Worst2First: My Top Ten Horror Films of the 1970s

Worst2First:
My Top Ten Horror Films of the 1970s

The 1970s was an innovative decade for horror.  Now-famous directors got their feet wet in this decade, offering compelling, thought-provoking horror instead of more modern day jump scare tactics.  The 1970s saw horror films hitting more close to home, offering suspenseful films that could (and in some cases actually did) happen in real life, and gave birth to the modern day slasher subgenre as we know it today.  While there's some films of the 70s that centered on the more sci-fi and paranormal, most of the best horror films of the 70s were grounded moreso in reality.

Before I get to the top ten, here's those that didn't quite make the list:
#25 - Piranha (78)
#24 - Salem's Lot (79)
#23 - The Abominabme Dr. Phibes (71)
#22 - Eraserhead (77)
#21 - The Brood (77)
#20 - It's Alive (73)
#19 - The Crazies (73)
#18 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78)
#17 - The Hills Have Eyes (77)
#16 - Alice, Sweet Alice (76)
#15 - Don't Look Now (73)
#14 - The Wicker Man (73)
#13 - Jaws (75)
#12 - Alien (79)
#11 - The Amityville Horror (79)

And now here's my personal top ten horror films of the 1970s...

**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**

#10

Phantasm
1979

Don Coscarelli isn't your typical by-the-books director, and looking at his other works like "The Beastmaster," "Survival Quest," "Bubba Ho-Tep" and "John Dies at the End" will validate that argument.  Yet its his freshman work "Phantasm" that really expanded the mind and warped reality, offering a wholly unique horror adventure that's unparalleled and unequaled (despite its diminishing sequels).  The film finds three hapless heroes (a young boy, his brother, and an overweight balding man who later serves as the main protagonist for the series) going up against an inter-dimensional devil known only as the Tall Man, who turns the dead into slaves for a different dimension.  Angus Scrimm crafted the Tall Man as his own creation, an inhumanly tall (hence his name) lurking menace who oozes fear, along with his disgusting minions, his Lady in Lavender, and especially his weapon of choice: a three-pronged silver flying orb.

#9

Carrie
1976

Obviously there'd be at least one film based off the works of the iconic Stephen King on this list, and "Carrie" more than deserves to be in anyone's top ten.  Before directing films like "Scarface" and "The Untouchables," Brian De Palma took on King's novel "Carrie" and brought about a stellar film that not only terrified audiences, but received critical acclaim, including two Academy Award nominations (for Sissy Spacek for Best Actress and Piper Laurie for Best Supporting Actress).  The film finds young Carrie White (Spacek) having her first period, and being raised by an overbearing religious mother (Laurie), she has no idea what it means, and finds herself under constant ridicule by her fellow classmates, until she's invited to prom by the most popular boy in school.  This leads to the now-iconic pig's blood moment, and when Carrie goes from shy, timid girl to unstoppable telekinetic killing machine, turning the girl that we spent the whole film pitying to a terrifying human monster with an unflinching gaze that pierces our very soul.

#8

Suspiria
1977

Pioneering the concept of Gaillo horror, Dario Argento delivers the first of his Three Mothers trilogy in this mind-bending, vomit-color-inducing film that is simply a technicolor nightmare wholly unique in the genre.  The film finds a young American attending a ballet school in Germany, unknowing that its run by a coven of witches, and she finds herself the latest unwitting possible sacrifice.  The film is glorious in its gore, scandalous in its score, and vivid in its visuals, a film that can never be forgotten and wonderfully inspired.

#7

The Last House on the Left
1972

Wes Craven is one of horror cinema's most successful, respected, and memorable directors, and "The Last House on the Left" was his first feature film, and shows what greatness awaited audiences for decades to come.  This film is a tense, tight film that - while not necessarily based on real events - could really happen in real life, making it all the more terrifying.  After two girls are accosted by a group of thugs, the villains seek refuge in a house belonging to a nice, caring couple - but they have no idea whose house they just entered.  The film is unflinching in its narrative, uncompromising and uncomfortable to watch in all the right ways, a movie that was banned in several countries due to its graphic nature and compelling visuals.

