Films of 1988: From Best to Worst
by spencergrande6 | created - 05 Nov 2011 | updated - 19 Nov 2015 | PublicOriginal theatrical release.
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1. Die Hard (1988)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 945,076 | Gross: $83.01M
2. The Vanishing (1988)
Not Rated | 107 min | Mystery, Thriller
Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.
Director: George Sluizer | Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus
Votes: 44,116
3. Rain Man (1988)
R | 133 min | Drama
After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
Votes: 546,347 | Gross: $178.80M
4. Bull Durham (1988)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson
Votes: 59,311 | Gross: $50.89M
5. Akira (1988)
R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda
Votes: 205,068 | Gross: $0.55M
6. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
PG | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer
Votes: 216,702 | Gross: $156.45M
7. As Tears Go By (1988)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Alex Man
Votes: 12,480 | Gross: $0.01M
8. Monkey Shines (1988)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 13,023 | Gross: $5.34M
9. Big (1988)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard
Votes: 239,842 | Gross: $114.97M
10. Phantasm II (1988)
R | 97 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Mike, now released from a psychiatric hospital, meets with Reggie, and discover his dreams (the events of the original film) are real, and they both journey to find and stop the evil Tall Man from his grim work.
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: James Le Gros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Paula Irvine
Votes: 16,752 | Gross: $7.28M
11. Frantic (1988)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In a hotel room in Paris, a doctor comes out of the shower and finds that his wife has disappeared. He soon finds himself caught up in a world of intrigue, espionage, gangsters, drugs and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Harrison Ford, Betty Buckley, Emmanuelle Seigner, Djiby Soumare
Votes: 57,774 | Gross: $17.64M
Stumbles in the last act, but otherwise typically taut Polanski.
12. 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: 116,399 | Gross: $60.33M
13. Child's Play (1988)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
A struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
Director: Tom Holland | Stars: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Votes: 116,650 | Gross: $33.24M
14. Miami Connection (1987)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Music
A martial arts rock band goes up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida's narcotics trade.
Directors: Woo-sang Park, Y.K. Kim | Stars: Y.K. Kim, Vincent Hirsch, Joseph Diamand, Maurice Smith
Votes: 6,593
15. 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: 27,639 | Gross: $19.60M
16. Night of the Demons (1988)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Ten teenagers party at an abandoned funeral parlor on Halloween night. When an evil force awakens, demonic spirits keep them from leaving and turn their gathering into a living Hell.
Director: Kevin Tenney | Stars: Cathy Podewell, Alvin Alexis, Hal Havins, Allison Barron
Votes: 19,115 | Gross: $3.11M
17. The Land Before Time (1988)
G | 69 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
An orphaned brontosaurus teams up with other young dinosaurs in order to reunite with their families in a valley.
Director: Don Bluth | Stars: Pat Hingle, Gabriel Damon, Helen Shaver, Bill Erwin
Votes: 98,625 | Gross: $48.09M
18. 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: 145,355 | Gross: $13.01M
19. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 379,871 | Gross: $1.11M
20. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 339,816 | Gross: $73.71M
21. 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: 27,797 | Gross: $4.39M
22. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
Director: Stephen Chiodo | Stars: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, John Vernon
Votes: 45,438 | Gross: $15.63M
23. The Dead Pool (1988)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder various San Francisco celebrities, with himself being one of the targets.
Director: Buddy Van Horn | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim
Votes: 48,942 | Gross: $37.90M
24. Zombie 3 (1988)
R | 84 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
When a terrorist's body, infected with a stolen chemical, is cremated by the US military, a virus is unintentionally released into the atmosphere over a small island.
Directors: Lucio Fulci, Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei | Stars: Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Massimo Vanni
Votes: 5,492
25. Oliver & Company (1988)
G | 74 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A lost and alone kitten joins a gang of dogs engaged in petty larceny in New York City.
Director: George Scribner | Stars: Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan
Votes: 52,915 | Gross: $74.15M
26. Evil Dead Trap (1988)
Unrated | 102 min | Horror
A late night TV presenter receives a snuff tape, in which a woman is brutally killed. She decides to take a crew out to a location indicated in the tape, but only death and despair await them.
Director: Toshiharu Ikeda | Stars: Miyuki Ono, Aya Katsuragi, Hitomi Kobayashi, Eriko Nakagawa
Votes: 3,789
27. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?
Director: Dwight H. Little | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, George P. Wilbur
Votes: 58,621 | Gross: $17.77M
28. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
R | 93 min | Horror
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Robert Englund, Rodney Eastman, John Beckman, Kisha Brackel
Votes: 61,581 | Gross: $49.37M
29. Twins (1988)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Crime
A physically perfect but innocent man goes in search of his long-lost twin brother, who is short, a womanizer, and small-time crook.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb
Votes: 137,113 | Gross: $111.94M
30. Poltergeist III (1988)
PG-13 | 98 min | Horror, Thriller
Carol Anne is staying with her aunt in a high-rise building, where the supernatural forces haunting her make their return.
Director: Gary Sherman | Stars: Heather O'Rourke, Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Zelda Rubinstein
Votes: 20,452 | Gross: $14.11M
31. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror
Angela, supposedly reformed and living under an assumed surname, is working at a summer camp. However, when the campers start misbehaving, she soon reverts to her old ways.
Director: Michael A. Simpson | Stars: Pamela Springsteen, Renée Estevez, Tony Higgins, Valerie Hartman
Votes: 13,332
32. Scarecrows (1988)
R | 83 min | Action, Crime, Horror
Criminals hijack a plane and force the pilot and his daughter to fly them to Mexico. However, an unexpected landing finds them in a cemetery inhabited by killer scarecrows.
Director: William Wesley | Stars: Ted Vernon, Michael David Simms, Richard Vidan, Kristina Sanborn
Votes: 5,645
33. The Boy from Hell (1988)
R | 90 min | Horror
A teenage boy is hidden at an orphanage by his mother to protect him against his father, who wants to use the boys body to be reborn.
Director: Deryn Warren | Stars: Aarin Teich, Anthony Jenkins, Twink Caplan, Alexandra Kennedy
Votes: 176
34. Caddyshack II (1988)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Sport
When a crass new-money tycoon's membership application is turned down at a snooty country club, he retaliates by buying the club and turning it into a tacky amusement park.
Director: Allan Arkush | Stars: Jackie Mason, Robert Stack, Dyan Cannon, Dina Merrill
Votes: 16,490 | Gross: $11.80M
35. Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
Jason Voorhees is accidentally freed from his watery prison by a telekinetic teenager. Now, only she can stop him.
Director: John Carl Buechler | Stars: Terry Kiser, Jennifer Banko, John Otrin, Susan Blu
Votes: 42,334 | Gross: $19.17M
36. Return of the Living Dead II (1988)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Curious kids unearth the barrels that previously helped revive the dead, which proves the second time's an undead charm.
Director: Ken Wiederhorn | Stars: James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy, Thor Van Lingen
Votes: 21,540 | Gross: $9.21M
37. Mac and Me (1988)
PG | 99 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
An alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy.
Director: Stewart Raffill | Stars: Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary, Lauren Stanley
Votes: 14,506 | Gross: $6.42M
38. Zombie 5: Killing Birds (1988)
Not Rated | 92 min | Horror, Mystery
A group of college students go into the woods to study birds. They encounter a strange blind man who's connected to the killer zombies that prowl a dilapidated house deep in the forest.
Directors: Claudio Lattanzi, Joe D'Amato | Stars: Lara Wendel, Robert Vaughn, Timothy W. Watts, Leslie Cumming
Votes: 1,897
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