I recall getting to watch this in a friend's basement as a child and it was a mistake as far as my ability to go to sleep without nightmares was concerned. There was a reason why my parents didn't allow me to watch things like this and I paid the price with a lot of lost sleep!
It was a fantastic movie at the time but if you go back to watch it with today's eyes it does look almost campy. Even though that is the case the later films where they had all the CGI power are somehow worse. Turns out it was the innovation that was the real star here, not just the effects.
