'70s & '80s Supernatural & Suspense Films
by MrWesCarpenter | created - 13 Oct 2011 | updated - 11 months ago | Publicno particulary order
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 206,420 | Gross: $33.80M
2. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 454,382 | Gross: $232.91M
3. Poltergeist (1982)
PG | 114 min | Horror, Thriller
A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
Votes: 179,362 | Gross: $76.61M
4. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,220 | Gross: $20.77M
5. The Omen (1976)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner
Votes: 132,003 | Gross: $4.27M
6. The Changeling (1980)
R | 107 min | Horror, Mystery
After the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, a music professor staying at a long-vacant Seattle mansion is dragged into a decades-old mystery by an inexplicable presence in the mansion's attic.
Director: Peter Medak | Stars: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, Jean Marsh
Votes: 39,944
7. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 449,034 | Gross: $238.63M
8. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,105,035 | Gross: $44.02M
9. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Director: John Landis | Stars: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher, Griffin Dunne
Votes: 120,315 | Gross: $30.57M
10. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 127,885 | Gross: $64.43M
11. Hellraiser (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Votes: 140,342 | Gross: $14.56M
12. The Fog (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
Votes: 82,881 | Gross: $21.38M
13. Scrooged (1988)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover
Votes: 116,378 | Gross: $60.33M
14. Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
PG-13 | 91 min | Horror
The Freeling family have a new house, but their troubles with supernatural forces don't seem to be over.
Director: Brian Gibson | Stars: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Oliver Robins
Votes: 29,853 | Gross: $41.00M
15. Christine (1983)
R | 110 min | Horror, Thriller
A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky
Votes: 92,325 | Gross: $21.20M
16. Pet Sematary (1989)
R | 103 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist
Votes: 114,900 | Gross: $57.47M
17. Children of the Corn (1984)
R | 92 min | Horror, Thriller
A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.
Director: Fritz Kiersch | Stars: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, John Franklin
Votes: 57,273 | Gross: $14.57M
18. Firestarter (1984)
R | 114 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telepathic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Freddie Jones, Heather Locklear
Votes: 36,848 | Gross: $15.10M
19. The Fury (1978)
R | 118 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A former CIA agent uses the talents of a young psychic to help retrieve his telekinetic son from a shadowy secret government agency.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Charles Durning
Votes: 17,306
20. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong
Votes: 153,700 | Gross: $11.10M
21. Starman (1984)
PG | 115 min | Romance, Sci-Fi
An alien takes the form of a young Wisconsin widow's husband and makes her drive him to his departure point in Arizona. Distrustful government agents, along with a more ambivalent scientist, give pursuit in hopes of intercepting them.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 51,990 | Gross: $28.70M
22. Silver Bullet (1985)
R | 95 min | Horror
In a small town, brutal killings start to plague the close knit community. Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic boy, is convinced the murders are the doings of a werewolf.
Director: Daniel Attias | Stars: Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim, Megan Follows
Votes: 31,445 | Gross: $5.40M
23. Salem's Lot (1979)
PG | 100 min | Horror
A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
Stars: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia
Votes: 27,447
24. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,193 | Gross: $2.40M
25. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 465,920 | Gross: $13.78M
26. The China Syndrome (1979)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Votes: 32,992 | Gross: $51.72M
27. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,702 | Gross: $17.19M
28. Ghost (1990)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
Director: Jerry Zucker | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn
Votes: 235,691 | Gross: $217.63M
29. Blow Out (1981)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz
Votes: 63,105 | Gross: $13.75M
30. The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
R | 98 min | Fantasy, Horror
An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield
Votes: 27,622 | Gross: $19.60M
31. Creepshow 2 (1987)
R | 92 min | Fantasy, Horror
Three macabre tales from the latest issue of a boy's favorite comic book, dealing with a vengeful wooden Native American, a monstrous blob in a lake, and an undying hitchhiker.
Director: Michael Gornick | Stars: George Kennedy, Lois Chiles, Domenick John, Tom Savini
Votes: 28,320 | Gross: $14.00M
32. Disciples of the Crow (1983)
30 min | Short, Horror
A couple passing through a small Oklahoma town discover that it has been taken over by a homicidal cult that worships a crow god--and that all the cult members are children.
Director: John Woodward | Stars: Eleese Lester, Gabriel Folse, Steven Young, Martin Boozer
Votes: 549
33. Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996)
TV-MA | 25 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
"Tales from the Crypt" was a 1989 horror story anthology series based on the gruesome E.C. comic books of the 1950s presented by the legendary "Crypt Keeper", a sinister ghoul obsessed with gallows humor and horrific puns.
