1988 Topps Fright Flicks is one of the most overlooked trading card sets of the 1980s. Featuring a mix of 15 horror films, it's unlikely that there will ever be another set like it. Mixing gore and comedy, it's the kind of set that delights a lot of kids and makes parents cringe.
The base set has 90 cards. Done in a similar style to the company's earlier You'll Die Laughing and Creature Feature sets, 1988 Topps Fright Flicks makes horror fun. It doesn't hold back on the gore -- there's plenty of it. But it balances it all with cheesy, groan-worthy captions. The result is the kind of set kids would hide in their drawers and sift through when they thought nobody was looking.
While the set is fun in its own right, the fact that it draws from so many films is a licensing feat that could likely not be duplicated today. 1988 Topps Fright Flicks is currently the only set of mainstream trading cards to feature the original Ghostbusters, Predator and Poltergeist. The checklist is very heavy on the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with several cards from each of the first three films. This shouldn't be a surprise given the popularity of Freddy Kreuger at the time.
Here's a full list of films showcased in 1988 Topps Fright Flicks:
Aliens
An American Werewolf in London
Day of the Dead
The Fly (1986)
Fright Night
Ghostbusters
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street III
Poltergeist
Poltergeist II
Predator
Pumpkinhead
Vengeance of the Demon
Base cards have a very simple front design. There's an (often gory) image, a white border and a one-liner caption done in a cartoonish red font. Card backs are more complex but just as strange. "Did It Ever Happen" is the headline across the top and is joined by an illustration of a knife-carrying monster. Rather than write-ups from the films, each card back acts as a mini urban legend told in 100 words or less. A marquee at the bottom states what film the image on the front came from.
Description from cardboardconnection.com
IMPORTANT NOTE: EACH PACK IS SEALED AND COMPLETE. SOME OF THESE PACKS MAY SHOW SIGNS OF WEAR