Cocoon: The Return
1988 · TMDB 6.5/10 · 1,028 votes
The reinvigorated elderly group that left Earth comes back to visit their relatives. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Curated by SceneIt · United States
Best 1980s Movies
Revisit standout releases from 1980 through 1989, selected for viewers who want a strong starting point instead of an exhaustive catalog.
Updated 2026-08-03 · Ratings from TMDB
How we chose these titles
Titles are ranked by TMDB audience rating with a minimum vote threshold, then checked for relevance to the release decade.
From Beyond
1986 · TMDB 6.5/10 · 682 votes
The Resonator, a powerful machine that can control the sixth sense, has killed its creator and sent his associate into an insane asylum. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Over the Top
1987 · TMDB 6.5/10 · 1,890 votes
Lincoln Hawk a hard-luck big-rig trucker takes us under the glaring Las Vegas lights for all the boisterous action of the World Armwrestling Championship. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Revenge of the Nerds
1984 · TMDB 6.5/10 · 826 votes
At Adams College, the jocks rule from their house on high, the Alpha Beta fraternity. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Crocodile Dundee
1986 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 2,159 votes
When a New York reporter plucks crocodile hunter Mick Dundee from the Australian Outback for a visit to the Big Apple, it's a clash of cultures and a recipe for good-natured comedy as naïve Dundee negotiates the concrete jungle. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Black Cauldron
1985 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 1,458 votes
Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Roxanne
1987 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 707 votes
In this modern take on Edmond Rostand's classic play "Cyrano de Bergerac," C. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Great Outdoors
1988 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 620 votes
It's vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley, along with his wife, Connie, and their two kids, Buck and Ben. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
My Bloody Valentine
1981 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 561 votes
Twenty years after a Valentine's Day tragedy claimed the lives of five miners, Harry Warden returns for a vengeful massacre among teen sweethearts gearing up for another party. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Licence to Kill
1989 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 2,203 votes
After capturing the notorious drug lord Franz Sanchez, Bond's close friend and former CIA agent Felix Leiter is left for dead and his wife is murdered. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Party 2
1982 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 662 votes
A young French teenage girl after moving to a new city falls in love with a boy and is thinking of having sex with him because her girlfriends have already done it. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Fame
1980 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 520 votes
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Weekend at Bernie's
1989 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 1,149 votes
Two young insurance corporation employees try to pretend that their murdered employer is alive by puppeteering his dead body, leading a hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Outland
1981 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 713 votes
On the sunless moon Io, Marshall William T. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
1988 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 1,268 votes
Now confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty insists her supposedly dead father is actually stuck in Hell following his wife’s betrayal. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Pumpkinhead
1988 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 555 votes
When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Porky's
1981 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 980 votes
In 1954 Florida, a group of high school boys head to a strip club in the Everglades in an attempt to lose their collective virginity. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Friday the 13th
1980 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 3,401 votes
Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Serpent and the Rainbow
1988 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 561 votes
A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Cabbage Soup
1981 · TMDB 6.4/10 · 951 votes
Two buddy farmers are visited by aliens who like their domestic cabbage soup. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.