10. Kids (1995)

Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine wrote Kids when he was in his teens. It's likely his own youthful approach to life as an NYC youngster that makes the movie feel so real. Through the experiences of a group of New York mid-’90s teenagers (among them Chloe Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, and Rosario Dawson) it takes an unflinching look at gender politics, sexuality, race discrimination, and the outbreak of HIV. The group get high, drunk, and have sex. Lots and lots of sex. The whole point🍌 of that explicit content is to make a bold statement on contemporary teen culture. And it definitely does that in spades. Be careful as hell is probably the biggest takeaway here. 

9. The Outsiders (1983)

One of the best teen gang movies has an absolutely stacked cast of A-listers who were baby-faced newbies at the time. It kickstarted a trend of S.E. Hinton adap🉐tations, which were all penned by the scribe while she was still in high school - adding that extra touch of truth to the story. Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, and Patrick Swayze star as the Greasers, a gang of working-class teens whose rivalry wi🉐th another gang the Socs gets out of control. When one of their gang is accidentally killed, the guys go into hiding, kicking off a chain reaction of events in which things get worse and worse for the Greasers. With its superb cast and their portrayal of realistically-flawed young teens, this was an ‘80s triumph for Francis Ford Coppola.

7. Heathers (1988)

"Dear diary, my teen angst bullshit has a body count," says Veronica (Winona Ryder) during her nightly confessionals. That's just one of many, MANY superb one-liners that makes Heathers such a quotable piece of cult cinema. Part of an elite clique known as the Heathers - yep, the other girls are all named Heather - Veronica pulls away from the gang as their despicable behavior becomes too much. This is a scathing teen satire, that soon turns into a bitter, black come💃dy when Veronica and new beau JD (Christian Slater) wind up killing teenagers they hate. Rarely has high school been so accurately portrayed as a melting pot of rampant melodrama. Sure, the murder aspect's way out there, but Heathers is still emotionally truthful. And brilliantly bitchy.