My big 'Summer of '82' movie challenge

The summer of '82 is widely acknowledged as being a halcyon time for sci-fi, fantasy and horror movies. Well at least here, and here, and of course, here. There may have been a few better movies before and since but as a package, '82 certainly delivered a big bag of treats - not all of them tasty mind you - for the movie (as opposed to film) geeks. Although to be fair, the latter did have Gandhi and some other stuff.

That so many of these movies have or are being revisited, or have made a lasting visual and cultural impact on the movie landscape certainly sures up 82's reputation. For me, it is brings back fond memories. Me, Chris and Steve catching Tron on the day Friday 13th pt 3 (in 3D - 3D folks, who would thunk that would ever catch on) came out, or peeking through the door at The Thing when going to see Firefox (we only saw the bit at the Norwegian camp before being chased out by an usher). Or getting taken to see Poltergeist (because kids could go with adults in the US) and having the bejeezus scared out of me, which was great fun. Most of these films I remember reading about because I was too young to see them or not allowed to. I read Starburst avidly in the UK and the awesome Fantastic Films when in Canada, or occasionally Starlog which I wasn't so keen on. Mad Max 2, Blade Runner, The Thing, Conan, I had the books and posters and every available scrap of knowledge about these movies long before I ever saw them, in some cases many years later.

And thinking back, I was probably about as fan-boy excited about the movies as I've ever been.

So to celebrate I'm laying down my Summer of '82 movie challenge. The aim: to see as many '82 geektastic sci-fi, horror and fantasy flics as possible before December 31st of 2012. The prize: none - the prize is in the joy of taking part and the movies you get to watch...

It works like this. You get points for each film. The winner is whoever comes back at the end of the year with most points. Of course. Of course the bigger and better movies get less points. The more obscure or awful they get, the more points. It wouldn't be fun any other way. And cheating just means you miss out. Plus there's no prize so no point anyway.

The choice of films and distribution of the points system is entirely my own and throws in a couple of movies that lie on the cusp of the year as well as a couple of action flics I fancied chucking on for the hell of it. If you don't like it, sod off and go make your own challenge :)

OK, so here's the list. Have fun, good luck and happy memories.

Tier 1 - 5 points per movie:

Blade Runner (original European or US version)
Conan the Barbarian
Creepshow
The Dark Crystal
ET
Mad Max 2 - The Road Warrior
Poltergeist
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
The Thing
Tron

Tier 2 - 10 points per movie

Airplane 2: The Sequel
Android
Basket Case
Britannia Hospital
Cat People
Firefox
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Q: The Winged Serpent
Swamp Thing
Tenebrae

Tier 3 - 25 points per movie

Amityville 2: The Possession
Beastmaster
Class of 1984
The Flight of Dragons
Friday 13th Part 3
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
Megaforce
Pieces
The Sword and The Sorcerer
Turkey Shoot

Tier 4 - Mega bonus - 50 points per movie!

Alone in the Dark
Friday 13th Part 3 in 3D
Humongous
The Incubus
Parasite (extra 50 if you get to watch it in 3D)
Slumber Party Massacre