1980 Horror - Too Many Cannibals...

 Wow, we finished our list of horror films from the year 1980. And now you get to hear about them all!

The Changeling: This was a surprisingly good ghost story film. I felt like it was one of the better ghost films we had seen so far, just because it used the usual poltergeist method to great effect. The plot was....a bit chaotic, but it was well made.

Alligator: Such fun cinematography! A great ecohorror film, and a great Jawsploitation one, too. The practical effects were on point for the time, and it just had some fun horror moments.

Christmas Evil: A surprisingly underrated Christmas horror film that blends psychological horror with the slasher. It was rare to get this kind of combo back then, and all in the setting of Christmas! We're off to a good start here.

The Fog: The plot was messy, but it was just such a well-shot and compelling film. It was so entertaining, and I can't believe we didn't get a long franchise out of this.

Friday the 13th: My first time seeing this! I knew going into it about the mom. But I still wasn't expecting Jason to have such a minimal impact in the film's plot. The kills were fun, and it's interesting to see how much of an ecohorror the film is from start to finish.

Cruising: One of the first explicitly gay horror films, I was excited about this. It was so cool getting to see the gay leather scene on film in the early 80s. It felt like a history piece at points. The horror is so-so. But just seeing that slice of life was what made it worth it.

The Shining: I fucking hated this movie. Yeah, you heard me. Fight me. Put up your dukes. Hit me with your best shot. So, hear me out here: I usually am good about separating films from their novel counterparts. What makes a film successful or good won't always be the same criteria for the novel. But in this case? It felt like Kubrick actively went out of his way to make a more conservative version of King's book. He wanted to make sure he killed the Black guy and that he showed him as sexually deviant; in the book, he was a really strong and important character. He wanted to make sure to take agency from the woman character, who was originally very strong (hell, the first casting choice was going to be Jessica Lange, if that tells you anything). He made sure to have some good ol' homophobia thrown in at the end. He didn't want to show the struggle with alcoholism that Jack faced. Kubrick went so far out of his way to ruin a lot of the more progressive elements of the original novel. Not to say the original novel was a perfect text itself! But the differences are so vast. Even the plot got fucked with. The ending makes absolutely no sense in the film. The practical effects were just bad. There are just....such few redeeming qualities about this movie.

Dressed to Kill: Another really good de Palma film. I enjoyed the elevator killing scene a lot. It had its homophobia and its serophobia for sure. Michael Caine makes the film for sure!

Inferno: The sequel to Suspiria, I had high hopes for this one! It's not as good as Suspiria, but it still had its charm. I enjoyed the claustrophobia of some moments, and you can't go wrong with Argento's lighting.

Cannibal Holocaust: I suppose this is a cult classic? For the cannibal/zombie Italian films of 1980, this is one of the best ones. At least it had a decently entertaining plot. Deodato is so invested in depravity and voyeurism. So it makes for a good film to analyze at least.

Prom Night: Oh, this was a treat. I am increasingly loving Jamie Lee Curtis, and this is no exception. You can tell she just had fun with this one. The kills were fun all around, and the twists were a delight.

To All a Goodnight: Ugh, worst Christmas horror film yet. Very unoriginal and uninventive.

Altered States: A very trippy, surrealist sci fi film, comparable to some of Cronenberg's work. I enjoyed the effects of this one! Could see some of this influencing David Lynch honestly. It was just really cool getting to see how effects are already evolving. Great body horror, too!

Erotic Nights of the Living Dead: It was all right. We've seen better erotic horror by this point surprisingly.

Fade to Black: A fun film about a horror movie fan who starts emulating his favorite villains and killing people while in those monsters' costumes. I loved it, but I guess because the horror genre was still aligned with other "violent" genres like the Western, there were still a loooot of references I didn't get.

Humanoids from the Deep: An attempt at making a high quality remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon, this was fucking great. The creature design was awesome. The gore was awesome. The Jawsploitation elements were a treat. Was just so much fun despite the premise seeming trite.

Motel Hell: I'll call it. This was my favorite 1980 film. It just balanced all the right comedy elements with Texas Chainsaw. It had some great body horror and torture porn. Plus did dueling chainsaws before it was cool. This just nailed everything I love about horror.

Mother's Day: Another fun slasher! I enjoyed the elements of the crazy mother having two reckless and violent kids she could control. Felt like Last House on the Left meets Texas Chainsaw, and I'm here for it.

Revenge of the Stepford Wives: It's a TV movie, so we didn't have high hopes. It also retcons some of the world building from the first movie. But it definitely had its place! It was still highly entertaining. I think it definitely holds up to the first film's standard. And the ending scene was perfection.

City of the Living Dead: This was my first Fulci movie, and I loved it. The gore factor was delicious. It made Izzy really squeamish. The supernatural elements were fun and unique; mixed Lovecraft with Poe. I'm here for it!

Monster: I'll be honest. I watched this movie and don't even remember it. Doesn't bode well for the entertainment value lol.

