 1980s. None of these films merit critical acclaim, but they are funny as hell and will keep you entertained.
Updated May 2023: If you are a fan of underrated slashes, you’re in luck. This article has been updated with additional content and entries byDanilo Raul.
26The Unseen (1980)
Written and directed by Danny Steinmann, and showcasing the talents of Stephen Furst, Sydney Lassick, Barbara Bach, and Karen Lamm.The Unseenis about three female investigative reporters who must spend a night in a farmhouse. Unbeknownst to them, a “thing” lurks in the basement.
Made on a low budget, the movie features a grotesque-looking killer that will keep you at the edge of your seat, either biting your nails for his lack of commitment to the role or for the unnerving tendency to be a peeping tom. Themovie’s final acttakes over 20 minutes, pumps up the action, and offers weirder visuals as more creatures come to light as the inbred family is set to kill the girls. However, we never get any specifics related to their actions.
25Body Count (1986)
Just because a film looks cheap doesn’t mean there’s no drama behind it.Body Countis our first Italian offering on the list. The country is renowned for making multiple contributions to the world of horror, especially during the Giallo era. Originally written and directed by Alessandro Capone, the film was taken over by Ruggero Deodato, who reworked the plot to make it less physiological and more action driven. The final result is an excellent slasher about a group of hikers getting taken out one by one by a deranged killer.
The movie offers fast-paced, gruesome death scenes with many weird characters, each with lively and eccentric personalities. The beautiful setting and the score of Claudio Simonetti give the film a ton of value as one of the best slashers set in nature.
24Just Before Dawn (1981)
Many early slashers were written and directed by a single person since many filmmakers wanted to become the next Carpenter.Just Before Dawnis no exception. Written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, the film stars Chris Lemmon, Gregg Henry, and Deborah Benson.
This entry is another film set in naturewith a group of campers being huntedby inbred maniacs in the backwoods of Oregon. This film has the unique trait of being a slow burn, showcasing all the elements surrounding the future victims, such as the sounds of nature, the distant howls from the violent inbreed, and a creepy random girl that keeps wandering for no reason. It’s a lush film with great cinematography and a very unsettling setup.
23Strange Behavior (1981)
Written and directed by Michael Laughlin and featuring the talents of Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, and Dan Shor,Strange Behaviortells the story of a Midwestern town where a university is running secret experiments to turn young people into murderers.
The movie is considered a slasher that takes a lot of elements from other genres, such as sci-fi. A cop takes the lead by immersing into the town’s events as he looks to uncover what is going on. The usual small-town melodrama of most of these offerings takes a quick backseat to bone-chilling kill sequences and many visceral spectacles. It’s B-movie royalty at its finest and a great film for anyone who likes weird stuff.
22Absurd (1981)
Italian filmmaker Joe D’Amato delivers the gruesome goods inAbsurd. Featuring the talents of George Eastman, Annie Belle, and Charles Borromel, the story is about an escaped lunatic on a killing spree in a small town. It parallelsHalloweensince a priest doctor is determined to stop him by any means.
Related:15 Terrifying Italian Horror Movies That Will Keep You Awake for Days
D’Amato doesn’t hold back, presenting some ofthe most graphic killsever put to screen with heads of victims shoved into ovens, drills through skulls, and band saws cutting heads. There’s so much subtlety here, and the fast-paced action is borderline absurd but incredibly satisfying if you are a slasher fan.
21Stagefright (1987)
Directed by Michele Soavi with a script by Lew Cooper and Sheila Goldberg,Stagefrightfeatures the talents of David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, and Mary Sellers. The film’s plot centers around a group of stage actors locked inside a theater. They fail to notice the presence of someone else stalking them in the shadows and promptly begin taking them out one by one. As an appointed protégé of Dario Argento, Soavi delivers the goods with a beautiful blend of suspense, slasher, and Giallo elements.
20Curtains (1983)
Our first Canadian entry is directed by Richard Ciupka and written by Robert Guza Jr.Curtainsfollows six actresses auditioning for a role in a secluded mansion (what could go wrong there, right?). Meanwhile,a masked killer is lurking in the shadows.
The masked killer is not a groundbreaking offering, but it does the job as working faces such as John Vernon, Linda Thorson, and Samantha Eggar offer solid performances. The film is a collection of bizarre moments mixed with a few twists to keep the pacing steady. If anything, the movie is full of charming qualities, with the peculiar ice skating murder scene being the most memorable part of the film.
19Pieces (1982)
A Spanish/American offering directed by Juan Piquer Simón, with script and production by Dick Randall.Mil Gritos Tiene la Noche(its original name) features the talents of Christopher George and Lynda Day George. The film’s plot follows a crazy killer building a puzzle with human body parts on a college campus in Boston. As you might expect, this leads to a brutal murder spree.
The nearly comical amounts of blood and gruesome kills are entangled with some of the most terrible acting in the industry, making this movie a sleeper hit beloved by many. The elevation of this wacky film has earned it a status as a cult classic, with the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth praising the movie for his unbridled tackiness and total commitment to senseless horror.
18I, Madman (1989)
Written by David Chaskin and directed by Tibor Takács,I, Madmanfeatures the talents of Jenny Wright and Clayton Rohner. The movie tells the story of a bookstore employee who suddenly has visions of the killer from one of her favorite pulp novels doing violent acts against people she knows. With the authorities on top of her claims, the film presents a good reinvention of the subgenre by adding fantasy elements. The story takes a bizarre twist when the killer begins taking the body parts of their victims to shape himself a brand new body.
17Visiting Hours (1982)
Another Canadian offering, this time written by Brian Taggert and directed by Jean Claude Lord,Visiting Hourswas overlooked back in the day despite featuring the talents of Lee Grant, William Shatner, Michael Ironside, and Linda Purl. The story follows a psychotic killer on the hunt for a television journalist hospitalized after he failed to kill her. While the story is not groundbreaking, it addsa ton of realismthat it’s usually driven by the uncanny feats most killers can pull. InVisiting Hours, the killer has to work a sweat to get things done.
