15 Chaotic 1980s Slashers Streaming For Free Right Now
I have a soft spot for 80s slashers. I’m unsure if it’s nostalgia because I watched a ton as a 90s kid or it’s just because I find them weirdly relaxing. Maybe it’s the infectious spirit of filmmakers throwing buckets of blood around and spending their last five dollars entertaining weirdos like me. Whatever my deal is, what started as me revisiting some old faves has become a quest to watch them all. While not all 80 slashers are created equally, I cannot get enough of the good, the bad, and the ones in between.
The quest to see everything that decade has to offer has also taught me some cool things like Tom Hanks’ first film role was in He Knows You’re Alone (1980). I also discovered that Boardinghouse (1982) was the first horror film to be shot on video. It’s an awful movie but a historical landmark for the genre nonetheless. I also finally found The Funhouse (1981), a Tobe Hooper slasher that’s constantly overshadowed by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
My Love of the Subgenre
Over the last two years, I’ve logged over 60 slashers from this era in the little downtime I give myself. Because I’m a millennial and poor, I have also managed to catch many of these on free streamers. Most apps only add name-brand slashers like Child’s Play and Halloween, or infamous titles like Sleepaway Camp and The Slumber Party Massacre. Even then, they usually wait until closer to Halloween as if watching horror movies isn’t a year-long activity. So, I love it when I get a free night and search for my next random 80s horror movie to see it pop up on places like Crackle, Redbox, and Pluto TV. I love it so much that I’m making it your problem with this streaming guide.
Here are 15 slashers from the 1980s that are streaming for free. Many of them don’t get as much love as our franchise guys, and not all are great. However, I’ll be damned if there isn’t something, whether it be the charm or a unique kill, that makes them all worth watching at least once.
American Gothic (1988)
Where You Can Watch: The Roku Channel and Tubi
American Gothic has the simple enough setup of a woman suffering trauma being taken on vacation, as if a trip will make her feel less guilty about leaving her kid unattended in a tub or the loss of said kid. Like so many slashers before (and after), the group experiences car trouble and meets seemingly nice people in the woods. Ma (Yvonne De Carlo), Pa (Rod Steiger), and their weird clan decide to kill these strangers with kindness. This is where the real fun begins.
April Fool’s Day (1986)
Where You Can Watch: Pluto TV
A group of college friends spend a deadly spring break at a wealthy classmate’s island estate. The classmate likes practical jokes, so you know where this 80s slasher is going right out of the gate. However, I enjoyed watching it as if these were all new tropes. I mostly hit play because Muffy/Buffy St. John (played by Deborah Foreman) sounded like my kind of chaos. It ended up being one of my favorite surprises on this genre-specific side quest that I’m on. Although, I wish the ending had been darker.
Death Screams (1982)
Where You Can Watch: Plex
A group of students fights for their lives against a “machete-wielding maniac”. This isn’t one of my favorite slashers, and I think they spend way too much of the movie on these supposed “teens’ having fun at the fair. However, even I leaned forward when shit started going down at the end. This is definitely a one-and-done slasher for me, and I highly recommend you take this journey while it’s streaming for free.
Edge of the Axe (1988)
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
An axe murderer terrorizes a small Northern California town. José Ramón Larraz’s slasher is not just the most memorable of the Friday the 13th knockoffs. It actually feels like a better sequel than most of the entries in that franchise. Edge Of The Axe is also one of the few that actually understands and respects what Jason Voorhees was about before he took that ill-fated trip to Manhattan and lost his way. I try to watch it every couple of years when I catch it for free in the streaming streets.
The Final Terror (1983)
Where You Can Watch: Plex, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, and Tubi
This is another one where young people fight for survival against a random serial killer in the woods. However, this title has Daryl Hannah and Joe Pantoliano in the cast and has built a small cult following over the decades. She’s not my favorite, but I’m happy I saw her because she reaffirmed my belief that nothing good happens in the woods. It’s also nice to have another camp killer slasher. These are like catnip for me.
Graduation Day (1981)
Where You Can Watch: Freevee, Plex, Pluto TV, and Tubi
A high school athlete dies unexpectedly during a track meet two months before graduation. Her sister arrives right as someone starts killing the rest of the team. I’m a sucker for movies that feel like they were made for USA Up All Night. I wouldn’t even be surprised if this was one of the movies they covered because there were over 900 episodes, and it was coming to a close when I was a child. I cannot say this is good, fun, or creative, but it does make me happy. That’s really all we can ask for from any movie.
