This 1980s Sci-Fi Comedy Has Aged So Badly, I’m Amazed It Got A Sequel In The 1990s

May 12, 2025

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This article discusses topics of sexual harassment.

The ‘80s saw plenty of bizarre science fiction movies in their time—teen comedies like John Hughes’ Weird Science and the Val Kilmer-led Real Genius blended futuristic technology with youthful antics that at times crossed the line of what we consider acceptable today. In my opinion, there’s no film that’s a better example of this subgenre than the 1982 sci-fi flick Zapped!, which sees nerdy high school student Barney Springboro (Scott Baio) acquire telekinetic powers and use them for childish and perverse purposes.

Despite having a decent box office return, Zapped! ranks high among sci-fi movies from the ’80s that haven’t aged well, primarily due to Barney using his newfound powers to sexually harass the female teachers and students in his high school. Even for the era, Zapped! goes above and beyond with its raunchiness, which is why it’s remembered as one of the most notoriously bad sci-fi flicks of the decade. However, a sequel to the film was somehow greenlit in the ’90s, making way for the remarkably obscure Zapped Again!.

Even Compared To Similar Movies, Zapped! Has Aged Very Badly Since 1982

It’s Astonishing This Film Is Only Rated R

Zapped! follows Barney Springboro, a socially awkward nerd who develops telekinetic superpowers after an accident in his high school laboratory. The next day, Barney discovers his newfound powers after he undresses cheerleader Jane Mitchell (Heather Thomas) several times with his mind. Once his popular friend Peyton (Willies Aames) and school paper nerd Bernadette (Felice Schachter) spy on him in the lab making objects levitate, Barney embarks on a telekinetic adventure with the pair in which he uses his powers to cheat at baseball, fight against bullies, and engage in a series of increasingly pervy sexually exploitative antics.

The film takes a great premise, a teenager with telekinesis, and uses it for little more than pervy wardrobe malfunctions that ultimately culminate with Barney undressing every girl in attendance with his mind.

What’s made Zapped! age so poorly is its depiction of sexual harassment, which it treats with the tired “boys will be boys” sentiment instead of properly condemning the behavior. The film takes a great premise, a teenager with telekinesis, and uses it for little more than pervy wardrobe malfunctions that ultimately culminate with Barney undressing every girl in attendance with his mind.

Additionally, Zapped! also contains unacceptable plot elements, such as when Peyton films him and Jane having sex without her consent, or the various high school girls who are groped by male students and even the high school baseball coach. All of this is played for laughs, making it no wonder that Zapped! is considered one of the top ’80s cult classics that have aged poorly.

Somehow, Zapped Got A Sequel In The 1990s (It Wasn’t A Hit)

Zapped Again! Is A Gross Follow-up

Amazingly, Zapped! was enough of a commercial success to warrant a sequel—albeit eight years later and released exclusively straight to video. Zapped Again! is a cheap retread of the first film that follows its plot points nearly beat-for-beat, only somehow with even less taste than the original. The story centers around Kevin Matthews, a new kid in town who discovers Barney’s old science equipment and gains the same telekinetic abilities—only to use them for ill and perverse means, undressing girls in the same gross manner as the first film.

The ’80s were a landmark era for teen movies, many of which have become classics. We took on the daunting task of ranking the best of the best.

Safe to say, it’s no tough toss that Zapped! and its half-baked sequel have largely faded into obscurity in the decades since their release. Truly, if you’re looking for a nostalgic, teen comedy from the 1980s, there are far better flicks you can check out that haven’t aged nearly as poorly as these two—trust me, you’ll be better off for it.