A Classic Era Of Creepy Movies
Some horror films of the 1970s have become staples of the genre, transcending the decade of their origin to become timeless classics—The Exorcist, Jaws, and Alien continue to scare audiences today. Alongside these classics, here are some other hits of ‘70s horror that are worth checking out.
The Creeping Flesh—1973
Director: Freddie Francis
Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Lorna Heilbron
Featuring some of the greats of ‘70s horror, this film tells the tale of a paleontologist whose recently discovered bones begin to grow back their flesh and prey on the living. Decades later, Christopher Lee gave a wonderfully evil performance as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Columbia, The Creeping Flesh (1973)
The Vampire Lovers—1970
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Starring Ingrid Pitt, Pippa Steel, Madeline Smith
1970s vampire films made ample use of the idea of sultry lady vampires whose sole purpose was to seduce men and drain them of their blood. Pitt, in particular, was famed for her work with British horror company Hammer Film Productions throughout the 1970s.
AIP, The Vampire Lovers (1970)
God Told Me To—1976
Director: Larry Cohen
Starring Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis
Director Larry Cohen was known for his low-budget horror films in the ‘70s that incorporated social commentary into their scares. In God Told Me To, a New York detective investigates random murders in New York, all committed by people who claim God told them to do it.
New World, God Told Me To (1976)
Trilogy Of Terror—1975
Director: Dan Curtis
Starring Robert Burton, John Karlen, George Gaynes, Karen Black
The anthology is a time-honored format for horror movies. Each of these short films features iconic ‘70s actor Karen Black. Black portrays a different character in the three stories, each a tale of a woman in terrifying circumstances.
Horror Express—1972
Director: Eugenio Martin
Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Alberto de Mendoza
Another Lee/Cushing vehicle, this time set on Russia’s Trans-Siberian Express. Horror is unleashed when rival anthropologists discover that a prehistoric ape is infected with a deadly parasitic life form.
Granada, Horror Express (1972)
Blacula—1972
Director: William Crain
Starring William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas
The 1970s were also a golden age for a film genre that has not aged well, to say the least: Blaxploitation. This take on the Dracula story follows an African prince-turned-vampire through his reign of terror in modern-day LA.
Asylum—1972
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Starring Barbara Parkins, Richard Todd, Sylvia Syms
Roy Ward Baker directed numerous films for British horror studios throughout the ‘70s. In this film (as if job interviews weren’t scary enough already), a hopeful psychiatrist must venture into an asylum and interview patients before getting a job.
The Crazies—1973
Director: George A. Romero
Starring Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones
A few years after his genre-defining Night of the Living Dead, horror master George Romero offered this tale of small-town America going mad. A virus escapes into a Pennsylvania town, causing madness and aggression in the unsuspecting townsfolk.
Pittsburgh, The Crazies (1973)
Tales From The Crypt—1972
Director: Freddie Francis
Starring Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ralph Richardson
Based on the famous 1950s horror comic book of the same name, this anthology features the Crypt Keeper, a ghoul who tells five strangers the stories of their unfortunate deaths. Joan Collins features in a pre-Dynasty role.
Amicus, Tales From The Crypt (1972)
Piranha—1978
Director: Joe Dante
Starring Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies-Urich, Kevin McCarthy
Playing off the popularity of Jaws, this film tells the story of a summer resort with a big problem: flesh-eating piranhas have accidentally been released into its rivers. Rather than fish being on the menu at the resort, the guests are on the menu for the fish!
United Artists, Piranha (1978)
Rabid—1977
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Terry Schonblum
Master of deeply weird horror films, director David Cronenberg offers a tale of plastic surgery gone wrong. After a botched procedure, a woman becomes patient zero for a blood-hungry zombie plague that sweeps across a major city.
Phantasm—1979
Director: Don Coscarelli
Starring A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister
Known for its fearsome, blade-wielding flying spheres and its dreamlike atmosphere, Phantasm is regarded as a true classic of the horror genre. Two brothers and their friends take on the grave-robbing Tall Man as he terrorizes a small town.
