80s SOV (Shot-on-Video) Horror
Listed in chronological order by release date, here's a list of all of the shot-on-video horror films of the decade that I know about. I'm including up to 1990 and also throwing on some titles that were shot in the 80s but didn't get released until the following decade.
List activity
23K views
• 15 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
94 titles
- DirectorJohn WintergateStarsJohn WintergateKalassuLindsay FreemanA boarding house is reopened years after gruesome murders were committed there. Suddenly, the body count begins once more!
- DirectorHans HatwigStarsÅke ErikssonSussi AxEva DanielssonOn tour through Sweden, the all-girl rock 'n' roll band "Rock Cats" suddenly find themselves trapped in no-man's land when their tour-bus breaks down. Soon they get to meet "the Bleeder", an insane beast of a man whose sole interest is to kill them all off, one by one. The hunt is on...aka The Bleeder.
- DirectorChester Novell TurnerStarsShirley L. JonesRicky RoachChester TankersleyA woman buys a doll at a magic shop. Unbeknownst to her, the doll is possessed by an evil spirit, and it proceeds to take her over.
- DirectorLeland PaytonStarsJack RennerGretta RatliffDavid FrittsA crazed family lives in a swamp. The father's hobby is killing as many snakes as he can. One day the snakes decide to take their revenge.
- DirectorJulio AldamaStarsJulio AldamaJulio Aldama Jr.Luz María Ricoaka The Mad Monk.
- DirectorDavid A. PriorStarsTed PriorLinda McGillJohn EastmanA young boy murders his mother and her lover with a hammer. Ten years later, a wave of teenage murders plagues the same area.The copyright date in the end credits is 1984.
- DirectorJames R. BuickStarsJim GreenwayJerry AndersonLarry BruceThis campy horror movie with a cast of hundreds was created in 1985. Bikers and Rock music counter culture people save Phoenix Arizona from a diabolical plot with flesh eating zombies and madmen and chemical warfare.
- DirectorChristopher LewisStarsJuli AndelmanCharles EllisJames VanceFemale students on a college campus are being killed and their body parts used for blood sacrifices.This film did so well on the video market, the producers decided to shoot the sequel; Revenge (1986), on 16mm.
- DirectorChristopher LewisStarsTom SchreierMona Van PernisWade TowerAn old antique ring turns a college professor into a homicidal maniac when he puts it on. The ring originaly belonged to Jack the Ripper, and the Ripper's spirit possesses whoever wears it.
- DirectorSteve DiMarcoStarsDoug StoneJacqueline SamudaRussell FerrierA trilogy of horror stories with ironic twists: a teenager tries out a love potion, a waitress gets involved in a kidnapping plot, two brothers plan to cheat an insurance company by faking their death.
- DirectorLouis FerriolStarsBarbara HellerThomas Stuart AschéJane De LeeuwAspiring models in a Soho photo studio, aiming for the centerfold, are getting molested, tortured and killed by a mysterious perpetrator, who hides its identity by wearing a cloth bag over its head.
- DirectorPeter McCubbinStarsNancy CzerJeff HolecCraig WilliamsIn this Canadian rendering of a potential "apocalypse then", in 1996, after the collapse of modern civilization (due to atomic "accidents" and the "failure" of the world's economy), a young couple tries to carry on a quiet life in an uncivilized world. They are joined by a wandering soldier-of-fortune, who helps them survive the repeated attacks of mutant packs of human scavengers that have begun to evolve (mysteriously) back into animals. Mister soldier also eats their dog at one point. But an even darker threat comes from a lone figure, shadowing them wherever they go.
- DirectorRobert WormsStarsCameron MitchellMark FenskeTim Noyes"Terror on Tape" is a 1985 horror anthology where a video store shows a compilation of scenes from various horror/exploitation films.The copyright date in the end credits is 1985.
- DirectorJohn DuncanStarsCraig MartinBruce PhillipsChuck KellyFamily and workers on a farm are being stalked by a Sasquatch-like creature known as "The Black River Monster."
