The Shining (1980)

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.

Stephen King superfan, remember?  And even though King himself wasn't the biggest fan of this adaptation (probably because he had already entered his booze and coke phase), I think the rest of the world is in agreement that it's sublime.

This is yet another movie that I watched way too young (that's another trend), so I've been haunted by this movie for a very long time.  Since even before I read the book (which was back in elementary school - the teachers ending up banning King in our classroom, true story), I was having nightmares over the lady in room 237.  Nevermind the twins, or Jack, or the elevator of blood.  No, it was that goddamn cackling lady that kept me up at night.

Scanners (1981)

A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.

David Cronenberg movie number two!

Is this horror?  It's probably borderline, but I say it is.  Body horror, as it were.  One of my favorite types.

Everyone knows the infamous exploding head scene.  But what really gets me is the battle between Captain Whats-His-Name and Michael Ironside at the end.  That is some shit that gets under your skin.  Like, literally.  I didn't type that up as a pun, it just kind of happened.

The Burning (1981)

A former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.

If you haven't seen this, or you haven't heard of it, just know that it is the world's most blatant Friday the 13th ripoff (which you should now notice did not make this list).  Everything from the setup, to the location, and the kills themselves are pages directly out of the book of Crystal Lake.

But that's okay, because derivative or not, this movie is endlessly entertaining.  It has the superior cast, superior acting, a super fun story, and tons of blood and gore.  Everything you could want in a slasher, and more.

There's a reason it's a pretty huge cult classic nowadays.

If there was one complaint, it's that the supposed, uh, "hero(ish) guy", played by the actor who was Mark Ratner in Fast Times at Ridgement High, is a bit of a little slimy weasel.  Definitely not the most relatable lead.