The good thing about Maximum Overdrive, is that it stopped Stephen King complaining about how filmmakers were ruining his stories 
Godzilla : 1985, which is not, & never shall be re-released.
A damn good giant monster flick, if you ask me.
I agree with Friar Ted about Brain Damage, if only for the following immortal dialogue exchange about the monster concerned:
“What did you do with Aylmer?”
“Elmer???!! You fuckin’ named him Elmer?”
"Not Elmer – Aylmer. It means “Beautiful Thing”
Any movie that names its monster “Beautiful Thing” in Anglo-Saxon deserves a look.
but it’s not the cheesiest. Easily the cheesiest is the 1988 remake of the 1957 Not of This Earth. starring a now-legal Traci Lords. The original was creepy, and featured wonderfil Paul Blaisdell monsters, like the flying octopus.umbrella/head squeezer. The remake featured lots of topless actresses and didn’t take itself at all seriously:
Didn’t see the 1995 remake.
Some of these choices are cinematic masterpieces, relatively.
One of my faves: Happy Birthday to Me.
Most memorable scene. . .when the guy is working on his motorcycle wearing a scarf, and the killer tosses his scarf into the spokes when he revs the engine.
Also, there’s a “crushed by dumbbells” scene, IIRC. I probably haven’t seen that in 15 years, but I used to love it.
Any love for C.H.U.D.?
Damn! I love House and House II: The Second Story, especially Grampa’s dog/caterpillar thing. I wanted one for my very own.
I clearly remember watching April Fool’s Day at a sleepover, the way these things are supposed to be watched.
Yep, it was brilliant. I’d put it with The Shining and Alien for best horror films of the 80s.
I’d have to say Attack of the Killer Tomatoes for cheesiest.
I remember how I laughed when they cut to the song, “You’re No Good.”
Since, IMHO, anything with Dee Wallace Stone counts as cheesy, I choose the greatest '80s horror film of all:
The Howling
I hadn’t truly realized what an unmitigated POS American Werewolf in London was until I saw this gem. 7 feet tall, walking on hind legs with dripping fangs–that’s a werewolf!
I own that on DVD, and fully plan to watch it tomorrow.
My favorite is Sleepaway Camp II. The first one’s okay, but the second is pure cheesy greatness. Notice how all the characters are named after Brat Packers. And death by handhell drill is always awesome.
Great choice, and makes for a good double feature with Happy Birthday to Me, featuring a post-Little House Melissa Sue Anderson.
OP said 80’s, but Carrie holds so much horror that was real-- blood, blood, blood everywhere.
William Katt up thread reminded me.
That was my prom year (seriously dating self)
I’d give a vote for Rawhead Rex, a so-bad-its-good no-budget horror film with a kinda nasty looking monster…
I’m kinda surprised no one’s mentioned Motel Hell yet.
“It takes all kinds of cirtters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters!”
How can cheesy go so far without the mention of Roger Corman’s first cheesy movie of the '80s Humanoids from the Deep?
I would have nominated Phantasm as the scariest movie of the '80s, but alas, I just realized it came out in 1979.
A vote for Motel Hell.
I disagree. The TV commercial for A Nightmare on Elm Street terrified me so much I never saw the movie until I was in my twenties. One Halloween we rented it and I laughed my ass off.
The bed. Eats. Johnny Depp. Genius!
Okay my vote goes for Galaxy of Terror
From 1981, this did have a good cast but a low budget. (Heck Roger Corman was the Director which says a lot). I remember reading a review of this on the IMDB which stated “a group of space travelers explore a planet where they encounter cheap sets and lousy special effects”.
As I said the cast was pretty good - Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Robert Englund and Sid Haig (you’d know him if you saw him).
Someone mentioned “Night of the Comet”. Heck I remember that one and it “starred” 2 of everybody’s cult favorites - Geoffrey Lewis and Mary Woronov.
No love for Tremors? Technically 1990, but possibly Kevin Bacon’s finest hour and a half.