The 1980s were an era where sci-fi movies were hitting a high spot, and every year of the decade had landmark and groundbreaking films that remain masterpieces of the genre. These included sequels and original movies, the starts of new franchises, and at least one groundbreaking anime that changed the animated landscape.
The 80s saw filmmakers like James Cameron emerge, while George Lucas continued to expand his expansive world “in a galaxy far, far away.” It also included actors like Kurt Russell, Sigourney Weaver, and Michael J. Fox, who made their names as sci-fi icons, labels they still proudly hold to this day.
1980 – The Empire Strikes Back
In 1980, George Lucas returned with his successful sci-fi space opera, Star Wars. However, Lucas handed over screenwriting duties to Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett and directing duties to Irvin Kershner. What resulted was The Empire Strikes Back, the best film in the Star Wars franchise and the best sci-fi movie of 1980.
This movie changed everything about the series, as well as how sci-fi stories are told. The villains won in the end, but hope was left open for the heroes heading into the third film. Darth Vader’s origins blew fans’ minds, and the film helped ensure that these characters remained icons in sci-fi history for decades to come.
When it comes to sci-fi movies of the 80s, 1980 wasn’t a huge year for releases. The only other notable releases in the genre were Flash Gordon and Superman II, but even if bigger movies were released that year, few would match up to The Empire Strikes Back.
1981 – Escape From New York
In 1981, John Carpenter started his decade of sci-fi dominance, and it was all about the apocalyptic action movie Escape from New York. Kurt Russell starred as Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces officer currently serving a prison sentence in a crime-ridden United States, where Manhattan was closed off as a prison island.
However, when the President of the United States is shot down there, the government gives Snake 24 hours to save him. If he does, the country will pardon him. If he fails, they injected him with micro-explosives that will kill him after those 24 hours. With a ticking clock and a dark, futuristic landscape, it was a masterpiece.
The movie even earned a sequel, although it was nowhere near as good. The movie was a landmark release for cyberpunk movies, and it remains influential in TV, films, and video games. A close second to this movie is David Cronenberg’s Scanners, but Carpenter’s movie remains the most influential four decades later.
1982 – Blade Runner
In 1982, Ridley Scott directed one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. Harrison Ford stars in Blade Runner as Rick Deckard, a law enforcement officer who hunts down and eliminates rogue Replicants, clones who have developed independent thoughts. His target in this movie is Roy Batty, played by Rutger Hauer.
Taking place in a dystopian future, the movie poses profound questions about the meaning of life and who deserves the freedom to live their lives as they wish. The final monologue by Batty before he dies remains one of the best in sci-fi cinema history. It is not surprising that the film was based on a Philip K. Dick story.
Blade Runner had several edited versions, including the Final Cut that Scott put together in his vision decades after the film’s release. Regardless, Blade Runner sits with 2001: A Space Odyssey as sci-fi masterpieces. E.T. and The Thing were also released in 1982 and could have topped the list in any other year.
1983 – Videodrome
There were two great sci-fi movies released in 1983, and either one could win a debate on which was the best for that given year. They were also both directed by the same filmmaker. David Cronenberg directed the mind-bending Videodrome and then released the Stephen King adaptation The Dead Zone eight months later.
There might not be a director in cinema history who has released two landmark sci-fi movies in such a short time. However, while The Dead Zone remains one of the best Stephen King movies ever made, Videodrome remains the most iconic when it comes to sci-fi themes and ideals.
Videodrome follows the CEO of a small television network (James Woods) who stumbles across a broadcast of snuff films and realizes they are connected to a mind-control conspiracy that gives viewers brain tumors and leads to mass suicides. The film was a massive bomb, but has been reassessed as a masterpiece.
1984 – The Terminator
James Cameron directed the sci-fi horror movie The Terminator and started a franchise that would take this mythology in wild and varied directions over the years. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a Terminator sent back in time to murder a pregnant woman, so her son wouldn’t be born to help lead a resistance.
