In my last post I gave my pick for the top 10 horror films of the 1960's, now it's time for my next installment in this series of lists, the top 10 horror films of the 1970's. If I had to pick my favourite decade for horror cinema it would be, without a doubt, the 70's. Not only did the decade see the emergence of some of the greatest horror filmmakers of all time, it also saw a number of new, ambitious horror films that continued to push the boundaries of fear in their own respective ways. It was a decade where horror cinema really started to mature, there was more blood, more sex and much more suspense, to me it is one of the most influential decades of horror cinema. So here are my top 10 horror films from the 1970's, beware there may be spoilers!
10. Phantasm (1979)
The 1970's saw a variety of independently produced horror films being released, giving the filmmakers more freedom when it came to creating ways to shock the audience, one of these films was Phantasm. The film is an under-appreciated gem, a bizarre coming of age flick riddled with suspense and chills courtesy of the films antagonist, The Tall Man (played brilliantly by the late Angus Scrimm). It follows a young boy named Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) who believes that his parents deaths were caused by a mysterious tall man who works at the local funeral home. Now there's a lot about this film that will come across as nonsensical, the zombified dwarf minions for example, but the whole lack of explanation behind The Tall Man and his minions is where the beauty of this film lies. That fear of the unknown is what makes this film so unsettling, along with Scrimm's performance and the chilling score by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave. While primarily it is a horror, underneath all of that terror Phantasm is a coming of age story about loss and coping with it, something that the young protagonist is faced with from the beginning of the film. Although it was not immensely successful upon its release, Phantasm has since spawned a number of sequels and began director Don Coscarelli's successful career in horror cinema.
9. A Bay of Blood (1971)
In my last post I spoke very highly of Italian director Mario Bava for his massive influence on the slasher genre, but that influence only grew when the 70's came along. A Bay of Blood is a blood soaked tale of murder and deception that follows a number of people fighting for possession of a large area of land, willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. To further complicate things, a group of unsuspecting teens arrive at the bay and what ensues is a bloody string of murders right up until the films grizzly end. This complex giallo film is partially what inspired the slasher boom in the following decade, from its lakeside setting to its gruesome setpieces, many tropes of modern slasher films can be traced back to A Bay of Blood. The Friday the 13th franchise is one of the most notable slasher series to take inspiration from this film, the second Friday the 13th even copies the impalement scene, maybe if Jason had have watched less Mario Bava films he would have gotten less sequels. Like all of Bava's films, A Bay of Blood manages to blend violence and atmosphere so effortlessly that as much as you want to look away, he has made it impossible to. The story is cleverly woven together to make it more than just your average killer-stalking-teens movie, oh no, it's much more than that. Without A Bay of Blood, it is safe to say, slasher films would have been a lot different.
8. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The 60's saw director George A. Romero revolutionise the zombie subgenre in a way that nobody had before with Night of the Living Dead, ten years later he upped the action and the gore for his hugely iconic sequel, Dawn of the Dead. With society collapsing due to the increasing numbers of undead rising across the globe, a number of survivors find sanctuary in an abandoned shopping mall however the zombies are not far behind. This film takes Romero's original Night of the Living Dead and expands it on a completely wider scale, there are more zombies, there is more blood and the extent of the apocalypse is much greater than before. Romero had help from Italian horror maestro Dario Argento in producing this one, the latter was a big fan of Night of the Living Dead and eagerly agreed to get its sequel developed, with two of horrors biggest names behind this it was bound to be a success. Along with this, horror makeup wiz Tom Savini provided the special effects makeup for the film and worked effortlessly with his crew throughout the production, thanks to him zombie films would now be much more gorey. Along with being both thrilling and terrifying, the film also has deeper meanings, poking fun at consumerism in its shopping mall setting. While its predecessor is what evolved the zombie film, Dawn of the Dead set the standard for modern zombie films and has since influenced almost every one since.
