I've always been a huge fan of horror movies but to be honest I think the best decade for this genre was without a doubt the 80's. Below are 10 horror movies that I beleive were the best for their time. Do you agree?. I would love to know your favourites so please feel free to leave comments.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Written and directed by Wes Craven. Nightmare on elm street gave birth to one of the most memorable horror villians of all time, Freddy Krueger also know as the "Springwood slasher" ,was a psychopath that killed children using a glove with razor blades for fingers. When an incompetent Judge allows Freddy to go free, the parents of the town take it upon themselves to take revenge and kill Freddy by setting him alight. Little do they realise that dying will not stop Freddy and that he will come back from beyond the grave to torment and murder their kids.

Nancy one of the teenage kids living on elm street, starts to have vivid nightmares about a disfigured man wearing a bladed glove. When one of Nancy's friends gets brutally murdered in her sleep Nancy realises that Freddy is back and she must not fall asleep otherwise she will meet the same fate.

This movie scared the living daylights out of me as a kid and its still one of my all time faves. There isnt one horror movie villian thats as scary as freddie.

2. Re-animator (1985)

Written By H.P Lovecraft and directed by Stuart Gordon.

Herbert west is a medical scientist that has discovered a serum that when injected into the brain of the recently deceased allows them to come back to life. As you would expect from a zombie flick when they do come back they are no longer human.

Chaos and gore a plenty with a particularly controversial scene in the unrated version which involved a decapitated head and a rather sexy female.

Crazy zombie flick thats still a classic.

3. An American Werewolf In London (1981)

Written and directed by the legendary John Landis American werewolf in london set the benchmark for visual effects. The sequence in which David transforms into a werewolf helped Rick Baker take the 1981 Oscar for outstanding achievement in makeup.

To this day that transformation scene is stilll one of the most memorable scenes in the horror genre. On a side note this movie is what influenced the late Micheal Jackson to create the Thriller Video( also written and directed by John Landis).

David and his friend Jack are backpacking acroos the yorkshire moors when they are attacked by a large animal. Jack dies but david survives. we later find out the creature that attacked them is a werewolf and David begins to realise he too is going to become one whenever the moon is full.

Though very much an adult horror film it is also a very good comedy. Some of the funniest moments in the film are the conversation David has with Jacks ghost.

4. Scanners (1981)

Written and directed by David Cronenberg.

Ask people about the movie scanners and they will usually say " oh the one with the exploding head"

Oh yes exploding heads what more could you ask for in a horror movie?.

Scanners are people with telekinetic powers who have the power to read others thoughts and if necessary make their heads explode. Their powers are due to their mothers taking an experimental drug during pregnancy. An evil company wants to exploit the scanners power to take over the world by killing non scanners but our hero Cameron Vale recruits other scanners that use their powers for good to stop the evil corporation headed by Revok.

Great scifi/horror with some of the best computer effects for its time.

5. Poltergeist (1982).

Written by Steven Spielberg And Directed by Tobe Hooper.

One of the first ghost movies that i ever watched. Had me sleeping with the light on as akid.

The freeling family live in a pleasant neighbourhood in an ordinary house but when their youngest daughter Carol anne starts talking to imaginary friends through the tv set things start to get freaky. at first the ghosts that are present in the house seem friendly, but things soon get nasty when Carol Anne is kidnapped and taken to the other side. The family call upon the help of a medium to get their daughter back but the house has other plans.

6. Childs Play (1988).

Directed by Tom Holland.

While on the run from the cops wounded Charles Lee Ray transfers his soul into a Good Guy Doll named chucky while hiding in the toy factory. 6 Year old Andy asks his mother for one of the dolls. His mom buys the doll containing the soul of Charles Lee Ray from a street bum and gives it to Andy on his Birthday. That night Andys babysitter is pushed from a 5th floor appartment window. Young Andy is the only one who knows the Doll is responsible and Chucky wants Andys body to transfer Charles's soul into.

7. Poltergeist II. (1986)

After the destruction of their former home in poltergeist,the freeling family move into a brand new home. Hopes of putting the memories of young Carol Annes abduction behind them are soon dashed as the sinister forces come back.This time they take on the form of an evil Reverend named Kane.

Kane is a pshychotic religous zealot who in life was responsible for the deaths of a few hundred followers.He wants Carol Anne but the Freeling family once again fight for the forces of evil for their daughter.

Bigger and better than the original even though Steven Spielberg was not responsible for the writing of the sequel.That task was handled by Micaell Grais and Mark Victor, with Brian Gibson picking up the mantle as director.

8. The Hitcher (1986)

Another classic that has been made into a very poor remake, the hitcher sees Jim Halsey delivering a car across state.

When he stops to pick up a hitchhiker things get interesting.After passing an abandoned car on the freeway the hitchhiker tells Jim the reason the car is abandoned is because he killed and mutilated the driver. After opening up a switchblade he threatens to do the same to jim. Luckily for jim he notices the hitchhiker has not put on his seatbelt and manages to push him out the car.

Thinking thats the end of it Jim relaxes only to find he gets pursued not only by the hitchiker that tries to kill him,but also the police as they think JIm is responsible for the string of murders that the hitchhiker has committed. Fast paced action and thrills from start to finish. A fantastic performance from a young Rutger Hauer. The remake is nowhere near as good as this classic.

8. The Howling (1981)

Back on the werewolf theme,the howling has one of the wackiest storylines ever but to me it's still a classic.

Serial killer Eddie Quist gets setup by reporter Karen white after he asks her to meet in a sleazy adult theatre. The police shoot him on sight. Karen gets traumatised by the event and her therapist advises her to go to the colony.

The colony is a small secluded resort in the countryside. As it goes Eddie was an outcast of a pack of werewolves and when Karens husband gets turned by a sexy female werewolf at the colony all hell breaks loose.

Karen calls on the aid of one of her friends who links Eddie to the colny.Before getting killed by the pack Karen's friend makes a call to her boyfriend who has been brought up to speed about the whole werewolf thing and he heads on over armed to the teeth with silver bullets.

Like I said absolutely ridiculous plot but an awesome movie. Went on to produce a staggering 6 sequels each one being progressively worse it has to be said.

9. Bad Taste (1987)

The ultimate cult classic directed by Peter Jackson of lord of the rings fame.Produced on amazingly low budget starring Peter Jackson and his friends both on and off the camera.

The Astro Investigation and defence service (Aids) send Barry, Derek.Frank and ozzy to a small new zealand town kaiharo to investiogate the dissapearance of the whole town.After investigation it becomes clear that the town has been overrun with aliens who have taken Human form.

Bad taste lives ups to its title with aliens eating human brains and eating other bodily fluids. Probably the biggest cult movie on earth :-) .

10. The Puppet Master (1989).

Andre toulon is a puppet master who finds an ancient egyptian formula that is the key to creating life. He gives life to his puppets before killing himself to stop the nazis getting their hands on the formula. Years later 4 psychic friends pick up the trail of a former colleague thats killed himself and soon they discover the puppet masters secret.

Creepy puppets killing people in all manner of ways possible makes for some classic horror moments. The puppet master series had a huge cult following and again one of the many films that kept me awake one i was a kid.

So there you go thats 10 of my all time favourite horror films. I hope you have enjoyed the read and i look forward to reading your comments and maybe your faves. Thanks for taking the time to read and ill be back soon with some more.