10 Greatest Monster Movies of the 1980s, Ranked

It’s hard to single out one decade as being the best in the history of monster movies, but it’s probably not the 1980s. The 1990s had Jurassic Park, the 1970s had Jaws, the 1950s had the original Godzilla, and the 1930s had King Kong. The 1980s might not boast a monster movie quite as good as any of those, but if you broaden the definition of “monster movie” a little, some more contenders do emerge.

There were some great giant monster movies, sure, but if you allow in a few monster movies that see characters battling creatures of a more human size, then that makes the 1980s start to feel like a more fruitful/monstrous decade. Including both giant creatures and other differently-sized beasts, what follows is a rundown of some of the very best monster movies to come out in the 1980s.

10

‘Thunder of Gigantic Serpent’ (1988)

Directed by Lee Chiu

Of course, a movie called Thunder of Gigantic Serpent is ridiculous; what else would you expect? This might not be a high-quality kaiju flick in the traditional sense, but what it does succeed in doing is living up to a title like “Thunder of Gigantic Serpent,” which is no small task. Hell, maybe it’s a thunderously gigantic task. Think about it. Serpent.

There’s a little snake at the start of Thunder of Gigantic Serpent that doesn’t stay small for long, getting subjected to an experimental formula that makes it, unsurprisingly, change size quite drastically. Nothing looks particularly convincing here, but that only adds to the charm and chaos of the film as a whole. It’s pretty obscure stuff, however you slice it, but it deserves to be unearthed and, in turn, get a little more exposure for sure.

9

‘Critters’ (1986)

Directed by Stephen Herek

While it’s difficult to defend Critters too passionately, it is also possible to say that it’s better than it gets credit for. Like, there’s another 1980s movie about small monsters running amok that’s going to be mentioned in a little bit, and yes, that one’s better. And this one is probably ripping that one off. But the monsters in both films are small, so there’s room for both gangs (so to speak) here.

The plot is as simple as horror/comedy movie plots get, with Critters involving a whole bunch of tiny aliens rocking up on a farm and causing chaos. They’re also followed by some other people from space (bounty hunters, specifically), who want to take them out. Shenanigans ultimately follow, and though it’s pretty brainless stuff, it is still quite a bit of fun.

Critters

Release Date

April 11, 1986

Runtime

86 minutes

8

‘Q’ (1982)

Directed by Larry Cohen

You can’t criticize a movie like Q for lacking originality, since this is a good deal different from most movies that center on a giant monster causing destruction and death in a city. The beast here is best described as some sort of giant flying lizard, and it kills enough people to get some serious attention drawn towards it, even if it seems unusually good at evading authorities/pursuers.

This approach, plus a good deal of sleaze and a relatively low budget, are the things that make Q weird and kind of wonderful, so long as you’re in the mood for something a bit different. It’s not the kind of thing that’s going to appeal to every single fan of giant monster movies, but it’s odd enough to make it worth seeking out. You might dislike it, but at least you’ll never have disliked a movie in quite the same way before.

Q

Release Date

September 8, 1982

Runtime

93 minutes

7

‘Clash of the Titans’ (1981)

Directed by Desmond Davis

Something of a last hurrah for Ray Harryhausen and his method of bringing giant creatures to life, Clash of the Titans features the work of the legendary special effects creator, which is reason enough to watch it. But it’s also a pretty good fantasy film in its own right, sending a hero, Perseus, on a quest that has him encountering various monsters, some of them giant.

1981 was still a good decade or so before CGI was able to bring monsters to life with ease on screen (1993’s Jurassic Park perhaps being the first time it looked amazing), so there’s stop-motion work done here, and it still looks pretty impressive, truth be told. Not all the monsters are huge, but the mythical story here does mean there are a good many of them, and those set pieces they’re featured in are worth the price of admission alone.

6

‘The Monster Squad’ (1987)

Directed by Fred Dekker

On the one hand, The Monster Squad is indeed a monster movie, but on the other hand, it works surprisingly well as a coming-of-age movie. It focuses on a bunch of young kids who find they’re the only ones able to stand up against a gang of classic monsters who’ve banded together and hatched a plan that could see them ultimately ruling the entire world.

It came out a year after It, the novel, so it’s probably a coincidence, but there are definite similarities between that Stephen King story and The Monster Squad (though the latter is not as intense or graphic, admittedly). So if you like the old Universal movie monsters, or the gentler parts of It, or the kind of coming-of-age comedies that came out during the 1980s, this one should have a good deal of enjoyment to offer you.