The Last House On The Left—1972
Director: Wes Craven
Starring Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess
Legendary director Wes Craven’s first foray into horror, this film almost got an X-rating when it was first released. The Last House on the Left and its tale of two terrorized teenage girls paved the way for Craven’s lauded career as a horror movie director and writer.
AIP, The Last House on the Left (1972)
Frightmare—1974
Director: Pete Walker
Starring Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax
Taking its place in the time-honored tradition of horrific things happening in isolated country farmhouses, Frightmare tells the tale of a supposedly reformed killer who might just be returning to her old ways.
Peter Walker, Frightmare (1974)
From Beyond The Grave—1974
Director: Kevin Connor
Starring Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael
Cursed objects are a standard trope in horror movies. From Beyond the Grave tells four short horror stories all based on creepy antiques and the shop in which they reside. A few short years later, horror standard Peter Cushing had a starring role in a little science fiction film called Star Wars!
Warner Bros., From Beyond The Grave (1974)
The Blood On Satan’s Claw—1971
Director: Piers Haggard
Starring Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews
The witchcraft scares of previous centuries were fertile ground for 1970s horror films. Children in an 18th-century village, like all good teenagers, turn on their elders and begin worshiping the Devil.
Tigon, The Blood On Satan's Claw (1971)
A Bay Of Blood—1971
Director: Mario Bava
Starring Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso
Director Mario Bava is remembered as one of the big names in Italy’s giallo horror movement. A feud over the estate of a recently slain countess results in numerous killings in the bay area of the title.
Nuova Linea, A Bay Of Blood (1971)
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie—1974
Director: Jorge Grau
Starring Cristina Galbó, Ray Lovelock, Arthur Kennedy
The title of this movie seems like good advice that very rarely gets followed in horror films! Ultrasonic pest control devices bring the dead back to life, causing trouble for an officer and the two hippie suspects he is pursuing.
Star Films, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)
Death Line—1972
Director: Gary Sherman
Starring Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd
Part of the grand tradition of haunted tunnels beneath major cities, this film features mysterious disappearances in the London Tube system. Star Donald Pleasence made a career out of playing unhinged characters, including a star turn in John Carpenter’s Halloween.
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark—1973
Director: John Newland
Starring Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson
This film’s title is never good advice for protagonists in a horror movie. A creepy old mansion is home to demons who are determined to take possession of one of the house’s new residents. In the 1970s, TV horror movies had a heyday, and this was one of the better ones.
Lorimar, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
Salem’s Lot—1979
Starring David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin
Television was beginning to experiment with prime-time mini-series in the 1970s. This Stephen King adaptation was one of the better horror mini-series to hit the airwaves. A New England town is overrun by vampires who are opposed by a novelist and a young horror fan.
Dead Of Night—1974
Director: Bob Clark
Starring John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus
The conflict in Vietnam during the mid-‘70s took a firm hold on the American imagination. In this creepy film, a soldier who lost his life overseas shows up that same night at his family home in the States.
Count Dracula—1977
Director: Philip Saville
Starring Louis Jordan, Frank Finlay, Susan Penhaligon
One of a vast number of films featuring the most famous vampire of literature, this television movie follows the Count as he travels the world drinking blood and causing chaos.
House Of Dark Shadows—1970
Director: Dan Curtis
Starring Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Kathryn Leigh Scott
This film was based on the famous horror soap opera Dark Shadows and follows main character and vampire Barnabas Collins as he wreaks havoc on his descendants. Star Jonathan Frid portrayed the charismatic bloodsucker in both film and television.
MGM, House of Dark Shadows (1970)
Black Christmas—1974
Director: Bob Clark
Starring Olivia Hussey, Kier Dullea, Margot Kidder
A seminal entry in the slasher genre, this film sets the scene for many holiday-inspired horror films that followed. A few years later, star Margot Kidder would jump into the spotlight as the love interest to Christopher Reeve’s Superman in the 1978 feature film.
