The Greatest Movies Of The 1980s, Ranked

10. The Shining (1980)

Stephen King fans might disagree with this one (heck, Stephen King himself probably disagrees with this), but Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining has been said to be one of the scariest films from any decade. We know, Kubrick took liberties with King’s material, but in many instances, these liberties were quite effective.

The Shining tells the story of the Torrance’s, Jack, Wendy, and their young son Danny, who are caretakers at the Overlook Hotel, which shuts down for the winter. It doesn’t take long for strange occurrences to start causing Danny’s telepathic ability, called the Shining, to kick into overdrive. Suddenly, the hotel’s ghosts are out in full force and slowly Jack’s sanity comes into question. Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd star.