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Top 100 Mystery Movies - 1980s

by drewvogelaar • Created 2 years ago • Modified 2 years ago
#78 Butcher, Baker, Nightmare, Maker - 1981
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  • 99 titles
  • The Thing (1982)

    1. The Thing

    19821h 49mR57Metascore
    8.2 (499K)
    A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
    DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith David
  • Frank Sinatra, Christopher Lloyd, Kathleen Turner, Joanna Cassidy, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, and Charles Fleischer in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

    19881h 44mPG83Metascore
    7.7 (226K)
    When a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.
    DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsBob HoskinsChristopher LloydJoanna Cassidy
  • John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Dennis Franz, John Lithgow, and Barbara Sigel in Blow Out (1981)

    3. Blow Out

    19811h 48mR86Metascore
    7.4 (70K)
    A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
    DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJohn TravoltaNancy AllenJohn Lithgow
  • Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)

    4. Mississippi Burning

    19882h 8mR65Metascore
    7.8 (121K)
    Two FBI agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of three civil rights activists.
    DirectorAlan ParkerStarsGene HackmanWillem DafoeFrances McDormand
  • William Petersen in Manhunter (1986)

    5. Manhunter

    19862hR75Metascore
    7.2 (87K)
    Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.
    DirectorMichael MannStarsWilliam PetersenKim GreistJoan Allen
  • Isabella Rossellini and Kyle MacLachlan in Blue Velvet (1986)

    6. Blue Velvet

    19862hR75Metascore
    7.7 (232K)
    The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
    DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis Hopper
  • Wil Wheaton, John Carradine, Dom DeLuise, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley, Elizabeth Hartman, and Arthur Malet in The Secret of NIMH (1982)

    7. The Secret of NIMH

    19821h 22mG76Metascore
    7.5 (48K)
    To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.
    DirectorDon BluthStarsElizabeth HartmanDerek JacobiDom DeLuise
  • Thom Hoffman, Jeroen Krabbé, and Renée Soutendijk in The 4th Man (1983)

    8. The 4th Man

    19831h 42mUnrated
    7.2 (8.9K)
    A man who has been having visions of an impending danger begins an affair with a woman who may lead him to his doom.
    DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsJeroen KrabbéRenée SoutendijkThom Hoffman
  • Frank Oz, Charles Grodin, Jim Henson, Diana Rigg, and Dave Goelz in The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

    9. The Great Muppet Caper

    19811h 37mG70Metascore
    7.1 (18K)
    Kermit the Frog, The Great Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear are reporters who travel to Britain to interview a rich victim of jewel thieves and help her along with her secretary, Miss Piggy.
    DirectorJim HensonStarsJim HensonFrank OzDave Goelz
  • The Abyss (1989)

    10. The Abyss

    19892h 20mPG-1362Metascore
    7.5 (202K)
    A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
    DirectorJames CameronStarsEd HarrisMary Elizabeth MastrantonioMichael Biehn
  • The Long Good Friday (1980)

    11. The Long Good Friday

    19801h 54mR82Metascore
    7.5 (28K)
    An up-and-coming gangster is tested by the insurgence of an unknown, very powerful threat.
    DirectorJohn MackenzieStarsBob HoskinsHelen MirrenPaul Freeman
  • Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Lesley Ann Warren, Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean, and Martin Mull in Clue (1985)

    12. Clue

    19851h 34mPG41Metascore
    7.3 (116K)
    Six guests are anonymously invited to a strange mansion for dinner, but after their host is killed, they must cooperate with the staff to identify the murderer as the bodies pile up.
    DirectorJonathan LynnStarsEileen BrennanTim CurryMadeline Kahn
  • Opera (1987)

    13. Opera

    19871h 47mR68Metascore
    6.9 (21K)
    A young opera singer on the cusp of stardom is hounded by a psychopath with a connection to her past, who forces her to watch as he brutally murders her friends and colleagues.
    DirectorDario ArgentoStarsCristina MarsillachIan CharlesonUrbano Barberini
  • Deborah Shelton in Body Double (1984)

    14. Body Double

    19841h 54mR69Metascore
    6.8 (42K)
    A young actor's obsession with spying on a beautiful woman who lives nearby leads to a baffling series of events with drastic consequences.
    DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsCraig WassonMelanie GriffithGregg Henry
  • Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, and John Shea in Missing (1982)

    15. Missing

    19822h 2mPG78Metascore
    7.7 (25K)
    When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
    DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsJack LemmonSissy SpacekMelanie Mayron
  • Michael Paré in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

    16. Eddie and the Cruisers

    19831h 35mPG51Metascore
    6.9 (8.9K)
    A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
    DirectorMartin DavidsonStarsTom BerengerMichael ParéJoe Pantoliano
  • Johanna ter Steege in The Vanishing (1988)

    17. The Vanishing

    19881h 47mNot Rated
    7.7 (50K)
    Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.
    DirectorGeorge SluizerStarsBernard-Pierre DonnadieuGene BervoetsJohanna ter Steege
  • Chevy Chase in Fletch (1985)

    18. Fletch

    19851h 38mPG68Metascore
    6.9 (60K)
    While working undercover wisecracking newspaper reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is offered a large sum by a millionaire with a terminal disease to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the full story behind the offer.
    DirectorMichael RitchieStarsChevy ChaseJoe Don BakerDana Wheeler-Nicholson
  • Vincent Price, Val Bettin, Eve Brenner, Candy Candido, Diana Chesney, Barrie Ingham, Melissa Manchester, Susanne Pollatschek, Frank Welker, and Alan Young in The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

    19. The Great Mouse Detective

    19861h 14mG73Metascore
    7.1 (57K)
    Basil, the rodent Sherlock Holmes, investigates the kidnapping of a toy maker and uncovers its link to his archenemy, Professor Ratigan.
    DirectorsRon ClementsBurny MattinsonDave MichenerStarsVincent PriceBarrie InghamVal Bettin
  • Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987)

    20. Angel Heart

    19871h 53mR61Metascore
    7.2 (100K)
    In 1955 New Orleans, small-time private investigator Harry Angel is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cypher to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite, but the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
    DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMickey RourkeRobert De NiroLisa Bonet
  • My Bloody Valentine (1981)

    21. My Bloody Valentine

    19811h 30mR46Metascore
    6.2 (27K)
    A decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.
    DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsPaul KelmanLori HallierNeil Affleck
  • Mirella Banti in Tenebrae (1982)

    22. Tenebrae

    19821h 41mR83Metascore
    7.0 (29K)
    An American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.
    DirectorDario ArgentoStarsAnthony FranciosaGiuliano GemmaChristian Borromeo
  • Jennifer Connelly in Phenomena (1985)

    23. Phenomena

    19851h 56mR57Metascore
    6.7 (32K)
    A young girl who has an amazing ability to communicate with insects is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.
    DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJennifer ConnellyDonald PleasenceDaria Nicolodi
  • Clint Eastwood in Tightrope (1984)

    24. Tightrope

    19841h 54mR61Metascore
    6.3 (20K)
    New Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.
    DirectorRichard TuggleStarsClint EastwoodGeneviève BujoldDan Hedaya
  • Dressed to Kill (1980)

    25. Dressed to Kill

    19801h 44mR74Metascore
    7.1 (53K)
    A mysterious blonde woman kills one of the patients of a psychiatrist and then goes after the high-class hooker who witnessed the murder.
    DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael CaineAngie DickinsonNancy Allen

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