The Boogeyman: A clever interpretation of the monster! It's very mirror-focused. Wasn't super entertaining, but it was creative.

Anthropophagus: Another cult classic. But we just didn't enjoy it that much. It makes Cannibal Holocaust more of a slasher type story. With some more supernatural elements. Just didn't care for it though. The pacing was really slow.

Zombie Holocaust: Another zombie/cannibal film. It has both! Cannibals versus zombies. Despite that fun idea, it's another really slow movie.

Nightmare City: This is a Lenzi zombie movie about anti-nuclear sentiments. It's all right, but it felt pretty derivative and slow.

Hell of the Living Dead: This is called one of the worst cannibal/zombie Italian films. But I loved it. The gore factor was really creative. I loved the actors. I actually had a really good time with it!

Alien 2: On Earth: Look at that title. This isn't "Aliens." It's "Alien 2." That's right; the Italian independent sequel to the original Alien movie. This time it's aliens in a subterranean cave. It's pretty bad. If you want to play a drinking game, it could be a good film to watch.

Contamination: Another Italian Aliensploitation film. Not great but way better than Alien 2. You get a lot more gory explosions at least!

Encounters of the Spooky Kind: A Chinese martial arts horror film that had some fun comedic elements to it. Again, it's kind of fun. But it's not great.

Saturn 3: Another Aliensploitation film. But I kinda enjoyed it. I know Izzy didn't. It felt like a 201 Space Odyssey style robot in the plot of Alien. It had entertainment value, but Izzy disagrees.

The Lathe of Heaven: Based on a LeGuin story, this had some fun premise to it! Very creative. Not very horrific, and it's a TV movie. But it makes for a good conversation.

Without Warning: Largely considered the inspiration for Predator, this had some charm! You were constantly going "wtf" to some of the plot and some of the idiotic characters. The acting was on point, and I dug the effects when we got them.

The Hearse: This film was too convoluted. I liked the acting, but it just dragged on and on. I found myself not caring if the "hearse" was real or not by the end.

The Cannibals: A Jesus Franco film. You can tell he hated it. We hated it.

Cannibal Apocalypse: A very anti-war cannibal film by Margheriti. Well done. Gory. But not as smart as the director thinks it is.

Hex: A Chinese horror film that plays with the Les Diaboliques plot. We loved it! Great plot twists, and good acting, too. This is one we'd definitely recommend.

Terror Train: Oh, I loved this one. It has Curtis again. It's a slasher on a train. The who of the whodunnit isn't that exciting. It's telegraphed really easily. But it was just an entertaining movie.

Human Beasts: A Naschy film that does work with the hitman style plot. It was entertaining for a Naschy film. I didn't see the twists coming. Is it worth a watch? Maybe? If you've seen everything else first?

Don't Answer the Phone: This was a weird goofy phone slasher. It had a number of problematic elements, from racism to ableism. But it was ultimately an anti-war film? Not really worth the watch.

Eaten Alive!: Not to be confused with the amazing 70s film of the same name! This one just sucked as a zombie/cannibal film.

The Awakening: A remake of the Blood of the Mummy's Tomb story. It was really good! I think Hammer did it marginally better. But it's good to see these occasional mummy films. I dig the mummy as a film monster. I'd only recommend this if you just like mummy movies.

Night of the Demon: This is a cheesy Bigfoot movie. Not great, but it had these moments of just really good cinematography honestly, kinda like Alligator. It had some creative spark to it despite its low budget.

Maniac: I liked the premise of this slasher keeping the scalps to use on his mannequins. But the pacing went downhill from there. We couldn't finish it. I since looked up the ending, and it looks like it has a good ending, but getting to that point is hell.

New Year's Evil: Great movie! Had fun music, a fun premise, an imperfect slasher, and good acting! I'd watch this again.

Death Ship: It's all right, and I like how it makes the space of the ship very monstrous. But the plot was definitely a bit slow.

The House on the Edge of the Park: A Deadato remake of the Last House on the Left. It's good! I think it competes well with the Craven film.

Ok, fuck that was a lot. Took us a few weeks. All in all, we learned we hate zombie/cannibal Italian films. We learned there are good ways to make slashers, and bad ways. And there are a number of overrated horror films!

Here are my favorites: Motel Hell and Humanoids from the Deep. These just had the perfect mix of fun and creativity, and I'd watch them again in a heartbeat!!!

And Izzy: Alligator, Cruising, Changeling, Christmas Evil, City of the Living Dead, Revenge of the Stepford Wives, Altered States, Humanoids from the Deep, Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Hex, Terror Train, Don't Answer the Phone, New Year's Evil. All of them. You gave me a list, and I gave you a shorter list, and we are not shortening it any longer. I think all of those films are pretty worth it. Especially Cruising. It's such a notorious film.

And that's it! 

For a comment question of the day, do you have a favorite cannibal/zombie Italian film?