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English fantasy films from the 1980s
The best 100 of 254
- 1
The Princess Bride
In this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murderous princes, Sicilians and rodents of unusual size. But even death can't stop these true lovebirds from triumphing.
- 2
Ghostbusters
After losing their university jobs, three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City and uncover a supernatural threat that could destroy the world.
- 3
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime su
- 4
Beetlejuice
A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
- 5
The Little Mermaid
This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- includin
- 6
Evil Dead II
Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of the Dead." As they play the recording an evil power is unleas
- 7
Vincent
Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams that annoy his mother.
- 8
An American Werewolf in London
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
- 9
Batman
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known a
- 10
Labyrinth
Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah, a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King. Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.
- 11
Big
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how
- 12
Big Trouble in Little China
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm
- 13
Gremlins
After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.
- 14
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising h
- 15
The Secret of NIMH
A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.
- 16
Somewhere in Time
Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early twentieth c
- 17
Field of Dreams
Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers turn up to play.
- 18
Willow
The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.
- 19
The Dark Crystal
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.
- 20
Highlander
He fought his first battle on the Scottish Highlands in 1536. He will fight his greatest battle on the streets of New York City in 1986. His name is Connor MacLeod. He is immortal.
- 21
The Last Unicorn
A unicorn learns from a riddle-speaking butterfly that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the monstrous Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is
- 22
A Christmas Carol
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways
- 23
Ladyhawke
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe G
- 24
The Snowman
A young boy makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, which comes to life at midnight and takes him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.
- 25
Excalibur
Arthur fulfills his fate by bringing together the Knights of the Round Table at Camelot and unifying the country. However, this flawed monarch faces greater tests ahead in pursuit of love, the Holy Grail, and his nation's survival.
- 26
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits.
- 27
Moonwalker
This fantastical movie inspired by the music of Michael Jackson features imaginative interpretations of hit tracks from the iconic 1987 album “Bad”.
- 28
Conan the Barbarian
A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.
- 29
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy are on their way to Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls, where they've been hired as gym teachers. Once there, however, they find that not only is it actually an all-girl school of famous monsters' daughter
- 30
Scrooged
Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing a staff member on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him
- 31
Clash of the Titans
To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, half-God-half-mortal Perseus must complete various tasks including taming Pegasus, capturing Medusa's head and battling the feared Kraken.
- 32
Mannequin
Jonathan Switcher, an unemployed artist, finds a job as an assistant window dresser for a department store. When Jonathan happens upon a beautiful mannequin he previously designed, she springs to life and introduces herself as Emmy, an Egyp
- 33
All Dogs Go to Heaven
When a casino-owning dog named Charlie is murdered by his rival Carface, he finds himself in Heaven. Wanting to get back at his killer, he cons his way back to the living with the warning that doing so damns him to Hell. Once back, he teams with his old partner, Itchy, to prep his retaliation. He stumbles upon an orphan girl who can talk to the animals, thus allowing him to get the inside info on the races to ensure his wins to finance his plans. However, all the while, he is still haunted by nightmares of what's waiting for him on the other side unless he can prove that he is worthy of Heaven again.
- 34
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
- 35
The Brave Little Toaster
A group of dated appliances, finding themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold, decide to seek out their eight year old 'master'.
- 36
Ghostbusters II
The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
- 37
Return to Oz
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.
- 38
*batteries not included
In a soon to be demolished block of apartments, the residents resist the criminal methods used to force them to leave so a greedy tycoon can build his new skyscraper. When tiny mechanical aliens land for a recharge, they decide to stay and help out.
- 39
The Monster Squad
Count Dracula returns to the world of humans accompanied by Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Gillman. The uglies are in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them the ability to rule the world. A group of horror
- 40
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
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.
- 41
Time Bandits
Young history buff Kevin can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former employees of the Supreme Being, they've purloined a map charting all of the holes in the fabric of time and are using it to steal treasures from different historical eras. Taking Kevin with them, they variously drop in on Napoleon, Robin Hood and King Agamemnon before the Supreme Being catches up with them.
