Siskel and Ebert might have hated them, parents groups may have protested them and the British courts might have had them banned but the popularity of '80s horror movies has never waned. It seems like every nonhorror fan in the world was hellbent on killing the genre dead but like the supernatural killers that inhabit most of the films within said genre, it was impossible to destroy. And that was because of the fans. For the first time ever, they had to fight in order to protect a genre they loved from seemingly everyone. Studios loved making them because they were cheap but they were also not afraid to pull some due to controversy. The only thing that kept horror alive in the theatres is that the fans demanded more. The gorehounds came out in droves and because they voted with their wallet, their money outweighed the negative reception.
Note: The two Hellraiser films shared the #10 spot. List goes from #50 (Alligator) to #1 (The Thing). Read the full list at the link provided.