Top 28 Thriller Movies Must-Watch Released in 1981

Secret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Details on For Your Eyes Only / IMDB / YouTube

While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her. Details on Halloween II / IMDB / YouTube

Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings. Explore Friday the 13th Part 2 / IMDB / YouTube

A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger. More about Blow Out / IMDB / YouTube

A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called scanning to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners. Check out Scanners / IMDB / YouTube

After years in prison, ace safe-cracker Frank owns a car dealership and a cocktail lounge, which are fronts for high-stakes jewelry heists. He wants to complete one last big heist for the Mob before he goes straight. Get info on Thief / IMDB / YouTube

During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband. Check out Body Heat / IMDB / YouTube

A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder. Look into Outland / IMDB / YouTube

The sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband. Find out about The Postman Always Rings Twice / IMDB / YouTube

A decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead. More about My Bloody Valentine / IMDB / YouTube

The now adult Antichrist plots to eliminate his future divine opponent while a cabal of monks plot to stop him. Explore The Final Conflict / IMDB / YouTube

When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary. Check out Nighthawks / IMDB / YouTube

During a routine exercise, a team of National Guardsmen are threatened by angry and violent locals. Read about Southern Comfort / IMDB / YouTube

A psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City. See more about Maniac / IMDB / YouTube

Victim of a plot which has resulted in his imprisonment in a Central African jail for two years, a French secret agent arrives in Paris to settle accounts. Look into The Professional / IMDB / YouTube

When prosecutor Elliot Rosen leaks to naive, but well-meaning, Miami reporter Megan Carter that liquor wholesaler Mike Gallagher is suspected in the murder of the local longshoreman union president, Gallagher's life begins to unravel. Check out Absence of Malice / IMDB / YouTube

An unknown killer, clad in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small California town, bent on reliving a 35 year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an annual graduation dance. See more about The Prowler / IMDB / YouTube

A ruthless German spy, trying to get out of Britain with vital information about D-Day, must spend time with a young woman and her crippled husband. Learn about Eye of the Needle / IMDB / YouTube

After being attacked and raped twice in one day, a timid, mute seamstress goes insane, takes to the streets of New York City after dark, and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol. More about Ms .45 / IMDB / YouTube

At the snobby Crawford Academy, Virginia's group of friends start to go missing years after horrible events that happened to her as a child around her birthday. Read about Happy Birthday to Me / IMDB / YouTube

A New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks. Info on Wolfen / IMDB / YouTube

A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted. Details on Prince of the City / IMDB / YouTube

Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup. Look into The Dogs of War / IMDB / YouTube

A laid-back American truck driver in south Australia begins to suspect that a man driving a green van is killing young women along his route, which evolves into a game of cat-and-mouse to catch him. Check out Road Games / IMDB / YouTube

Two generations of men find themselves haunted by the presence of a spectral woman. When the son of one of the elderly men returns to his hometown after his brother's mysterious death, they attempt to unravel her story. Learn about Ghost Story / IMDB / YouTube

Four college fraternity and sorority pledges spend the night in a deserted old mansion as part of a hazing ritual during hell night, where they are stalked by the only survivor of a family massacre from the mansion's sordid past. Explore Hell Night / IMDB / YouTube

In 1931 Canada, Yukon trapper Johnson has a feud with a dog owner who later retaliates by publicly accusing Johnson of murder and thus triggering a police manhunt in the wilderness. See more about Death Hunt / IMDB / YouTube

When a family moves to a country home, the young girls experience strange happenings that have a link to an occult event years past. See more about The Watcher in the Woods / IMDB / YouTube