7. The Exorcist (1973)
One of the most controversial films of its time, The Exorcist is the story of Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who seeks help from the church when her young daughter Regan (Linda Blair) becomes possessed by a demonic entity. This is one of those few films that still doesn't seem dated despite its release over 40 years ago, the effects and general subject matter were way ahead of their time and pushed the limits of mainstream horror cinema. The idea of a young girl spouting out profanities was controversial enough at the time, but images of her masturbating with a crucifix and her head turning 360 degrees, well let's just say people were a bit shocked. Critics were divided upon the films released with some calling it obscene and disgusting while others, such as Roger Ebert, praising the special effects and William Friedkin's direction. It is a highly suspenseful film packed full of jumpscares at all the right moments, the frights in this film never feel cheap, they always have a build up. It also popularised Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, the opening piano solo has since become heavily associated with the film. It is safe to say there had been nothing like this before in mainstream cinema, while nowadays there are countless imitations released year after year (including a TV reimagining set to be released soon) The Exorcist is the first, and best of its kind.
6. The Wicker Man (1973)
Not to be confused with the remake of the same name where Nick Cage shouts about bees and punches women, no, the original Wicker Man was set on the remote Scottish island of Summerisle and followed police Sargent Howie (Edward Woodward) arriving there in search of a missing girl. This film was dubbed 'the Citizen Kane of horror films' upon its release and rightly so as it is the groundbreaking debut from director Robin Hardy and gained immense acclaim upon its release. Despite being quite the slow burner (pun intended), the film is so packed full of mystery that you will be enticed from its beginning, right up until its shocking climax. The film deals with paganism in the modern world and draws heavily on the theme of religion, Howie who is a devout Christian acts as a sort of fish out of water as he finds himself surrounded by the pagan cult that resides on Summerisle. This sense of isolation only makes Howie's insidious investigation more unsettling. The highlight of this film is the head of the pagan cult and leader of the island, Lord Summerisle who is portrayed impeccably by horror legend Christopher Lee who brings his signature flare of charisma to the wicked character. As a horror it is not explicitly scary, but the sense of mystery and isolation that follow Howie on his investigation manages to build this unsettling atmosphere throughout. It is a very mature horror film for its time and inspired many other future films to follow suit.
5. Black Christmas (1974)
Bob Clark is a director who is best known for his festive classic A Christmas Story, however, nine years prior to this he had already presented a very different kind of Christmas story, one about a murderer who stalks sorority girls from inside their house during the Christmas holidays. Yes its everybody's favourite festive slasher flick, Black Christmas. As I mentioned just there, the film is set in a sorority house that becomes the location of a number of grizzly murders over the holidays while the killer taunts the residence over the phone. Little do the girls know that their mysterious killer is calling them from inside the house. I loved this film the first time I watched it, it was immensely suspenseful and the outlandish yammering from the films killer was unnerving as hell. Even the fact that the killer is never actually seen (or caught for that matter, depending what you interpret) adds this sense of ambiguity to the film that will leave you feeling uneasy even after the credits roll. There's this twisted juxtaposition throughout between the gruesome murders and the Christmas festivities that's really effective, you'll never look at Christmas lights the same after this. It's an eerie piece of horror cinema with effective scares and even better acting with a cast including the likes of Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder and John Saxon. So this Christmas why don't you and your family sit down after dinner and enjoy this wonderful holiday classic.
4. Alien (1979)
After the release of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968 it looked as though the day's of cheesy and camp science fiction movies were gone. It had paved the way for a new, more mature brand of sci-fi films, one of which was Ridley Scott's terrifying sci-fi horror, Alien. It followed the crew of the spacecraft Nostromo and their horrific encounter with an alien life form after landing on a mysterious planet while following a distress signal. The days of goofy looking space creatures were gone, Alien (quite literally) gave birth to the sinister Xenomorph, a horrific creature with acidic saliva and two sets of jaws who relentlessly hunted the crew of the Nostromo in the movie. This creature to this day is still terrifying, not only in appearance, but also because its birth involves bursting through a hosts chest after being laid in there through the means of a facehugger (nasty stuff). However, it was no match for the films lead Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) who managed to survive its attack and escape the ship unscathed. Since then she has become one of the most iconic heroines in cinematic history and Weaver has become renowned for her performance. The film as this dark atmosphere throughout that, combined with the feeling of isolation aboard the craft, creates a tension that can only be broken by the snarling jaws of the eponymous alien. Simply terrifying.
