While many consider the ’50s to be the original golden age of sci-fi films, the ’80s hold just as much of a claim to the throne when it comes to the sheer quality and scope of movies produced. The rise of the auteur filmmaker in the previous 20 years, the expansion of what the MPAA considered reasonable for an R rating, and Reagan-era politics leftfilmmakers getting weirder and darker than ever before. There’s a direct lineage from modern films likeAlien: Romulusto the boundary-pushing work of the ’80s (inRomulus’case, a more direct lineage than most), and many of the decades finest sci-fi films happen to also be its finest overall. Satanic panic had yet to fully take hold, practical effects had reached their absolute peak, and the following directors leaned all the way in.
Sci-fi at its best explores core human themes through the lens of the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable, and the unforeseen, and the freedoms experienced by filmmakers in the ’80s opened up the genre in a way it had never been before. FromDavid Cronenberg’s slimy body horror toJames Cameron’s future-tech dystopias, these masterpieces deserve their status as some of the finest to ever do it.
10’Re-Animator' (1985)
Director: Stuart Gordon
If the ’80s were the peak of practical visual effects, there may be no film that had quite as much fun with them asRe-Animator. This cult classic is chock-full of unforgettable imagery, peaking withBryan Gale’s re-animated head, but the film is just a plain good time from start to finish. Released without an MPAA rating,Re-Animatorwas finally submitted for evaluation a year later, after the studio realized what a pain it was to market an unrated film. The re-edited version earned an R, and has won over the hearts of countless sci-fi fans with itssingular blend of gore, humor, and sheer personality.
Re-Animatorwas a perfect cocktail of ingredients to end up a cult favorite, with anH.P. Lovecraftstory as its basis, a director with a background in provocative experimental theater, and lead performances from masters of campJeffrey CombsandBarabara Crampton.Gordon’s 1986 follow-upFrom Beyond,also featuring Combs and Crampton, is yet anothermasterwork in off-the-walls weirdness,butRe-Animator’s loveable heart carries it above and beyond.
Re-Animator
In a darkly comedic horror, a brilliant but eccentric medical student believes he has discovered a way to bring the dead back to life. His pursuit of this macabre scientific breakthrough spirals out of control, resulting in a series of gruesome and unintended consequences at a sleepy university town.
9Predator (1987)
Director: John McTiernan
Somehow both a top-tier action movie and sci-fi horror slasher,Predatoris a movie that accomplishes a great deal within its 107-minute runtime. Released asArnold Schwarzenegger’s popularity was hitting its peak,Predatoropens in the vein of any number ofCommando-style guns-and-muscle jungle action flicks. However, that brawny machismo is completely upended roughly 40 minutes in, when the Predator’s cloaking device fails and the main cast (and audiences) find themselves facing a foe that no amount of blind firepower will bring down. That breakdown of expectations results in a trulyharrowing, nail-biting experience, culminating in an unforgettable final showdown between Arnold and the iconic dreadlocked alien.
PerhapsPredator’s greatest success is that it is certainly more than enjoyable as a straight-up action flick, but is simultaneously a satirical send-up of the entire genre. The satire is subtle enough thatmany critics initially missed it, regarding the film as little more than its over-the-top action, but the decades of evaluation since have given audiences time to process thenuance and laser-precise directionat play. It’s also an incredibly effective commentary on the Vietnam War and USA military involvement abroad as a whole.
Director: George Miller
Few films are as heart-pounding from start to finishas 1981’sMad Max 2: The Road Warrior,considered for years to be a benchmark in the world of car-based mayhem. Featuring all thehigh-stakes chases and explosive crashesthe series has built its name on over the decades,The Road Warriorwas only dethroned as the crowning jewel of the Mad Max franchise by 2015’sFury Road, which director George Miller conceptualized as a way to expandThe Road Warrior’s iconic chases into a single, movie-length pursuit.