Stars: John Kassir, Roy Brocksmith, Miguel Ferrer, Cam Clarke
Votes: 27,034
34. The Twilight Zone (1985–1989)
TV-PG | 45 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A collection of tales which range from comic to tragic, but often have a wicked sense of humor and an unexpected twist.
Stars: Robin Ward, Charles Aidman, Richard Mulligan, William Atherton
Votes: 12,238
35. Burnt Offerings (1976)
PG | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Director: Dan Curtis | Stars: Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart
Votes: 13,590
36. The Entity (1982)
R | 125 min | Drama, Horror
A woman is tormented by an invisible being.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa, George Coe
Votes: 18,237 | Gross: $13.28M
37. Lady in White (1988)
PG-13 | 113 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
An author tells the story of how, as a young boy growing up in a 1960s small town, he was haunted after witnessing the murder of a little girl.
Director: Frank LaLoggia | Stars: Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 8,033 | Gross: $1.71M
38. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Highway Patrol Officer, two criminals and a station secretary defend a defunct Los Angeles precinct office against a siege by a bloodthirsty street gang.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West
Votes: 55,507
39. Prince of Darkness (1987)
R | 102 min | Horror
A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong
Votes: 49,891 | Gross: $14.18M
40. They Live (1988)
R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower
Votes: 145,242 | Gross: $13.01M
41. Escape from New York (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence
Votes: 157,255 | Gross: $25.24M
42. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,506 | Gross: $47.00M
43. Deadly Blessing (1981)
R | 100 min | Horror, Thriller
After her husband dies under mysterious circumstances, a widow becomes increasingly paranoid of the neighboring religious community that may have diabolical plans for her.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Maren Jensen, Sharon Stone, Susan Buckner, Jeff East
Votes: 6,967 | Gross: $8.28M
44. Ghost Story (1981)
R | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Two generations of men find themselves haunted by the presence of a spectral woman. When the son of one of the elderly men returns to his hometown after his brother's mysterious death, they attempt to unravel her story.
Director: John Irvin | Stars: Craig Wasson, Alice Krige, Fred Astaire, John Houseman
Votes: 9,862 | Gross: $23.37M
45. Someone's Watching Me! (1978 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A woman is being watched in her apartment by a stranger, who also calls and torments her. A cat-and-mouse game begins.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Lauren Hutton, David Birney, Adrienne Barbeau, Charles Cyphers
Votes: 5,170
46. Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
R | 104 min | Mystery, Thriller
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a killer.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, Rene Auberjonois
Votes: 12,078 | Gross: $20.00M
47. *batteries not included (1987)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Aliens help a feisty old New York couple in their battle against the ruthless land developer who's out to evict them.
Director: Matthew Robbins | Stars: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Frank McRae, Elizabeth Peña
Votes: 37,663 | Gross: $32.95M
48. The Believers (1987)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Cal Jamison, a police psychologist, is forced to deal with a series of ritualistic murders and a malevolent cult.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert Loggia
Votes: 8,095 | Gross: $18.75M
49. Pumpkinhead (1988)
R | 86 min | Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.
Director: Stan Winston | Stars: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D'Aquino, Kimberly Ross
Votes: 27,762 | Gross: $4.39M
50. Time of Miracles (1989)
98 min | Drama, Mystery
In September 1945, a fire burns down the school and the new Communist authorities get into the church, hang the flag of the Communist Party, and paint over frescoes--which miraculously restore themselves.
Director: Goran Paskaljevic | Stars: Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Dragan Maksimovic, Mirjana Karanovic, Danilo 'Bata' Stojkovic
Votes: 585
51. Variola Vera (1982)
110 min | Drama, History, Horror
This is a true story of the famous Variola epidemic outbreak in Belgrade.
Director: Goran Markovic | Stars: Rade Serbedzija, Erland Josephson, Dusica Zegarac, Varja Djukic
Votes: 3,039
52. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
R | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
Kirsty is brought to an institution after the horrible events of Hellraiser (1987), where the occult-obsessive head doctor resurrects Julia and unleashes the Cenobites and their demonic underworld.
Director: Tony Randel | Stars: Doug Bradley, Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham
Votes: 56,060 | Gross: $11.09M
53. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
PG | 101 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.
Directors: Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller, Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Doug McGrath
Votes: 41,140 | Gross: $29.50M
54. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
R | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
Thirty years after her accidental death at her 1957 senior prom, the tortured spirit of prom queen Mary Lou Maloney returns to seek revenge.
Director: Bruce Pittman | Stars: Lisa Schrage, Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, Louis Ferreira
Votes: 7,610 | Gross: $2.68M
Tell Your Friends