- DirectorKazuo 'Gaira' KomizuStarsYumiko IshikawaNaomi KajitaniKyôko KomiyamaA group of girls go to a house to spend a time in which they lived horrible creeping monster with tentacles that tries to eat them one by one.
- DirectorJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTodd Michael SmithStarsJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTodd Michael SmithThree brothers (one who is slow and another who is adopted) have disturbing and violent hallucinations while their mother is at work.
- DirectorFelix GirardStarsRenee HarmonFrank NeuhausHenry LewisA family of sadistic psychopaths seeks out victims for its gruesome brain operations.
- DirectorJeff HathcockStarsJames HansenApril AudiaLarry ThomasA maniac stalks and kills models.
- DirectorJohn HowardJustin SimmondsStarsR. Eric HuxleyJanus BlytheLise RomanoffA madman stalks nurses, brutally stabbing them to death. In his fevered mind, he believes his victims to be a woman from his past named Linda. Police struggle to apprehend him before he can murder and mutilate again.
- DirectorPeter RoweStarsChris BrittonPaul James SaundersAmber WendleborgPseudo documentary about the making of a low-budget post-nuke sci-fi/action splatter movie.
- DirectorKen MeyerStarsMichael Shamus WilesStacey LoganMichele MerchantTwo girlfriends try to relax at Lake Tenkiller, but a slasher won't let them.
- DirectorTim BoggsStarsDoug BarryAngela DarterMike Kaufman6 teenagers are partying one weekend. One couple disappears, only to be found brutally murdered. A blood thirsty killer is stalking them. One by one bodies begin to show up, as they become prey to the vengeance-seeking maniac.
- DirectorLionel ShenkenStarsJonathan PottsJames LukieJames KnappA cab driver is falsely accused of murdering a young couple.
- DirectorDonald FarmerStarsDrew GodderisSky NicholasDonald TrimbornAs a sorority initiation, two girls have to pose as hookers. Then they turn into zombies and start killing and eating the locals.
- DirectorWill MacMillanStarsWill MacMillanRon KologieShamus SherwoodCenters around a cop and two brothers hot on the trail of a murderous card game in which masked participants must murder the loser or be killed themselves.
- DirectorMark PoloniaStarsJohn PoloniaA horror anthology, shot on video in 1987 and lost for 30 years. A video game geek watches TV and only gets reception on channel 13, where a hooded monk shows tales of killer scarecrows, monster birds, and cannibal spaghetti farm owners.
- DirectorNick MillardStarsLeslie SimonJoan SimonAlbert EskinaziSisters Joan and Leslie are no strangers to the dead. Having grown up around the family mortuary business, they have a comfortable appreciation for that fact of life. Being goal-oriented siblings, they, too, would like to start their own mortuary business. But how? A plot to provide a healthy client roster (as well as a means of funding the enterprise) will involve multiple marriages, multiple murders, and multiple corpses.
- DirectorNick MillardStarsPriscilla AldenRobert CoppleCharles EganA severe decrease in funding forces a mental hospital to release mass-murderer Ethel Janowski into a halfway house. Ethel is psychotic and delusional and has a hefty appetite. In fact, her killing spree began 13 years before with the murder of her grandmother, who had forced her to go on a diet. Now that she's tasted the home-cooked fare at the halfway house, she'll do absolutely anything to get more.
- DirectorRicardo IslasStarsRicardo IslasMore than 60 years after his death, the demonic life and works of British occultist Aleister Crowley has continued to capture the darkest imaginations. In this thriller, a virtual reality experiment gone wrong sends the soul of the infamous madman into the body of a shy university professor.
- DirectorDonald FarmerStarsMary FanaroDennis StewartClifton DanceA female vampire goes on a rampage seeking blood.
- DirectorNick MillardStarsAlbert EskinaziIrmgard MillardOsa DanamThe story of Dr. Thorn, an abortionist who uses post-procedure house calls as opportunities to murder his patients.
- DirectorNick MillardStarsPriscilla AldenAlbert EskinaziRoyal FarrosMurderous, overweight nurse Edith and her brother run a medical clinic out of their suburban home: they take in patients, kill them, and continue to bill the state for their care. But a nosy county inspector threatens to complicate this foul family business.