- 42
Fire and Ice
The villainous Nekron and his mother, Queen Juliana, plot against the human race from their frigid fortress. Creating mass destruction with huge glaciers, mother and son incur the wrath of Larn, a warrior whose entire village was destroyed
- 43
The Witches of Eastwick
Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.
- 44
Weird Science
Two unpopular teenagers, Gary and Wyatt, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to "create" a woman via their computer. Their living and breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require Gary and Wyatt to act like men.
- 45
He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword
After experiencing traumatic nightmares of a time now past, the Sorceress summons Prince Adam and Cringer to Castle Grayskull to give Adam a precious, jeweled sword and send the pair to the planet Etheria to investigate its secrets.
- 46
Dragonslayer
A sorcerer and his apprentice are on a mission to kill an evil dragon to save the King’s daughter from being sacrificed according to a pact that the King himself made with the dragon to protect his kingdom.
- 47
Twilight Zone: The Movie
An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."
- 48
Heavy Metal
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
- 49
Chances Are
Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter.
- 50
Date with an Angel
Aspiring composer Jim Sanders is engaged to spoiled rich girl Patty. But the morning after his bachelor party, Jim wakes up to discover a beautiful, broken-winged angel in his pool. When everyone finds out about his heavenly houseguest, Jim
- 51
The Adventures of Mark Twain
Based on elements from the stories of Mark Twain, this feature-length Claymation fantasy follows the adventures of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn as they stowaway aboard the interplanetary balloon of Mark Twain. Twain, disgusted w
- 52
Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?
- 53
The Flight of Dragons
The realm of magic is being threatened by the realm of logic, so the green wizard, Carolinus, decides to shield it for all time. Ommadon, the evil red wizard, stands in his way. Carolinus then calls for a quest that is to be led by a man na
- 54
All of Me
Just before stubborn millionaire Edwina Cutwater dies, she asks her uptight lawyer, Roger Cobb, to amend her will so that her soul will pass to the young, vibrant Terry Hoskins – but the spiritual transference goes awry. Edwina enters Roger
- 55
Puss in Boots
Following the death of their miller father, his eldest son inherits the mill, the middle one a donkey, and the youngest a cat. While initially disappointed, the lad soon learns not only that the cat can talk but is quite resourceful.
- 56
G.I. Joe: The Movie
G.I. Joe faces a new enemy as an ancient society of snake people known as Cobra-La try to forcefully take back the earth from those who drove them underground eons ago.
- 57
Something Wicked This Way Comes
In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?
- 58
The Milagro Beanfield War
The accidental breakdown of an irrigation valve launches a hot confrontation between the mainly Latino farmers in a tiny New Mexico town and the real estate developers and politicians determined to acquire their land for a golf resort.
- 59
- 60
Street of Crocodiles
A puppet, newly released from his strings, explores the sinister room in which he finds himself.
- 61
Paperhouse
A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.
- 62
Creating Rem Lezar
Zack and Ashlee discover the meaning of true friendship when they create an imaginary friend, the superhero Rem Lezar.
- 63
The Black Cauldron
Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.
- 64
Made in Heaven
Deceased drifter Mike arrives in Heaven and quickly falls for newborn soul Annie, soon to start her assignment on Earth. When Annie leaves, Mike follows.
- 65
Dreamchild
80-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honour of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice's close friendship with the writer was the creative catalyst for Carroll's most beloved work. Howe
- 66
Pumpkinhead
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.
- 67
Twice Upon a Time
In the world of the Murkworks where nightmares are made, the evil Synonamess Botch hatches a scheme to make non-stop nightmares. Only Ralph and Mumford, misfits from the cheery land of Frivoli where good dreams are made, can stop him.
- 68
The Outcasts
In pre-famine Ireland, when poverty and magic were rife, introverted farm girl Maura discovers a magical world of the imagination through the mysterious wanderer Scarf Michael. When her isolated rural community accuses her of witchcraft, she turns to her own supernatural powers for protection.
