Amanda's Horror Years- 1981

What can I say about 1981 for horror movies? It was a great year with some great offerings and there were some cult classics released in this year. We were spoiled for choice and I think that the 80's had some of the best horror movies of all time. Not to say that the other decades hadn't some brilliant films, but the 80's was a decade when some classics came to the fore. Here are some now.....

Let me begin with the most famous ones. The Evil Dead came into being in this year and so began the trio of brilliant horror movies which are a must for any horror fan.Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi made a low-budget horror movie which lives on almost 30 years later.Another cult classic is An American Werewolf in London -reviewed here- and this movie is just as good now as it was then. I own this movie and it is one I watch every so often and realise how great it is every time.The Howling was directed by Joe Dante and spawned a lot of sequels, but the original one is a classic. Dee Wallace was the lead in this and it is a great movie which is in my collection. If you haven't watched this, then do so immediately!!!It is so much better than a lot of werewolf movies I have seen in my time..That brings me on to Scanners which is more science fiction, but it deserves to be included here. David Cronenberg was the master of horror/sci-fi before he changed direction.

1981 was the year of the slasher movie too. Teens were slaughtered all over the place! Some examples of good slashers were Hell Night, Happy Birthday To Me, The Burning,Graduation Day and The Prowler. My Bloody Valentine was released in this year and it remains a favourite of mine. Evilspeak was a horror movie which is about a young man who connects with his computer which is possessed by the spirit of some evil guy....I have reviewed that here.Lucio Fulci gave us an unsettling tale called The Beyond or Seven Doors of Death.He also gave us The House By The Cemetery.Oliver Stone made a horror movie in this year and it was called The Hand and starred Michael Caine as a comic book artist who loses his hand but it comes back to cause trouble...Possession was released this year and it was a strange movie with some unsettling scenes. The Funhouse was directed by Tobe Hooper and was another slasher movie.

There were a couple of good sequels released this year too. Friday the 13th Part 2 made an appearance and I liked this movie a lot. Halloween 2 came out and it continued on from where the original left off. These were both decent sequels.Another sequel was the Omen 3:The Final Conflict and Damien has grown up and he is still evil....Dead and Buried starred James Farantino as a sheriff in a town where people were not all they seemed and it is a good mix of sci-fi and horror. Wes Craven gave us Deadly Blessing starring a young Sharon Stone. It is a pretty good movie. Creature features of the year were Crocodile, The Loch Ness Horror, Wolfen and Venom.

That is more than enough entertainment for anyone!!!!If I have left any out, let me know and enjoy reliving these great movies!