Below, the best examples of 80s films with WTF last-minute reveals that will leave you legit shook. And it probably goes without saying, but SPOILER ALERT!
Blade Runner (1982)
LikeThe Thing,Blade Runneris another classic released during the Summer of 1982 that didn’t find its deserved audience until after it left theaters.Ridley Scott’s slow-burn monument to world building and thematically-driven sci-fi is as technically impressive as it is engaging, especially its final cut and its version’s ending.
The theatrical cut culminated in a studio-mandated happy ending (which was just reused footage fromThe Shining) where “ex-cop, ex-Blade Runner” Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) escapes the rain-drenched and neon-lit confines of 2019 Los Angeles with love interest and Replicant Rachael in tow. But the final cut offers a more ambiguous ending, strongly hinting that Deckard is a Replicant himself before he boards an elevator with Rachael in tow.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The bestStar Warsmovie ever made,The Empire Strikes Backstill delivers an impressive visual feast thanks to ILM’s landmark special effects. It also stunned audiences with its infamous “didn’t-see-that-coming” twist involving Luke Skywalker and the number one cause of death for guys named Captain Needa, Darth Vader.
Luke and Vader engage in a cat-and-mouse lightsaber duel in and throughout Lando’s Cloud City complex. The battle eventually costs Luke his arm and sends our burgeoning Jedi out onto the edge of a rickety platform with nowhere to go but down. Losing that limb seems like a Golden Age compared to the truth bomb Vader drops on young Skywalker. All together now: “No, Luke.Iam your father.”*In perfect Yoda voice: Begun this all-time ending has.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Steven Spielbergand Harrison Ford’s effortlessly-entertaining movie classic is full of iconic scenes: That opening sequence with Indiana Jones outrunning a boulder, Indy’s improvised take-down of a swordsman, and that all-in-camera truck chase where Indyclimbs over AND under said truck. But, arguably, the film’s most memorable scene is its last.
In a twist that could live in the same zip code asThe Twilight Zone, Indy risks literally having his face melted off to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant only for it to end up in the hands of “bureaucratic fools.” Crated, the Ark is wheeled into the crowded confines of a mysterious warehouse, home to other do-not-open mystery boxes. Fans would have to wait 27 years to see the Ark again – inKingdom of the Crystal Skull– and to learn that that warehouse was actually (clutch the pearls) Area 51.
Another underrated adaptation of a Stephen King novel,David Cronenberg’s hauntingThe Dead Zoneis even more timely now, given the country’s tumultuous political climate.Christopher Walkendelivers one of his best performances as Johnny, a man who survives a near-fatal accident and comes back with an almost psychic ability to see terrible, end times-level events.
When he crosses paths with Stillson, a charismatic but dubious politician played by the greatMartin Sheen, Johnny glimpses the literal apocalypse Stillson’s presidency will bring if he wins the election. Knowing he can’t let that happen, Johnny tries to assassinate Stillson – and dies in the process. But not before glimpsing a future where Stillson’s political career is in ruins. Phew.
The Thing (1982)
WhileJohn Carpenter’s fan-favorite horror classicThe Thingfailed to resonate with audiences at the time, it has achieved much-earned reverie since – especially thanks to its final shots. At an Antarctic research station, after barely surviving an explosion-y encounter with a murderous alien that can assume the form of any person or thing it comes into contact with, MacReady (Kurt Russell) and Childs (Keith David) emerge as the research team’s only survivors.
They are left amongst the burning ruins of the facility, breath steaming in the night air, neither one convinced they aren’t The Thing. Paranoid and tired, the two stare each other down – waiting for a rescue that may never come. And audiences are left haunted by the film’s final images, not sure whether or not the owner of the greatest beard in movie history is indeed human.
Christine (1983)
John Carpenter’s follow-up toThe Thingis often forgotten about when it comes to ranking both the filmmaker’s best movies and the best adaptations of Stephen King novels. That’s a shame, because this unsettling, watch-with-the-lights-on horror movie about a teenager battling his very evil, almost sentient car clips along at a confident pace – building up to one hell of a final act.
After the titular murder-vehicle racks up a significant body count, its owner – Dennis (John Stockwell) – lures the car to a garage where he takes a bulldozer to it. Unfortunately, Christine can regenerate herself (because reasons). Dennis pummels Christine to the point where she can’t fix herself. After the car is compacted into a cube at a junkyard, we hold on her front grille – which slowly starts to (twist!) unbend itself.
BlameReturn of the Living Deadfor introducing audiences to the concept of zombies eating braaaains. Also blame this cult hit for shocking audiences – in a good way – with its one-two punch of an ending genre fans didn’t quite see coming. Louisville, Kentucky is the setting for this addition of “Small Town Folk vs. Zombie Horde.”
Thanks to a supply warehouse home to (what else?) military drums full of a “failed experiment,” a toxic gas leaks into the air and quickly starts resurrecting the dead. An overzealous Colonel Glover (Jonathan Terry) drops a nuclear artillery shell on the area – wiping out both humans and zombies. Glover considers it a victory, oblivious to the fallout of acid rain that causes the dead he just killed to walk the earth once again.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The filmmakers behind this sci-fi classic – the best of theStar Trekmovies – pulled a pump-fake on the audience in the film’s opening minutes. They “killed” Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) during a bridge simulator, to quell their much-publicized worries about the demise of their favorite Vulcan. Soon, audiences would find themselves duped in the sequel’s harrowing conclusion.
to save his crew from certain death, Spock sacrifices himself by going to the Enterprise’s engine room to help get the crippled ship to warp speed. Admiral Kirk is soon notified of his friend’s Hail Mary and rushes down to engineering. There, he finds his best friend suffering from fatal radiation burns and separated from him by glass. And audiences quickly found themselves reaching for tissues – and then cheering – when the film concludes with a hint that Spock may not be dead after all!
April Fool’s Day (1986)
Thanks to the slasher film boom in the ‘80s, genre fans found lots of blood and gore inApril Fool’s Day. “Slaughter” barely covers what transpires, as a group of college students find themselves stalked by a killer on their weekend getaway on a secluded island mansion.
The body count starts early as the killer – a prank-happy girl named “Muffy” – picks off a group friends on the weekend leading up to April 1st. But Muffy didn’t kill anybody, she employed a Hollywood friend in special effects to make it seem like she killed them. Why? The weekend served as a dress rehearsal as Muffy plans to turn the estate into a staged horror show.
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Stephen King’s first – and only – feature film as director is one of the guiltiest of guilty pleasures ever made. Based on King’s short story “Trucks”,Maximum Overdrivefinds a sweatyEmilo Estevezstruggling to lead a band of survivors against a homicidal truck with a giant Green Goblin face for a grill.
The horror zeroes-in on a North Carolina truck stop, where Estevez’s Bill finally destroys the Green Goblin truck with a rocket launcher. Things then take a turn for the surreal as an end titles card tells us that a UFO, linked to the crazy events we just witnessed, was recently destroyed by a Soviet “weather satellite.” Six days later, our planet passes out of the comet’s path and, yup, this movie HAPPENED.
