By Camille Fernandez
When it comes to teen flicks, you either love them or hate them. Almost every decade of cinema has some kind of coming-of-age teen movie to showcase. The criteria is pretty simple–if the movie features a young protagonist angsting hard over young people problems, then ding, ding, ding, you have yourself a winner.
But if there’s one decade that is widely recognized for its teenage-ridden cinema, it’s definitely the ’80s. Aside from the explosive action blockbusters that the decade is also known for, studios were churning out a hefty amount of teen movies. There are some films that you can’t separate from the era, and there are those movies that are so relatable or funny that they transcend the times.
Oh, we’re going to shamelessly plug our Scout Music Fest right here too. These ’80s films will definitely hype you up for our 80s-themed party. Check out the list right here and get yourself ready.
1. Ferris Beuller’s Day Off (1986)
We all want to finish things off with a bang, and no one does it better than Ferris Beuller. This high school senior intends to play hooky for one last time, and one pesky high school principal is having none of it. The result is an epic adventure that could possibly be one of the greatest teen movies of all time.
2. The Breakfast Club (1985)
For every teen film, the following archetypes always make appearances: The Jock, The Popular Girl, The Goth, The Loner, and The Rebel. This movie is no exception, but how it handles these archetypes makes it different from all the rest. When five teens get sent to early morning detention, they’ll find that there is more to each other compared to what they initially believed. Featuring ’80s movie staple Molly Ringwald and that song you “discovered” from Pitch Perfect, this is one classic movie that you’ve got to watch before you die.
3. Stand by Me (1986)
The story focuses on four boys that embark on an adventure to find a dead body of a missing boy. If you liked the dynamic between the four boys in Stranger Things, you’ll find something similar in this movie. In fact the creators, The Duffer Brothers, have cited this film as one of the show’s inspirations, so expect a lot of witty banter, touching moments, and a little eeriness.
4. Footloose (1984)
When a couple of teens die in a tragic accident, the town decides to ban music and dancing instead of addressing drunk driving and drug abuse that caused the crash. Now it’s up to a teenage Kevin Bacon to bring back dancing and music to this religious Midwestern town. If there’s any film that can be classified as a guilty pleasure, it’s definitely this 80s classic. You can thank this movie for the times they repeatedly played the song “Footloose” at all your school gatherings.
5. Heathers (1988)
You can’t feature a movie from the ’80s without giving a nod to Winona Ryder. This is a film that pokes fun at the teen film genre, but a little warning here–it’s pretty dark seeing that there’s murder (!!!) and plenty of dark humor. But it’s one movie that’s earned cult status and you’ll only get it once you watch it. Also, a young Christian Slater was hot AF.