One of the hallmarks of The Criterion Channel is their curated monthly themed series, which focuses on specific directors, genres, or themes. This Halloween season, it’s ’80s horror that gets the spotlight, with the streamer adding 30 cult classics from the decade to their catalog.
And this collection boasts quite the motherlode, with horror auteurs like Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, and John Carpenter dotting the list. But it’s the more undersung movies that really shine here. Walerian Borowczyk‘s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne” deserves at least a few screenings, as does Donald Cammell‘s “White Of The Eye.” Other notable titles include Michael Mann‘s lost second film “The Keep,” Richard Franklin‘s “Road Games,” and Brian Yuzna‘s “Society.”
Here’s The Criterion Channel’s introduction to the series, followed by the full line-up:
The 1980s were defined by style and excess, and the era’s horror movies were no exception. Innovations in practical effects made the nightmares more vivid than ever, and thanks to the rise of home video, the call was now coming from inside the house. While established talents such as John Carpenter (Prince of Darkness), Tobe Hooper (The Funhouse), David Cronenberg (Scanners), Michael Mann (The Keep), and Paul Schrader (Cat People) brought terrifying spectacles to the screen, often with the help of Hollywood studios, home video opened up a new market that allowed the independents to take the genre to unexpected and—in the case of the UK’s censorship of infamous “Video Nasties”—controversial new heights. Curated by Clyde Folley, this ghastly tour through the decade of greed features ambitious art-pulp hybrids (White of the Eye), a Hitchcock-inspired trucker movie (Road Games), old-fashioned creature features (Q: The Winged Serpent), a vampiric Nicolas Cage (Vampire’s Kiss), and absolutely unclassifiable cult oddities (Society), bringing together some of the eighties’ most stylish, haunting, and outrageous visions.
Inferno, Dario Argento, 1980
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne, Walerian Borowczyk, 1981
Dead & Buried, Gary Sherman, 1981
The House by the Cemetery, Lucio Fulci, 1981
The Funhouse, Tobe Hooper, 1981
Strange Behavior, Michael Laughlin, 1981
Wolfen, Michael Wadleigh, 1981
Scanners, David Cronenberg, 1981
Road Games, Richard Franklin, 1981
The Fan, Ed Bianchi, 1981
Basket Case, Frank Henenlotter, 1982
Next of Kin, Tony Williams, 1982
Cat People, Paul Schrader, 1982
Q: The Winged Serpent, Larry Cohen, 1982
The Slumber Party Massacre, Amy Holden Jones, 1982
The Keep, Michael Mann, 1983
The Hunger, Tony Scott, 1983*
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, John McNaughton, 1986
The Hidden, Jack Sholder, 1987
Prince of Darkness, John Carpenter, 1987
White of the Eye, Donald Cammell, 1987
Near Dark, Kathryn Bigelow, 1987
The Vanishing, George Sluizer, 1988
Brain Damage, Frank Henenlotter, 1988
Dream Demon, Harley Cokeliss, 1988
The Blob, Chuck Russell, 1988
Lair of the White Worm, Ken Russell, 1988
Vampire’s Kiss, Robert Bierman, 1989
Society, Brian Yuzna, 1989
Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989
So, horror fans, if anyone wants to take a deep dive into one of the best decades for horror movies, The Criterion Channel offers an excellent chance to do so. Watch these titles while they’re available, though, because most of them will likely leave the streamer after Halloween. Check out a trailer for the series below.
