The 1980s is a decade widely associated with superb horror films and TV shows, many of which deserve to be revisited now and then. Many horror TV shows during the ’80s fell into the anthology format, which allowed for the creation of more hair-raising stories to be told within each season. Horror anthology series also work well with the bingeing model. Audiences don’t have to invest a great part of their attention and time to drawn out stories. Instead, viewers can easily tune into any episodes they prefer without having missed important details.
However, not every ’80s horror TV show is an anthology. Shows like Beetlejuice and Werewolf have entertaining premises that carry out over a handful of seasons and are easy to binge. A perk of going back and bingeing these series from the ’80s is seeing several influential horror writers, directors, and actors get creative in fictional worlds they aren’t famous for, including Tim Burton directing an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
10 Freddy’s Nightmares (1988-1990)
2 Seasons, 44 Episodes
As a spin-off series to the popular horror franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy’s Nightmares continued the titular killer’s attacks. Yet, even though the anthology series is named after the infamous antagonist, he doesn’t appear as the main killer in every episode. In fact, Freddy only acts as the antagonist in eight of the series’ episodes. Freddy’s main job is to host the series and provide commentary in bumper segments. In line with the comical character Freddy became as the film franchise progressed, his commentary is meant to get laughs out of the audience.
Differing from the format of most anthology series, Freddy’s Nightmares includes two stories in every episode, with the second story involving a supporting character from the first part. Because there’s a new group of characters in every episode, the methods of killing by Freddy and other antagonists vary and keep audiences invested in what their next moves are going to be.
9 Beetlejuice (1989-1991)
4 Seasons, 94 Episodes
After the success of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, the director helped create an animated series based on the characters in the film. There are some slight changes to the character’s personalities, including the comically mismatched friendship between Lydia and Betelgeuse. The amount of humor in the animated version of Beetlejuice increased as the series aired on both Fox and ABC’s schedules aimed toward younger audiences.
Still, there is plenty of offbeat imagery to mimic the scarier parts of the live-action film. Additionally, Michael Keaton is invaluable as the titular character in the film, and it can be difficult for anyone else to step into his shoes and take on the loud, troublesome personality. However, Stephen Ouimette manages to do a great job capturing the already cartoonish characteristics of Betelgeuse with his skill as a voice actor.
8 The Hitchhiker (1983-1991)
6 Seasons, 85 Episodes
Containing a heavier eerie tone compared to other shows listed, The Hitchhiker is an anthology series hosted by the mysterious eponymous character. The hitchhiker begins and closes out every episode by introducing the episode’s featured characters who are about to have a frightening supernatural experience. Though The Hitchhiker is categorized as a horror series, there is also more to the TV show that expands it beyond the singular genre.
Mystery and crime aspects are abundant in The Hitchhiker, which pulls audiences into every episode’s unique storyline. Additionally, The Hitchhiker originally aired on HBO before moving to USA Network. Therefore, the anthology series contains a decent amount of unfiltered sexual images and gore in earlier seasons, but it was eventually toned down as the series continued. The Hitchhiker is a unique mystery tale that is worth revisiting for horror fans who enjoy unpacking the suspense themselves.
7 Darkroom (1981-1982)
7 Episodes
The short-lived anthology series Darkroom featured up to three segments in each episode, which saw early performances of actors who’d go on to have notable careers, including Billy Crystal, June Lockhart, and David Carradine. Like any other anthology series, Darkroom‘s stories were unrelated to one another, but the inclusion of multiple segments in each episode kept audiences’ attention and avoided the risk of certain segments running longer than needed to meet the hour-long runtime.
Aside from the memorable performances and captivating short tales, Darkroom is also praised for its chilling opening sequence. Narrated by Darkroom‘s host James Coburn, the title sequence at the beginning of each episode did a great job of making audiences feel trapped within the stories on their screen. Coburn uttered phrases like “You run, but there’s no escape” as images of an enclosed room were shown on the screen, truly immersing audiences into the series’ fictional world.
6 Werewolf (1987-1988)
2 Seasons, 29 Episodes
Airing on Fox in the late ’80s, Werewolf follows a college student named Eric Cord (John J. York) on his journey to break the curse that’s turned him into the titular creature. Werewolf bears some resemblance to other TV series like The Fugitive and The Incredible Hulk. Each series places its main character in a cat-and-mouse setup. However, Werewolf‘s fitting rock soundtrack and likable protagonist had a stronger connection with audiences.
