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Best Thriller Movies of the 1980s
#1 Twin Peaks (1989) · ★ 8.5 · 677 votes · 1h 56m · tv-movie, thriller, dramaAn idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks. (This standalone version of the series pilot was produced for…
#2 Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) · ★ 8.3 · 804 votes · 0h 14m · thriller, horror, musicA night at the movies turns terrifying when Michael and his date are attacked by zombies. Released at the height of Thriller’s success, the short film redefined the music video, br…
#3 The Shining (1980) · ★ 8.2 · 19,368 votes · 2h 24m · thriller, horrorJack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter.…
#4 Aliens (1986) · ★ 8.0 · 11,229 votes · 2h 17m · action, thriller, science-fictionRipley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story…
#5 Blade Runner (1982) · ★ 7.9 · 15,447 votes · 1h 58m · thriller, drama, science-fictionIn the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their…
#6 Die Hard (1988) · ★ 7.8 · 12,672 votes · 2h 12m · action, thrillerHigh above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside.…
#7 The Untouchables (1987) · ★ 7.8 · 6,345 votes · 1h 59m · thriller, drama, historyElliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.…
#8 The Terminator (1984) · ★ 7.7 · 15,035 votes · 1h 48m · action, thriller, science-fictionIn the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is desti…
#9 Mississippi Burning (1988) · ★ 7.7 · 2,031 votes · 2h 8m · thriller, drama, crimeTwo FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and…
#10 Predator (1987) · ★ 7.6 · 9,465 votes · 1h 47m · action, adventure, thrillerA team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.…
#11 Blue Velvet (1986) · ★ 7.6 · 3,969 votes · 2h 0m · thriller, drama, crimeThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminal…
#12 The Killer (1989) · ★ 7.6 · 945 votes · 1h 50m · action, thriller, dramaMob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteus…
#13 First Blood (1982) · ★ 7.5 · 7,144 votes · 1h 33m · action, adventure, thrillerWhen former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war agains…
#14 The Name of the Rose (1986) · ★ 7.5 · 3,395 votes · 2h 10m · thriller, drama, mystery14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To sol…
#15 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) · ★ 7.5 · 2,214 votes · 1h 53m · action, adventure, thrillerThe starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.…
#16 After Hours (1985) · ★ 7.5 · 1,830 votes · 1h 37m · comedy, thriller, dramaDesperate to escape his mind-numbing routine, uptown Manhattan office worker Paul Hackett ventures downtown for a hookup with a mystery woman.…
#17 Police Story (1985) · ★ 7.5 · 1,054 votes · 1h 39m · action, comedy, thrillerOfficer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the…
#18 RoboCop (1987) · ★ 7.4 · 5,982 votes · 1h 42m · action, thriller, science-fictionIn a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicat…
#19 Mad Max 2 (1981) · ★ 7.4 · 4,327 votes · 1h 36m · action, adventure, thrillerMax Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other…
#20 The Abyss (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 3,612 votes · 2h 20m · action, adventure, thrillerA civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000…
#21 Blow Out (1981) · ★ 7.4 · 1,759 votes · 1h 48m · thriller, crime, mysteryWhile recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes…
#22 The Vanishing (1988) · ★ 7.4 · 867 votes · 1h 46m · thriller, mysteryRex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation when they stop at a busy service station. Saskia is abducted in broad daylight and three years pass with no answers or closu…
#23 Lethal Weapon (1987) · ★ 7.3 · 5,232 votes · 1h 50m · action, comedy, adventureA veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.…
#24 They Live (1988) · ★ 7.3 · 3,662 votes · 1h 33m · action, thriller, science-fictionA lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into su…
#25 Clue (1985) · ★ 7.2 · 2,071 votes · 1h 34m · comedy, thriller, crimeClue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackmailing all of them. With the k…
#26 Blood Simple (1985) · ★ 7.2 · 1,676 votes · 1h 37m · thriller, drama, crimeThe owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues afte…
#27 Midnight Run (1988) · ★ 7.2 · 1,344 votes · 2h 6m · action, comedy, thrillerA bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.…
#28 Thief (1981) · ★ 7.2 · 903 votes · 2h 3m · action, thriller, dramaFrank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himsel…
#29 The Professional (1981) · ★ 7.2 · 615 votes · 1h 48m · action, adventure, thrillerJosselin Beaumont, a French secret agent, is tasked with assassinating Njala, the president for life of Malawi in Africa. A shift in French policy means that assassinating Njala is…
#30 Santa Sangre (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 521 votes · 2h 2m · fantasy, thriller, dramaA former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless, cult leader mother, and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name.…
#31 The Lost Boys (1987) · ★ 7.1 · 2,403 votes · 1h 37m · comedy, thriller, romanceWhen an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.…
#32 Bloodsport (1988) · ★ 7.1 · 2,285 votes · 1h 32m · action, thriller, dramaAn American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.…
#33 WarGames (1983) · ★ 7.1 · 2,260 votes · 1h 54m · thriller, drama, science-fictionHigh school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department…
#34 Witness (1985) · ★ 7.1 · 1,966 votes · 1h 52m · thriller, romance, dramaWhile protecting an Amish boy—the sole witness to a brutal murder—and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life comes under threat.…
#35 Dead Ringers (1988) · ★ 7.1 · 1,053 votes · 1h 55m · thriller, horrorElliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevita…
#36 To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) · ★ 7.1 · 839 votes · 1h 56m · action, thriller, crimeWhen his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.…
#37 Police Story 2 (1988) · ★ 7.1 · 659 votes · 1h 45m · action, thriller, crimeThe Hong Kong super-cop must stop a group of blackmailing bombers at the same time that the villains of the first Police Story are out for revenge.…
#38 Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 3,887 votes · 1h 54m · action, comedy, adventureRiggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.…
#39 Escape from New York (1981) · ★ 7.0 · 3,657 votes · 1h 39m · action, thriller, science-fictionIn a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war…
#40 The Dead Zone (1983) · ★ 7.0 · 1,913 votes · 1h 43m · thriller, horror, science-fictionJohnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years.…