The Most Underrated Sci-Fi Horror Movies Of The 1980s

Has there ever been a more potent metaphor for the pitfalls of capitalism present than the one presented in John Carpenter's 1988 opus They Live? The film may star Roddy Piper and feature some unforgettable one-liners (and one of the longest fistfights ever put on celluloid), but it also proffers a vision of a dystopian present ruled by aliens who plant subliminal messages in everything from newspapers to billboards to television to the money we use to buy them all.

These messages, which can only be seen with the aid of special glasses, tell us to do things like "Obey," "Consume," and "Reproduce." It's all part of an elaborate scheme by the haves to keep the have-nots in line, and it's a message that feels as resonant now (when the aliens would be the 1%) as it was in Reagan's "me generation" '80s.

Lifeforce was written by Dan O'Bannon, one of the creators of Alien. It was directed by none other than Tobe Hooper, of Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Poltergeist fame. It stars Patrick Stewart, among others, not to mention Mathilda May never wearing so much as a stitch of clothes. And yet, most people have never seen this incredibly wild, apocalyptic movie about space vampires, based on the novel by Colin Wilson called, well, The Space Vampires.

Why not? It probably doesn't help that the film was a box office dud, grossing less than half its reported budget. Fortunately, the years have been kinder, and it seems that people in 1985 maybe just weren't ready for something as delightfully strange as this tale of vampires and unclothed people and lots and lots and lots of optical lightning.

Back in the 1980s, Stephen King was at the height of his original popularity, and any number of his properties got adapted to the big screen, giving us classics like Carrie (technically from '76, but still), Christine, The Shining, and many more, along with, um, not-so-classic titles like Maximum Overdrive (directed by King himself). Naturally, some flicks were bound to slip through the cracks a little, even when they were every bit as good as their more popular counterparts.

Enter The Dead Zone, David Cronenberg's 1983 adaptation of King's novel of the same name from '79. It stars none other than Christopher Walken as a schoolteacher who develops psychic powers when he awakens from a coma following a car accident - and ultimately has to use those powers to prevent a terrifying future.

Richard Matheson's landmark novel I Am Legend has been adapted to screen at least three times and inspired such classics as Night of the Living Dead. Yet one of the best movies to riff on its plot is rarely discussed in the same breath as Matheson's original. Night of the Comet may be better known for its "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" shopping montage than its literary pedigree, but it's a surprisingly strong take on the material, turning Matheson's vampires into zombies caused by a comet that wipes out much of the world's population and turns the remainder into gradually-decaying ghouls.

Protected from the effects are two sisters who would maybe rather go shopping or play arcade games than be the last hope for humanity, but they're remarkably up to the task, nonetheless.

Irvin Yeaworth's 1958 original is a gem from the heyday of drive-in movies - often imitated, seldom duplicated. Its method for introducing the eponymous monster can be seen echoed in everything from Creepshow to Night of the Creeps and beyond. Sadly, the 1988 remake, with a screenplay co-written by none other than The Walking Dead's own Frank Darabont, is less well-known. Which is too bad, as there's plenty to recommend this slice of '50s-style monster movie mayhem, updated for the '80s.

It's all here, from the rebel-without-a-cause lead character to the infamous scene in the movie theater (where this time, some kids have snuck in to watch a slasher movie, of course). The catch is, this time around it's all a whole lot gorier, with a twist in the tale that makes the original film's standard red scare monster something a little more home-grown...

Sure, Critters got no less than three sequels (offering mostly diminishing returns), but when it comes to movies from the '80s about diminutive, mean-spirited monsters, most people tend to think of Gremlins, rather than this flick about spiky little balls of fur and teeth from outer space. Which is a shame, because there's a lot to love in this oddball flick helmed by the director of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and featuring early-career performances from both Billy Zane and Lin Shaye, among others.

The real stars of the show, though, are the eponymous monsters themselves. The Crites, as the movie calls them, are fuzzy little things, designed by the Chiodo Brothers (Killer Klowns from Outer Space), that get around by rolling into a ball and can grow to be really big, if they get enough to eat.