Which 70s horror movie is your favorite?

I hate that. I can never follow it.

So many great ones in the 70s. My favorite is probably DON'T LOOK NOW, with CARRIE close behind.

So many good ones.

But I’ll have to go with George A Romero’s “Martin.”

Followed closely by “Alice, Sweet Alice” and “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death.”

"Suspiria", starring Joan Bennett, going back down "Dark Shadows" territory.....A work of beauty that is artistic yet frightening. (My original choice was "The Fog", but that is a 1980 release....)

A lot of good TV movies in that category as well from the 1970's......

Carrie.

R3 Alice, Sweet Alice is one of my all time favorite Giallo-style movies from the 70s. I loved the directing in that film, and Paula Sheppard was great as the creepy "killer".

Burnt Offerings with the wonderful Karen Black is another one of my favorites. The psychological suspense and oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere is torturous. A real slow boil. And the guy who plays her husband is a hot bear, too.

And of course, how could we forget Leatherface?

Agreed on "The Wicker Man"., although there hasn't been a bad pick yet.

I also have soft spots for gialli (favourite being "The Case of The Scorpion's Tail") and TV movies (particularly "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" or the serial killer thriller "Home for the Holidays", the latter starring DL faves Eleanor Parker, Sally Field and Jessica Walter, and occasional DL mentions Julie Harris and jill Haworth).

If I may recommend a film that might not be well known, "The House With the Laughing Windows" is worth watching for the titular residence alone. It should be ridiculous. It somehow isn't.

Absolute favorite '70s horror film? So many memorable ones, but have to go with "Alien".

I still don't think I've ever been terrified by a movie as much as I was the first time I saw "Don't Look Now." Was not expecting that ending at all.

1) ALIEN

2) HALLOWEEN

3) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

4) CARRIE

5) JAWS

6) DAWN OF THE DEAD

It's not THE EXORCIST, which I see as campy and caused me to laugh my ass off.

So the EXORCIST Troll can fuck right off.

Deliverance (1972)

Bad Ronald freaked me out as a child- a tv movie at that.

I still go with The Exorcist. It doesn't scare me in the same way it did when I was in adolescence--nothing does--but it still creeps me out in some other ways. That image with a possessed Reagan reaching out her hand and wailing in the bedroom while you see the statue of Pazuzu still creeps me out. It's so effective and conveying evil. Nothing by George Romero or John Carpenter has ever scared me. I think they are seriously overrated and overappreciated.

My second choice would be When a Stranger Calls. That is the best half hour in the history of film, no contest. It still gets me everytime I watch it. Of course, it's notorious for a crappy second half but I think the second half is actually a very effective cat and mouse game. I like it much more than Halloween which is similarish.

my personal favorite is Phantasm. there are better, but it's a very effective low-budget movie. and it captures that California 70s vibe well--a lot of teens were, like the main characters, running their own lives then while parents were gone.

none of the sequels are worth anything, though.

2nd choice--Perfume of the Lady in Black. a moody giallo-type film where you aren't sure what in hell is happening, but it seems to be about mental illness and then, BAM, cannibalism.

Neither Exorcist, nor Stranger Calls nor Phantasm are scary.

Exorcist has great atmosphere, but I think you'd have to be a religiously devout person in 1974 to take it or its special effects seriously.

Carpenter's Halloween is one of the scariest movies ever made, especially because it's something that can and has happened in real life, unlike the Exorcist. r17 is just a contrarian cunt.

R20, uh, you're the contrarian, moron. Halloween is not considered scarier than Halloween by the general public or film critics. You're just a troll.

*Halloween is not considered scarier than The Exorcist

A favourite of mine was Sssssss (1973) with Dirk Benedict.

[quote] That image with a possessed Reagan reaching out her hand

Terrifying!

R24, LMAO. That is indeed terrifying.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Stepford Wives

Why are 70s movies scarier? Can’t put my finger on it...

Wicker man is great. It meanders in a way that today’s movies don’t, young people probably wouldn’t like it for that reason, they need a more structured formula

Mine would probably be "Don't Look Now" too, though only the beginning (with the drowning death in the pond) and the end are truly scary.

