Demon City Shinjuku (1987), Having It All (1982), Somewhere Tomorrow (1983)

This was an interesting 80s anime - demons erupt in central Tokyo (of course), and infest it with evil. If mankind doesn't soon find a savior to battle the demon ninja who is bargaining with the devils, the whole globe will be given over to the demons. Uh oh.

Luckily our hero proves to be just such a savior, and along with his female companion and various sidekicks he does battle with demon after demon, fighting his way to the main bad guy. 

The animation is superb, the story is interesting, and the whole thing piqued my interest. Recommended. 

Creepshow 2 (1987), Mortuary (1983), Neon Maniacs (1986), The Heavenly Kid (1985), Liquid Sky (1983)

I remember seeing Creepshow and Creepshow 2 on Fox 5/45 on a Sunday at my grandmother's house. Back then, Fox was the upstart new network, and would run a lot of movies (must have been cheap) late at night and back-to-back-to-back on Sundays. 

Starchaser (1985), Frog Dreaming (1985), Green Ice (1981), The Ninth Configuration (1980)

Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is an interesting animated movie that plays like a mix of barbarian movies and Star Wars. Orin is a slave in the crystal mines, who one day finds a magic laser sword that summons a vision of a long-dead previous owner, who guides him to escape his bonds. Orin meets many new people, most of whom want him dead, and goes on a grand adventure before finally confronting The Big Bad Guy. 

Space Raiders (1983), The Sisterhood (1988), The Zero Boys (1986)

Of the two Corman-produced Star Wars knockoffs, I much prefer Battle Beyond the Stars; Space Raiders comes off as "what if Han Solo had to babysit a 10-year-old?" The plot is distressingly thin: 10 year boy (the same kid from Over the Top!! He's refreshingly innocent here, which is annoying in its own special way) stows away on a stolen cargo ship. The "space raiders" who steal the cargo ship discover him and argue about him fate: do they hold him for ransom? Bring him along? Kill him? The main raider takes a liking to the kid - the only person in the universe, he notes, who doesn't think he's a loser - and makes it a mission to simply return the child.

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), Thunder Alley (1985), Grotesque (1988), Decline of Western Civilization II: Metal Years (1988)

For a really blatant Corman-produced Star Wars clone, this wasn't half bad! Probably because it crosses the Star Wars DNA with The Seven Samurai (!), which actually works out really well.

Our hero, Shad, is trying to save his planet "Akir" (named in tribute to Akira Kurasawa) from the evil Sador. He flies around in his talking spaceship (imagine the Millennium Falcon with C3P0 built in) recruiting various mercenaries and aliens, who all agree to help him for reasons of their own. Then, in one epic space battle, the end is decided. I won't spoil, but it hews closely to the Seven Samurai roots. 

Creator (1985), Nomads (1986), Never Too Young To Die (1986)

This was a strange one. I really wanted to like this movie - Peter O'Toole in his greasy perverse professor mode (trying to clone his late wife!), Vincent Spano as his fresh-faced assistant, Mariel Hemingway as the strong-minded young lady with her heart set on the professor, Virginia Madsen as the fellow college student that Spano falls hard for. 

UHF (1989), The Dead Zone (1983), Eight Men Out (1988), An Officer and A Gentleman (1982), Dirty Dancing (1987)

It took me forty years, but I finally saw UHF, a cult classic that all my childhood friends would quote incessantly. "Red SNAPPER!" "Conan... the Librarian!" "Gandhi... II!" and so on. 

New Year's Evil (1980)

This one is ... eh, not bad. Very typical, very average. It's one of those movies that just oozes ... average. Like the director was aiming at it. 

The title basically says everything... on New Year's Eve, a man who calls himself "Evil" (very original) calls into a concert telethon and tells the hostess he will kill one woman every hour that America's time zones are hitting midnight. Which is weirdly technical? 

And he proceeds to murder random innocent women, before zeroing in on his real target: the telethon hostess herself. The movie is entirely telegraphed, well in advance. It doesn't even bother to hide the killer from the audience. "Yup, it's this guy..."

If you're looking for an average '80s slasher murder film, you could do worse. You could also do better. But this is certainly watchable. Which is a certain kind of compliment? 

Death Wish III (1985), Runaway Train (1985), Spiker (1986), The Terror Within (1989), Jane and the Lost City (1987)

This is one that you hate to love. Death Wish III is stupid, violent, crass, ugly, cruel... and fun. The premise should be well-known by now: Charles Bronson is Kearsey, a former pacifist whose wife and daughter were attacked and killed by human slime in NYC. He went on the warpath. He killed tons of thugs and gang members. The whole community cheered him on - even the cops. 

Love Letters (1984), Cut and Run (1985), Where the Boys Are (1984), Curtains (1983)

Love Letters surprised me ... and also didn't surprise me at all. Let me explain. 

The Sender (1982), Phenomena (1985), Ghostbusters II (1989)

I hated The Sender - this is one of those movies where I truly don't know who it's made for. Teenagers? No, it's too slow and boring. Horror movie fans? No, it's not very scary. Psychology professors? No, it's too preposterous. 

Vibes (1988), Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), Bloodsport (1988)

Vibes is one of those movies that I wish I had seen as a child, because I would have LOVED it. I love it even now! I had never even heard of it despite having multiple stars I like - Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk! But it appeared on Amazon Prime and I jumped on it, and was lushly rewarded.

Zombie High (1987), Zapped! (1982), Dead Ringers (1988)

I never understood the allure of Virginia Madsen, but this movie is a nice little vehicle for her at the peak of her '80s charisma. As a zombie movie, this is worthless. As an '80s high school movie, this is worthless. As a "something funny is going on here" supernatural vehicle ... yup, worthless.

Tuff Turf (1985)

This movie is INCREDIBLY '80s. James Spader plays The New Kid In Town who is attracted to The Bad Guy's Girlfriend. Bad Guy isn't very happy about that. Bad Guy is also a complete psychopath. New Kid has his job cut out for him. 

Endgame (1983), Inferno (1980)

Hoo boy... This movie. THIS movie. This MOVIE. Hoo boy. 

Beastmaster (1982), Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983), Dead Heat (1988)

Beastmaster is the next movie Dan Coscarelli made after Phantasm (see earlier entry). It's a light sword-and-sandals little movie, with a couple surprises, but nothing major. It's enjoyable, and I remember it being on cable a lot when I was younger - apparently this is the reason it's obtained cult classic status - but I can't recommend it over other barbarian fare like Conan the Barbarian or Krull.