Dolls (1987)

A dysfunctional family of three stop by a mansion during a storm -- father, stepmother, and child. The child discovers that the elderly owners are magical toy makers and have a haunted collection of dolls.

Stuart Gordon's second appearance on this list.

If there's one thing I like almost as much as killer kid flicks, it's killer doll flicks.  Again, I don't know what that says about me, it's just the way it is.  I guess they're just inherently creepy, which taps into something in my psyche.  Maybe I had too many second-hand stuffed animals when I was a kid, I dunno.

This is also the only Charles Band movie to appear on this list (I think).  Think of this as a typical Full Moon or Empire picture, but with some actual talent and budget behind it.

Evil Dead II (1987)

The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.

Back in middle school my mother lived one block away from a video rental store.  The best part about it?  During weekdays, rentals were $.99.  So I'd grab stuff every night I was there.

Some movies I rented over and over and over again.  The Road Warrior and Aliens were weekly staples.  But there was one movie I rented more than any other.  By far.  Can you guess which one it was?

I'm something of a Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell Stan.  At one point I was collecting everything that had anything to do with either of them.  And though I can appreciate the original The Evil Dead, that love was mostly born out of my obsession with this movie.  I've probably watched it at least fifty times.  And it's such a perfect sequel remake that I almost never find myself going back to the first movie.

The Lost Boys (1987)

After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.

Remember back in my Poltergeist write-up, where I described my nostalgia for 1980s California?  Well, The Lost Boys triggers a nostalgia overdrive for late 1980s Santa Cruz.  I want to live in this damn movie.

This is another movie I watched with my dad once upon a time (I think it was on HBO or something).  And it scared the shit out of me at the time.  The final siege where the vampires keep busting into the house?  Scary stuff.  Nowadays it feels rather tame to me, but that's not why I watch it.  I watch it for the atmosphere.  I mean, those hairdos, that soundtrack... that scene on the beach with the guy playing the sax....

Oh, and did I mention that this is a Coreys movie?  Just thinking about it is overwhelming my capacity for awesome.