A great many neo-noirs were made by indepen-
dent directors during the 1980’s, because this genre
can often be cheaply made.Blood Simple(1984), the
first film written, directed, and produced by broth-
ers Joel and Ethan Coen, was made for a little over
$1 million. Its complicated plot of grisly murder and
betrayal was similar to John Dahl’s first feature,Kill
Me Again(1989), a “cowboy noir” that detailed the
exploits of a woman who set two men against each
other in the Nevada desert. In the diverse body of
films that composed neo-noir, viewers could see re-
makes of 1940’s noirs, such as Rafelson’sThe Postman
Always Rings Twice(1981), wherein the original Lana
Turner and John Garfield characters are played by
Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson. They could also
encounter generic twists and hybrids, such as Ridley
Scott’s science-fiction noirBlade Runner(1982), or
parodies, such as Carl Reiner’sDead Men Don’t Wear
Plaid(1982).
Horror Films In the years that followed John Car-
penter’s phenomenally successfulHalloween(1978),
“slasher” films flooded the market. Sean Cunning-
ham’sFriday the Thirteenth(1980) created an often-
imitated slasher formula in which teenagers are seri-
ally murdered in a superabundance of unwarranted
sex and violence. The tendency of such films to fol-
low gratuitous nudity with gratuitous gore spurred
much speculation by cultural critics regarding
both the ideology and the practical consequences of
these films. Psychotic killers—who had emerged in
Alfred Hitchcock’sPsycho(1960) and Tobe Hooper’s
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)—had by 1981
proliferated into a huge number of slashers that
composed nearly 60 percent of all films released
in the United States. Sam Raimi’sThe Evil Dead
(1983) spawned two sequels, Hooper’sPoltergeist
(1982) was followed by two sequels and a television
program, and Wes Craven’sNightmare on Elm Street
(1984) gave rise to ten sequels.
Horror features appeared regularly throughout
the 1980’s with an alarming violence quotient.
Mainstream horror films included Tony Scott’sThe
Hunger(1983), Tom Holland’sFright Night(1985),
Craven’sThe Serpent and the Rainbow(1987), and
Mary Lambert’sPet Sematar y(1989). One of the
most popular and influential horror films of the
decade was Kubrick’s 1982 film version of Stephen
King’s novelThe Shining(1977). Other popular
horror thrillers were De Palma’sBody Double(1984),
a pornographically reworked combination of Alfred
Hitchcock’sRear Window(1954) andVertigo(1958);
The Jagged Edge; and John Schlesinger’sThe Believers
(1987).
Perhaps in response to the rise of horror films,
horror spoofs, as well as genuine horror films that
nonetheless embraced black comedy, also became
popular. Films likeMotel Hell(1980) appeared to sat-
irize the previous decade’s preoccupation with zom-
bies. Stuart Gordon filmed H. P. Lovecraft’s classic
horror storyRe-Animator(1985) with tongue firmly
in cheek, andThe Toxic Avenger(1985), a cult mid-
night movie created by Michael Merz and Lloyd
Kaufman, engendered three sequels. However, as
box-office receipts began to dwindle, affecting Car-
penter’sThe Thing(1982), horror films became reg-
ular marketable items for home video and cable tele-
vision. Critics became alarmed by the resultant easy
access to gore by children, but the number of horror
films produced continued to rise.Impact During the 1980’s, the resources of the stu-
dios began to be consolidated and focused on pro-
ducing films with extremely large budgets that were
designed to reap even larger rewards at the box of-
fice. Such films were designed to offer audiences the
sorts of experiences they could not obtain at home
with small screens and inexpensive sound systems.
They often featured reworked and repackaged nar-
ratives and conventions from earlier decades, using
new technologies to build exciting myths and
immersive experiences. Lucas and Spielberg were
the masters of this sort of filmmaking, and they be-
came as famous as any of their stars.
At the same time the major studios were consoli-
dating their resources, however, independent pro-
ductions and small studios sprang up to fulfill the de-
mand for high-quality, niche entertainment that the
blockbuster model ignored. A generation of impor-
tant new American voices developed on the fringes
of Hollywood, driving innovation in style and narra-
tive technique, even as the mainstream blockbuster
drove innovation in technology and special effects.
Eventually, the success of these smaller films led
each of the major studios to create divisions devoted
to “independent” productions. Some directors
worked within this structure, while others insisted
on maintaining true independence, valuing their
freedom of creative expression more than the stu-
dios’ capital.The Eighties in America Film in the United States 373