Best 1980s Thriller Movies

Looking for the best 1980s Thriller movies? These are the 48 highest-rated 1980s Thriller titles in our catalogue, led by Die Hard, The Untouchables and Mississippi Burning. The list is ranked by audience score; open any title for its cast, trailer and legal places to watch.

1. Die Hard (1988)

★ 7.8/10

NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her offices Christmas Party, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists…
2. The Untouchables (1987)

★ 7.8/10

Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.
3. Mississippi Burning (1988)

★ 7.7/10

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in…
4. Predator (1987)

★ 7.5/10

A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
5. A Case of Honor (1988)

★ 7.5/10

A Case of Honor is a 1991 film directed by Eddie Romero. After escaping from a Vietnamese pow camp where they had suffered for five years, five American soldiers attempt to get out of the country before being spotted…
6. Lethal Weapon (1987)

★ 7.3/10

A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.
7. The Abyss (1989)

★ 7.3/10

A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where…
8. School on Fire (1988)

★ 7.3/10

A young schoolgirl, Yuen Fong becomes caught in a tragic stranglehold of triad activity after she testifies in court over a triad beating. When this news reaches the triad leader Brother Smart, Yuen Fong must pay him…
9. Midnight Run (1988)

★ 7.2/10

A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
10. The Lost Boys (1987)

★ 7.1/10

When an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.
11. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

★ 7.0/10

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
12. Bloodsport (1988)

★ 7.0/10

An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.
13. Lock Up (1989)

★ 6.8/10

Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration…
14. Kickboxer (1989)

★ 6.8/10

If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt, American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane, arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent…
15. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

★ 6.7/10

During a hallucinatory incident, Kristen Parker has her wrists slashed by dream-stalking monster, Freddy Krueger. Her mother, mistaking the wounds for a suicide attempt, sends her to a psychiatric ward, where she joins…
16. Frantic (1988)

★ 6.7/10

The wife of an American doctor suddenly vanishes in Paris. To find her, he navigates a puzzling web of language, locale, laissez-faire cops, triplicate-form filling bureaucrats and a defiant, mysterious waif who knows…
17. The 4th Man (1983)

★ 6.7/10

A writer whose lover is a woman widowed three times begins to suspect she may be responsible for her husbands' deaths.
18. Black Rain (1989)

★ 6.6/10

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and…
19. Dead Calm (1989)

★ 6.6/10

An Australian couple takes a sailing trip in the Pacific to get over the recent loss of their son. While on the open sea, they come across a sinking ship with one survivor who is not at all what he seems.
20. Iron Angels (1987)

★ 6.6/10

Yeung’s poppy fields are torched by a law enforcement task force, she retaliates by ordering police officials assassinated. The Angels break into Yeung’s corporate offices, eventually tracing her headquarters. After…
21. Tango & Cash (1989)

★ 6.5/10

Ray Tango and Gabriel Cash are two successful narcotics detectives who can't stand each other. Crime lord Yves Perret, furious at the loss of income they have caused him, plots an elaborate revenge against them.
22. The Running Man (1987)

★ 6.5/10

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which…
23. The Living Daylights (1987)

★ 6.5/10

After a defecting Russian general reveals a plot to assassinate foreign spies, James Bond is assigned a secret mission to dispatch the new head of the KGB to prevent an escalation of tensions between the Soviet Union…
24. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

★ 6.4/10

Confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty Cotton insists her supposedly dead father is stuck in hell, controlled by sadomasochistic demons after being betrayed by his evil, occult-obsessed wife, Julia. Few believe…
25. Licence to Kill (1989)

★ 6.4/10

After capturing the notorious drug lord Franz Sanchez, Bond's close friend and former CIA agent Felix Leiter is left for dead and his wife is murdered. Bond goes rogue and seeks vengeance on those responsible, as he…
26. Turner & Hooch (1989)

★ 6.3/10

Detective Scott Turner has three days left in the local police department before he moves to a bigger city to get some 'real' cases—not just misdemeanors. When Amos Reed is murdered, Scott sets himself on the case, but…
27. A Caribbean Mystery (1983)