The Road Warriorfeels leaps and bounds ahead of the originalMad Max: the world has gotten weirder, the cars and people have become more stylized, and Max has come into his own as a true folk antihero, only seeking to survive but still helping the people whose lives he drifts into out on the wasteland. It’s a super tight film with a clear sense of vision, and the final chase easily ranks among the greatest ever put to film.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
After avenging the death of his wife and young son at the hands of a vicious gang leader, Max (Mel Gibson) drives the post-apocalyptic highways of the Australian outback, fending off attacks from nomadic tribes that prey on outsiders. Falling into an encampment led by the relatively peaceful Pappagallo (Mike Preston), Max at first schemes to steal their oil but soon becomes the group’s reluctant defender against the hulking Humungus (Kjell Nilsson) and his ruthless marauders.
7The Fly (1986)
Director: David Cronenberg
Loosely based on the 1958 film of the same name,The Flyis a deeply unsettling picture about experimentation gone wrong and the horrific, slimy monstrosities that can follow. David Cronenberg is synonymous with body horror, and was at his most discomforting during the ’80s with truly singular films likeScanners(1981) andVideodrome(1983).The Flytrumps all, however, witha perfect blend of oozing effects, memorable setpieces and visuals, and captivating performances.
There’s so much more at play than slime and vomit: the emotional core ofThe Flyis the tragic romance betweenJeff GoldblumandGeena Davis.The film is an unabashed look atthe brutal difficulty of watching a loved one degenerate via an untreatable illness, stranded on the outside with no means of helping as the disease consumes their very essence. This particular disease just happens to turn the sufferer into a human-sized fly monster.
In a daring exploration of science’s potential to alter human life, a brilliant but eccentric scientist develops a technology for teleportation. When he decides to test the device on himself, a tragic error involving a common housefly leads to horrifying consequences. The film chillingly portrays his transformation and the impact it has on his relationship and psyche.
6Akira (1988)
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Akirais easily among the most influential Japanese films (animated or otherwise) of all time: just askKanye West, who based themusic video for his smash-hit “Stronger"on an classic scene from the film.Akiraisarguably solely responsible for the modern explosion of anime in the West, opening the eyes of an entire generation to the wonders of the genre and ushering in its current popularity. The visuals ofAkira’s Neo-Tokyo and Tetsuo’s bubbling, expanding flesh-and-metal form have become more than iconic, and there are dozens of films that have continued to explore the “uncontrollable-psychic-kid-gone-bad” premise that it introduced.
Many doubted the possibility ofAkira’s success in the west: bothSteven SpielbergandGeorge Lucasdeemed the film unmarketable to western audiences, considering the lack of precedence and deeply Japanese themes being explored (namely the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Fortunately, however,Akiramade its way over all the same, and has gone on tofundamentally reshape the presence and influence of Japanese mediaon the other side of the Pacific.
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
5The Terminator (1984)
Director: James Cameron
It’s hard to imagine the ’80s without Arnold Schwarzenegger, andThe Terminatoris the film that made him a full-on household name (who hasn’t tried their hand at an “I’ll be back” at least once). The young, then-unprovenJames Cameronhad a killer script and a singular vision, anddespite the lack of support around him, he worked hard to get the movie made true to his original vision. WhenTerminatorfinally came out, itsrelentless pacing, grimy visuals, and formidable titular adversary were an instant hit, far surpassing expectations and beginning the cementing Cameron’s trajectory towards the top.
It’s impossible to discuss the visual impact ofTerminatorwithout discussing Stan Winston, who designed the iconic T-1000 animatronics and prosthetics, and would go on to work with Cameron (as well as Spielberg andTim Burton) extensively throughout his career. The nigh-unkillable terminator marching endlessly towards his goal isas unsettling an image today as it was upon release, and it’s thoroughly unsurprising that studios have returned to theTerminatorfranchise for five sequels and a TV show.
The Terminator
A relentless cyborg assassin is sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead the human resistance against machines. Protected by a soldier also sent from the future, Sarah must navigate a deadly game of cat and mouse to ensure her survival and humanity’s future.