#6

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
1974

Loosely based off the life of serial killer Ed Gein, Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" brought to cinematic life one of its most enduring modern-day villains in Leatherface, who wears the skin of his victims on his face.  The film features a group of kids who stumble upon a backwoods family with vicious murder on their minds, lead by the mentally-handicapped Leatherface, who kills his victims with a variety of unique tools including sledgehammers, meat hooks, and his iconic chainsaw.  The film had a very snuff-film feel, a movie that's unflinching in its depravity, showing that truly no one (not even the physically handicapped) are safe from the evils the world has to offer, and will have you thinking twice before picking up a hitchhiker or traveling the backroads of Texas again.

#5

Black Christmas
1974

What does "Black Christmas" and "A Christmas Story" have in common, besides having Christmas in its title and both taking place during the titular holiday?  Both were directed by Bob Clark and served as his bookends of the holiday that's supposed to promote love, family, and faith.  The film finds a group of sorority girls staying at their house for Christmas break coming under attack by an unknown man on the phone, leaving lewd messages before dispatching the sisters in unique (and now-iconic) fashion.  Blending terror and tinsel, "Black Christmas" served as the blueprint for the modern slasher film, and provided more than just dim-witted dumb blondes getting their comeuppance, and turning the typical tropes of the "final girl" on its head.

#4

The Omen
1976

"It's all for you!"  Those now-iconic words echoed by the babysitter of the young Damien on his birthday speak volumes for the longevity of this Richard Donner ("Superman," "Lethal Weapon") directed classic.  "The Omen" is unique in that it's heightened in the patriarchy of cinema, serving as a horror film yes, but also as a deeply thoughtful, supremely-executed character piece that parallels any Oscar-winning film of any genre.  Gregory Peck stars as an American ambassador who thinks his child is actually the Antichrist, and as the film progresses, becomes more and more sure of it.  The film is notorious for its off-screen horrors (its listed as the most cursed production in film history), but its the on-screen terror that'll sink into your bones.

#3

Dawn of the Dead
1978

George A. Romero has been credited as introducing the world to the modern-day zombies with his 1968 classic "Night of the Living Dead," but its his more heavily produced sequel "Dawn of the Dead" that cemented his legend.  Stepping out of the world of a small farmhouse, "Dawn" finds a new group of survivors trying to survive against the undead inside a shopping mall, and much like every other horror sequel ever made, the film amps up the kills, gore, and creativity to the nth degree.  Going from black-and-white to full color, Romero allows the unique color blends to rule the screen, and even though now the makeup on the zombies look almost humorous and timid (even if it was done by the legendary Tom Savini), it doesn't take away from the trills the film delivers, not to mention Romero's take on American consumerism.

#2

Halloween
1978

Halloween will forever be split into two eras: pre-"Halloween," and post-"Halloween."  John Carpenter's masterpiece forever changed the landscape of the holiday, introduced the world to one if cinema's most unstoppable, evil monsters, and chills the nerves of viewers decades after this small independent film's release.  Jamie Lee Curtis's first role is also her most remembered, playing babysitter Laurie Strode, who finds herself stalked by an unknown man (only known as The Shape, and in sequels given a proper name - Michael Myers), as she sets out to protect the children under her care from the madman, as his psychiatric doctor also travels to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, to stop him.  The original "Halloween" has stood the test of time due to its darkly disturbing nature (an unknown man stalks a young woman for seemingly no reason), its powerful performances (especially by Curtis and veteran actor Donald Pleasence), its legendary score, and slow-paced buildup to a maximum conclusion.  

#1

The Exorcist
1973

The film that all exorcist-subgenre films try to imitate, "The Exorcist" is still as terrifying now as it was when it was released almost forty years ago.  Based off the acclaimed novel by William Peter Blatty (and, as many might not know, based on an actual event), "The Exorcist" was a film that no one had seen before, a movie that literally sent people fleeing and vomiting during viewing (which, understandably now, seems a bit overrated), and filled with a slow-building tension that culminates in one of the most extreme exorcisms ever put on the big screen.  Honestly, even to this day, with all the cinematic tricks and gimmicks, no other exorcism seemed as real and intense as this one, and will more than likely never be equaled.  The film finds a mother (Ellen Burstyn) and her young daughter (Linda Blair) under attack by a demonic force that enters the body of little Regan, and its up to two priests from two totally different ends of the faith spectrum to drive it out of her.  The film was so well received it was the first horror film to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (as well as earning nine other nominations, even winning for Adapted Screenplay and Sound), and still holds strong all these decades later.