The Class of 1984 is about to unleash a horrific nightmare on audiences, and we can’t wait for it. But we thought the best thing to do to get in the mood for this one was to turn back the hands of time and revisit the Top 9 Horror Movies of 1984. For those of you not old enough to have lived through this golden age of horror, 1984 (in our humble opinion) was the ultimate year for 80’s horror, an era which filmmakers have been trying to revive for two decades now. What 1969 was to modern American history, 1984 was to the horror genre. The list of films from this year is incredible, and the honorable mentions are entertaining as well.
Amazingly, The Company of Wolves, released on September 21, 1984, did not make our Top 9, showing just how impressive the films from 1984 were! Also getting an honorable mention are Monster Dog (simply because Alice Cooper was featured in it), horror documentary Terror in the Aisles, Invitation to Hell, Deadly Intruder, and Night of the Comet. And we’re just getting warmed up. The films on this list would be the inspiration for about three dozen sequels, a musical, and a children’s cartoon! Let’s get into the Wayback Machine and revisit…
Children of the Corn – March 9, 1984 The master of horror, Stephen King, got the ball rolling with an adaptation of his short story “Children of the Corn.” Believe it or not, the story actually first appeared in Penthouse in 1977 before finding a final home in King’s Night Shift collection in 1978. The film Children of the Corn is a memorable depiction of feral children who ritually murder adults in assurance of a bountiful corn harvest from “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” In hindsight, it may have been Voldemort behind the rows, but we can’t confirm that. Children of the Corn would go on to spawn eight sequels.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter – April 13, 1984 Just one month after Children of the Corn gave audiences of 1984 nightmares, they were then assaulted by a familiar face… or should we say mask? Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter promised the end of the franchise, but of course it would only fuel the fire to launch it even further. The Final Chapter introduced returning character Tommy Jarvis, played in this film by Corey Feldman. In fact, as impressive as Mr. Voorhees was with tons of entertaining kills, it may have been Feldman, dressed as Jason, hacking away at the killer with a machete in the final moments of the movie screaming “Die, die, die!” that may have been the most disturbing moment of the film. See if you don’t agree.
The Toxic Avenger – May 1984 The film that launched Troma Studios! Officially, Troma was founded in 1974, but it was The Toxic Avenger, released in 1984 (sometime in ’84, the details are a bit sketchy as to just when Toxie started popping up, but it was indeed included in this legendary year), that put the company on the map. The Toxic Avenger was so perfectly Troma. It included everything we’ve come to expect from Lloyd Kaufman and his crew’s films: gratuitous nudity, insanely over-the-top violence and gore, and fall-down funny humor. The film would spawn three sequels, a musical, and (as crazy as it sounds) a children’s cartoon. In fact, we think the scene where Toxie dropped a stack of weights, crushing the drug dealer’s head, would have translated brilliantly to Saturday morning animation!
Firestarter – May 11, 1984 On May 11, just three days after Russia announced that they would be boycotting the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, audiences got their first look at Firestarter. It is, of course, the legendary Stephen King’s second novel adaptation of 1984, this one starring young Drew Barrymore, fresh from bursting onto the scene in her role as Gertie in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Firestarter tells the story of young Charlene “Charlie” McGee, a pyrokinetic, and a secret government agency that’s trying to control and weaponize her. However, Charlie was no joke. One wrong look and…whoosh! Another fantastic story from the mind of the King.
Gremlins – June 8, 1984 Although it was set during Christmastime, Joe Dante’s Gremlins actually came out in the summer. Unfortunately, twenty days after the film was released, the infamous “Night Stalker” serial killer, Richard Ramirez, would take his first confirmed victim; but when Gremlins hit theaters, it was nothing but good times. The movie is the perfect blend between horror and comedy. It’s great for horror veterans as well as being a wonderful gateway movie for young ones just getting their feet wet in the genre. Gremlins would go on to become one of the most beloved Christmas-themed horror movies ever, and the quality of the production has allowed it to stand the test of time.
C.H.U.D. – August 31, 1984 Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. The final line of the trailer says “C.H.U.D…. they’re not staying down there anymore.” Honestly, here we are, over 30 years since the release of C.H.U.D., and we still believe there are far scarier things going on in the sewers beneath New York City than a bunch of C.H.U.D.s roaming around, but even so, they are pretty scary in their own right. To put this one in time perspective, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched one day before C.H.U.D. did on its maiden voyage. We can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the C.H.U.D.s invaded the Space Shuttle Discovery instead of coming topside in New York City. Houston, we’ve got a big fucking problem.
