Totally Rad '80s Trash: 10 Cheesy Movies That Are Actually a Blast!
Why '80s Trash is the BEST Trash
The '80s were wild. Seriously wild. The Movies of that time perfectly reflected it. Amazing action movies and unforgettable romances; everything was wild. But also, it was a crazy, awesome decade for some seriously trashy movies. We're not talking about "so bad it's good" here – though some of these totally are! These '80s movies, the ones featuring cheesy plots, terrible special effects, questionable acting, and hilarious one-liners? Those were great. These cheesy masterpieces showcase another time in Hollywood – that uniquely '80s experience which completely captured imaginations around the world, and still does even now. They didn't aim for perfect storytelling – and honestly? That's part of the fun. Many might think of this kind of trash as 'cringe'; yet '80s audiences totally enjoyed this unique sense of adventure!
And sometimes those bad scripts are where greatness hides. Some movies went down in flames due to mixed messages or a general lack of care – making their entire storyline somewhat bizarre; these are all going to be described in greater detail. But the important thing is, there’s still value and enjoyable entertainment which shows this perfectly.
10 Totally Awesomely '80s Trash Films (You Need to See!)
10. Body Double (1984): A Brian De Palma Thriller That’s Hilariously Cringe
Brian De Palma's Body Double? Starring Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith. It looks like some sleazy romp, and it kinda is. It starts pretty awkwardly; and this is largely due to the awkward chemistry between those actors. And there are several seriously cringeworthy moments—these scenes make this seriously laugh-out-loud hilarious, as its silliness far overshadows any attempted thriller aspects.
The plot is crazy, illogical and over the top and the absurdity of this all makes this extremely enjoyable. That final twist with Sam’s mask? Utterly ridiculous! This isn't high-brow cinema! Its unrealism is part of that enjoyable charm, the perfect demonstration of '80s creativity; which made some rather outlandish productions become immensely memorable.
9. Death Wish 3 (1985): Charles Bronson’s Over-the-Top Vigilante Action
This third entry in the Death Wish series is seen by some as one of the best of this particular saga; and there is good reason behind that view. The entire experience feels a bit exaggerated and over the top! Some poor directing decisions; weird editing techniques, etc.. Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey returns, yet the crazy, violent story falls flat after showing those repeated tropes!
The movie feels almost unintentionally comical. This is an awesome '80s action romp! Yet some very odd editing, questionable directing choices and the overuse of action scenes (with that rocket launcher ending…?) makes for seriously fun times. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and those kinds of characteristics truly make this so effective.
8. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988): Mutant Frogs, Roddy Piper, and Pure '80s Cheese
Hell Comes to Frogtown—this post-apocalyptic action movie starring Roddy Piper, that has really, really, badly made special effects (thank you, limited budget!) makes the whole experience memorable and ridiculously fun. The completely ludicrous story is about Roddy Piper's character rescuing women from those extremely dangerous amphibian mutants! Those seriously low-budget visuals enhance that inherent cheesy-ness. The absurd lines and constant suggestive innuendos? Absolutely brilliant!
7. Spaceballs (1987): Mel Brooks' Hilariously Bad Sci-Fi Parody
Mel Brooks' Spaceballs parodies Star Wars and '80s sci-fi tropes; and does so outrageously! The cast (Bill Pullman, Rick Moranis, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, and Joan Rivers) is insanely brilliant and the performances are a total hoot. There are a ton of incredibly cheap gags, so bad they're actually good; even Spaceballs' aliens will get some of those jokes; using silly humor; yet creating those unforgettable moments!
6. Chopping Mall (1986): Killer Robots in a Shopping Mall – '80s Horror at its Finest (or Worst?)
Chopping Mall’s ridiculousness alone might've appealed to certain '80s audiences: Killer security robots running amok in a shopping mall. Those cheesy effects are laughable. And those deaths, particularly the ridiculously bad, predictable janitorial electrocution (it uses animation, not effects…seriously!), are total comedy gold! That was an utter fail as an attempted horror element! While some people believe its satire attempts failed (because some parts feel less sophisticated); that was the point – and these create amazing memories!
5. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989): Time-Traveling Idiots and Awesome Music!
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as Bill and Ted, these hilarious, ridiculously goofy high schoolers travelling through time to do homework? This is crazy! The illogical plot (time travel is surprisingly unimportant for this!), cheesy humor, and utterly simple, even flat one-liners and endless chatter all works! It embraces total silliness with amazing energy. The craziness really makes Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure such an amazing feel-good movie!
4. Road House (1989): Patrick Swayze’s Over-the-Top Brawler
Road House, starring Patrick Swayze—an amazing action movie that's far more ridiculous and memorable, because of how macho this action movie's portrayal becomes; it is seriously over the top! The non-stop fight sequences, Swayze’s seriously cheesy portrayal (that macho '80s guy, he's hilariously ridiculous). The bizarre parallels to a Western (it's in a bar!) totally adds to this weird vibe.
3. Hobgoblins (1988): Cheesy Gremlins Rip-off— That Has Fun and Chaos!
This seriously low-budget ripoff of Gremlins (directed by Rick Sloane), contains such horribly made puppets (and really bad acting and characters) as its main appeal! Those stereotypical characters? Really cheesy. The storyline itself is seriously nonsensical— with random jumps from one silly scene to another—yet these things produce extremely fun, unexpected plot points that viewers completely enjoy.
2. Maximum Overdrive (1986): Stephen King’s Wildly Campy Directorial Debut
Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive? That’s pretty strange; that is an amazing and unique instance for someone usually writing those much darker plots. Yet it is the absolute wildest of ‘80s stories. That's not necessarily the greatest of movies; yet it was made with absolutely brilliant creativity and makes its ridiculous premise (machines become evil killers!) almost comically silly; that contrast is entirely responsible for why the ending succeeds at capturing and impacting audiences, because of how many moments are wildly chaotic.
Those awesome, spectacular scenes of wild chaos? Absolutely entertaining. It embraces absurdity and just keeps moving. A perfect and utterly fun film—if you ignore that nonsensical plot. King blames drugs. The experience showcases that chaos doesn't automatically equal bad!
1. Mannequin (1987): A Sentimental Rom-Com With an Ancient Egyptian Twist
Mannequin’s premise? Extremely bonkers! A young artist falling in love with a living Mannequin! The love interest also comes with an amazingly unbelievable backstory – reincarnation from Ancient Egypt! But there is magic! Those illogical aspects are charming and really helps add an intense charm to this extremely enjoyable movie and is something truly unique about this rom-com: it's a sweet story, and really fun too. That superb soundtrack doesn't hurt— and neither did that Oscar nomination.
Conclusion: Embrace the '80s Cheesiness!
These ten films showcase that trashy, cheesy '80s movies don’t mean automatically ‘bad’! That decade of totally awesome filmmaking produced some seriously silly, unexpected, memorable masterpieces – all full of cheesy one-liners, memorable action scenes and totally bonkers plots! Many were created to embrace that '80s culture, becoming some unforgettable experiences and capturing audience members in significant ways! Some attempts at creative messaging failed— yet these didn’t affect the fun at all! Go enjoy those wacky '80s thrills, folks!
