While the 1980's isn't generally regarded as one of the better decades for film, it was a gold mine for the science fiction genre.

Between crowd-pleasing sequels like "The Empire Strikes Back" to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," to dark fusions of sci-fi and horror like "Predator," it was a golden age for sci-fi lovers.

As we recover from our recent bout of "Back to the Future" mania, we thought it would be fun to pick the 15 essential '80s movies that every sci-fi fanatic needs to see.