R27 I disagree. Midsommar was a great homage to the slow burn folk horror genre and was highly praised.

R29 Was it really? Hmm. So worth a watch? It’s not too too violent is it, I admit to being a bit of a fraidy-cat

R30 It's visually impressive and gory at times. If you liked the weirdness of The Wicker Man it's definitely in the same category. Hereditary from Ari Aster was also very good.

Hereditary is mediocre and goes off the rail, don't waste your time.

R19 I saw that when I was about 13 and it scared the hell out me. Strange, surreal and yes, cool 70's vibe.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

ALIEN

CARRIE (excellent), but I didn't think of it as horror, it seemed to me more as a tragedy about bullying and abuse. Maybe that's the horror?

Burnt Offerings, 1976. Starring mistress of horror Karen Black, Oliver Reed, and the grand dame herself, Bette Davis. Honorable mention goes to the super creepy chauffeur and the killer house and pool.

R33 Critics disagree.

Sorry meant R32

Yes, HEREDITARY is awesome. It's more traumatizing than MIDSOMMAR; probably equally as gory (which is not a lot).

I wasn't really scared by WICKER MAN but it's definitely creepy and I love the anthropological history.

The remake, however, is one of the best comedies of all time.

R32 is the very opinionated little shit behind R21 R22

R36, I think the bar has just been adjusted really low. I saw it and I thought it was good at times but then it competely goes off the rails.

True story. I’m in my 50’s. I saw the exorcist for the first time when it was re released in the late 90’s/ early 00’s. I felt very gaseous prior to movie - major need to fart. I was uncomfortable because of this & found the build up to linda’s possession annoyingly long. I kept hold it in & figured once she’s the devil I could let it rip. Do you all know how silent that movie is? There’s really only a few out bursts - i know because I let out my farts during these few moments. So i was not scared once during that film. I always wondered if i had been gas free if i’d of liked it. My vote is for Halloween. (I’ve had three memorable movie experiences. This is one , last temp of christ is another & the third was minor) R17 R20 R21 R22

True story. I’m in my 50’s. I saw the exorcist for the first time when it was re released in the late 90’s/ early 00’s. I felt very gaseous prior to movie - major need to fart. I was uncomfortable because of this & found the build up to linda’s possession annoyingly long. I kept hold it in & figured once she’s the devil I could let it rip. Do you all know how silent that movie is? There’s really only a few out bursts - i know because I let out my farts during these few moments. So i was not scared once during that film. I always wondered if i had been gas free if i’d of liked it. My vote is for Halloween. (I’ve had three memorable movie experiences. This is one , last temp of christ is another & the third was minor) R17 R20 R21 R22

Mame.

An obscure one worth searching for is "God Told Me To" (1976), aka "Demon", directed by Larry Cohen. Of course, he later did "The Wicked Stepmother", but instead of Bette, "Demon" has Sylvia Sidney.

[quote] So i was not scared once during that film.

Not even of pushing too hard, r42?

[quote] I’ve had three memorable movie experiences. This is one , last temp of christ is another & the third was minor

I know it’s not germane to the thread, but what was your memorable Last Temptation experience? Crossing a picket line of deranged fundies to see that magnificent film was one of the highlights of my college years.

I’m going with the ultra-campy “Theatre of Blood”, with Vincent Price and Diana Rigg as a father/daughter team killing theater critics like Shakespeare killed characters in his plays.

My brain wants to say Carrie, but Suspiria is the one I keep going back to.

It hasn't been mentioned yet and I am very surprised, so I am going to say The Omen.

Tales From the Crypt, the best of the anthology films made by Amicus studios. I watch it every year around Christmas because of the story about the killer Santa Claus with Joan Collins, although there is a Valentine's Day story as well (with a great, heartbreaking performance by Peter Cushing). Though Blind Alleys has to be my favorite story of the bunch.

Black Christmas is still a very creepy slasher film. Those phone calls are chilling.