4’The Thing' (1982)
Director: John Carpenter
When it comes torevolting, viscerally unsettlingfilms, there are few that can hold a candle toThe Thing.John Carpenter’s classic tale of paranoia, distrust, and otherworldly horrors is another ’50s remake (this time 1951’sThe Thing From Another World) that is carried leaps and bounds beyond its progenitor via glorious ’80s practical effects work. Roughly10% of the film’s budgetwent towardsRob Bottin’s special effects, and the titular alien’s shapeshifting nature meant thatThe Thingwas a real playground for Bottin and his team. He took full advantage of the situation, delivering slimy, morphing visuals that are legitimately unforgettable (where else can one find a decapitated head scuttling on crab legs).
Even beyond the pioneering effects work,The Thingis a remarkably well-made film: the airtight script comes to life via career highlight performances fromKurt Russell, Keith David,andWilford Brimley,and the Antarctic setting adds a thick layer of isolation and cold, desolate hopelessness to the entire situation. Carpenter had an incredible run in the ’80s:Escape from New Yorkcould very easily have earned a slot of its own on this list, not to mentionThey LiveandBig Trouble in Little China, but there’s a reasonThe Thingisconsistently cited as one of the finest sci-fi horror movies ever made.
A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.
3’RoboCop' (1987)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
The special effects team, once again led by Rob Bottin, created a number of iconic visuals, including the titular hero, ED-209 mech, and the melting henchman in the final fight, and even where the visuals feel most aged (largely in shots involving the stop-motion ED-209), the style is still supremely distinct and captivating.The world feels all too real, with a thick layer of grime over everything, while money and technology create far more problems than they could ever hope to address. The RoboCop costume apparently caused starPeter Wellersignificant discomfort and difficultyduring filming, but the suffering was well worthwhile, and the design of RoboCop is as iconic as any ’80s hero.
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
2’Aliens' (1986)
If there was any director who could even hope to follow upRidley Scott’s original1979 masterpiece, it was James Cameron, fresh off ofThe TerminatorandRambo: First Blood Part II. Cameron’s solution was simple: turn up the volume.Alienshasmore guns, more explosions, and more aliensthan its predecessor, upping the ante on just about everything. The sinister, dripping horror of the originalAlienis bolstered with all-out ’80s action: the final showdown betweenSigourney Weaver’s Ripley and the xenomorph queen is easily one of the most memorable sequences of the entire franchise, andRoger Ebert described the filmas “like being on some kind of hair-raising carnival ride that never stops.”
Weaver is aided by a bevy of top-notch performances, includingLance HenriksenandBill Paxton,and every character inAliensfeels distinct and vital. As with all of Cameron’s films, the attention to detail is exceedingly high, without a shred of flab on the script, visuals, or pacing. The recent success ofAlien: Romulusproves audiences are still thrilled by the doomed employees and associates of the Weyland-Yutani corporation, but it’s easy to argue the series has yet to recapture the sheer glory and terror that isAliens.
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
1’Blade Runner' (1982)
Director: Ridley Scott
All roads lead back to Ridley Scott’s neo-noir epic. It’s hard to overstate just how wildly influentialBlade Runneris: it was certainly an influence on a number of films on this list alone, but truthfully,it’s impossible to imagine the landscape of modern science fiction cinema withoutBlade Runner. Undoubtedly ahead of its time, audiences and critics alike weren’t quite sure what to make of the film when it first released, but the years (and the various versions) since have provenBlade Runner’s long-lasting impact.
The sprawling, almost dreamlike plot, based on Philip K. Dick’sDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,is carried viaHarrison Ford, Rutger Hauer,andSean Young’sperformances, but the crowning achievement ofBlade Runneris unquestionably the effects (helmed by2001: A Space Odyssey’s Douglas Trumbull) and overall visual style. The miniature work is jaw-dropping: completely seamless from standard photography, with a staggering scope, and thegrimy, hazy vision of the futurepresented by the film feels closer and closer to a plausible reality every day.
Blade Runner
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
