Films of 1988
These started out as lists of my favorite films of each particular year of my life, and turned into ranked lists of the films that I saw from each particular year. I suppose that the top 10-15 could be considered my favorites, and the rest are just a loose ranking of the other films that I saw that year. However, this was a particularly strong year because looking at it, I want everything in the top 30 to be in the top 10.
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- DirectorSteven KampmannWilliam PorterStarsMark HarmonJodie FosterBlair BrownEx-baseball player Billy comes home to receive his childhood darling's ashes.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsBob HoskinsChristopher LloydJoanna CassidyWhen a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsPeter UstinovLauren BacallCarrie FisherWhen a former prison wardress who dominates the lives of her three adult stepchildren and her daughter is found dead at an archaeological dig near the Dead Sea, there are a great many suspects.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanTom CruiseValeria GolinoAfter a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsAdrian PasdarJenny WrightLance HenriksenA small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
- DirectorChuck RussellStarsShawnee SmithKevin DillonDonovan Leitch Jr.A deadly entity from space crash-lands near a small town and begins consuming everyone in its path. Panic ensues as shady government scientists try to contain the horrific creature.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsJason BegheJohn PankowKate McNeilA quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsAlec BaldwinGeena DavisMichael KeatonThe spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsEric BogosianEllen GreeneLeslie HopeA rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsBill MurrayKaren AllenJohn ForsytheA selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorTommy Lee WallaceStarsWilliam RagsdaleRoddy McDowallTraci Lind"Fright Night Part 2" is a sequel to "link=tt0089175]". Charley Brewster and the horror host Peter Vincent must face more vampires, out for revenge.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMatthew BroderickChristopher WalkenMatt MulhernA group of young recruits go through boot camp during the Second World War in Biloxi, Mississippi. From the play by Neil Simon.
- DirectorAnthony HickoxStarsZach GalliganDeborah ForemanJennifer BasseyA wax museum owner uses his horror exhibits to unleash evil on the world.
- DirectorFrank LaLoggiaStarsLukas HaasLen CariouAlex RoccoAn author tells the story of how, as a young boy growing up in a 1960s small town, he was haunted after witnessing the murder of a little girl.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsRobert EnglundRodney EastmanJohn BeckmanFreddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobin WilliamsForest WhitakerTom T. TranIn 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsA group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsJennifer RubinBruce AbbottRichard LynchThe lone survivor of a suicide cult wakes from a thirteen-year coma in a psychiatric ward, where other patients suddenly start dying under mysterious and gruesome circumstances.
- DirectorDwight H. LittleStarsDonald PleasenceEllie CornellDanielle HarrisTen years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?
- DirectorGraham BakerStarsJames CaanMandy PatinkinTerence StampIn 1988, Earth makes the first contact with an alien civilization. In 1991, these aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after three years of quarantine.
- DirectorTony RandelStarsDoug BradleyAshley LaurenceClare HigginsKirsty is brought to an institution after the horrible events of Hellraiser (1987), where the occult-obsessive head doctor resurrects Julia and unleashes the Cenobites and their demonic underworld.
- DirectorJames SignorelliStarsCassandra PetersonPhil RubensteinLarry Flash Jenkins"Elvira: Mistress of the Dark" is a 1988 comedy, horror movie - upon arriving in a small town where Elvira has inherited a rundown mansion, the famous horror host must battle an evil uncle, and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsTom HanksElizabeth PerkinsRobert LoggiaAfter wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
- DirectorJimmy HustonStarsRobert Sean LeonardEvan MirandLeeAnne LockenAfter a sexual encounter with a beautiful client, a teenage delivery boy finds himself being turned into a vampire.
- DirectorDon CoscarelliStarsJames Le GrosReggie BannisterAngus ScrimmMike, now released from a psychiatric hospital, meets with Reggie, and discover his dreams (the events of the original film) are real, and they both journey to find and stop the evil Tall Man from his grim work.
- DirectorTom HollandStarsCatherine HicksChris SarandonAlex VincentA struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsBill PullmanCathy TysonZakes MokaeAn anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.
