Nighthawks (1981)

TV Spot



Soundtrack: Keith Emerson - Main Theme



Directed by Bruce Malmuth

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer and Billy Dee Williams

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My Letterboxd Review:

"Way better than I expected. I put this one off for a while and I'm not sure why. Rutger Hauer in one of his best roles and he's never been more evil than in this. Some of Stallone's lines were a little weak/predictable but he's convincing too. Great grimy NYC atmosphere. High recommend."

Night School (1981) aka Terror Eyes

Soundtrack: Main Theme



Watch the full movie here




Directed by Ken Hughes

Starring Rachel Ward, Leonard Mann and Drew Snyder

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Hell Night (1981)

Directed by Tom DeSimone

Starring Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten and Suki Goodwin

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Bloody Birthday (1981)

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Directed by Ed Hunt

Starring Lori Lethin and Julie Brown

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Bloody Moon (1981)

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Directed by Jess Franco

Starring Olivia Pascal and Christoph Moosbrugger

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The Night Of The Werewolf (1981)

Directed by Paul Naschy

Starring Paul Naschy, Julia Saly and Silvia Aguilar

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Halloween II (1981)

Directed by Rick Rosenthal

Produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill

Starring Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lance Guest, Dick Warlock and Jeffrey Kramer.

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Final Exam (1981)

Directed by Jimmy Huston

Starring Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S. Rice and DeAnna Robbins

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Some Random Vintage Ads For Your Enjoyment

"Stop Pay TV 70's"


"Tab Cola For Beautiful People 1982"


"Tommy Burst Detective Set 60's"


"Kentucky Fried Chicken - Plump Young Broilers 1969"


"Good Job Handsome - Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk 70's"


"Spiderman's Webs Are Catch Webs 1980"


"Pizza Hut, Pizza To Go 1983"


"Burger King - Extra Ketchup 70's"


"Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour 1989"


"McDonald's - Growing Up 1978"


"Milky The Marvellous Milking Cow 70's"


"Michael Jackson Pepsi Generation 80's"


"Hostess And Kids Go Together 1976"


"Is The Problem Contagious? Atari 1981"

Graduation Day (1981)

Directed by Herb Freed

Starring Christopher George (City Of The Living Dead), Patch Mackenzie, Linnea Quigley (Return Of The Living Dead) and Vanna White!

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My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Starring Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier and Neil Affleck.

Directed by George Mihalka

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Demonoid: Messenger of Death (1981)

Directed by Alfredo Zacarias

Starring Samantha Eggar and Stuart Whitman

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Absurd (1981) aka Antropophagus 2 aka Monster Hunter

Directed by Joe D'Amato.

Starring George Eastman and Edmund Purdom.

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Veteran Italian director D'Amato directed this, although in the English speaking prints he went under the pseudonym Peter Newton, which was a common practice back then. American distributors were wary that their drive-in audiences wouldn't give European films a chance so many Italian and Spanish names were Anglicized along the way (D'Amato probably used more pseudonyms over the years than any other director in history!)

This is D'Amato's follow up to his notorious Antropophagus from 1980 (D'Amato was credited with directing 9 films in 1980 alone!) and it is as much of a gorefest as the first one.

George Eastman (Rabid Dogs, 1990: Bronx Warriors, Baba Yaga) returns from the first film to play the psycho and he hacks and chops his way through this grindfest. He also wrote the screenplay. Edmund Purdom (Pieces, The Fifth Cord), who just passed away on New Years Day of this year, plays a small role as well.

Not surprisingly, this was on the list of banned films in the UK during the 80's making it a so-called "Video Nasty".

This film has not officially been released on DVD yet so good luck finding it without spending some bucks for the Monster Hunter on Wizard Video edition on Ebay for the VHS.

Student Bodies (1981)

Directed by Mickey Rose.

Starring Kristen Riter and Richard Belzer.

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Probably the first outright horror parody, pre-dating stuff like Scream and Scary Movie by a decade and a half.

By the trailer, you can see that this was inspired by the previous years "Airplane". Mickey Rose, who wrote and directed, was once part of Woody Allen's team and co-wrote many of the early screwball comedies of Allen's career.

The parallels to today are striking. We are now seeing a slasher renaissance in Hollywood and soon enough we will be seeing the parody films in their wake. Student Bodies was released in reaction to the major success of films like Halloween and Friday The 13th from the first slasher wave.

The next Scary Movie is probably already on it's way.

This movie also features a scene that is strikingly similar to the opening of the first Scream film. It's probably no coincidence.

Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

Directed by J. Lee Thompson.

Starring Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford.

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A classic Canadian slasher with one of the most memorable posters of the 80's. The producers of this movie were also responsible for the other giant of Canadian slasher films, My Bloody Valentine from the same year.

A fine example of "Canuxploitation".

The Funhouse (1981)

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Directed by Tobe Hooper.

Starring Elizabeth Berridge and Shawn Carson.

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I've seen this film many times over the years and am always struck by its Saturday afternoon throwback style. Despite its rather gruesome poster, The Funhouse was fairly tame for the period that it came out in and is filled with old-fashioned scares.

Hooper would hit it big with Poltergeist the next year, further removing him from his counter-culture past as the helmer of the iconic Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974.

Enter the Ninja (1981)

Directed by Menahem Golan.

Starring Franco Nero and Christopher George.

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1981 ABC Sunday Night Movie Special Opening Promo For Jaws 2 (1978) (including vintage commercials!)

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