The uncs hated it when it came out. No one watched it and it was a commercial and critical flop. Only us Zoomer-GODS know about it.

>>216059481
It's a game too

>>216059481
Gen X unc here, I watched it about 5 years after it came out and it's in my top 50 of all time.

watch it on blu-ray; the artistry on the practical effects is amazing. (like where they're doing the autopsy on the charred remains)

for what it's worth I thought the prequel was very good too, lots of folks pooped on it but they did a great job of maintaining continuity with the OG

>>216059481
>Was cinema always this good back in the day?
It was definitely not, the movies that are cited from this time period are cited because they were great (selection bias), but there was a lot of trash back then. That being said, this particular movie was panned back then but its quality was definitely more appreciated over time.

What I will say, is I still prefer the brand of shittiness from this time period over the shitty movies/tv we have now, because it wasn't trying to mask its terrible shittiness under 16 layers of irony and "self awareness". Shit cinema was honest and earnest, which is a quality in itself.

It's an unusually good genre film - one of the best ones ever - so no, things were never always *this* good overall

However, the 80s in general and the early to mid 80s were especially good, and did have a lot of insanely good flicks

1982 for instance had:
>ET
>The Thing
>Conan the Barbarian
>Blade Runner
>Poltergeist
>Star Trek II
>The Dark Crystal
>Creepshow
>Halloween III
>Tron

There was also a lot of junk / fluff, but yeah, sure, insanely good list for one year. This wasn't normal though - it wasn't this good for genre films in previous decades - it was just this little moment in the 80s for some reason (probably the Spielberg / Lucas / Stephen King / Henson / Carpenter etc influences unlocking certain possibilities for a while)

>>216060185
>However, the 80s in general and the early to mid 80s were especially good, and did have a lot of insanely good flicks

Didn't mean to repeat myself here, was reformatting

>>216059481
When it first came out, people didn't like it. Instead of appreciating the craftsmanship that went into the creature effects, people were turned off by how gross they looked... even though that's the whole point

>>216060086
Hell yeah.

I watched it the year after it came out, I was 10. I was living in the Solomon Islands and didn’t have a TV, but a neighbour was well off and had it on VHS. Scared the shit out of me, I wouldn’t go into an unlit room for years afterwards.

>>216060185
1982 also had Secret of Nimh, Tenebrae,


1981 had:
>Raiders of the Lost Ark
>Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
>Escape from New York
>Excalibur
>Dragonslayer
>An American Werewolf in London
>The Evil Dead
>Blowout
>Time Bandits
>Heavy Metal

1983 had:
>Return of the Jedi
>Videodrome
>Scarface
>A Christmas Story
>Risky Business
>Fire and Ice
>Sleepaway Camp
>The Dead Zone
>The Hunger

>>216060344
1984:
>Ghostbusters
>The Terminator
>Amadeus
>Gremlins
>Star Trek III
>A Nightmare on Elm Street
>This Is Spinal Tap
>The Karate Kid
>The Never Ending Story
>Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
>Cloak and Dagger
>Body Double
>Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage
>The Toxic Avenger
>Sixteen Candles
>Red Dawn
>Repo Man
>The Last Starfighter
>Blood Simple

>>216060416
1985:
>The Goonies
>Pee Wee's Big Adventure
>Back to the Future
>The Breakfast Club
>Explorers
>Commando
>The Jewel of the Nile
>Legend
>The Return of the Living Dead
>Rambo II
>Enemy Mine
>After Hours
>Ewoks: Battle for Endor
>Weird Science
>The Stuff
>Rocky IV
>Nightmare on Elm Street II
>Young Sherlock Holmes

>>216060185
also 1982:
>First Blood
>Rocky III

>>216060086
So freaking epic, zoomsisters.

>>216060086
>zoomer subhuman doesn't know what a cult following is
my dad (born in the early 60's) was the first person to show me this movie.

>>216060517
1986:
>Labyrinth
>Stand By Me
>Aliens
>Ferris Bueller's Day Off
>Start Trek IV
>Poltergeist II
>Top Gun
>Pretty in Pink
>Three Amigos
>Big Trouble in Little China
>Milo & Otis
>An American Tale
>Flight of the Navigator
>Crocodile Dundee
>Maximum Overdrive
>Critters
>Rivers Edge
>Rad
>The Wraith
>TerrorVision
>Chopping Mall

>>216060613
1987:
>Predator
>Robocop
>The Princess Bride
>Wall Street
>Hellraiser
>Dragnet
>Spaceballs
>Evil Dead 2
>The Lost Boys
>Innerspace
>Creepshow 2
>House 2
>Lethal Weapon
>The Monster Squad
>Adventures in Babysitting
>Nightmare on Elm Street III
>The Gate
>Fatal Attraction
>Street Trash
>Near Dark
>Wicked City

>>216060699
1988:
>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
>The Naked Gun
>They Live
>Beetlejuice
>Willow
>Bloodsport
>Die Hard
>My Neighbor Totoro
>Twins
>Return of the Living Dead II
>Vampire's Kiss
>Heathers
>Earth Girls are Easy
>The Great Outdoors
>Phantasm II
>Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years
>Scrooged
>Miracle Mile
>Demon City Shinjuku

>>216060820
1989:
>Batman
>Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
>Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
>Say Anything
>UHF
>The Wizard
>Honey I Shrunk the Kids
>Uncle Buck
>The Burbs
>Kickboxer
>Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
>Ghostbusters II
>Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
>Leviathan
>Back to the Future II
>The Little Mermaid
>Pet Sematary
>Road House
>Cyborg
>Lethal Weapon II
>Tango & Cash

>>216060699
1987 also had
>Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Warriors

>>216060934
and finally, 1980

>The Empire Strikes Back
>The Shining
>Friday the 13th
>Superman II
>Airplane
>The Fog
>Prom Night
>City of the Living Dead
>Xanadu
>Flash Gordon
>Popeye
>Altered States
>The Watcher in the Woods
>Shock Treatment
>Terror Train
>Nightmare City
>Inferno

In a way the 80s hadn't quite started fully yet movie-wise yet - or were just barely starting. Most of these still feel like 70s movies