My Best Worst Movies of 1980... (and in list order)
by DukeEman | created - 14 Mar 2019 | updated - 16 Mar 2019 | PublicThe trash I enjoyed in 1980 at the tender virginal age of fourteen...
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1. Heaven's Gate (1980)
R | 219 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston
Votes: 17,164 | Gross: $3.48M
The movie that sank a studio with Cimino at the helm going down with the sinking ship in this now trashy masterpiece...
2. Prom Night (1980)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
At a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.
Director: Paul Lynch | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin
Votes: 20,945 | Gross: $14.80M
One of the best worst slasher films that started the ball rolling for the eighties...
3. Xanadu (1980)
PG | 96 min | Fantasy, Musical, Romance
A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan
Votes: 15,396 | Gross: $22.76M
Let's camp it up, at least the music is perfectly bad...
4. Inferno (1980)
R | 106 min | Horror
An American student investigates the disappearance of his sister and the death of a friend, both connected from New York to Rome by an old alchemy book.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi
Votes: 24,029
Argento made the best trashy horror films...
5. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,555 | Gross: $39.75M
Classic trashy slasher film that made the eighties for me...
6. Can't Stop the Music (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Comedy, Musical
A pseudo autobiography of disco's The Village People.
Director: Nancy Walker | Stars: Ray Simpson, David Hodo, Felipe Rose, Randy Jones
Votes: 4,498 | Gross: $2.00M
So bad that it's actually fun...
7. Alligator (1980)
R | 91 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A pet baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives in the city sewers. Twelve years later, it grows to an enormous size thanks to a diet of discarded laboratory dogs injected with growth hormones. Now, humans have entered the menu.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo, Dean Jagger
Votes: 15,887
From the blunt pencil of John Sayles comes this cheeky b-grade sewer movie with some cheek...
8. Popeye (1980)
PG | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston, Paul Dooley
Votes: 34,424 | Gross: $49.82M
Altman 's style fails on this, with Williams unable to save it...
9. Ruckus (1980)
PG | 93 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A Vietnam veteran passing through a small town is harassed by local bullies but he fights back, using his wartime skills, and triggers a full-scale police manhunt.
Director: Max Kleven | Stars: Dirk Benedict, Linda Blair, Richard Farnsworth, Matt Clark
Votes: 798
Before Rambo's First Blood, there was this trashy action classic...
10. Maniac (1980)
18+ | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton, Kelly Piper
Votes: 20,237
How to make the perfect trash slasher...
11. Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980)
Not Rated | 82 min | Comedy
Pepi is raped by the policeman who catches her growing marijuana in her apartment. She seeks revenge by getting his masochist wife to leave him.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Carmen Maura, Félix Rotaeta, Alaska, Eva Siva
Votes: 5,909
Even Almodóvar began from trash...
12. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,074 | Gross: $19.80M
What where Friedkin and Pacino thinking...
13. Fade to Black (1980)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A shy, lonely film buff embarks on a killing spree against those who browbeat and betray him, all the while stalking his idol, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike.
Director: Vernon Zimmerman | Stars: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Gwynne Gilford, Norman Burton
Votes: 5,001
Creepy trash that is worth a look...
14. Saturn 3 (1980)
R | 88 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
Two lovers stationed at a remote base in the asteroid belt of Saturn are intruded upon by an anal-retentive technocrat from Earth and his charge: a malevolent eight foot tall robot.
Directors: Stanley Donen, John Barry | Stars: Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel, Ed Bishop
Votes: 10,493
How can you go wrong with a cast and director like this...
15. The Formula (1980)
R | 117 min | Crime, Thriller
The synthetic fuel production formula, invented by the Nazis at the end of World War II, is sought after by some who aim to sell it, and by others who wish to destroy it.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: George C. Scott, Marlon Brando, Marthe Keller, John Gielgud
Votes: 2,908
You cringe when seeing actors of this calibre in turkeys like this...
16. Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
PG | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A farm boy recruits a band of outlaws to save the planet Akir from forces that threaten to wipe them out from the face of the universe. A battle stretching beyond the stars begins here.
Directors: Jimmy T. Murakami, Roger Corman | Stars: George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, Richard Thomas, John Saxon
Votes: 10,231
Anything with Corman's name on it is perfect trash...
17. Somewhere in Time (1980)
PG | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright
Votes: 32,561 | Gross: $9.71M
For those in desperate need of some romance...
18. Any Which Way You Can (1980)
PG | 116 min | Action, Comedy
A trucker turned prize fighter, his brother and their pet orangutan have a series of misadventures involving the mob, corrupt cops, motorcycle gangs and pretty dames.
Director: Buddy Van Horn | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith
Votes: 20,996 | Gross: $70.69M
There was no need for a sequel...
