Sleeping With The Nightlight On

These Are The ’80s & ’90s Horror Movies That Made Us

Like every other millennial out there, we at Scary Mommy were forged in the crucible of these terrifying films.

Written by Jamie Kenney

Oct. 25, 2024

Ariela Basson/Scary Mommy; Shutterstock, Stocksy

It’s spooky season, and there are so many absolutely delightful ways to celebrate the thinning of the veil between the spirit world and the land of the living: scary decorations, dressing up, eating your body weight in your kids’ Halloween candy (long live the Parent Tax) and, of course, reveling in scary movies. But whether you’re a die-hard horror fan or simply a former child, some movies just hit different. The scary movies we watched as kids in the ’80s and ’90s forged in our developing brains the shape of the fears that would stay with us for the rest of our lives. In some cases, these were mini, early-life traumas. In others, they gave us a taste for the genre and let us know what to expect from it.

So, we’ve gathered a list of the movies that made big impressions on us as kids, from teen slasher movies of the late-’90s to genre-defining classics to niche indie films that nevertheless loom large in our adult imaginations. And if you want to celebrate Halloween with a re-watch (or, perhaps, an “I’m finally brave enough to face my fears” watch), well, you be our guest!