Horror Favorites: The 70s
This is the decade of decadence and depravity. Everything goes. You had it all. Sure the 80s and beyond have tried to go beyond the limits and follow the groundwork of what was laid in this decade. I will list here the movies from the 70s I have seen and would recommend (or enjoyed in one way or another). Not all of these are necessarily good or even of significant quality, but many of them are personal favorites or are examples, I think, of horror in its purest, most visceral form. The movies are *not* ranked in order, just to let you know.
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- DirectorDan CurtisStarsJonathan FridGrayson HallKathryn Leigh ScottVampire Barnabas Collins is accidentally released from his centuries-long confinement at his family's estate in Maine. He targets his clueless descendants who live there now and pursues Maggie, the incarnation of his lost love.This movie actually speeds up the soap's Barnabas storyline, covering a lot of familiar ground if you watched the show in the 60s. I love the Gothic trappings of this film and especially enjoyed the downbeat conclusion where no one is safe, no matter who you are.
- DirectorJaromil JiresStarsJaroslava SchallerováHelena AnýzováPetr KoprivaSurreal tale in which love, fear, sex, and religion merge into one fantastic world. Based on a classical Czech novel of the same title.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsIngrid PittPippa SteelMadeline SmithSeductive vampire Carmilla Karnstein and her family target the beautiful and the rich in a remote area of late eighteenth-century Gemany.Carmella is a vampiress I salivate over and her slow seduction of a virginal teen girl blossoming into a woman was exactly what I wanted while watching the movie. I am happy to own the MGM dvd which pairs this with Countess Dracula. Ingrid Pitt...my heart skips a beat.
- DirectorJack WoodsDennis MurenMark Thomas McGeeStarsEdward ConnellBarbara HewittFrank BonnerFour friends are attacked by a demon while on a picnic, due to possession of a tome of mystic information. Told in flashbacks by the sole survivor.Probably my favorite independent monster film shot on a shoestring. Because I love stop motion animation, this movie won me over, but I also applaud Criterion for giving this film a release even as elitists balked.
- DirectorMichael ArmstrongAdrian HovenStarsHerbert LomUdo KierOlivera KatarinaIn 1700s Austria, a witch-hunter's apprentice has doubts about the righteousness of witch-hunting when he witnesses the brutality, the injustice, the falsehood, the torture and the arbitrary killing that go with the job.People talk about movies of today when batting around "torture porn", but "Mark of the Devil", in my opinion, is just as potent and shocking as anything that has been produced the last ten or so years. The torture devices used in the film, which I think authentically evokes the witch trials of the old Salem days in unflinching detail. Herbert Lom is one cold blooded bastard.
- DirectorJean RollinStarsCaroline CartierOlivier RollinMaurice LemaîtreA young man falls in love with a beautiful woman being chased by sinister masked figures at night. He tries to track her down, and learns she's being held captive by his father and colleagues who believe she's a vampire.
- DirectorJesús FrancoStarsChristopher LeeHerbert LomKlaus KinskiCount Dracula, a vampire who regains his youth by drinking the blood of maidens, is pursued in London and Transylvania by Professor Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris.Some of the Franco faithful consider this a movie where he sells out as a means to try and reach a mainstream audience. I, on the other hand, feel he just wanted to prove he could make a Gothic horror film that was as equally good as the Hammer output. I think he succeeds, and with a miniscule budget, as well. When Lee says this is his best portrayal as the Count, I think that speaks for itself.
- DirectorPeter SasdyStarsChristopher LeeGeoffrey KeenGwen WatfordAfter killing his disciple, three English gentlemen unwittingly resurrect Count Dracula, who seeks to avenge his servant by making the trio die by the hands of their own children.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsChristopher LeeDennis WatermanJenny HanleyA young man is murdered while spending the night at Count Dracula's castle, prompting his brother to come to the small town where all the traces end to look for him.One of my favorite Hammer Draculas. I love how menacing Lee is here.
- DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsRay SagerJudy ClerWayne RatayA TV talk-show hostess and her boyfriend investigate a shady magician who has the ability to hypnotize and control the thoughts of people in order to stage gory on-stage illusions using his powers of mind bending.While I think this is a poor movie overall, I think the schlocky gore, the savagery in all its hokey glory, is worthy of viewing for those who seek out movies that base their entertainment value significantly in the extreme violence on screen. The characters have broad acting styles certain to give many of you the giggles.
- DirectorDavid E. DurstonStarsBhaskar Roy ChowdhuryJadin WongRhonda FultzA group of Satanic hippies wreak havoc on a small town where a young boy whose sister and grandfather were victimized by them tries to get even--with deadly results.I think the plot on paper is better than the actual movie, but Lynn Lowery has a GREAT scene in this. And, in my mind, the mere mention of her name warrants essential viewing. I love the over-the-top acting in this movie.
- DirectorRobert FuestStarsPamela FranklinMichele DotriceSandor ElèsTwo young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceWatch as the life of a leader of a menacing group of deviants, explodes in a spectacle of debauchery. Accidentally filmed from beginning to end, on purpose.
- DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsMichael BryantUrsula HowellsPat HeywoodA wealthy, fatherless British clan kidnaps bums and hippies and forces them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game in which they are the perfect family; those who refuse or attempt escape are ritualistically murdered.Freddie Francis has often been criticized as a poor director despite his accolades as a super cinematographer. I think Girly is an example of what he can do as director. Of course, the film is more about the demented, out-there family of sociopaths who take in lodgers, later killing them, but the humor is of the dark variety, black as pitch and certain to win over the hearts of many fans of horror.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsStephen ForsythDagmar LassanderLaura BettiA cleaver-wielding bridal designer murders various young brides-to-be in an attempt to unlock a repressed childhood trauma.This was my first Bava experience. Judging by my review for the movie, I loved it wholeheartedly. Not sure how the second viewing would be. Most think it is lesser Bava, some even consider it poor/crap. I have never paid too much mind to Bava's critics or those who consider his films dull throwbacks/wannabes of horror yesteryear. I think he was entering this decade willing to set his films in the modern era and embraces black comedy rather happily as evident with this demented movie.
- DirectorBob KelljanStarsRobert QuarryRoger PerryMichael MurphyA couple invites a Count from Hungary, who recently immigrated to America, to conduct a seance for the woman's recently deceased mother, oblivious to the fact that he is actually a vampire.
- DirectorRobert Vincent O'NeilStarsPeter CarpenterMaria De AragonVicki PetersA sex-crazed nympho helps speed along her father's death so she can use the inheritance to help out her depraved boyfriend.
- DirectorJosé Mojica MarinsStarsJosé Mojica MarinsÂngelo AssunçãoRonaldo BeibePsychiatrist experiments LSD on 4 volunteers, to investigate Coffin Joe's influence over them. Each patient presents a different reaction, involving sex, perversion and sadism.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsMeiko KajiHoki TokudaMakoto SatôThe head of a yakuza gang is being trailed by a mysterious, vengeful blind woman.
- DirectorSergio BergonzelliStarsEleonora Rossi DragoPier AngeliFernando SanchoThe guests of a villa are killed off one by one by their hosts. Incest, decapitations and a cyanide bath feature amongst the other bizarre delights.People have to see this to believe it. Crazy as a loon. Those crazy Italians...I love 'em.
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsZohra LampertBarton HeymanKevin O'ConnorA recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsDavid SelbyGrayson HallKate JacksonA painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.
- DirectorRobert FuestStarsVincent PriceJoseph CottenVirginia NorthDoctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
- DirectorHarry KümelStarsDelphine SeyrigJohn KarlenDanielle OuimetWhile passing through a vacation resort, a newlywed couple encounters a mysterious, strikingly beautiful countess and her aide.
- DirectorJesús FrancoStarsSoledad MirandaDennis PricePaul MullerAn erotic horror tale about a vixen vampiress seducing and killing women to appease her insatiable thirst for female blood.