Many would consider the 1980s to be a renaissance for the film industry. The decade is often credited with establishing the modern blockbuster, and many movies from this period have become classics that continue to influence pop culture decades later. During the ‘80s, audiences enjoyed teen comedies, iconic horror villains, fun action flicks, creative practical effects, and more than one long-lasting franchise.
But for every classic still being quoted today, the ‘80s also produced its fair share of flops. The decade was filled with sequels nobody asked for and cash grabs that pushed their luck way too far, resulting in movies that people hate even to this day. Filmgoers have had decades to make their opinions known, and these are the 10 worst movies of the 1980s according to IMDb.
10. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
IMDb rating: 4.8/10
By the time the Friday the 13th series reached A New Beginning, audiences had been led to believe the franchise was complete. The previous film was literally called The Final Chapter and featured a violent (supposed) end for the slasher villain. With the franchise written into a corner, the producers had to find a new angle, and it didn’t exactly work.
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning; image credit: Paramount Pictures
This film instead focused on Tommy Jarvis, the hero who’d killed Jason in the previous film, now older and deeply traumatized, living at a halfway house with a cast of side characters who begin to be murdered as the film progresses. The problem was that instead of the supernatural Jason fans had come for, they got a sort of Scooby-Doo reveal at the end that completely lacked the undead horror of the previous films and couldn’t quite measure up to the gravity of the first film.
9. Howard the Duck (1986)
IMDb rating: 4.8/10
Howard the Duck might be George Lucas’ most baffling passion project. Turning a satirical, somewhat underground comic into a live-action family feature was certainly a risk, but executing it with a terrifying animatronic duck suit really sealed the deal in making this film a flop.
Howard the Duck; image credit: Universal Studios
The story revolves around a wisecracking duck from another planet who crash-lands on Earth, befriends a struggling rock singer, and gets pulled into a story involving aliens, dark dimensions, and a giant monster. Unfortunately, the film waffled between a kids’ movie, a raunchy adult comedy, and a sci-fi horror, never really landing in a single cohesive lane, which confused audiences. Still, it has developed a cult following over the years among people who appreciate its uniqueness.
8. Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)
IMDb rating: 4.6/10
The plot of this film was pretty straightforward, starring a new lead named Captain Harris, who tries to stop a senior officer from attending a police convention in Miami after a mix-up involving stolen diamonds.
Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach; image credit: Warner Bros.
When the film was in production, Steve Guttenberg, who played Mahoney in the four previous Police Academy movies, was busy with other projects. Rather than delay production, the filmmakers just wrote him out of the script and created a new character, and fans weren’t happy. By this stage, the series had already squeezed every ounce of comedy out of its premise, and without Guttenberg, it felt tired, even with the move to Florida as the setting.
7. Grease 2 (1982)
IMDb rating: 4.6/10
The first Grease film was a phenomenon, successfully adapting the 1971 musical into a film that has remained in the zeitgeist for decades. It had great songs, a great cast, and exciting dance numbers, all wrapped around a coming-of-age high school romance.
Grease 2; image credit: Paramount Pictures
The sequel tried to recreate the magic, but this time with gender-swapped character tropes. Instead of the female fish-out-of-water foreign exchange student and a greaser boy, the story followed an awkward British student trying to reinvent himself as a motorcycle-riding bad boy to win over the coolest girl in school. Michelle Pfeiffer gave some good performances, but unfortunately, the songs completely lacked the infectious hooks of the original.
6. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
IMDb rating: 4.5/10
The promise of Jason stalking victims around Times Square undoubtedly got butts in seats, but given the abysmal critical reception, it’s fair to say the title was a bait-and-switch. The filmmakers decided to spend nearly an hour and twenty minutes of the runtime trapped on a dark, slow-moving cruise ship heading down from Crystal Lake.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan; image credit: Paramount Pictures
When Jason finally does arrive in the Big Apple, the few actual New York scenes feel crammed in at the last second to justify the poster. To be fair, many of these scenes are memorable, and some of the deaths are at least entertaining, featuring a ridiculous climax where the city’s sewers are flushed with toxic waste daily at midnight.
5. Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)
IMDb rating: 4.4 /10
Even after critics hated the fifth installment of Police Academy, the studio tried again, creating yet another flop. City Under Siege follows the familiar group of oddball police officers as they try to stop a criminal known only as The Mastermind, who is leading a gang of thieves around the city.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege; image credit: Warner Bros.
