80s Horror

Have you ever had a fond memory of a horror movie from the 80s, only to see it now and see that it is not quite as good as you remember it? Memories created while sitting around with your friends drinking beer and maybe even sharing someone's glaucoma medication? Movies that seemed like the coolest thing ever at the time, only to now seem more than a little silly? Movies that are now seen filtered through all of your life experiences? Have you ever had the experience of watching these movies again with their new special edition, anamorphic, high definition transfers and thought, what was I thinking in the 80s? Me Neither!

80s horror will always hold a special place in my heart. I still have not seen any DVD release of an 80s horror movie that has disappointed me. I do my best to recreate the experience of watching them like I did over 20 years ago, although the beer is now imported and I no longer need glaucoma medication or can't find a pharmacist. I am older and wiser now, at least I'd like to think so, but I still enjoy the cheesiest low budget crap that we used to go to the video store every week to rent. With all of the new DVD releases, I even found some movies that it seems everyone else has seen but me! You would think that since these movies hold no nostalgic value for me, I could see through their inherent cheesiness and see them for the cliched, predictable, unoriginal and exploitative movies that they are. I do see them for the cliched, predictable, unoriginal and exploitative movies that they are, that is why I like them!

I don't think we will ever see a time for horror movies like the 80s. For all of us back then, it was our own little world that others just didn't get. VHS gave us new movies every week with great eye catching boxes that sometimes had nothing at all to do with the actual movie. Straight to video movies that looked like we made them with our own giant video cameras that required two hands to hold up. We rented all of it. Sometimes the worse the movie was, the better it was.