10 Most Underrated 80s Horror Movies

By far the most critically appreciated but widely forgotten about film on this list, The Changeling is a tight, spooky story that takes the haunted house framework and runs barefoot into the distance with it, setting fire to the path behind it for good measure. Telling the story of a composer, John, that moves into a Victorian mansion following the death of his wife and daughter, he begins to experience phenomena that belie a supernatural influence lurking in the walls of his home - one that uses him to reveal some long-kept dark secrets.

Interestingly, perhaps what makes this movie such a success is that its born from the screenwriter's own experience of a haunted house in the late 60s. Russell Hunter lived in the Henry Treat Rogers mansion during the period, discovering the century-old journal of a young disabled boy that was kept away from the world by his parents. Apparently, the spirit managed to lead him to his remains after a seance - leading to the inspiration behind the movie.

Real or not, Hunter's experience informs a wonderfully coiled horror movie, one that stands a head and shoulders above the rest for its pervasive, effecting ghost story.