Best Films of 1986
by sleepingbag | created - 04 Jan 2023 | updated - 04 Jan 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Blue Velvet (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Votes: 215,855 | Gross: $8.55M
2. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 202,070 | Gross: $40.46M
3. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Unrated | 83 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas
Votes: 40,483 | Gross: $0.61M
4. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
Tommy Jarvis exhumes Jason Voorhees to cremate his corpse, but inadvertently brings him back to life instead. The newly revived killer seeks revenge, and Tommy may be the only one who can stop him.
Director: Tom McLoughlin | Stars: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Kerry Noonan
Votes: 51,267 | Gross: $19.47M
5. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
Between two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey
Votes: 76,817 | Gross: $40.08M
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Unrated | 101 min | Comedy, Horror
A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas marshal hunts them.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley
Votes: 38,020 | Gross: $8.03M
7. Bad Blood (1986)
Unrated | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
As a deadly virus which infects people who have loveless sex sweeps Paris, a lonely pariah attempts to steal a potent antidote, only to fall for the mistress of his partner-in-crime. Is the infectious young love the cure to the bad blood?
Director: Leos Carax | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Hans Meyer
Votes: 9,323 | Gross: $0.02M
8. Caravaggio (1986)
93 min | Biography, Drama, History
A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
Director: Derek Jarman | Stars: Noam Almaz, Dexter Fletcher, Nigel Terry, Sean Bean
Votes: 7,022 | Gross: $0.00M
9. Sid and Nancy (1986)
R | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop
Votes: 34,704 | Gross: $2.83M
10. Stand by Me (1986)
R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell
Votes: 441,965 | Gross: $52.29M
11. Matador (1986)
NC-17 | 110 min | Drama, Thriller
A matador is wounded by a bull and can no longer kill in the arena. It is just one of the problems of one of the characters that unexpectedly collide in this film.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Assumpta Serna, Antonio Banderas, Nacho Martínez, Eva Cobo
Votes: 12,954 | Gross: $0.21M
12. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,495
13. Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
The pupils at a high school next to a nuclear power plant start acting and looking strange after buying contaminated drugs from a plant worker.
Directors: Richard W. Haines, Lloyd Kaufman | Stars: Janelle Brady, Gil Brenton, Robert Prichard, Pat Ryan
Votes: 9,492
14. River's Edge (1986)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Director: Tim Hunter | Stars: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck
Votes: 20,710 | Gross: $4.60M
15. Shadows in Paradise (1986)
Not Rated | 74 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
An episode in the life of Nikander, a garbage man, involving the death of a coworker, a love affair and much more.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Matti Pellonpää, Kati Outinen, Sakari Kuosmanen, Esko Nikkari
Votes: 7,046
16. Platoon (1986)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
Votes: 439,783 | Gross: $138.53M
17. Down by Law (1986)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Votes: 55,323 | Gross: $1.44M
18. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 763,632 | Gross: $85.16M
19. Children of a Lesser God (1986)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A new speech teacher at a school for the deaf falls in love with the janitor, a deaf woman speechless by choice.
Director: Randa Haines | Stars: William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco
Votes: 18,688 | Gross: $31.85M
20. Max My Love (1986)
R | 92 min | Comedy
A married French woman takes a zoo chimp named Max to be her lover.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Anthony Higgins, Victoria Abril, Anne-Marie Besse
Votes: 1,279
21. Rawhead Rex (1986)
R | 89 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
An ancient creature called Rawhead is awakened from its slumber near an Irish village and goes on a rampage killing anyone in sight.
Director: George Pavlou | Stars: David Dukes, Kelly Piper, Hugh O'Conor, Cora Venus Lunny
Votes: 6,629
22. Gimme Shelter (1986)
57 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A dysfunctional 24 hours of a dysfunctional family. Father, Mother, daughter and son are involved with romance, bondage, incest, rape, blood and violence. Director Hisayasu Satõ displays all his trademark styles.
Director: Hisayasu Satô | Stars: Mamiko Hiboshi, Ran Minagami, Taketoshi Watari, Shû Minagawa
Votes: 109
23. Howard the Duck (1986)
PG | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A sarcastic humanoid duck is pulled from his homeworld to Earth where he must stop an alien invasion with the help of a nerdy scientist and a struggling female rock singer.
Director: Willard Huyck | Stars: Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, Ed Gale
Votes: 50,774 | Gross: $16.30M
24. A Traffic Controller on Crossroads (1986)
59 min | Drama
A driver learns the importance of obeying traffic regulations.
Director: Che Phun Ki | Stars: Ri Sol Hee, Ko Sam He, Ri Song Il, Ri Yong Nam
Votes: 104
25. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong
Votes: 154,113 | Gross: $11.10M
26. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.
Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Levi Stubbs
Votes: 86,451 | Gross: $38.75M
27. Mala Noche (1986)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama
A story of amour fou. Walt is madly in love/lust with a young illegal Mexican immigrant. However, the object of his unrequited affection doesn't even speak any English and finds Walt really... See full summary »
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge, Nyla McCarthy
Votes: 4,330
28. Project A-Ko (1986)
Unrated | 86 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A plucky, super-powered redhead finds herself saving her crybaby best friend from an amorous, bikini armor-clad classmate at their new school and aliens seeking to bring her home.
Directors: Katsuhiko Nishijima, Shigeru Morikawa | Stars: Miki Itô, Emi Shinohara, Michie Tomizawa, Julia Braams
Votes: 1,476
29. In a Glass Cage (1986)
Unrated | 110 min | Drama, Horror
A former Nazi child-killer is confined in an iron lung inside an old mansion after a suicide attempt. His wife hires him a full-time carer, a mysterious young man who is driven slowly mad by the old man's disturbing past.
Director: Agustí Villaronga | Stars: Günter Meisner, David Sust, Marisa Paredes, Gisèle Echevarría
Votes: 5,048
30. Chopping Mall (1986)
R | 77 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A group of young shopping mall employees stay behind for a late night party in one of the stores. When the mall goes on lock-down before they can get out, the robot security system malfunctions, and goes on a killing spree.
Director: Jim Wynorski | Stars: Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, Russell Todd, Karrie Emerson
Votes: 17,257
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