Yeah, Black Christmas is my holiday fave. I also like Halloween and The Exorcist.

Alien and it’s not even remotely close.

R18 Thanks for mentioning When a Stranger Calls. That movie creeped me out; Charles Durning and Colleen Dewhurst were great.

OP, I agree with your top choice. I didn't know what to make of Wicker Man when I first saw it. I thought it was a suspense film but then it turned the corner into horror. And the idea of the gorgeous police sergeant being a virgin added to the intrigue.

Race With the Devil is another I thought of. Two couples on vacation witness a Satanic ritual where a girl is being sacrificed, so the cult terrorizes them for the rest of the movie and you never know who's in on it and who isn't. It is really great. I love movies like that which make you paranoid and distrustful of all the people around you.

[quote]Why are 70s movies scarier? Can’t put my finger on it...

R26 I wonder if it's because later 'horror' movies were driven by violence and not story. Yes, there were violent scenes in many of the 70s horror films but those scenes had a purpose to the story. Horror films morphed into slasher films.

R45 Ha! That’s funny. R46 Yes a picket line at an old style theatre. It had a balcony. I hated the movie (loved the book) (four words Harvey Keitel Barbara Hershey) We (with bf) were in the balcony (infamous for gay action.) & so hated the movie i let him fuck me between the curtains

Who Can Kill A Child?

This movie is very good and doesn't get enough recognition. There is a short little documentary during the opening credits which shows real footage from the aftermath of wars, famine, etc., and how the most impacted group is always the children. This helps set the tone for the rest of the movie before it cuts to the story which is reminiscent of Children of the Corn, though it came out before.

[quote]...the most impacted group is always the children.

Always, the children!

R54, I actually watched it on youtube while I was in the library 10 years ago and I couldn't leave my seat. It was so good! I don't think any movie has ever surpassed the first 30 minutes of that movie, ever.

The Last House on the Left

Many modern viewers find the tone kind of awkward because of the scenes of the goofy, incompetent cops interspersed between the brutal scenes of rape and torture. But the latter still pack a punch today. And the low budget, amateur feel of the whole thing makes it feel all the more realistic in my opinion.

Private Parts (1972) is one of the most underrated horrors of the 70s or ever. Unique and disturbing.

Texas Chainsaw was a joke. Like a John Waters movie without being funny.

Texas Chainsaw is vegetarian propaganda

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973), with Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, and William Demarest.

Sisters with Margot Kidder. Yikes.

R67, Sister is great but Dressed to Kill and Body Double are even better.

And yes, I know they are 80s films. Although Dressed To Kill is basically a 70s film, released in 1980.

The fart is coming from inside the house!

[quote]I let out my farts during these few moments.

The power of Christ compelled you.

R71 You win! My sides hurt from laughing...

I like "Don't Look in the Basement" and it's assortment of characters, most of whom I felt very sorry for.

r70 = r71 + r72.

It's also the Possessed EXORCIST Troll— check the Troll-dar!

It's butt-hurt that nobody on DL shares its deranged fetish for green vomit.

I'm R72 and I'm baffled at R74. What's the purpose of the post? I was simply showing appreciation for a previous post.

Here is the top horror film from the 1970s:

Mmm hmm, r75.

r75 wouldn't be baffled if he checked the Troll-dar on r70 and r71 and were truly a different individual.

R78 I have no idea what you're writing about. I'm going to assume you're posting the wrong R-numbers. I don't know what Troll-dar is or why my post brought out your hostility.

When people talk about movies based on Ed Gein, they usually mention Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. But I think more people should talk about Deranged. It is a very good film based on his life as well and doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

I’m the farter at the Exorcist. I share a story from my past - With all my innocent naivety & I get attack & bullied. Why? Why do you want to brutalize me? I’m just a boy writing on the DL asking you all to love me.

Speaking of The Exorcist, let's talk about some Exorcist ripoffs. Beyond the Door and Abby are the most famous and neither one is actually all that bad in my opinion. Warner Brothers filed lawsuits against both of them and actually got Abby pulled from theaters.

