Best Horror Movies of 1988

The highest-rated horror films from 1988, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Horror 1987 Horror 1989 All Time Horror

Action Comedy Drama Science Fiction Thriller Romance Animation Documentary Fantasy Crime

Dead Ringers

1988

Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.

7.1

The Blob

1988

In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches.

6.8

Child's Play

1988

An innocent-looking doll is inhabited by the soul of a serial killer who refuses to die.

6.7

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark

1988

Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, horror hostess Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals, including her sinister uncle Vincent.

6.7

Brain Damage

1988

Brian comes under the addictive spell of a parasite with the ability to induce euphoric hallucinations in its hosts.

6.7

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

1988

Aliens disguised as clowns crash land on Earth in a rural town to capture unsuspecting victims in cotton candy cocoons for later consumption.

6.6

1988

Pin, a plastic medical dummy, has been the fixation of Leon since youth. Now grown up and orphaned in an accident, Leon brings Pin home to live with him and his sister Ursula, much to her reluctance. Soon, however, Leon's fixation on Pin spirals out of control, and Ursula must face the devastating consequences.

6.7

Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

1988

In this feature-length film combining footage from classic Warner Brothers cartoon shorts with newly animated bridging sequences, Daffy Duck, after having induced laughter in an ailing millionaire and forestalled the millionaire's death for a time (as chronicled in Daffy Dilly (1948), is the beneficiary for the deceased millionaire's assets. But the millionaire's will clearly stipulates that Daffy must use the money for the common good, by providing a service, and should Daffy think of pursuing selfish aims, the millionaire's ghost will "repossess" his millions by making them disappear from Earthly existence. Under the pretense of community service, Daffy opens an exorcism agency and employs Porky Pig, Sylvester Cat, and Bugs Bunny to track and eliminate ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters, while Daffy secretly schemes to use his learned "ghost-busting" talents to rid himself of the millionaire's nagging spirit.

6.7

The Serpent and the Rainbow

1988

A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen netherworld of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it's a frightening excursion into black magic and the supernatural.

6.4

#10

Pumpkinhead

1988

When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life.

6.4

#11

Amsterdamned

1988

A mysterious diver hiding in Amsterdam's canal system embarks on a rampage of gruesome murders, terrifying city officials and leaving few clues for the city's best detective, who doesn't suspect that both his new girlfriend and twelve-year-old daughter may be closer than he is to finding the killer.

6.3

#12

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

1988

Now confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty insists her supposedly dead father is actually stuck in Hell following his wife’s betrayal. Few believe the young woman’s lurid stories aside from the thrill-seeking Dr. Channard. Kirsty is undeterred and, with the help of a fellow patient, heads to Hell for a rescue.

6.4

#13

Return of the Living Dead Part II

1988

A group of kids discover one of the drums containing a rotting corpse and release the 2-4-5 Trioxin gas into the air, causing the dead to once again rise from the grave and seek out brains.

6.4

#14

Fright Night Part 2

1988

After three years of therapy Charley Brewster, now a college student, is convinced that Jerry Dandridge was a serial killer posing as a vampire. But when Regine, a mysterious actress and her entourage move into Peter Vincent's apartment block, the nightmare starts again - and this time it's personal!

6.3

#15

Monkey Shines

1988

A quadriplegic man is given a trained monkey help him with every day activities, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master and those who get too close to him.

6.3

#16

Lady in White

1988

Locked in a school closet during Halloween 1962, young Frank witnesses the ghost of a young girl and the man who murdered her years ago. Shortly afterward he finds himself stalked by the killer and is soon drawn to an old house where a mysterious Lady In White lives. As he discovers the secret of the woman he soon finds that the killer may be someone close to him.

6.1

#17

Men Behind the Sun

1988

The film is a graphic depiction of the war atrocities committed by the Japanese at Unit 731, the secret biological weapons experimentation unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The film details the various cruel medical experiments Unit 731 inflicted upon the Chinese and Soviet prisoners at the tail-end of the war.

6.2

#18

Demon City Shinjuku

1988

Ten Years ago, Genichiro Izayoi died trying to stop the sorcerer Rebi Ra, and as a result Shinjuku became a playground for demons. And now, the day approaches when Rebi Ra will complete his decade-long ritual to plunge the rest of the world into chaos! As Genichiro's son, it falls to Kyoya to venture into the heart of Shinjuku and put an end to the sorcerer his father couldn't beat. Can Kyoya exceed his father's legacy, or will the demons of Shinjuku create Hell on Earth?

6.0

#19

Night of the Demons

1988

When partygoers at a deserted funeral home decide to have a séance on Halloween night, they awaken something evil with a thirst for blood.

6.2

#20

Dead Heat

1988

Detective Roger Mortis is killed in action while investigating a string of mysterious robberies: until he's brought back from the dead with a chemical company's secret re-animation technology. Now he has twelve hours to solve the case of his own death before he dies: And stays dead.

6.2

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Best Horror Movies of 1988

This ranking features the top horror movies released in 1988, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1988 or see the best horror movies of all time.