Time Warp: Haunts from 80's Horror Movies
Frights from Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street & Poltergeist
Oct 1, 2009
While you may be too old to Trick or Treat or don't have the heart for Haunted Houses, there are a number of frights that can be enjoyed from the comfort or eventual discomfort of your own home with 80's horror movies.
The first thought that always comes to my mind when I think of horror movies is Friday the 13th which had a series of eight films in the 80's. Jason Vorhee's who wore the infamous hockey mask was the killer who haunted the counselors of Camp Crystal Lake.
As far as plot there is really nothing to praise the films for, they are all pretty much just carbon copies of each other. If nothing else the Friday the 13th series should have served as a good lesson in birth control because sex was always a precursor to death. I don't know how they ever became counselors because they were always constantly engaged in sexual relations, drug use and alcohol consumption.
All the rules of horror movies were followed in each film such as; tripping when being chased in the woods, the escape car not starting, running upstairs towards safety and the lone survivor.
There was a scene at the conclusion of the first Friday the 13th (1980) that still gives me chills when I think about it, when Jason leaps out of the lake to pull in the survivor. I didn't see it coming and his disfigured appearance is frightening.
The films also contain a memorable noise which brought added tension to the coming danger. An echo of the syllables 'ki' and 'ma' were repeated which is short for the phrase, 'Kill her mommy.'
Another memorable moment in the film series includes 80's icon, Corey Feldman, who in the fourth installment, 'The Final Chapter' (1984) shaves his head to play mind games with Jason.
Of course a Kevin Bacon connection exists with the films as he appeared in the first one.
In the final installment of the 80's, Jason expands his path of mayhem to New York in Jason Takes Manhattan (1989). The same pattern occurs except the setting is on a cruise ship.
Though he was sliced, diced, scattered, smothered and many other types of physical punishment and Waffle House phrases inflected upon him, Jason kept getting back up. Though he never uttered a single word, I consider Jason a legendary character.
Freddy Krueger causes Nightmares on Elm Street
The 80's also introduced Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) which blinds the line between dreams and reality. Directed by Wes Craven he reformed the genre much like he did in the 90's with Scream. Played by Robert Englund, Krueger with a knife fingered glove brought a sense of intelligence and wit to his murderous character with lines such as, 'You've got the body, I've got the brains.' And 'How sweet, fresh meat.'
Four sequels followed in the 80's and in 2003 the two horror icons battled in Jason vs. Freddy.
The first Nightmare starred Johnny Depp, while on his way to superstardom.
A commonly used creepy technique present in the Nightmare films is the use of young children, who are usually cute except for when in horror movies. A lullaby sung by a group of girls while jumping rope is far from soothing. While on the subject, I must also mention the ghost of twins in The Shining (1980).
The Curse of Poltergeist
While any movie with a little person in the cast holds a special place in my heart, such as Poltergeist (1982), which also holds prestige with me because of the chills it delivers. Ghosts communicate through the static on the television screen to a family's five year old daughter, which leads to the house being haunted. The girl's utterance of 'They're here,' became a catch phrase. While she had the look of innocence, she was overcome with evil. While I'm not one who has a fear of clowns, there is a scene where a toy clown comes to life. Also, Poltergeist is a movie that has an actual plot rather than just trying to produce terror, which is good.
Two sequels followed in 1986 and 1988 and for the second film, special mention is given to Julian Beck who plays Reverend Henry Kane whose mere presence on screen is scary.
Due to the death of some of the cast members, including the demise of two of the actors at a young age, an urban legend exists that there is a curse on those who starred in the films.
For some October frights, check out these movies or other classic horror films from the 80's.