Who attacked or bullied you? The Exorcist needed some good farts. Didn't it win best sound editing?

I posted both R70 and R71, but not R72. I am also baffled by R74.

The Omen and The Sentinel

Alien

For the many above who love Carrie and Halloween, guess who turned 70 today!!!

R83. Just a joke darling! I’ still just a boy asking r 83 to love me. Also this thread is gone in so many directions that it’s fun to help keep it that way. Can we bring in some Liza?

R81 = r83, AKA the Exorcist Troll, talking to itself from sock puppet accounts again, trying to make everyone think his fetish for green paint puke and religious hysteria is the pinnacle of horror and the only thing Datalounge should be talking about.

It always gets butt-hurt when its endless attempts to make people think the “nurse station knife attack hallway shot” from the craptacular EXORCIST 3 is the scariest thing since hatching from its own mother’s penis are met with utter indifference, save for his own W&Ws and cheerleading from multiple sock puppet accounts.

R46 I worked in a video store and Last Temptation always somehow got damaged. We started seeing the trend and ultimately it wasn’t replaced by the store.

R90 because harvey keitel played judas. The dvd had to defend itself

The Legacy with Sam Elliott and his wife Katherine.

So many good ones to choose from. I'm extremely fond of Don't Look Now and Dawn of the Dead, but my all-time favorite is Jaws.

[quote] Beyond the Door

The TV commercial for this scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.

"Whoooo aaaare yooouuuu?"

Phantasm

the crazy eyes of Laura Mars

This is Lulu and Michelle. We're not here so go to hell!

Not a typical horror film, per se, but hermaphrodites were given the spotlight for the first time with the stark, moody, little seen [italic]Who Will Love My Penis?[/italic] starring the boyish Jamie Lee Curtis.

Did I mention the EXORCIST troll's jokes are always met with indifference, too?

Exhibit A = r98.

Clearly, the "please love me" accusation is classic projection from the creep.

r51 Black Christmas is being re-released as Kwanzaa.

It's Alive.

Salem's Lot is better and scarier than 90% of the movies listed here, even though it was only a TV movie. Tobe Hooper did an amazing job as director. Other than Carrie and The Shining, it's the best movie adaption of a Stephen King novel.

Salem's Lot isn't scary at all and never could be with broadcast TV network restrictions.

Halloween. It did exactly what a horror movie is supposed to do: it scared the hell out of m.e

I don't think "Bad Ronald" or "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" or "Salem's Lot" count. They were TV MOVIES. Anyway, I heard there's going to be a movie version of Salem's Lot. That might be interesting. I always wanted Stephen King to write a proper sequel to Salem's Lot. I heard he was considered one at one time and the plot sent something like this. Mark Petrie is now a priest. And he's getting phone calls from his mother. His DEAD mother. She tells him "they're hurting me"....sounds pretty scary, doesn't it? But that was just rumors from long ago. King doesn't seem inclined to do a sequel but if he did his readers would stampede to the book store if one came out.

Because of this thread we watched 3 slasher pics tonight. First The Burning: standard camp slaughter but with a cast of future stars. Then Black Christmas: it was good. I see how it’s the basis of many slashers to come (even dumb plot points) & then Curtains: a group of actresses after the same part begin to die. Curtains was the better of the three (once it settles down from a 20 minute opening head scratcher) we’re going to do more

The TV Salem's Lot didn't work for me because I could never understand why the movie version of the vampire, Barlow, who seems to be barely sentient, has a human servant. In the book, there was an indication that the two had a relationship of sorts (not necessarily anything sexual, but still a relationship). In the movie this was obviously impossible, so what's the payoff? "I enjoy working for a slavering hellbeast who drinks human blood because, I don't know, slow Wednesday"?

In the novel Salem's Lot Barlow is a suave, courtly vampire, always well dressed, with hair swept back from his forehead. I think he has a mustache, too. Very Bram Stoker Dracula-like. Straker is his faithful human servant; tall, totally bald, very strong and menacing. He, like Barlow, is always well dressed in a suit and has courtly manners. Neither of them have ever been depicted in the tv movie versions as they were in the novel.