Sadly, by this point, the series was absolutely out of gas. Many critics felt the jokes were recycled from previous films, and the characters were all starting to feel stale and one-dimensional.
4. Supergirl (1984)
IMDb rating: 4.4/10
Before the 2010s, when superheroes completely dominated the global box office and had their story arcs mapped out a decade in advance, comic book movies were a bit more of a wildcard. Spun off from the massively successful Superman films, this movie attempted to bring Kara Zor-El to the big screen. The story follows Kara, Superman’s cousin, who leaves her home after a powerful orb called the Omegahedron accidentally lands on Earth. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it falls into the hands of Selena, a witch played by Faye Dunaway, who wants to use it for her own evil purposes. Instead of battling giant villains or saving cities, Supergirl spends a lot of time navigating small-town life, awkward romances, and scenes involving magical mirrors and flying construction equipment.
Supergirl; image credit: Warner Bros.
While none of the Reeve Superman films were particularly groundbreaking in their effects, they felt particularly cheesy and campy in this movie, and overall, audiences weren’t impressed.
3. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
IMDb rating: 3.8/10
Christopher Reeve was a great Man of Steel, perfectly balancing the tall, gawky, awkwardness of Clark Kent with the charm and heroism of Superman, but not all of his movies were great. When Cannon Films took over the franchise, they slashed the budget in half, which made it difficult to make a movie about a flying, super-strong alien. The effects were truly terrible, and worse, the plot felt preachy and implausible, even for a Superman movie.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace; image credit: Warner Bros.
The story has Superman gathering up all of Earth’s nuclear weapons and chucking them into the sun to achieve world peace. However, Lex Luthor sneaks a lock of the superhero’s hair onto one of the missiles, inadvertently creating Nuclear Man, the supervillain of the film. The two of them fight in slow-motion across the globe, involving some pretty silly moments where Superman fixes a damaged Great Wall of China just by staring at it and moves the moon out of Earth’s orbit to defeat the villain.
2. Jaws 3-D (1983)
IMDb rating: 3.8/10
Hollywood has never really managed to make 3D work, though every 15 to 20 years, they seem to try to bring it back. In the 1980s, the studios were attempting to get audiences hyped about 3D by using big-name franchises, including Jaws. The original Jaws trapped people in a small beach town with a terrifying predator in the water. Jaws 3-D decided the natural next step was to send a giant shark into SeaWorld.
Jaws 3-D; image credit: Universal Pictures
The film follows Mike Brody, now working at a marine park in Florida, where a shark sneaks into the lagoon system and starts attacking trainers, tourists, and anyone else unlucky enough to get too close to the water. The film was more concerned with catering to a poorly executed 3D gimmick than with the plot or spectacle, and the shark animatronic couldn’t hold a candle to the original.
1. Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
IMDb rating: 3.1/10
Believe it or not, Jaws 3-D isn’t the worst film in the franchise. This time, the story follows Ellen Brody, who becomes convinced that the shark attacks plaguing her family are the result of one singular, angry fish out for revenge. After losing another relative to a shark attack, Ellen heads to the Bahamas to stay with her son, only for the shark to apparently follow her across the ocean, effectively turning the famous movie monster into a slasher villain. The animatronics team wasn’t even trying anymore, producing a completely ridiculous shark puppet, and the concept of a spiteful fish left audiences rolling their eyes.
Jaws: The Revenge; image credit: Universal Pictures
Michael Caine famously skipped the Academy Awards to film this absolute trainwreck, later admitting it was the worst movie he’d ever been in and only took the job because they offered him an outrageous paycheck.
At the end of the day, making a movie is incredibly difficult, and making a good one doubly so. These films were the result of overreliance on tired franchises (a lesson modern Hollywood could certainly learn), but also a testament to the wild swings they were willing to take back then.
If you love ‘80s movies as much as us, stick around for more rankings, pop culture polls, and all the movie analyses you could ever want.
See more:
- The Worst Comedy Movies of All Time, According to Audiences
- The Worst Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, According to Audiences
- The 10 Worst Horror Movies of All Time, According to Audiences
- The 15 Worst Action Films of All Time, According to Viewers
Source: IMDb
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