- DirectorJim MonacoStarsNick PawlowHappy GoldsplattMichael Townsend WrightDeranged projectionist Mad Ron, host Nick, and charismatic zombie Happy Goldsplatt screen a collection of horror and exploitation trailers for a theater of the undead.Horror / exploitation trailer compilation with linking segments shot on video.
- DirectorMike BeckRichard HolmHenrik WadlingStarsRichard HolmMikael LindgrenMike BeckA psycho in a William Shatner mask goes after a clerk whilst butchering a bunch of people in his path.
- DirectorJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTodd Michael SmithStarsTodd Michael SmithJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTwo young twins are sent to spend time at their aunt's farm. What nobody knows is that the aunt's handyman is a psycho serial killer who dismembers his victims and stores their body parts in the barn.
- DirectorD3StarsJohn Henry RichardsonMichelle BauerJohn ContentA wealthy Hollywood tycoon is framed for murder and sent to the electric chair without the customary last dinner. Years later he comes back looking for revenge, and he's hungry.
- DirectorChester Novell TurnerStarsW.J. RiderDoug DaverportJohnnie TanguyActress, Shirley L. Jones returns from director, Chester Novell Turner's first film, Black Devil Doll from Hell (1984), to star in director Turner's next camcorder opus. She reads 2 spooky tales to the ghost of her dead son, Bobby. The second story features a zombie clown from hell. This film's considered the holy grail of VHS tapes, as their were only appx 100 copies originally printed (now Massacre Video's recently released a pristine remastering). Along the way, Shirley,'s hot-headed boyfriend's killed, and there's a bloody finale.
- DirectorT. MichaelStarsMichael CapellupoKevin M. GloverHenry HarrisThree street punks--Turk, his girlfriend BB., and his sidekick Wimp--observe two young affluent kids, Ginger and Danny, shoplifting from a record store. On a lark, the street kids invite themselves along to a party at the home of the yuppies' friends, Rod and Arlene. There the party games turn from strip darts to Russian roulette as it becomes increasingly obvious that the yuppies are playing with the street kids' emotions. Eventually the three street kids are all brutally murdered by the yuppies, who had purposely lured them in for exactly that purpose. The yuppies then prepare for their next "kill."
- DirectorGary P. CohenStarsGary SchwartzChick KaplanRobin LeedsA husband and wife open a video store in a new town, and come to find out that the locals only rent horror films and the "occasional triple X'er", and make their own snuff videos.
- DirectorGary P. CohenStarsDavid ChristopherMavis HarrisNeil CerboneHoward and Eli, the killers from the first film in this duology, Video Violence, are back and are now hosting their own TV series. Broadcast secretly from their basement, the series looks at the fine art of murder, letting other aspiring psychos send in videos of their handiwork for the world to enjoy. Some viewers are shocked and horrified, but many more become avid fans, clamoring for more and more blood.
- DirectorHerb RobinsStarsJonathan MittlemanMarjorie MorrisHerb RobinsA psycho killer uses a corkscrew to stick into the brains of his victims.
- DirectorTom FisherJon McBrideStarsJon McBrideAmy ChludzinskiChristopher A. GrangerFour teenagers on an outing in the woods are attacked by a trio of mutant cannibals.
- DirectorGary P. CohenStarsLisa CohenJackie NeillZachary CohenThree weirdos invade the home of a wealthy family while the husband is at work. They have not come with the intention of stealing anything, they just want to show the wife a video.
- DirectorNick MillardStarsJane LambertRobert CoppleGeorge 'Buck' FlowerThat crazy killer nurse is at it again! Edith Mortley continues to slay more and more dumbfounded patients, turning them into rat food.
- DirectorRicardo IslasStarsNorma MorganRicardo IslasJulio Lópezaka: Feather Pillow
- DirectorWally KozStarsMara Lynn BastianCharles FullerGreg KerouacA psycho dressed as a hippie is killing couples in Lake Front. As the police search for more clues and the body count gets higher, they discover every five years, for five days, the killer kills 5 couples. Will they catch this madman or will he get away for another five years?