I thought the blue, wordless, bat-eared Barlow in the first tv movie was ridiculous. That was such a dumb idea. But neither version was satisfying and both were pretty silly in a lot of ways. So many plot changes, so many miscast roles.

The Salem's Lot movie is perfection. I love the way Tobe Hooper depicted the vampire. It scared me to death as a child.

What makes ‘Alien’ so effective, even today, is the performance at the center. A lot of the films mentioned are favorites of mine, but they don’t have Sigourney.

The director had a hardon for Nosferatu, r108.

But it sounds like they're very different vampires.

R110, she was amazing, but I would argue the whole cast was very strong. There really isn't a bad performance or false note in the whole thing.

I agree R112. It's hard to fault a cast that includes John Hurt, Ian Holm, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, and Harry Dean Stanton.

One of the most interesting things about casting Sigourney was that fact that she was probably the least known of the cast. One would presume, therefore, that she would be alien fodder. The movie, however, flipped the script and turned her into the hero instead. It's one of the reasons ALIEN remains so potent today (in addition to being scary as shit).

"The Salem's Lot movie is perfection."

No, it's not, not by a long shot. But I did think the little boy vampire floating outside the window was effectively scary. I thought the Nosferatu version of Barlow was just silly.

R107 R108 i use to read S King books. There’s a short story collection that has a barlow story in it. The book title has the word season in it - it has the short story that became stand by me in it as well. I should look it up but i won’t.

R115 i’m wrong. It’s in night shift. I did look it up. Story called one for the road. R107 R108 I gove & give.

Making the vampire look different than the Dracula that we're used to was a stroke of brilliance. It set the Salem's Lot movie apart from all the other vampire movies. He was also much scarier and creepier than a typical Christopher Lee lookalike.

Agree with you both, R112 and R113. It really was the perfect ensemble, and you instantly believed that all of those people were coworkers.

"He was also much scarier and creepier than a typical Christopher Lee lookalike."

Which is why he stuck out like a sore thumb. That vampire looked like he belonged in a totally different movie, not Salem's Lot.

Stephen King's best short story collection, "Night Shift" featured two stories about Salem's Lot. The first, "Jerusalem's Lot", is a kind of prequel to "Salem's Lot." Seems Salem's Lot had a VERY dark history long before Hubie Marsten and Kurt Barlow came to town. "One For The Road" is a story after Salem's Lot becomes a vampire colony. Both stories are very effective and scary. I'd like to see a movie version of the short story "Jerusalem's Lot." I don't know why nobody has made one. I guess they're too busy doing remake after remake of Stephen King's books.

Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot' is getting remade.

Has anyone seen the Herzog version of Nosferatu?

Yes, it's fine.

R122, not great? It's one of those remakes that I hear are better than the original.

They're both exercises in great style. They're not scary.

Honestly, the black and white original is more scary/ believable as its own world.

[quote]Honestly, the black and white original is more scary/ believable as its own world.

R122, If you've only ever seen 𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮, 𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐬 (1922) in black and white, without the tinted remaster and re-score, then you haven't truly seen it.

^^ A version with English title cards exists, too.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death was scary towards the end but very creepy throughout.

R127, I've long awaited a comprehensive soundtrack release on 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐓𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, including not only the Orville Stoeber score, but also the terrifying and disorienting sound effects by John Sears. I'm hoping someone like LaLa Land Records will undertake it.

Another vote for ALIEN, with HALLOWEEN and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS close behind.

I never got the acclaim for THE WICKER MAN. It's a film with a great idea/concept that isn't well executed by director Robin Hardy, perhaps due in part to the relatively modest budget. The scene with Britt Ekland dancing/writhing nude in her room with the cop next door in misery is just silly and laughable, which kills the attempted mood of the film.

MIDSOMMAR takes the same concept and drags it on for 2.5 hours, though Aster is a better director than Hardy ever was.

[quote] The scene with Britt Ekland dancing/writhing nude in her room with the cop next door in misery is just silly and laughable, which kills the attempted mood of the film.