3. Halloween (1978)
Now over the course of these posts I've been mentioning how certain films have had an influence on a certain slasher craze in the 1980's, Halloween is the spark that set off this explosion of slasher films in the decade that followed as it gained high praise upon its release. The film follows teenager Laurie Strode (Jamie Leigh Curtis) who finds herself being stalked by a mysterious figure on Halloween. Unbeknownst to her, the figure is the murderous Michael Myers (Nick Castle) who has returned home after years of being locked away in an asylum, waiting to kill again. This low budget slasher is what began director John Carpenter's successful career as a horror filmmaker, not only did he direct the film, he also co-wrote the script and provided its now iconic score. It displayed his ability to build suspense by creating a terrifying adversary in the form of Michael Myers, a silent killer with a penchant for killing babysitters. This formula of a masked killer stalking unruly teenagers is something that had been seen in films prior to Halloween, but this is what popularised it and its success inspired countless films with similar tropes in the years that followed. Even now, watching Halloween is still a nailbiting experience, that scene where the exhausted Laurie rests her head after believing she killed Myers only for him to slowly rise from behind her still gives me goosebumps. An iconic piece of indie horror that sent the genre in a new direction in the following decade.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Another indie slasher that caused quite a stir upon its release, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the gritty tale of five teenagers who become involved with a twisted family of redneck cannibals while travelling through the Texas back roads. Director Tobe Hooper was clever in making this film as he managed to weave a very violent story with very little violence, although there are several violent scenes such as chainsaw decapitations and meat hook impalements, there is little blood onscreen. Despite this, it was still criticised for being violent upon its release and many were shocked by some of its sequences. One of the things that stands out about this film is that Tobe Hooper managed to create this gritty, realistic world from the setting to the acting, everything about this film seems grounded in reality. This is what makes it all the more shocking. Of course it would be a crime to talk about this film without mentioning its villain Leatherface, a mentally troubled man who wears a mask made of human flesh and is manipulated by his family to kill people for food. The late Gunnar Hansen portrays Leatherface in this film and he gives quite the performance, watching him pursue the traumatised Sally (Marilyn Burns) with his buzzing chainsaw is a harrowing experience, he gives the character an unhinged vibe that makes him all the more unpredictable. That final shot of him dancing in the sunset with his chainsaw is the icing on the cake, a beautiful ending to a beautiful film.
1. Suspiria (1977)
Now those of you who read my blog will know that I love this film a lot, so it seems only fitting that I put it as number one on this list. Suspiria is a twisted fairytale about a girl named Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) who begins her term at a prestigious German ballet school that hides a dark secret. Now this film is a true work of art courtesy of Italian director Dario Argento, every frame of the film is like looking at a painting, from its elaborate production design to its colourful lighting, the film gradually becomes more hypnotic as it progresses. There is blood, there are some jumpscares, but those are not what makes this film so frightening. From the beginning, there is this incredibly eerie atmosphere that is a combination of Argento's skills as a director and the haunting score by Italian prog rock band Goblin. The whole film has this sense of mystery surrounding it and even as the credits begin to roll there are still questions left unanswered, this sense of uncertainty and ambiguity is very effective in the grand scheme of the film. Sure the acting is a bit dodgy as is the dialogue, but the atmosphere is so utterly terrifying that you won't even notice that stuff, you'll be too encapsulated in the hypnotic visuals. Watching Suspiria is like slipping into a surreal nightmare from which you never want to awaken from, it is stylish, mysterious and downright unsettling. Suspiria is a one of a kind horror film, no horror film since has ever managed to build such a beautifully haunting atmosphere and to be honest, I don't think any ever will.
And so ends another decade of terrifying films, there were so many fantastic horror films released in the 70's it was so hard to pick just ten. If you've got any favourites or any films that I've left out then let me know. Next time I'll be looking at the 80's, a decade that saw the great slasher boom so stay tuned for that!
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