Eric has his mission set strongly in his mind, but he never becomes blinded by his pursuit and does his best to keep innocent lives out of his mess. Werewolf does include typical supernatural tropes in its narrative, including Eric’s weakness as a werewolf being silver bullets, but unique lore was added in the series as well. Rather than the full moon prompting Eric to shift into a werewolf, it was the pentagram on his hand — slightly differentiating Werewolf from the already existing supernatural films and TV shows.
5 Tales From The Darkside (1983-1988)
4 Seasons, 94 Episodes
Following the success of his 1982 anthology film Creepshow, George A. Romero created the anthology horror series Tales from the Darkside. While Romero’s film is inspired by various EC horror comics from the ’50s, many episodes of Tales from the Darkside are adapted from stories by famous authors. A few notable names include Clive Barker, Michael McDowell, and Stephen King.
Therefore, Tales from the Darkside covered a wide range of typical horror creatures and elements in its years on air. Due to the series’ popularity with audiences, a spin-off film was made, appropriately named Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. McDowell and Romero wrote each of the film’s segments and though it wasn’t as much of a hit with critics, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie did well at the box office.
4 Hammer House Of Horror (1980)
1 Season, 13 Episodes
Despite Hammer House of Horror airing for a shorter amount of time compared to other horror TV shows from the decade, the anthology series still managed to pack a decent amount of content in its minimal episodes. Each episode had a runtime of nearly an hour and focused on different horror elements, including serial killers, werewolves, and devil-worshiping. The variety in Hammer House of Horror’s storytelling means every type of horror fan is guaranteed to find something they enjoy.
The episodes of Hammer House of Horror are long but are easy to get through as it’s often impossible to look away from the screen. One episode in particular, “The House that Bled to Death,” is regarded by numerous critics as the series’ defining episode. “The House that Bled to Death” perfectly captures the master twists and shocking images seen all throughout Hammer House of Horror.
3 The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985-1989)
4 Seasons, 76 Episodes
As a filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock’s specialty was crafting expert levels of suspense and mystery. Among his lengthy filmography, Hitchcock found the time to create and produce the ’50s anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The TV series featured a mixture of stories that highlighted the director’s best skills as a filmmaker. Starting in 1985, NBC premiered an updated version of the ’50s series, most commonly referred to as The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
The ’80s version included a colorized version of Hitchcock as a host. There is a mixture of original stories and remakes of the original stories. Like the first series, The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents included other directors taking on various episodes, including Tim Burton and Burt Reynolds. Aside from the neatly crafted stories in the anthology series, a large part of the joy in tuning in is seeing the number of guest stars. Notable names featured in the ’80s version include Robert Carradine, Joaquin Phoenix, and Lindsay Wagner.
2 Monsters (1988-1991)
3 Seasons, 72 Episodes
From Tales from the Darkside producer Richard P. Rubinstein came Monsters, an anthology series centered on the titular creatures. Though Rubinstein was happy to see that Tales from the Darkside earned positive reviews from critics, he was discouraged that little was said about the special effects in the series. As a response to his emotions, Rubinstein created Monsters. Unlike most horror TV shows, Monsters wasn’t consumed with the goal of scaring audiences every episode.
Instead, the stories and featured creatures in Monsters varied from scary and grotesque to fun and entertaining. The main focus of Monsters was on the special effects of the creatures. Dick Smith, a makeup effects artist who had previously worked on films like The Godfather and The Exorcist, acted as the special effects consultant on Monsters. It’s worth going back and witnessing the creative team’s efforts to create detailed and memorable characters.
1 Tales From The Crypt (1989-1996)
7 Seasons, 93 Episodes
HBO’s Tales from the Crypt is star-studded and is based on the EC Comics series of the same name. Tales from the Crypt tells a lot of the same stories as the comic or other popular EC Comics from that era. Because it aired on HBO, Tales from the Crypt included a larger amount of explicit language and images that weren’t common in other horror TV shows at the time.
Though the individual stories in each episode were gripping and suspenseful, as proven by other great horror anthologies of the ’80s, the quality of the series’ host is just as important. The Cryptkeeper acts as the host of Tales from the Crypt and is wonderfully voiced by John Kassir. Kassir’s performance as the Cryptkeeper was mostly humorous, providing audiences with a genuine laugh before diving into the darker comedy elements in the rest of the episode.