When it comes to cheesy horror movies, there was no decade better than the 1980s. The best films from this era kicked things into absolute hyperdrive as excessive gore, outrageous special effects, and campy, over-the-top performances became the norm. This was a period when filmmakers were experimenting with new types of horror movies as directors paid tribute to classics of the past with incredible homages, carved out new styles that better represented the social and political anxieties of that time, and pushed audiences out of their comfort zone with some truly terrifying films.

The cheesiest horrors of the 1980s included scary slashers that saw serial killers relentlessly pursue their victims, hilarious comedy horrors that featured punk rock brain-eating zombies, or even alien clowns invading Earth. While more serious horrors can make for a terrifying film-viewing experience, when gathered together with a group of friends, a cheesy 1980s horror will usually be the best pick. These are all movies that will be sure to please a group of horror movie fans looking to get together to laugh, howl, and scream at the screen.

15 Chopping Mall (1986)

Directed by Jim Wynorski

The techno-horror Chopping Mall featured robot security guards turning bad and going on a murderous rampage against the teenage employees of a local shopping mall. As a thrilling mix between the nightmarish shopping mall setting of Dawn of the Dead and the robots against humanity themes of The Terminator, Chopping Mall was a clever cult classic that satirized the excesses of the United States during the Reagan era. As a smart, tongue-in-cheek, B-movie horror, Chopping Mall is the perfect horror to enjoy with a group of friends.

14 Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Directed by Robert Hiltzik

The first entry in the Sleepaway Camp franchise borrowed heavily from other slasher movies like Friday the 13th while injecting this genre with a healthy dose of cheesy fun. With a simple story about teenagers being relentlessly pursued by a killer at a summer camp, Sleepaway Camp will keep viewers guessing right until the big twist is revealed. While the shocking reveal that the killer, Angela Baker, was born male and was mentally damaged due to forced crossdressing may be uncomfortable when viewed through a modern lens, the appeal of this campy cult classic can’t be ignored.

13 The Stuff (1985)

Directed by Larry Cohen

The Stuff is the perfect movie for a group of friends who want to load up on snacks and enjoy some outrageous satirical horror movie cheesy fun. Telling the story of how a delicious, mysterious alien goo becomes the latest dessert sensation, The Stuff quickly takes a turn as this otherworldly substance starts to fight back and turn people into zombies. As a hilarious satire of American consumer culture, The Stuff was a sharp, funny, and thematically rich viewing experience that will go down as easy as the yummy gooey stuff it depicted.

12 Night Of The Creeps (1986)

Directed by Fred Dekker

Night of the Creeps paid homage to the B-movie horrors that mixed alien invasion, slasher, and zombie tropes together into a cheesy tongue-in-cheek bonanza that’s perfect for a group of friends to watch together. With a 1950s setting, Nights of the Creeps saw college students steal a dead body from a cryogenics lab, only for this undead corpse to be under the control of an extraterrestrial organism. As a suspense-filled cult classic, watching Night of the Creeps is an odd but engaging film made by a director with a true love for cheesy horror.

11 Ghoulies (1985)

Directed by Luca Bercovici

Ancient demons infiltrate the lives of Jonathan Graves and his girlfriend Rebecca in Ghoulies, a Satanic horror movie packed with plenty of over-the-top gore. From writer and director Luca Bercovici, Ghoulies was a blatant Gremlins rip-off featuring plenty of 1980s cheese, outrageous fashion, and a convoluted plot involving occultist secrets. Ghoulies is the type of horror movie that feels lackluster when watched alone but becomes truly hilarious when enjoyed with a group of like-minded friends.

10 Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Directed by Stephen King

The horror icon Stephen King tried his hand at filmmaking for Maximum Overdrive, a film he wrote, directed, and appeared in. While Maximum Overdrive was widely considered a failure, it’s worth watching for King’s cameo alone as an ATM machining hilarious told him he was an “a**hole” after an event that made all machines become sentient. While it may not have been a hit with critics, Maximum Overload will have a group of friends howling in laughter together at this adaptation of King’s own short story “Trucks.”

9 The Blob (1988)

Directed by Chuck Russell

While this remake of the 1950s B-movie classic The Blob can’t quite recapture the charm of the original, it certainly upped the gore, violence, and cynicism for the 1980s. With a plot surrounding a government conspiracy, as man created the Blob to use as a biological weapon, this remake echoes the more cynical era out of which it was created. While this story of an amoeba-like alien has plenty of cheesy sequences for viewers to enjoy, it’s also a clever social commentary that represents the time period it came out of.

8 Puppet Master (1989)

Directed by David Schmoeller

The direct-to-video cult classic Puppet Master had enough cheesy thrills to inspire an entire franchise with five sequels, a litany of prequels, and even spin-off movies. As the story of psychologists using Egyptian magic to animate puppets and seek vengeance against their colleagues, this outrageous horror included Nazi spies, secret conspiracies, and plenty of horrendous 1980s hairdos. This is one to watch with a crowd and will particularly appeal to those who enjoyed the Child’s Play movies.

7 The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Amy Jones

The Slumber Party Massacre featured, as the title suggests, a group of teenagers who find themselves on the receiving end of an escape power-drill-wielding killer intent on murdering them. As a parody of the slasher genre, director Amy Jones and writer Rita Mae Brown imbued this film with plenty of humor, both intended and unintended, which made it stand out during its time. As a cult hit that grossed $3.6 million against its mere $220,000 budget (via AFI), The Slumber Party Massacre was a fun-filled film that spawned an entire horror franchise.

6 TerrorVision (1986)

Directed by Ted Nicolaou

The comedy horror TerrorVision featured a monstrous mutant called a Hungry Beast sent to Earth after it picked up on the Putterman family TV satellite. As a truly gruesome creature, the three kids try to game the beast before it sets forth a hungry, all-consuming rampage. With plenty of shock value and an off-putting oozing alien monster, TerrorVision would make the perfect midnight movie for a group of friends looking for a so-bad-it’s-good horror to laugh, yell at, and shout along to.