Best Thriller Movies of 1980

The highest-rated thriller films from 1980, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Thriller 1979 Thriller 1981 All Time Thriller

Action Comedy Drama Horror Science Fiction Romance Animation Documentary Fantasy Crime

The Shining

1980

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

8.2

The Long Good Friday

1980

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

7.1

Dressed to Kill

1980

After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.

7.0

Gloria

1980

When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.

6.9

Altered States

1980

A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from native American shamans, he explores these altered states of consciousness and finds that memory, time, and perhaps reality itself are states of mind.

6.7

Cruising

1980

When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, young rookie Steve Burns infiltrates the S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.

6.6

Inferno

1980

A young man returns from Rome to his sister's satanic New York apartment house.

6.6

The Stunt Man

1980

A fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.

6.6

Bad Timing

1980

Alex Linden is a psychiatrist living in Vienna who meets Milena Flaherty though a mutual friend. Though Alex is quite a bit older than Milena, he's attracted to her young, carefree spirit. Despite the fact that Milena is already married, their friendship quickly turns into a deeply passionate love affair that threatens to overtake them both. When Milena ends up in the hospital from an overdose, Alex is taken into custody by Inspector Netusil.

6.5

#10

The Ninth Configuration

1980

Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates' delusions, allowing them free rein to express their fantasies.

6.4

#11

Emmanuelle: Queen of Sados

1980

A woman struggles to keep her stepdaughter from harms way after she hires an assassin to kill her husband, but the hitman turns and blackmails her for the crime.

6.2

#12

The Mirror Crack'd

1980

Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

6.1

#13

The Return

1980

Two young children and an adult in a small town have an encounter with an alien spaceship. 25 years later the children are reunited as adults in the same town which is now beset by strange cattle mutilations. Matters become worse when the cattle mutilations are joined by human murders and mutilations.

5.9

#14

House on the Edge of the Park

1980

A posh couple experience car trouble on their way to a villa party and stop into a local mechanic's shop for assistance, unaware of his shady background. After he and his mentally challenged assistant fix the car, the couple invite them to the party to return the favor, leading to an evening of mayhem.

5.9

#15

The Watcher in the Woods

1980

After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.

5.9

#16

The Hunter

1980

During his long career, bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson has caught over 5,000 criminals. Now, while he is working on apprehending fugitives in Illinois, Texas and Nebraska, he himself is being hunted by a psychotic killer.

5.9

#17

Alligator

1980

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives by eating discarded lab animals that have been injected with growth hormones. The now gigantic animal escapes the city sewers and goes on a rampage, pursued by a cop and a big-game hunter.

6.1

#18

Cannibal Apocalypse

1980

Released from captivity in Vietnam, two American Army officers return to civilian life and discover they have acquired an insatiable taste for human flesh. A city is terrorised... as they stalk the inhabitants to satisfy their primitive appetites.

5.6

#19

The Dogs of War

1980

Mercenary soldiers Jamie and Drew are hired by a large corporation to liberate Zangaro, a small African nation, from an despot. Havoc ensues.

5.7

#20

Raise the Titanic

1980

To obtain a supply of a rare mineral, a ship raising operation is conducted for the only known source, the Titanic.

5.3

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Best Thriller Movies of 1980

This ranking features the top thriller movies released in 1980, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1980 or see the best thriller movies of all time.