The scene where the enchantress is dancing nude in pagan revelry is one of my favorites in The Wicker Man. She's casting a spell over the pious Christian with her old timey magic. He's driven mad with lust!

Did anyone see Gretel & Hansel (2020)?

Deep Red

R131 my husband made me sit through his favorite musical movies - something i was never into. (Some were very good) I’m now making him sit through horror & slasher flicks - argento stuff all the way. (If you haven’t seen it his inferno is so good)

I liked Inferno and Phenomena way more than Suspiria, which didn't scare me at all.

I would have voted for Inferno, but it is 1980. It's the most dream-like of all his films. You can see the influence on David Lynch, particularly Lost Highways, Fire: Walk With Me and Mulholland Drive.

My fave is the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which I actually prefer to the original.

I love both versions. The original for that one shot - brilliantly done with no more than a close-up - in which the girl is revealed to now be an alien monster.

Another vote for The Omen, which may not have been especially scary, but was quite unsettling.

[quote]Salem's Lot isn't scary at all and never could be with broadcast TV network restrictions

The Glick boys faces as they floated outside the windows scared the shit out of my brothe and me.

R134, I don't really notice any Argento influence with Lynch. I'm sure Argento influenced Brian De Palma though.

SUSPIRIA scared the hell out of me when I first saw it in the 70s. Not so much now, except for the first murder.

I found INFERNO rather dull - there's barely a plot - but a few murder scenes are effective.

R140, I found the lack of plot refreshing. Argento doesn't do plot well at all. And what beats getting eating alive by rats in Central Park?

R139, for me it's about Argento's use of colors - deep reds and blues - the use of shadow as a total blackness - and the idea of the curtain as a literal wall between the known and the unknown. Add to that the flashes of stylized violence, which Lynch occasionally uses, and the "set-piece" like configurations of the crime scenes. Then you have the dream non-logic of Suspiria and Inferno, in which the stories collapse along with the sets.

The 2018 remake was better on almost every level and Argento bashed it because of this.

I loved the remake of Suspiria. Required viewing for all you bitches who say Dakota Johnson can’t act.

I love The Wicker Man (1973). I went to the film location sites in Scotland. Eerie.

I also love The Other (1972), about twin boys, with Diana Muldaur as the mother and with John Ritter in a small role. Story and screenplay by (gay) Tom Tryon. Not to be confused with The Others (2001) starring Nicole Kidman.

R143 R144 I found the remake over long & unneeded. Tilda Swinton as the man an awful decision. It didn’t need to be remade - the original is an Argento classic & a great example of giallo film making. As for dakoda johnson she was fine.

Agree R147. I kept waiting for the remake to become genuinely suspenseful and scary, but it never happened. It's just a long-winded movie that tries to be about too many things.

"I also love The Other (1972), about twin boys, with Diana Muldaur as the mother and with John Ritter in a small role. Story and screenplay by (gay) Tom Tryon."

Somebody should do a remake of "The Other." The original was ok in a few ways (the twin boy actors were very good) but it needs a good retelling. There was plot changes that were dumb, like what happened to the handyman. I also disliked the ending, which is confusing and very different from what happened in the book. The discovery of the baby was much more horrifying in the book, too. Yes, "The Other" deserves a good remake.

Trailer for 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 (1972):

True story. I’m in my 50’s. I only plug the Exorcist ad nauseam because it's a positive portrayal of those of us who suck cocks in Hell. Satan's always giving me the Demon of the Month Award because my company is tortuous.

Audrey Rose.

R151 Good try at comedy - don’t quit your day job

Phantom of the Paradise

I want to talk about Gretel & Hansel (2020). I really liked it.

Has anyone seen the movie The Manitou with Susan Strasberg? It's so bizarre that it's worth watching at least once.

The Shout (1978). Well filmed and with Alan Bates. Free on Amazon Prime!

What's new worth seeing?

condor

Before Texas Chainsaw Massacre there was 2000 Maniacs (1964), IMHO latter is far more scary.

Mad Room