The 1980s was arguably the decade for science fiction movies. Some were cerebral classics, e.g. Altered States, Innerspace, They Live, and Brazil. Others were major blockbusters, such as The Empire Strikes Back, Superman II, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Return of the Jedi, Ghostbusters, and Back to the Future. Then there were cult classics like Flash Gordon, Escape from New York, Heavy Metal, Blade Runner, Tron, and The Last Starfighter. Toss in sci-fi horror genre blenders like Scanners, The Thing, Re-Animator, and The Fly and it was chock full of winners. But there are quite a few that, while recognized, still deserve to have a wider fanbase.
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The following ’80s sci-fi movies aren’t unsung heroes of the decade’s genre output, but they are undersung. Let’s dive in with a whacky one.
7) Repo Man
Right off the bat, Repo Man is a love it or hate it movie. But even its detractors have to admit it has a tone of style and ambition. Not to mention, any movie with the late Harry Dean Stanton in the top-billed role has inherent merit.
Emilio Estevez plays Otto Maddox, an aimless L.A. based punk rocker who finds himself down one job and one girlfriend. He’s approached by Stanton’s Bud, who offers him a new gig as a repo man. Soon, though, they are tasked with pursuing a very peculiar car: one with something in the trunk that vaporizes anyone who just so happens to look upon its shiny wonder.
6) The Return of Godzilla
The beginning of Godzilla’s seven-film Heisei era run, The Return of Godzilla may very well be the ultimate starting point for any budding G-fan. They may not fully understand the weight of its Cold War era commentary 40 years later, but it’s so well-paced (and about as close to scary as a Godzilla movie can get) that the youngest in the home will still find themselves drawn to it.
A few things make The Return of Godzilla so great (though not the tampered-with American version, Godzilla 1985, which is now almost impossible to watch, anyway). For one, the design of Godzilla is top tier, especially when it uses the mechanical version in close-up shots. Two, it was nice to get back to Godzilla as a villain after he spent about 10 movies in the Shลwa era becoming increasingly Gamera-like. Three, the plot is relatively straightforward (after the aforementioned Shลwa era got pretty weird with the plots). This is Godzilla at his finest, and it doesn’t seem to have ever gotten quite as much credit as it deserved for reviving the franchise for a then-modern audience. Also be sure to check out its cerebral follow-up, Godzilla vs. Biollante, which is the only other movie in the franchise to continue Return‘s distinct dour visual and thematic tone.
Stream The Return of Godzilla on HBO Max.
5) The Dead Zone
The Dead Zone isn’t the last David Cronenberg work we’ll discuss on this list but suffice to say it is far different from the movie that comes later. There’s no body horror here, with Cronenberg instead adapting one of Stephen King’s best novels to great effect.
We follow Christopher Walken’s Johnny Smith, a kindhearted schoolteacher who gets into a car accident after a date with the love of his life. Stuck in a coma for years, he awakens to learn that he can now see the future. With this gift he’ll do what he can to save a little boy, to rescue a family trapped in a housefire, and stop a power-mad politician with an extremely dangerous career ahead of him. The pacing is tight, Walken’s performance is tender and convincing, and the supporting cast couldn’t be any better.
Stream The Dead Zone on fuboTV.
4) Night of the Creeps
One of the most inventive and lovable genre-blenders out there, Night of the Creeps is a movie that didn’t receive much affection at the time of release, yet slowly but surely has built the cult audience it deserves throughout subsequent decades. That said, while it bounces around genres to a degree that may alienate those looking for something more straightforward, it still possesses more than enough macro-scale appeal to be worthy of more than the cult audience it has.
Like the next entry on this list, Night of the Creeps does a great job of building a The Andy Griffith Show-type small town, innocence-coated vibe. It just also happens to have alien slugs that turn you into a zombie. A film that functions as a comedy (with a very smart script and well-drawn characters) even more than a throwback love letter to the sci-fi horror movies of the ’50s, Night of the Creeps is essentially a John Hughesian genre-blender with a scene featuring an undead kitty cat.
3) The Blob
One of the few remakes far superior to the original that gave it its namesake, The Blob is a well-written and visually repulsive (of the intentional variety) from Chuck Russell, who helmed the similarly fantastic A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors the year prior. It runs at a brisk pace, features compelling leads, and has practical effects that rival those seen in The Fly and The Thing as some of the best of the year.
What’s great about The Blob is just how much the smalltown vibe contrasts to just how much damage the alien goo does to the people in said small town. You can think that a sweet high school football player who isn’t as sex-obsessed as his friends is the protagonist. But you’re wrong. He’s fair game for the deteriorating viscous fluid of the alien goo. You can think that the sheriff is too nice to die, but you’d be wrong again. Lastly, the cast is all around excellent, so it’s really tough to watch any of them die. Saw‘s Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch, The Walking Dead‘s Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Art LeFleur, they’re all note-perfect.
2) The Abyss
James Cameron’s most underrated sci-fi movie, The Abyss, comes across as his most personal work for date. As seen in his documentaries James Cameron’s Deep Sea Challenge 3D and Ghosts of the Abyss he has a profound love for the sea and the mysterious that lurk within it. For instance, Non-Terrestrial Intelligence beings that emit a bright light and behave benevolently.
The production may have been a living hell according to most involved (and almost deadly, on at least one occasion), but the end result is a visually stunning work that is necessary viewing for any Cameron fan. And, these days, it’s a bit easier to find, and in quality better than what was seen on the DVD, much less. Led by fantastic performances from Ed Harris and Scarface‘s Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, The Abyss is well worth checking out, even if it isn’t the perpetual thrill ride that Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are.
Stream The Abyss on Disney+.
1) Videodrome
Nobody could ever do intelligent body horror quite like David Cronenberg, from The Brood to The Fly, and Videodrome may very well be the best of the lot. It’s a film coated in a smut-like quality, with its lead character diving deeper and deeper into a snuff film underworld, but all the while we’re coming to realize that it all amounts to a protagonist being used and toyed with.
James Woods plays Max Renn, the president of a Canadian UHF station who specializes in showing content that lurid, niche content. When a colleague introduces him to Videodrome, a plotless pseudo-show that amounts to a snuff film. Max finds himself drawn to it, increasingly becoming something of a part of the show itself. With his perception of reality tampered with beyond the point of potential return, he becomes a tool of Convex, the creator of Videodrome.
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