- 69
Dolls
A precocious girl, her nasty parents, two punk-rock losers and a weak-kneed salesman inadvertently become the guests of two ghoulish senior citizens in their dark, haunted mansion.
- 70
Cassandra
A young woman has eerie flashes of recovered memories of her brother committing a murder, despite her parents assurance that all is well.
- 71
The Lathe of Heaven
George Orr, a man whose dreams can change waking reality, tries to suppress this unpredictable gift with drugs. Dr. Haber, an assigned psychiatrist, discovers the gift to be real and hypnotically induces Mr. Orr to change reality for the be
- 72
Rainbow War
Three kingdoms, floating separately in space, can each see the other nearby kingdoms but have no means to communicate or visit. Each has developed a fanatical obsession for a specific color for clothing, architecture, and even plant life: one blue, one red, one golden. A forbidden inter-kingdom romance and a war of conquest ensues when a means of travel between the kingdoms is abruptly found. This short film was created for Expo 86, the World Fair in Vancouver in 1986.
- 73
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture
In this Pacific Northwest Ballet performance, it is Christmas Eve and festivities are underway. Clara is excited when her godfather arrives with a bag full of gifts, one of which is an intriguing wooden nutcracker. That night, while the household sleeps, Clara visits the Christmas tree to inspect her nutcracker and soon finds herself immersed in a dream world both dark and enchanting.
- 74
Meet the Feebles
Heidi the Hippo, star of 'The Feebles Variety Hour', discovers her lover Bletch the Walrus is cheating on her. And with all the world waiting for the big show, the assorted co-stars must contend with drug addiction, extortion, robbery, disease, Vietnam flashbacks, drug dealing, and murder.
- 75
The Return of the King
Two Hobbits struggle to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom while their friends desperately fight evil Lord Sauron's forces in a final battle.
- 76
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk
Falsely accused of assault, Dr. David Banner is arrested and placed on trial, facing the possibility of a long prison sentence. Blind attorney Matt Murdock takes on his defence, while secretly operating as the vigilante Daredevil. As the co
- 77
The Great Land of Small
While visiting their grandparents in the Québec countryside, two children enter a fantasy kingdom and are confronted by evil forces.
- 78
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation
This animated adventure goes back in time to the Care Bears' first-ever Caring Mission, when True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse touch down on Earth to boost the spirits of some unhappy kids at summer camp. But the evil Dark Heart has oth
- 79
Peter Pan
This animated fairy tale for kids tells the classic story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Determined never to become an adult, Peter stays forever young in a magical word called Neverland, where he leads a band of mischevious kids called the Lost Boys. Unfortunately, Neverland's chief other inhabitant is a pirate named Captain Hook, who would like nothing more than to put a permanent end to Peter's fun.
- 80
Presents
The apparent vertical scratch in celluloid that opens Presents literally opens into a film within the film. When its figure awakens into a woman in a 'real' unreal set, the slapstick satire of structural film begins. It is not the camera that moves, but the whole set, in this first of three material 'investigations' of camera movement. In the second, the camera literally invades the set; a plexiglass sheet in front of the dolly crushes everything in its sight as it zooms through space. Finally, this monster of formalism pushes through the wall of the set and the film cuts to a series of rapidly edited shots as the camera zigzags over lines of force and moving fields of vision in an approximation of the eye in nature. Snow pushes us into acceptance of present moments of vision, but the single drum beat that coincides with each edit in this elegaic section announces each moment of life's i
- 81
Harlequin
Up-and-coming senator Nick Rast's young son is terminally ill with leukemia. A mysterious faith healer, Gregory Wolfe, appears and seems to cure the boy. Rast's wife Sandy falls in love with Wolfe, but the powerful interests behind Rast's career, represented by geriatric monster Doc Wheelan are less happy with events.