- DirectorJohn DuncanStarsHoward CoburnDale CaughelSteve PricharoA girl is offered to stay weeks at a country estate while the family is on a trip. When the hackers arrive on the scene to do some repair work, a terrifying chain of events take place with a shocking ending.
- DirectorRay Di ZazzoStarsAddison RandallKatrina AlexyRichard DryAt a Halloween party, a young boy is almost killed by his drunken, alcoholic father. Ten years afterward, the boy goes on a murder spree.
- DirectorJames ShymanStarsBobby JohnstonFrancine LapenséeJoe BaloghThe ghosts of a family accidentally killed on a movie set come back for revenge.
- DirectorStephen TylerStarsJan JensenNancy MeyerJoann WhitleyLinda, Tracy, and Chris are a trio of teenage girls who decide to celebrate the last day of high school by having a slumber party at Linda's house. A few guys also show up to further enhance the merry festivities. However, things take a turn for the worse when a homicidal maniac who has just escaped from a mental hospital crashes the bash.
- DirectorJoseph MerhiStarsJimmy WilliamsJean LevineJohn Henry RichardsonThe owner of a lakeside resort murders a transvestite. Fifteen years later, a spirit comes back and starts killing honeymoon couples.
- DirectorWilliam SzarkaStarsJohn GiganteJon HammerPatrick MolloyA teen-ager is left orphaned by a car crash that wipes out his entire family; he is subsequently haunted by his dead brother.
- DirectorSydney LingStarsPaul NaschyBarry FlemingJames Malkovich
- DirectorCharles PinionStarsStephen L. AntczakCharles PinionLow budget shot-on-video gore film with comical overtones concerns a skateboarding teen's murder. Rising from the dead with his skateboard, he embarks on a vengeful killing spree.
- DirectorJon McBrideStarsJon McBrideDenice EdealTom CasielloThree siblings begin to kill people with a woodchipper while their father is away.
- DirectorOlaf IttenbachStarsOlaf IttenbachAndrea ArbterAndré StryiTommy finds a cursed mirror and a diary in an attic in the new house they moved in. The mirror starts to give Tommy horrible and gruesome visions as his crush keeps rising from the dead.
- DirectorZachary SnyggStarsJared BushanskyThe DukeAbad KaleelA murderer shoots a snuff film on rented equipment from a local video store, but accidentally returns the equipment to the store with the tape still inside the camera.
- DirectorGary WhitsonStarsLauna KaneClancy McCauleyChris Stonage
- DirectorPeter B. GoodStarsBlake BahnerEna O'RourkeDan SchmaleThe great grandson of the infamous Jack The Ripper is a photographer who murders women in bizarre ways. He photographs them and drinks their blood in order to increase his sexual potency. One day, he meets the girl of his dreams to carry on the family name, but he uses her to lure in more female models to murder and add to his collection. With the body count rising, Erica is unaware of her new boyfriend's hobby, and soon he starts making mistakes.
- DirectorDennis DevineStarsLane CoyleKay SchaberAngela EadsA crazy serial killer kills himself by sealing his soul in to his camera. Years later a woman buys the camera, and everyone she photographs begins being tracked down and killed by the killers spirit.
- DirectorSteven DeFalcoRon OttavianoStarsDavid DeFalcoAmerico CarrocioMichele de SantisA killer goes on a killing spree at a heavy metal club.
- DirectorKendal FlanaganOllie MartinStarsAlan DaleChristine JestonCraig AlexanderA rowdy rock group are accompanied by a film crew to desolate Lake Infinity to produce a music video. One night the musicians visit the local pub while the various members of the film crew satisfy their carnal desires with one another aboard the luxurious houseboat they are all staying in. They are so busy they fail to notice that a rampaging lunatic has snuck aboard the boat, and one by one the various characters are brutally slaughtered in a variety of grisly ways.Australia's very first SOV horror film made specifically for the video market, this was shot in 1987.
- DirectorDavid SchwartzStarsAri LevinRebecca GandaraBarbara BellAfter Sam's wife has betrayed him, he goes on a bloody killing spree in Las Vegas.