19. The Awakening (1980)
R | 101 min | Horror
An archeologist discovers his daughter is possessed by the spirit of an Egyptian queen. To save mankind he must destroy her.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist
Votes: 2,868 | Gross: $8.42M
You wouldn't have expected director Newell to have had a career after this...
20. A Change of Seasons (1980)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
Marriage takes a sour turn when a middle-aged husband falls for a young and sexy woman. Things get even more complicated when his wife starts a hot affair with a young lover of her own.
Directors: Richard Lang, Noel Black | Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Hopkins, Bo Derek, Michael Brandon
Votes: 1,133
How did Hopkins and MacLaine get involve in this Bo Derek attempt of acting...
21. Shogun (1980 TV Movie)
159 min | Adventure, Drama, History
An English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.
Director: Jerry London | Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada, Furankî Sakai
Votes: 5,062
Poor Mifune in a trashy Clavell novel...
22. Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980 TV Movie)
156 min | Biography, Drama
The story of the life and times of the legendary Hollywood blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe, from her meteoric rise to stardom, to her marriages and untimely death.
Directors: Jack Arnold, John Flynn, Lawrence Schiller | Stars: Catherine Hicks, Richard Basehart, Frank Converse, John Ireland
Votes: 271
Trashing a cult figure...
23. Rough Cut (1980)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Two sophisticated jewel thieves join forces to steal $30 million in uncut jewels. Despite a continuous exchange of quips they eventually become romantically involved.
Directors: Don Siegel, Peter R. Hunt, Robert Ellis Miller | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven, Timothy West
Votes: 1,501
Reynolds on a decline...
24. Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
PG | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.
Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Dom DeLuise
Votes: 17,609 | Gross: $66.13M
The first one was a true classic, this is just dross...
25. Roadie (1980)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Music
A young Texas good ol' boy has a knack with electronic equipment, and that talent gets him a job as a roadie with a raucous travelling rock-and-roll show.
Director: Alan Rudolph | Stars: Meat Loaf, Kaki Hunter, Art Carney, Gailard Sartain
Votes: 1,462 | Gross: $4.23M
At least Meatloaf is in it...
26. The Exterminator (1980)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him.
Director: James Glickenhaus | Stars: Robert Ginty, Samantha Eggar, Christopher George, Steve James
Votes: 6,567
Death Wish on steroids...
27. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together, unaware that sexual maturity will eventually intervene.
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels
Votes: 76,602 | Gross: $58.85M
The finest in teenage trashiness...
28. Wholly Moses! (1980)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Fantasy
An all-star comedy cast hams it up in this hilarious Biblical spoof.
Director: Gary Weis | Stars: Dudley Moore, Laraine Newman, James Coco, Paul Sand
Votes: 2,237 | Gross: $14.16M
Poor Dudley Moore...
29. Blood Beach (1980)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Something is attacking and killing people on the beach. David and Mariana, old friends, search for clues where they played as kids to uncover the mysterious creature.
Director: Jeffrey Bloom | Stars: David Huffman, Marianna Hill, Burt Young, Otis Young
Votes: 2,861
Saw this at the cinema and I still want my money back...
30. The Mystery of Oberwald (1980)
129 min | Drama, Romance
One long decade after the assassination of her husband, a reclusive queen comes face-to-face with the deceased's doppelgänger and anarchist poet, and strikes a three-day pact; however, fate has other plans. What is the mystery of Oberwald?
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Stars: Monica Vitti, Paolo Bonacelli, Franco Branciaroli, Luigi Diberti
Votes: 975
Even the greats can make a turkey...
31. Death Ship (1980)
R | 91 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery
A mysterious ghostly freighter rams and sinks a modern day cruise ship whose survivors climb aboard the freighter and discover that it is a World War II Nazi torture vessel.
Director: Alvin Rakoff | Stars: George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso, Sally Ann Howes
Votes: 5,703
A real sinker...
32. The Octagon (1980)
R | 103 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A martial artist must defeat a plan by ninjas to create a worldwide training camp for terrorists.
Director: Eric Karson | Stars: Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, Lee Van Cleef, Art Hindle
Votes: 6,174 | Gross: $18.97M
Chuck was the king of white kung fu trash...
33. When Time Ran Out... (1980)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer and a drilling foreman.
Director: James Goldstone | Stars: Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Edward Albert
Votes: 3,204 | Gross: $1.70M
How the hell did this top cast get sucked into this...
34. Super Fuzz (1980)
PG | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Red powder from a nuclear explosion gives a police officer super powers as long as he doesn't see anything red. He is eventually framed for murder and is unsuccessfully executed by many different methods.
Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Terence Hill, Ernest Borgnine, Joanne Dru, Marc Lawrence
Votes: 8,197
The holiness of trashiness...
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