The House On Sorority Row (1982)
Where You Can Watch: Crackle, Freevee, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, and Tubi
Sorority sisters throw a party after a prank ends with death. They soon find out someone saw them hide the body and has sinister plans for each of them. Because I’m obsessed with Attack of the Queerwolf, and I watch way too many horror movies, I knew it was only a matter of time before I stumbled across this iconic line reading they used in their show intro. “How do we know she is alive?” indeed! When I was done losing my shit over this moment, I had to admit this was not the worst sorority slasher I have ever seen.
Intruder (1989)
Where You Can Watch: Pluto TV and Tubi
A killer stalks the overnight crew at a local supermarket in this beloved 80s slasher gem. It was written and directed by Scott Spiegel, a frequent collaborator of Sam Raimi and co-writer of Evil Dead II. Sam and Ted Raimi both make appearances, as does Bruce Campbell in what is possibly the most deadly title set in a grocery store. This weird little movie also has an ending that leaves you on the edge of your seat. I’m happy to see it on two streamers, where it can be watched for free this month.
Madhouse (1981)
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
A woman escapes a mental institution and sets out to give her twin sister a grisly birthday surprise. I’m always begging for more women killers in slashers, and this Italian slasher does give us that. I think more sisters should take a stab at each other on screen and applaud Ovidio G. Assonitis and company for adding one to the list in 1981. However, the final act is where this movie really puts the pedal to the metal, and I lived.
Maniac (1980)
Where You Can Watch: Fandango at Home, Pluto TV, and Tubi
A man takes out his feelings towards his abusive mother on unsuspecting women he kills and scalps in New York City. I didn’t expect much from this slasher, but it’s one of the more solid entries in this super specific subcategory. I recommend double featuring it with Basket Case if you want two films to really scratch that 80s itch this weekend. Another sign this movie is wild is Elijah Wood played the lead in the 2012 remake, and he only signs on for the most chaotic projects. So, brace yourself.
Nightmare (1981)
Where You Can Watch: Plex
A boy is sent away after he kills his father and his father’s mistress. However, he breaks out of the mental institution as an adult and goes on a killing spree. Does that sound a little like Halloween? Yes. Is it a simple knockoff? Far from it, friends! This movie is chaos with an axe. I watched it twice because I didn’t know what else to do after the credits rolled. I also get excited about the moments in this movie that I can now identify as a reference point for other films that came after.
Pieces (1982)
Where You Can Watch: Plex, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
A Boston college campus is terrorized by a killer collecting body parts for a human jigsaw puzzle. Not only is this Spanish-American 80s slasher a wild time, but it also has a surprise penis mutilation when you least expect it. Pieces is an over-the-top and amazing little ride. I was leaning forward the whole movie, but the third act specifically is a master class in what the fuckery. It is definitely one of my favorite free finds on the list.
The Prowler (1981)
Where You Can Watch: Fandango at Home and Tubi
A World War II vet kills his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, then 35 years later kills a group of teens. This movie came out eight months after My Bloody Valentine, and I wonder if things would have been different had it come out first. It has a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes but still seems to live in the shadow of the other title. However, I like this one so much more and am forever pushing it on slasher fans who are even later to the game than I was.
Slaughter High (1986)
Where You Can Watch: The Roku Channel and Tubi
An awful April Fool’s prank bites people in the ass when they return for a weird high school reunion. Think Terror Train without the train or Jamie Lee Curtis. This movie also seems like an even smaller budget. In a wild turn of events, this is a good for him horror entry as Marty had every right to lash out at these sociopaths. This is not the best April Fools, high school, or even revenge slasher of the 80s. However, it has the spirit of the random movies you would gamble on at a Blockbuster or on Cinemax. It’s fine enough for a popcorn and free movie night. I might actually do this again this weekend.
Stage Fright (1987)
Where You Can Watch: Fandango at Home and Tubi
A group of actors decide to lock themselves into a theatre for rehearsal but accidentally trap an escaped psychopath inside with them. This Italian slasher is a time! Even before the bodies start piling up, this movie is so bizarre and very 1980s. Maybe because I am a recovering theatre kid, I find this fascinating and one of the most original entries on this list. If nothing else, please watch this clip the next time you want to feel alive. I like this movie. I don’t love it as much as others, but I respect the hell out of it and am happy it’s streaming for free again.
These are just some of the 80s slashers streaming for free this month. Let me know if you’ve seen all of them, or are weirdly obsessed with this specific time and subgenre, at @misssharai. While you’re there, tell me your favorite 80s slashers that usually gets left out of the conversation when talking about the usual suspects.
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