10 Great 1980s Movies That Wouldn’t Work In Any Other Decade

The 1980s has a very particular aesthetic, and several movies that came out in this decade would not have worked 10 years earlier or 10 years later. Most of John Hughes’ movies fall into this category, as well as several cult classics built around the music, fashion, and most popular storylines of the 80s. Predictably, some aspects of these movies have aged poorly with time, like bad CGI and stereotyped characters. Yet some movies attempt to showcase the harm of stereotypes.

Additionally, some movies slot themselves so well into the recurring themes of the decade that audiences would not have been as receptive to them during a different period in cinematic history. The 80s was the era of kids having independent adventures, teenagers finding self-acceptance and romance, and over-the-top fantasy adventures with comical villains. Die-hard fans can count themselves lucky that their favorite movies came out at a time when more people would appreciate them.

10 The Goonies (1985)

The original plucky band of misfit kids on an adventure.

The quirky plot of The Goonies is so strongly associated with the 80s that any property inspired by it must also take place in the 80s – just look at Stranger Things. Helicopter parents don’t seem to exist yet and kids are running around on their own and having wacky adventures, with a convenient treasure map within arm’s reach serving as the inciting incident. Cartoonish villains can still work today in the right context but were commonplace then. These aspects might have been critiqued more in another era, but they comprise a fun and campy adventure in the 80s.

9 Heathers (1988)

Winona Ryder’s breakout performance showed the harsh realities of high school.

Mean Girls with murder is a staple movie of the 80s, with the proto-Regina George and Cady Heron characters wearing some of the era’s flashiest trends. The inverse of children and teenagers being given more independence is that they are expected to deal with bullies on their own, and Heathers takes this to the extreme. The premise of high school violence is controversial now, but Winona Ryder managed to score her breakthrough with Heathers, which stands as a morbidly entertaining if outdated black comedy.

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8 A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Freddy Krueger is introduced as the biggest horror monster of the decade.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is credited with spurring the slasher trend of the 80s and 90s. While Scream would later redefine the slasher with a non-supernatural villain, Nightmare on Elm Street embraces the wildest and scariest visions of the supernatural the writers can come up with. Slashers have changed substantially since the 80s in many other ways, with the somewhat irrational plots falling out of fashion in favor of more nuanced villains. However, Nightmare on Elm Street was able to have its heyday in the 80s and is now considered a foremost horror movie.

7 Road House (1989)

Patrick Swayze’s cult action movie.

Road House follows James Dalton, a bouncer with the qualifications of a black belt in karate and a Ph.D. in philosophy. A Road House remake is coming soon, but Jake Gyllenhaal’s character already appears to fall short of Swayze. Gyllenhaal’s Elwood Dalton is a former MMA fighter and does not have any philosophical qualification. The loss of the main character’s “zen master” quality could turn Road House into a soulless action movie, since the main character is what turned the movie into an 80s cult classic. Perhaps the producers believe that this character is simply more suited to the 80s.

6 Say Anything (1989)

John Cusack and Ione Skye’s quintessential 80s romance.

One of the biggest movie trends of the 80s is the focus on teenagers’ journeys of self-discovery. Diane Court discovers her father’s embezzlement activities as she is planning to move to London and falling in love with Lloyd Dobbler, causing her to question her whole life. However, the era also likes to reward people with a happy ending where everything works out, even if it doesn’t make sense.

After only a couple of months of dating, Lloyd moves to London with Diane. If they break up later, the audience never sees it. Today people would question this decision, but at least Diane’s plans aren’t ruined by her father’s arrest, and her boyfriend wants to support her.

5 The Breakfast Club (1985)

A famous group of five teenagers experience a life-changing detention.

Of course, no movie from the 80s is more driven by the interiority of teenagers than The Breakfast Club, which immortalized the Brat Pack in the cultural zeitgeist. John Hughes’ drama explores each character and shows how they help each other escape typically high school labels. It is a well-written movie regardless of when it was released, but it might have gotten a boost from the timely popularity of the subject. Additionally, The Breakfast Club’s defining ending would never have had the same impact without the accompaniment of the 80s rock band Simple Minds.

4 The Lost Boys (1987)

A Goonie stars in another campy adventure but with vampires.

The Lost Boys focuses on another gang of young misfits (with Goonies star Corey Feldman) and throws an even more bizarre adventure at them: vampire hunting. The vampires in question are irredeemable and could not look more like they are from the 80s if they tried. The Lost Boys manages to combine the 80s’ comedic horror with its most shameless fashion trends while being characteristic of the vampire genre at the time. A Lost Boys remake was in development at one point, but it seems unlikely that they will be able to recapture the aesthetic.

3 Pretty In Pink (1986)

Everything eventually works out for luckless teenager Andie.

Pretty in Pink features another easy romantic reunion and a teenage girl gaining self-confidence. Andie tries to encourage her father to get a job while crushing on the rich, popular boy, while her awkward best friend crushes on her. Nothing works out until everything works out when Andie DIYs a prom dress and creates her own Cinderella moment. Pretty in Pink became a classic 80s rom-com for teenagers who saw themselves as Andie’s peers and were also hoping to catch a break from the trials of high school.

2 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Ferris, Sloan, and Cameron ditch school for a wild adventure.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off brings the day in the life of an average high school student plot to the next level with Ferris’ unrivaled scheming. The movie is often described as capturing the very essence of the 80s. In the decade of many high school dramas, Ferris and his friends’ adventure is the dream scenario. Ferris is popular in school, has a perfect girlfriend, and can get away with anything. In Ferris Bueller’s ending, the awful adults all get their comeuppance. Ferris wonders about his future like many high schoolers do, but he shows how this uncertainty doesn’t have to dominate his life.

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1 Back To The Future (1985)

Marty and Doc’s time travel adventure from and back to the 80s.

The exaggerated execution of Back to the Future is timeless, but the 80s elevated it. 1985 was the perfect time for the movie’s release, allowing it to fondly look back on the 50s and imagine a zany version of the 2010s. The setting enables some of the movie’s most famous moments, including Marty playing “Johnny B. Goode” at a time when rock and roll was a futuristic prospect, and Doc cracking his famous Ronald Reagan joke. The most quintessentially 80s movies capitalize on the past, present, and future of the decade, making their success impossible in any other era.