We all have our favorite haunted house story. The prospect of ghosts and ghouls attaching themselves to what should be a place of safety and security, only to haunt, mentally (and sometimes physically) torture those within, has been a fascinating subgenre even since the early days of horror. Old favorites like House on Haunted Hill and Poltergeist have withstood the test of time, and newer interpretations, like Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House or Hell House LLC, have had huge followings in recent years.
Like a lot of other horror subgenres, the 1980s were the nesting place for some of horror’s best haunted house films. Sure, some would argue that The Shining or The Evil Dead should be considered haunted house films, but for this list, I have two very specific qualifiers for “haunted house” movies: One, it needs to take place at a house or residence. Not a hotel, or an abandoned factory, or a funeral parlor. Two, it must be ghosts. Not demons, zombies, or gateways to hell where a liminal dystopia awaits on the other side (sorry, The Beyond).
7Ghosthouse (1988)
Even with tweaks on borrowed ideas from The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist, Italian filmmaker Umberto Lenzi’s Ghosthouse actually had a pretty messed-up storyline. In the ‘60s, a man and his wife locked their daughter in their basement after she murdered their cat (strange response, but ok), and after they are brutally murdered in the house, their daughter dies after being unable to escape and being forgotten about. Two decades later, when a new couple moves into the house, the haunting begins.
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In true Italian horror fashion, Ghosthouse has some cringeworthy gore and effects, and the ghost of the little girl carrying around her favorite creepy clown doll is quite unsettling. Strangely, much like Lucio Fulci and Zombi, Umberto Lenzi titled Ghosthouse as La Casa 3 in Italy, presenting it as an unofficial sequel to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films in an attempt to piggyback on their success. It’s not a fantastic movie, by any means, but it’s a fun and entertaining one.
6The Entity (1982)
It’s hard to believe that the director who gave us Iron Eagle and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace delivered one of the most uncomfortable ghost movies of all time, but in 1982, Sidney J. Furie did just that with The Entity. The film follows a woman named Carla, who is repeatedly assaulted by an invisible force in her home and disbelieved by psychiatrists and parapsychologists, who chalk up Carla’s assaults to her childhood sexual assault traumas.
While the movie is a rough watch and certainly warrants a trigger warning for viewers, it has delivered an important message of believing women who are assaulted and not trivializing their traumas. In the early ‘80s, the film was met with backlash from select women’s rights groups, but has since become somewhat of a cult favorite, even making Martin Scorsese’s scariest horror films list.
5House (1985)
Take the seriousness of The Entity, and completely flip it over, and you have the absolute wackiness that is 1985’s House. Not to be confused with the ‘70s Japanese haunted house film, the collaboration of director Steve Miner (Warlock, Halloween: H20) and Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps) brings a memorable horror dark comedy that in my opinion, has never received the amount of love it deserves.
The story follows a writer who, after the disappearance of his son, moves into the house where his son disappeared to write a novel about his time spent in the Vietnam War. While residing in the house, he’s haunted by ghouls, hideous monsters, and the burned, skeletal ghost of his best friend, who abducted his son as payback for leaving him to be captured during the war. It’s a strangely dark movie for how silly it is at moments, and the style of the film works perfectly with the cast, which consists of William Katt (Carrie), Richard Moll (Night Court), and Cheers’ George Wendt.
4Sweet Home (1989)
The original inspiration for Capcom’s Resident Evil series, Sweet Home is without a doubt the most unheard of and underrated film on this list. An unsung entry from Japanese horror legend Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Cure), Sweet Home follows a TV documentary team to the decrepit mansion of a famous painter in hopes of restoring his leftover works. The mansion is haunted by the ghost of the painter’s late wife, and the crew is picked off one by one in gruesome fashion.
Related: How ‘Sweet Home’ Inspired ‘Resident Evil’
Sweet Home is filled with gory kills, excellent practical effects, and an emotional ending that is unexpected for a film like this. Before its release, the producer decided to cut and re-edit the film, completely changing Kurosawa’s movie to the point where he sued for ruining his vision. Unfortunately, Kurosawa didn’t win the lawsuit, and his original cut was lost forever.
3The Changeling (1980)
The Exorcist III isn’t the only horror film that features Academy Award-winning actor George C. Scott in the lead role. The Changeling came first in 1980, directed by Peter Medak. Scott plays John Russell, a composer who moves into a mansion after his wife and child are killed on the side of the road in an accident. John begins to see ghostly figures and has supernatural experiences, which lead to him uncovering the mystery behind the mansion’s haunting.
Scott’s portrayal as a numb and grieving man is incredible, and the backstories of both John’s and the ghost’s pasts are heartbreaking and brilliantly written. The Kubrick-esque camera work and the effects are spooky and still look fantastic. The Changeling feels more like a good book than a horror film, and while there are plenty of shocking moments, its fantastic story makes it one of the best horror movies of the ‘80s in general.
2Beetlejuice (1988)
My biggest reason for putting Beetlejuice ahead of The Changeling is the sheer iconography of Michael Keaton’s performance as “The Ghost with the Most.” Tim Burton’s 1988 horror comedy is arguably his best movie, and is quotable from beginning to end, and the story of the Maitlands haunting their own house and using a bio-exorcist ghost to do their dirty work is ingenious. Beetlejuice has incredible set design and costuming, an amazing musical score, and an abundance of amazing actors outside of Keaton, including Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara.
Beetlejuice became a pop culture phenomenon. The character received comics, video games, endless amounts of merchandise, a four-season, 94-episode TV cartoon, and 36 years after its release, had a sequel titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with a third movie announced for development, but not greenlit yet. The film is one of the absolute best horror comedies of all time, and a regular in regular rotation during the spooky season.
1Poltergeist (1982)
Directed by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg, 1982’s Poltergeist is hands down the best haunted house movie of the ‘80s, and probably of all time. It expertly channels the messages of classic family movies and blends them with genuinely scary moments in ways that other classic ‘80s movies like E.T. the Extraterrestrial and Gremlins do. The movie starts with the “oohs” and “ahhs” of silly supernatural experiences and quickly falls apart when vengeful spirits coax the Freeling family’s youngest daughter into a ghostly realm; the family pays the cursed price for the developer building their neighborhood on a Native American burial ground.
Related: ‘Poltergeist’ Series in the Works at Amazon
Poltergeist is the best because it has no weaknesses. The pacing, Jerry Goldsmith’s score, and the acting, including an iconic performance by Zelda Rubinstein, are perfect. Parts of it are exceptionally scary and graphic from all facets, too, including spooky clowns, faces being ripped off in chunks, and slimy skeletons emerging from coffins in the ground. Poltergeist would also spawn two sequels and a remake (you’ll hear no Poltergeist II hate from me!,) and a four-season TV show titled Poltergeist: The Legacy.
It simply has everything you could want from a horror film without going overboard in any single direction. A true 1980s masterpiece, through any and all genres.
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