- DirectorStephen ChiodoStarsGrant CramerSuzanne SnyderJohn Allen NelsonAliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
- DirectorKen WiederhornStarsJames KarenThom MathewsMichael KenworthyCurious kids unearth the barrels that previously helped revive the dead, which proves the second time's an undead charm.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyPaul BatesGarcelle BeauvaisAn extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
- DirectorWilliam LustigStarsTom AtkinsBruce CampbellLaurene LandonA killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.
- DirectorGary ShermanStarsHeather O'RourkeTom SkerrittNancy AllenCarol Anne is staying with her aunt in a high-rise building, where the supernatural forces haunting her make their return.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsTom CruiseBryan BrownElisabeth ShueA talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- DirectorJanet GreekStarsTim DalyKelly PrestonRick RossovichA young lawyer, after falling in love with a beautiful woman, finds that she has an extremely mysterious past.
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsMichael J. FoxKiefer SutherlandPhoebe CatesA disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.
- DirectorKevin TenneyStarsCathy PodewellAlvin AlexisHal HavinsTen teenagers party at an abandoned funeral parlor on Halloween night. When an evil force awakens, demonic spirits keep them from leaving and turn their gathering into a living Hell.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKevin CostnerSusan SarandonTim RobbinsA fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsSean PennRobert DuvallMaria Conchita AlonsoAn experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
- DirectorJohn CornellStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAustralian outback expert protects his New York love from gangsters who've followed her down under.
- DirectorMark GoldblattStarsTreat WilliamsJoe PiscopoLindsay FrostA cop is killed investigating a strange case of resurrected corpses. His partner and a pathologist resurrect him, but he only has a limited time before he starts to decompose, and he uses it to chase down the diabolical man who killed him.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJohn CusackClifton JamesJace AlexanderA dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsSteve MartinMichael CaineGlenne HeadlyTwo con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American heiress out of fifty thousand dollars first.
- DirectorRamón MenéndezStarsEdward James OlmosEstelle HarrisMark PhelanThe story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout-prone students to learn calculus.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsPeter O'TooleDaryl HannahSteve GuttenbergWhen a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.
- DirectorRichard McCarthyMac AhlbergStarsFranc LuzCatherine HicklandJimmie F. SkaggsA modern-day deputy tracks an abducted girl to a ghost town, and the spirits of the past who took her.
- DirectorKeenen Ivory WayansStarsKeenen Ivory WayansBernie CaseyAntonio FargasIn this parody of blaxploitation movies, a black hero wannabe reunites former black heroes from the 70s to help him get revenge on Mr. Big.
- DirectorBud S. SmithStarsAnthony Michael HallRobert Downey Jr.Paul GleasonJohnny's the top high-school football player and many colleges want him. His girlfriend, coach and best friend want him in the college, serving themselves most.
- DirectorGreg BeemanStarsCorey HaimCorey FeldmanCarol KaneA teen decides to go for a night on the town with his friends despite flunking his driver's test.
- DirectorJerry KramerJim BlashfieldColin ChilversStarsMichael JacksonJoe PesciSean LennonAnthology movie by, and starring, Michael Jackson in his prime, combining a number of music videos from his bestselling "Bad" album with a fantasy tale of Michael's confrontation with a ruthless drug dealer known as Mr. Big.
- DirectorKenneth JohnsonStarsFisher StevensMichael McKeanTim BlaneyRobot Johnny Five comes to the city and gets manipulated by criminals who want him for their own purposes.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsJeff BridgesJoan AllenMartin LandauThe story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerDanny DeVitoKelly PrestonA physically perfect but innocent man goes in search of his long-lost twin brother, who is short, a womanizer, and small-time crook.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsBruno GanzSolveig DommartinOtto SanderAn angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
- DirectorJohn Carl BuechlerStarsTerry KiserJennifer BankoJohn OtrinJason Voorhees is accidentally freed from his watery prison by a telekinetic teenager. Now, only she can stop him.
- DirectorJames GlickenhausStarsPeter WellerSam ElliottRichard BrooksA legal aid attorney and renegade cop team up to stop a corrupt cop.