- DirectorLouis FerriolStarsBob RoseDana MicheleGerard MascioliAn uptight and strange family goes looking for their missing son. On the road they bump into a prostitute and an elderly clairvoyant.
- DirectorGeorge BonillaJ. Johnson Jr. IIIStarsSteve LobertiniRobert Joe CarrKitt HoffmanAn anthology film consisting of three stories that feature deceit, murder and terror.
- DirectorPericles LewnesStarsSteve SooyAnthony M. CarrKen DavisA barrel of radioactive waste is lost out in the woods. Some demented rednecks find it and use it as part of their still. Everybody who drinks the liquor they produced turns into zombies.
- DirectorRichard HolmHenrik WadlingStarsRichard HolmMike BeckJan LarssonDuring a wild party at a hospital the anti-hero of Halloween, Michael Myers, comes to life. He stalks the hospital, violently killing everyone and everything. Apart from Michael Myers we also find Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Jason (Friday the 13:th 2-9). If that wasn't enough, a zombie wanders around looking for his pirate copies of "Resurrection of Michael Myers (pt1)". The result is an orgy in blood and violence.
- DirectorMichael RiderStarsGinger LynnGary BrandnerSteven K. ArthurA two-part horror anthology, the first part about a serial killer who is executed for his string of murders, the second about a despondent actor who hangs himself and meets a clown on "the other side."
- DirectorDonald FarmerStarsCarol CarrMelissa MooreNikki RigginsOne of the girls in a rock band is fired from the band. She is, in reality, a witch, and possesses the body of the girl who replaces her in order to take revenge on the rest of the band.
- DirectorGary WhitsonStarsLauna KaneClancy McCauleyCarol LivingstonSix women get together one weekend for a reunion. But one by one they are killed by a demonic, female vampire who becomes more and more beautiful after killing each one of her victims.
- DirectorEric ParkinsonMichael RissiStephen SommersStarsVivian SchillingDaniel RoebuckLance AugustA frustrated advertising executive is confused to receive a job assignment from her boss to write the screenplay to a horror film. Recruiting the help of her friends, a weekend camping expedition becomes the forum for each to share their scariest stories, which become frightfully real.
- DirectorAndrew JordanStarsBarry J. GillisAmber LynnBruce RoachAn impotent husband, driven by a fanatical desire to father children, forces his wife to undergo a dangerous experiment. The result: the birth of a multitude of monstrous THINGS.
- DirectorDean AliotoStarsTommy GiavocchiniPatrick KelleyShirly McCallaOn a typical fall evening in 1983, a young man was videotaping his niece's 5th birthday party. As the night's strange occurrences took place, he kept his video camera running, recording the entire event.One of the earliest found footage films and once believed to document a "real" alien encounter. Also known as The McPherson Tape.
- DirectorAndreas SchnaasStarsAndreas SchnaasGabi BäznerWolfgang HinzA demented, wicked, deformed, cannibalistic killer named K. The Butcher Shitter, escapes from the police and slaughters people in many gory, bloody ways.
- DirectorTodd SheetsStarsDave ByerlyErin KehrStanna BippusA young man on the way to meet friends at a train station is derailed into a world full of zombies, homicidal gangs and serial killers in this Niagra of gore.
- DirectorMichael SavinoStarsLori RegoniniChristina MurphyLori CarsonA group of teenagers get drunk and abuse a hapless refrigerator. The machine then goes on a killing rampage, eating the ones who beat him up.
- DirectorTodd SheetsStarsJenny AdmireDeric BernierMatthew LewisA story set in a post-apocalyptic time about all-female pack of warriors who fight against villain Tim Curry and his zombie batch. Based on a comic book.
- DirectorCarlos GalettiniStarsFabián GianolaJulieta MelognoNorman BriskiA shy guy traumatized by the death of his older brother is spending a long weekend with his friends until strange things start to happen.
- DirectorRicardo IslasStarsRicardo Islasaka: Crowley's Ashes, this is the sequel to 1987's Crowley from the same director.