★ 6.2/10

Aging Major Palgrave, an idiosyncratic but charming mystery writer, reveals to Miss Jane Marple that one of the guests at a luxurious Caribbean resort they're staying at is a Bluebeard-type wife murderer…
28. Rambo III (1988)

★ 6.2/10

Combat has taken its toll on Rambo, but he's finally begun to find inner peace in a monastery. When Rambo's friend and mentor Col. Trautman asks for his help on a top secret mission to Afghanistan, Rambo declines but…
29. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

★ 6.2/10

Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd – the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode – and her babysitter Rachel. Can Dr. Loomis stop him before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece?
30. Iron Angels 2 (1988)

★ 6.2/10

Mona, Billy and Elaine are a tough trio known as the "Angels." While they are on vacation in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), they find out that one of Billy's school-chums is now a gun-runner plotting a revolution in Malaysia…
31. The Package (1989)

★ 6.1/10

Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.
32. Sparkling Cyanide (1983)

★ 6.0/10

The beautiful but unfaithful wife of a successful lawyer meets her untimely end at their anniversary dinner. After a suicide note is found soon after her death, it seems more likely that she was murdered, as all the…
33. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

★ 5.9/10

Freddy Krueger is resurrected from his apparent demise, and rapidly tracks down and kills the remainder of the Elm Street kids. However, Kristen, who can draw others into her dreams, wills her special ability to her…
34. Broken Mirrors (1984)

★ 5.9/10

Diane and Dora are two prostitutes who begin to rebel against their lot in life. Meanwhile, in another part of town, a murderer is at large.
35. The Punisher (1989)

★ 5.8/10

The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. His…
36. Dangerous Moves (1984)

★ 5.8/10

During the Cold War, the World Chess Championship clashed complete opposites - personal and political.
37. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

★ 5.7/10

A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.
38. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

★ 5.5/10

Tina Shepard, a telekinetic teenage girl, accidentally unchains Jason from his watery grave, allowing him to go on another killing spree in the area.
39. Kill the Referee (1984)

★ 5.5/10

Michel, a referee has to suffer the consequences of having whistled a penalty against a team which is supported by football hooligans.
40. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

★ 5.3/10

One year later, Michael Myers' traumatized young niece is horrified to discover she has a telepathic bond with her evil uncle... and that he is on the way back to Haddonfield to begin the carnage again.
41. The Empty Beach (1985)

★ 4.9/10

Before shady businessman John Singer disappeared off Bondi Beach, his name meant money--big and small, clean and dirty--a man absorbed in a world of greed and dishonesty. Singer's widow, Marion, believes he's still…
42. Poppers (1984)

★ 4.9/10

A guy named Santos is released from prison after having killed his best friend. The dead friends father then organizes a manhunt to kill Santos. Santos escapes and then turns things around as he starts hunting the…
43. Escape from Hell (1980)

★ 4.7/10

A women's prison camp is located deep in the tropical rain forest. Sadistic guards and a warden from hell make life almost unbearable for the inmates, and any infraction of the rules is dealt with swiftly and savagely…
44. Blackout (1986)

★ 4.5/10

Werner is a private investigator. One day, the rich and attractive Stella Hvidsteen visits him in his weary office. She says that her sister Evy has disappeared, asks him to find her, and adds that her sister has red…
45. Apology (1986)

★ 4.2/10

For her upcoming exhibition, "Apology," Lily, a New York conceptual artist, is designing a sound and sculpture installation inspired by the testimony of anonymous phone callers who, after responding to a public advert…
46. Top Line (1988)

★ 4.0/10

A down-on-his-luck author makes the find of a lifetime in the remote Columbian jungle, in the form of an alien spacecraft . He sets off to announce his find to the world, but finds that a mishmash of government agents…
47. Transmutations (1985)

★ 3.9/10

When high class hooker Nicole is kidnapped from her brothel, Rich businessman Hugo Motherskille hires her ex love Roy Bain to find her. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds traces that lead to Dr…
48. Born to Be Sold (1981)

★ 3.8/10

A social worker tries to break up a ring of crooks who buy newborn babies from teenaged mothers and sell them to couples who can't obtain them through legal adoption channels.