Warner Bros., Black Christmas (1974)
The Hills Have Eyes—1977
Director: Wes Craven
Starring Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, John Steadman
When you’re the protagonist in a horror movie, it’s always a good idea to have your car serviced before a road trip. Stranded in the wilderness, a family is beset by violent hill-dwellers in this Wes Craven-directed classic.
Blood Relations, The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Shivers—1975
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry
Canadian horror auteur David Cronenberg returns with another weird one. A parasite infects residents of a high-rise building, causing them to crave sensual intimacy and infect their neighbors with even the smallest contact.
Phantom Of The Paradise—1974
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper
An update of the classic gothic story The Phantom of the Opera, the film offers commentary on the record industry alongside a helping of horror. Rock venue “The Paradise” is terrorized by a disfigured musician after he is betrayed by a slimy record executive.
Twentieth Century, Phantom Of The Paradise (1974)
Deep Red—1975
Director: Dario Argento
Starring David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia
Master of giallo Dario Argento presents the story of a murdered psychic, a jazz pianist, and an acerbic journalist. As much mystery as horror, Deep Red is a great showcase of Argento’s signature style.
Frankenstein: The True Story—1973
Director: Jack Smight
Starring James Mason, Leonard Whiting, David McCallum
Many horror films purport to be based on true events, but this one isn’t. A retelling of Mary Shelley’s genre-defining novel Frankenstein, this television film follows scientist Victor Frankenstein and the artificial man he creates and then rejects.
Universal, Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)
The Legend Of Hell House—1973
Director: John Hough
Starring Roddy McDowall, Gayle Hunnicutt, Pamela Franklin
Where would horror stories be without haunted houses? After multiple guests lose their lives in the ‘20s, and a disappearing paranormal investigation crew in the ‘50s, a physicist and two psychics are hired to solve the mystery of Belasco House.
Twentieth Century, The Legend Of Hell House (1973)
The Brood—1979
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle
Therapists get a bad rap in a lot of horror films, and this one is no exception. A man becomes suspicious of the techniques used on his institutionalized wife and sets out to investigate the psychologist who is treating her.
Theater Of Blood—1973
Director: Douglas Hickox
Starring Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry
Star Vincent Price built an entire career on playing creepy characters in horror movies. Here, an aging Shakespearean actor gets revenge on his critics by slaying them in ways reminiscent of scenes from Shakespeare’s plays.
United Artists, Theatre Of Blood (1973)
The Night Stalker—1972
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Starring Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland
Carl Kolchak, a newspaper reporter, investigates a series of murders that appear to have been committed by a vampire. This made-for-TV movie was a huge influence on writer/producer Chris Carter and heavily influenced his hit television series The X-Files.
Martin—1977
Director: George A. Romero
Starring John Amplas, Lincoln Maazel, Christine Forrest
Another example of director Romero stepping out of his usual zombified stomping grounds, Martin tells the tale of a young man who believes himself to be a vampire. Martin tries to deny his craving for blood while living with his cousin in small-town Pennsylvania.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes—1971
Director: Robert Fuest
Starring Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North
One of star Vincent Price’s iconic horror roles, Dr. Anton Phibes seeks revenge on a group of doctors he believes were responsible for the death of his wife. After satisfying his thirst for vengeance, Phibes returns for more madness in the sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again.
AIP, The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers—1978
Director: Philip Kaufman
Starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum
This remake of the 1956 original is considered one of the greatest sci-fi/horror films of all time. Strange alien pods land on Earth and begin replacing people with alien copies, spurring terror and paranoia in the populace.
United Artists, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
The Omen—1976
Director: Richard Donner
Starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens
A very different take on a strangely-powered child from Superman director Richard Donner, this is the classic film of the Antichrist. A young boy seems to exhibit strange powers and may be responsible for several deaths. The boy’s stepfather investigates.