Linda Hamilton became one of sci-fi’s greatest female action heroes as Sarah Connor. The film was also much more of a horror movie than later sequels, and that helps create a sense of terror that makes the movie a masterpiece. Cameron went a lot bigger with the sequel, but the small story here is why this film is so great.
For sci-fi, 1984 was an interesting year, with cult classics like Buckaroo Banzai and Repo Man released, as well as the release of the horror comedy Ghostbusters. However, when it comes to films standing on their own, nothing reaches the level of the first Terminator.
1985 – Back To The Future
The first half of the 1980s saw a surge in dark, action-packed sci-fi movies that drew audiences to theaters. That changed in 1985. The best sci-fi movie of 1985 was a family-friendly time-travel film, Back to the Future. The project tells the story of a teenager named Marty McFly, who is sent back to the past and meets his parents.
This film told a great story, and Michael J. Fox became a major star thanks to this performance. It ended up as the start of a trilogy, with three strong movies that sent Marty all over the timeline, always needing to fix things and get back home before he ruins everything. The film was groundbreaking and remains incredibly popular.
The same year, Terry Gilliam took the dystopian route with the brilliant Brazil, Stuart Gordon took the indie route with Re-Animator, and John Hughes went sci-fi with Weird Science. However, nothing beats Back to the Future for quality sci-fi storytelling.
1986 – Aliens
James Cameron created a groundbreaking franchise in 1984 with The Terminator, and two years later, he was back to continue a different franchise. In 1986, he directed the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien and turned it into a sci-fi action blockbuster. The scary Xenomorphs were back in Aliens, but this was an all-out action flick.
Sigourney Weaver returned as Ripley, and she was surrounded by Marines with big guns rather than scientists and astronauts, leading to a very different experience. While Alien was a terrifying horror movie, Aliens was a crowd-pleasing action film, and both films work as masterpieces on their own.
Aliens ended up as one of the best action movies of the 1980s, regardless of year, and ensured the franchise would live on for decades to come. David Cronenberg was back in 1986 as well with The Fly, which was brilliant in a very different way.
1987 – RoboCop
When Paul Verhoeven released movies, many people often misunderstood his messaging. Given his extensive involvement in sci-fi, it’s what makes looking back on his output so fascinating. While some people at the time looked at films like RoboCop and Starship Troopers as fascist films, they were both very anti-fascist.
Released in 1987, RoboCop takes place in a dystopian future where a police officer is killed in the line of duty on the crime-riddled streets. The Detroit Police Department is controlled by a corporation that then takes his body and uses it to create a police officer cyborg who is sent out to keep the peace by any means necessary.
The entire film is a sci-fi tale about corporations controlling the laws, and it shows the terrifying consequences that can occur when they create a police officer cyborg who kills everyone in his way. It was clever, subversive, and has only gotten more relevant over time.
1988 – Akira
No matter how many great sci-fi movies were released in 1988, nothing touches Akira when it comes to groundbreaking filmmaking that changed cinema. It has been called one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, one of the greatest anime in history, and a movie that introduced the animated genre to many fans in the West.
The story follows the leader of a biker gang whose childhood friend gains telekinetic abilities and threatens to bring down the futuristic city of Neo-Tokyo during a rebellion. It was based on the manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, and is highly responsible for popularizing the cyberpunk genre of sci-fi filmmaking.
In the same year, John Carpenter returned with They Live and Chuck Russell remade The Blob, but those are simple cult classics. Akira is a true masterpiece.
1989 – The Abyss
The last year of the 1980s saw James Cameron back once again. This time, he had another original story, and it ended up closing out the decade on a significant high. Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn led the cast of this film, which sees them on a deep underwater search and discovery mission.
The Abyss is similar to Alien, where the rescue crew ends up finding alien life, but in this case, it is more of an astonishing discovery than a horrific experience, although there were plenty of scares and tension in the movie. Unlike The Terminator and Aliens, this wasn’t part of a franchise, but it did influence Cameron’s career.
This year also saw the sequel, Back to the Future Part II, hit theaters, but when it comes to landmark sci-fi films, The Abyss remains an often overlooked but vital classic.