- 82
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifti
- 83
Black Angel
A knight returns home from the Crusades to find his village devastated by disease and his family gone. He roams the forest searching for them, until he finds a mysterious maiden who is being held prisoner by a black knight. In order to free
- 84
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
A Real American Hero is the first G.I. Joe miniseries, in it the G.I. Joe Special Missions Force must contend with COBRA who, after the successful theft of a special broadcast satellite now threaten the world with a teleportation machine ca
- 85
Nothing Lasts Forever
An artist fails a test and is required to direct traffic in New York City's Holland Tunnel. He winds up falling in love with a beautiful woman, who takes him to the moon on a Lunar Cruiser.
- 86
Celia
In 1950s Australia, young Celia is growing up with a sense of isolation and mistrust of the world that surrounds her. Her mother and father won't let her play with the kids next door because their parents are communists. Then her pet bunny
- 87
Big Man on Campus
In this version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", a hunchback is found living in the bell tower of UCLA. He discovers life as two students bring him out of the tower and into society.
- 88
Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire
Cocky cockney snooker player Billy Kid accepts the challenge of a grudge match from Maxwell Randall (the Green Baize Vampire), six times world champion; the loser will never play professional snooker again.
- 89
Incident at Raven's Gate
Ex-con Eddie Cleary gets a job working on his older brother's isolated farm. It's not long before bizarre things start happening--dead birds falling out of the sky, family pets attacking their owners, strange apparitions beginning to appear, and people who had been "normal" suddenly going insane.
- 90
Bridge to Terabithia
Jess Aarons and new girl Leslie Burke create a world of their own and call it Terabithia and pretend to be the king and queen. They return to their magical kingdom every day after school.
- 91
Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller
When the joker Tommy Tricker plays some practical jokes on some of his friends, his best friend Ralph, a stamp collector, discovers the secret of "stamp travel" to make him travel around the world on a stamp to bring back the mysterious Charles Merriweather, who never returned on a stamp for 75 years.
- 92
Prometheus' Garden
Inspired by the Greek myth of Prometheus, a Titan who created the first mortals from clay and stole fire from the gods, Prometheus' Garden immerses viewers in a cinematic universe unlike any other. The dark and magical images of this haunting film unfold in a dreamlike stream of consciousness revealing an unlikely cast of characters engaged in a violent struggle for survival.
- 93
Years of the Beast
A college professor, his wife, a young girl, and a drifter are suddenly faced with a society where money is worthless, food is scarce, your neighbor is your enemy, and oppression reigns. The four must survive a world of earthquakes, natural disasters, looters, corrupt officials, and the Antichrist in power.
- 94
The Dreaming
When a group of Indigenous activists attempt to repatriate ancestral artifacts found in a cave on Australia's Kangaroo Island, one of them is shot, evading police and taken to a local hospital, where the doctor attending to her experiences
- 95
Amazing Stories
A feature film edited from three episodes of Amazing Stories (1985): The Mission, Mummy Daddy, and Go to the Head of the Class.
- 96
Malice in Wonderland
A jet-propelled white rabbit flies through the vulva of a supine woman into a wonderland where people and objects turn inside out, changing shapes and identities at warp speed. Events roughly follow Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." Th
- 97
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
It looks like young Keith Gridley will have a lonely summer, until he meets a talking mouse named Ralph. Ralph takes an immediate liking to Keith's toy motorcycle and can ride it just by making a motor noise. Ralph even acts heroically when Keith comes down with a nasty fever, while dodging cats, owls and a guest's noisy dog.
- 98
The Return of Captain Invincible
In WWII, Captain Invincible used his superpowers against the Nazis and was hailed as a hero. But when he was accused of treason, he retired to Australia in disgrace. Cut to the present, when a US super secret super weapon is stolen and he's asked to come back to the States in order to help stop evil and restore his sterling reputation. Unfortunately, Captain Invincible is a drunk now...
- 99
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Pressure from his boss and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's neck.
- 100
Beyond Dream's Door
Ben Dobbs is a lonely college student who has never had dreams of any kind. This all changes for Ben and he start having a series of sequential and terrifying nightmares that become true in his waking life. As he reaches out for help, he is also expanding the net his nightmare demon is spreading for new victims. Ben’s challenge is to survive this new surrealistic world Beyond Dream’s Door.