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A-Z Complete Guide to 1980s Slasher Movies: 1981

In the 1980s, no horror film was more popular than the slasher movie. There was something so primitively entertaining about watching a psycho in a mask murder a group of people in gory and creative ways. The enormous success of Halloween started up the slasher machine, but Friday the 13th put it into high-gear. After it raked in an incredible amount at the box office, studios were hungry for more blood, nudity, and violence than ever before. As you can imagine, 1981 was a busy year for the slasher film...

The A-Z Slasher Guide to 1981

A

Absurd A priest comes to a small town to destroy a maniac. However, the maniac is incredibly hard to kill and starts going on a killing spree.

B

Bloody Birthday Because they were born during a full eclipse, three children are psychopaths who start murdering everyone who wrongs them.

Bloody Moon Young women at a language school are being killed in extremely brutal ways.

The Boogeyman The spirit of a man who was murdered begins to seek revenge on his killers.

The Burning The teens at a summer camp are killed by a hrrifically scarred murderer who was almost burned to death several years prior at the same camp.

C

D

Dark Night of the Scarecrow A mentally challenged man is wrongfully killed by a group of vigilantes. Soon the vigilantes start dying in increangly horrible ways. Has Bubba returned to seek vengeance, or is someone else at work?

A Day of Judgement In the 1920s, a mysterious man arrives at a small southern town and begins killing those who he feels have strayed from the path of religion.

Deadly Blesng A man, who was formerly part of an Amish community of Hittites, is killed in a tractor "accident". The Hittites view his wife as "the incubus" and have special plans for her.

The Demon A killer is going around town and slaughtering innocent people. Their only hope is a psychic cop who may hold the key to the mystery. Meanwhile, the killer terrorizes a young schoolteacher in her house.

Don't Go Near the Park Two people cursed to live forever as old men need a 16-year old virgin to sacrifice in order to turn young again. A runaway child and a reporter know what's going on, but can they stop them?

Don't Go in the Woods Tourists are being killed in the woods, but four young backpackers decide that they're too young to die and fearlessly trek into the trees. Soon, a psychotic backwoodsman begins picking them off, one by one...

E

Evilspeak A bullied military cadet uses his computer to do black magic rituals and get revenge on his tormentors.

Eyes of a Stranger A reporter living in an apartment discovers her neighbor is the killer/rapist that's been terrorizing the area. Now, she has to get proof before the killer offs her.

F

The Fan A record salesman is obsessed with an actress. He always writes love letters to her, but his letters are rejected. Soon, his love turns to hatred. 220px-Fanposter81.jpg

Final Exam A mysterious killer stalks a college campus.

Friday the 13th Part II In this follow-up to Friday the 13th, a camp is about to be opened across the lake from the infamous Camp Crystal Lake. However, Jason Voorhees has returned and is slaughtering the counselors to avenge his mother.

The Funhouse Four teens decide to spend the night in the carnival funhouse. However, a monstrous being is hunting them down and killing them after the funhouse closes. 220px-Funhouse1981poster.jpg

G

Ghostkeeper Three friends are isolated at an abandoned lodge with an old lady...and an evil entity lurking in the basement.

Graduation Day After a girl has a heart attack at a track meet, someone begins picking off the school's track team just days before graduation.

H

Halloween II Starting exactly where Halloween left off, Michael Myers continues to hunt Laurie Strode, this time at a hospital. ?w=193&h=300

Happy Birthday to Me At a private school, the "Top Ten" (the most popular kids in the school) are getting killed in increangly horrible ways. Could Virginia be the one killing everyone?

Hell Night Four pledges have to stay in the mysterious Garth Manor for one night. Supposedly, the Garths' mongoloid son still lives in the manor, and on hell night, these four will come face to face with him.

Home Sweet Home People gathered at a house in the middle of nowhere to celebrate Thanksgiving are attacked by an escaped lunatic.

The House by the Cemetery A family moves into an old house next to a cemetery and discover something nister is living in the basement and wants to get out.

I

The Incubus A killer/rapist is haunting the city of Galen, and a boy has nightmares about the killings.

J

Just Before Dawn A group of people hiking in the woods are stalked by backwoods psychos and are soon killed off.

K

L

M

Madhouse Julia has a deformed twin ster who lives in an asylum. However, she escapes and decides to crash Julia's birthday party.

Murder Obseson An actor goes up to his mom's house along with his girlfriend and the film crew of his next production. Soon, strange things begin happening and Michael fears murders are going to start.

My Bloody Valentine Some miners decide to celebrate Valentine's Day at the local mine, so they bring their girlfriends and party down. But as they head deeper into the mine, someone wearing a miner's outfit is picking them off. Has the Harry Warden, a mass-murderer from years prior, returned?



N

Night School A murderer wearing leather and a motorcycle helmet is decapitating various college coeds.

Nightmare (Nightmares in a Damaged Brain) After a man is released from the asylum, he hunts down a family with whom he has some relation to and leaves a body count in his path.

No Place to Hide When Amy's father dies, she goes to live with her stepmother. Then she starts seeing a man in black stalking her, and trying to kill her. Is this man really out to get her? Or is she just insane?

O

P

The Prowler On the night of the big dance, a man wearing army clothing and wielding a pitchfork is hunting down and killing anyone he comes across. Is this the man who killed two teens at the same dance forty years earlier? http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1010/191727.1010.A.jpg" class="photoborder" />

Q

R

Road Games A truck driver goes against a serial killer who uses a young hitchhiker as bait to lure people to him.

S

Scream A group of friends on a rafting trip spend the night at a ghost town. When the awaken, their rafts are gone and someone is watching them.

Strange Behavior A mad scientist experiments with teens and turns them into homicidal maniacs.

Student Bodies In this parody of the slasher genre, a killer known as "The Breather" murders anyone he sees having sex.



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Well that was 1981, probably the most popular year for slashers. Next week we'll discuss 1982, another popular year, but how long can a successful genre last? Stay tuned.