5

‘The Return of Godzilla’ (1984)

Directed by Koji Hashimoto

30 years on from the original film in the Godzilla series, The Return of Godzilla did indeed want to do something dramatic and thrilling to mark the titular character’s return. In contrast to so many other Godzilla films, the main focus here was on humanity combating Godzilla (again, like the original), and Godzilla himself was bigger and arguably meaner than ever before, primarily so the more recent skyscrapers in Japan wouldn’t dwarf him in size.

There’s also a good deal of Cold War paranoia that runs through The Return of Godzilla, and helps make it exceptionally intense for a Godzilla movie. It’s not all doom and gloom, though, since this entry in the series does remain fun and is still willing to provide some spectacle; it’s all just a little harder-edged, perhaps to reflect the times and the ways they were a-changin’.

The Return of Godzilla

Release Date

December 15, 1984

Runtime

103 minutes

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  Keiju Kobayashi

  Prime Minister Seiki Mitamura

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  Yasuko Sawaguchi

  Naoko Okumura

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  Shin Takuma

  Hiroshi Okumura

4

‘Predator’ (1987)

Directed by John McTiernan

Predator is one of the definitive Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, and though simple, it’s also pretty hard to fault as a blend of action, sci-fi, and horror genres. It begins as a movie about a group of elite commandos getting through a dangerous mission with hardly a scratch, but then everything’s upended when an even more elite hunter from outer space sets its sights on them, viewing the squad as worthy prey.

There’s one kind of action that gives way to a different kind of action; it’s all a little more reserved and suspenseful, with things reaching a particular level of intensity in the oddly intimate final act. But you probably know all that. It’s Predator. It’s easily one of the most iconic monster movies of the 1980s (if you’re willing to count it as a monster movie/creature feature), and might well even be one of the most iconic of any decade, truth be told.

Predator

Release Date

June 12, 1987

Runtime

107 Minutes

3

‘Gremlins’ (1984)

Directed by Joe Dante

Sure, Critters is fun and all, but it doesn’t have anything on Gremlins, which works as a dark comedy, a surprisingly grisly horror movie, and a Christmas film, all at once. The premise sees a young man getting a strange gift for Christmas: a unique pet that has a bunch of rules attached to it that need to be followed. But the rules are either broken or ignored, and then there are inevitable consequences.

If you want to see a bunch of tiny monsters tear a small town apart, and are particularly open to that being funny, then you can’t really top Gremlins. This might well be the best monster movie about monsters that are much smaller than the average human, and the way it balances so many genres and conflicting emotions makes it enjoyable in the most chaotic of ways.

Gremlins

Release Date

June 7, 1984

Runtime

106 minutes

2

‘Godzilla vs. Biollante’ (1989)

Directed by Kazuki Ōmori

Five years on from his return, Godzilla went up against another monster: Biollante. The film was, naturally, named Godzilla vs. Biollante, and it’s something of a fan favorite within the overall series. Biollante itself is also a noteworthy antagonist, and one that plenty of people would be happy to see again in another movie or iteration (how likely that is, on the other hand, is another story).

There’s a somber mood to Godzilla vs. Biollante throughout, even if it also manages to be one of the most spectacular and technically impressive Godzilla films released up until that point. It’s another fairly dark entry in the series, but it’s also emotionally fulfilling in a way you might not ordinarily expect a giant monster movie of its kind to be (okay, yeah, the original Godzilla and King Kong movies were kind of downbeat, but both had their fair share of goofier sequels).

1

‘The Thing’ (1982)

Directed by John Carpenter

Like with Predator, some might say The Thing is more of an alien movie than a monster movie in the traditional sense, but you can’t argue against the notion that the creature being battled here is monstrous. It targets a group of researchers in the Antarctic and proves unsettlingly good at mimicking all the lifeforms it comes into contact with, which drives up paranoia among its prey, since some people might not be who they say they are.

It sounds very simple, and it is, but it’s what The Thing does with such a straightforward premise that counts. It’s also immensely helped by the fact that the special effects are out-of-this-world good, still looking convincing, gooey, and gross. If you can watch this movie without feeling uncomfortable or uneasy in any way, then congratulations. You might well be incapable of getting scared by a thriller/horror movie.

The Thing

Release Date

June 25, 1982

Runtime

109 minutes

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