- DirectorLaura KeatsStarsSharon KaneAngst ArgyleLisa TurcoAt John's funeral, a seemingly kind old man stands near John's widow Hope. He is the master of The Crystal, possessor of its light and terror. Hope accepts The Crystal in good faith, praying it contains New Age love powers. But she has gravely miscalculated.
- DirectorMark ShepardStarsBrinke StevensElizabeth MoreheadDawn Wildsmith"The Black Veil." Set in 1888, the widow of a psychiatrist visits a college friend who is performing in a theatre that enacts gruesome mutilations and torture. The actress suffers from severe headaches, and the friend tries to help her with a hypnotizing machine designed by her father, and uncovers horrors that parallel the stage productions. "Listen to Midnight." A photographer recounts the events leading up to his murder, which is linked to a story he had heard in Japan about a female dragonfly luring the male to his death.
- DirectorRodd MatsuiPatricia MillerBryan MooreStarsBrinke StevensLinda MillerRenee Lillian"She's Bad, She's Blonde, She's Lunch." A couple hold up a store to pay the rent, then take an ill-fated trip to Lover's Lane, where they meet a man involved in genetic research. "Cardinal Sin." A young man escapes into Hustler fantasies and must avoid his overbearing and religious mom. Eventually he ameliorates his situation. "Pet Shop of Death." A henpecked husband goes to a specialty pet store to get something to help free him up so he can pursue his neighbor. "Last Love." A psychiatrist is forlorn over the loss of her husband, and takes steps to make her affair with his ghost more permanent. "What Goes Around..." A composer who can't create music since the death of his wife and child finds new inspiration from the affair with a femme fatale. But she has a price.
- DirectorKenneth J. HallTed NewsomFred Olen RayStarsBobbie BreseeDrew GodderisDawn WildsmithA scientist is using Microbes in experiments but dies before the work is finished. An aging actress injects herself the serum and the bacterium transforms her into a hideous bug alien resulting in an attrition problem among her detractors.Note: The original Evil Spawn was not shot on video. However, a new version was prepped by Fred Olen Ray and Ted Newsom called The Alien Within (1990) that replaces half of the original footage with SOV scenes.
- DirectorHugh GallagherStarsGabrielaRik BillockPaula HendricksTara, a psychotic call girl, has a strange obsession with giving men the ultimate climax. Chase is a detective out to stop her killing spree.
- DirectorSteve PostalStarsDave KnappAngela ShepardMaurice S. PostalA young newlywed couple is attacked by a monster at their honeymoon resort.
- DirectorSteve PostalStarsLady PostalTom EckertDonna KozlowskiA newlywed couple at a honeymoon resort are terrorized by a monster and the ghosts of a couple that the monster had previously murdered.
- DirectorMichael SavinoMark VeauStarsRobert W. AllenChristine McNamaraMichael ElyanowAn escaped mental patient, who is missing a hand, uses a large barbecue fork in its place and proceeds to kill off the local teenagers.
- DirectorCarl DenhamStarsWilliam LantryAnthony Van DeurenT.K. MaloneRoger, Neil, and Mike are horror movie fans who have a mock seance to bring Nazi psycho Max Shreck back from the dead. Unfortunately, the seance works and Shreck wreaks havoc in our time and in his.
- DirectorAndreas SchnaasStarsMatthias KerlRalf HessMathias AbbesTwo doctors are trying to stop a rampant epidemic of zombieism. They fend off zombies spilling many a gallon of blood in the process.Filmed in 1990.
- DirectorBetty StaplefordStarsCindie Lou AckerJody AmatoMichelle AndersonWhen the Army takes over a former asylum, they discover that some inmates are still living in solitary confinement there, and become murderous zombies.Filmed in 1987.
- DirectorMike BowlerStarsLisa BawdonAugie BluntMike BowlerAt Benson's Health Spa business is booming. And why not? With the, "Look beautiful and stay fit or never pay a dime" promotion, people are literally selling their souls to join.Filmed in 1990.
- DirectorDonald FarmerStarsCamille KeatonNikki RigginsJames CochranFive years after she avenged her own rape, young law student Jennifer decides to take a brief vacation with a girlfriend. Unfortunately, they become the next targets of two depraved men.Shot in 1988.