The Terminator – October 26, 1984 1984 was a big year for Linda Hamilton. She had to have been proud of her work in Children of the Corn, but it was her appearance another film on the Top 1984 list that would make her iconic (she also appeared in four episodes of “Hill Street Blues” that year, but that’s kind of an afterthought). Hamilton played Sarah Connor in The Terminator, and nothing was ever the same after that. The Terminator was James Cameron’s first chance to show audiences what he could do, and the writer/director knocked it out of the park! Incidentally, Gale Ann Hurd was the producer who bought Cameron’s script for $1 with the understanding that he would direct the movie. Hurd, who is currently a producer for “The Walking Dead,” also helped pen The Terminator script.
Silent Night, Deadly Night – November 9, 1984 Punish! Three days after Ronald Reagan punished Walter Mondale in what could only be described as an ass-paddling of a win, Silent Night, Deadly Night was released in theaters. And it would soon stand as a testament to the fact that the best way to promote anything is to picket against it. In its opening weekend, Silent Night, Deadly Night actually out-earned another horror movie that opened the same day (we’ll get into that one in a bit). However, the movie was eventually pulled from theaters because of protests. It had already brought in over $2 million though and was considered a success. It would be re-released and spawn four sequels. Folks, let’s be honest… it’s an average movie. If no one ever said a peep about the film being offensive, it would have run in theaters for a few weeks and then disappeared. But thanks to the moral do-gooders protecting us from this movie, it’s still a household name 30 years later. Nice job.
A Nightmare on Elm Street – November 9, 1984 That’s right; Silent Night, Deadly Night actually out-earned A Nightmare on Elm Street when the movies went head-to-head at the box office in late 1984. However, as we all know, Elm Street might have lost that initial battle, but it would indeed win the war. Launching one of the most iconic characters in the history of horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street was perfect. Genuinely frightening and containing a premise that was cripplingly scary: If you go to sleep, a horribly disfigured psychopath will be waiting to kill you. It was brilliant. Of course, Elm Street would do more than just spawn a slew of sequels; Freddy Krueger would transcend the genre and become part of mainstream entertainment. As the sequels rolled on, Krueger morphed into something else, but here, in the original Nightmare, Freddy Krueger was indeed just that.
Class of 1984 Release Info: Drug Dealing. Gang Beatings. Prostitution. They’re all part of a typical day for the students of Lincoln High. Take a trip into this academic abyss with Scream Factory’s release of Class of 1984. Available April 14, 2015, the film makes its Blu-ray debut as part of a Collector’s Edition Combo Pack that comes loaded with bonus features, including new interviews with director Mark Lester, composer Lalo Schifrin, and actors Perry King, Lisa Langlois, and Erin Noble; new career retrospective interview with Perry King; audio commentary with director Mark Lester; the featurette Blood and Blackboards, which includes interviews with director Mark Lester, actors Perry King and Merrie Lynn Ross; and more! Fans who order directly from ShoutFactory.com will have their order shipped two weeks early and, while supplies last, will also receive a limited-edition 18”x 24” poster of the newly commissioned artwork. Directed and co-written by Mark L. Lester (Class of 1999, Commando, Firestarter), Class of 1984, with its vision of a decaying, violence-plagued inner city school, is one of the most provocative cult movies of the early 1980s. With an original story and screenplay co-written by genre veteran Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’s Play, Psycho II, The Beast Within), the film is also notable for its Alice Cooper theme song “I Am The Future” as well as its memorable cast, which includes Lisa Langlois (Deadly Eyes, The Nest), Roddy McDowall, Stefan Arngrim (Fear No Evil), and Michael J. Fox in an early role. In Class of 1984, Andy Norris (Slaughterhouse Five’s Perry King) is an idealistic and naive music teacher who has moved into the Lincoln High community with his pregnant wife, Diane. Appalled by the crime-infested school, Norris soon crosses sabers with its teenage kingpin, the shrewd and sadistic Peter Stegman (“The White Shadow’s” Timothy Van Patten). With Norris setting his sights on reforming Stegman, the young miscreant declares war on his teacher, and the duo set a fateful showdown into motion on the night of an important school orchestra performance. Special Features: