The 70s was chock full of classic horror films.  If I missed any, sorry.  The 70s/80s was the golden age for modern horror imo.  The 80s had Friday The 13th, The Fog, The Thing, Terror Train, The Howling, Silver Bullet, Fright Night, The Prowler, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Poltergeist etc.

Alot of good ones here- but my pick is Halloween.

Its suspenseful, great theme, Hitchcockian cinematography(lots of great lighting and shadow work), moody atmosphere... The plot is simple and straight forward.  A crazed killer escapes from an insane asylum and stalks & kills babysitters, and the simplicity is part of why it works.  It feels more "real" in a lot of ways compared to other horror movies which are much more fantastical(like The Omen), which makes it scarier.  The Michael Myers character is symbolic of evil, and the inescapable nature of fate.  Hes more of a SHAPE, than a person.  Something scary and unknown in the bushes and around the corner.  Donald Pleasance is spectacular in his Dr.Frankenstein-like role as Dr. Sam Loomis, and the chase scene at the end is a classic.

The movie ends on a perfect note as well.  Myers gets up even after the multiple gun shots and fall from the balcony, because is symbolic of fear- which never just dies and goes away.  Its out there somewhere, waiting for you.  Hence the various shots of Haddonfield afterward, with Myers nowhere to be seen.  And then of course the famous line that sums it all up.  "Was that the boogeyman?"  "As a matter of fact... it was".  Perfect.

The Exorcist and The Omen, but outstanding in Horror Cinema. Both made before visual effects are product by computers, with all happening in front of the camera.

The Exorcist

Don't watch them as a rule...

I did however watch The Exorcist for the first time about 10 years ago.

Laughed myself silly, specially at the projectile vomiting.  I guess it is an indicator of what was shock value then in terms of the densentisation I have had since  :o

Oh man, I'm a horror fanatic. 8)

i'd started putting together a horror list but i hadn't gotten to 20 yet. i'm trying to make them all have at least 20...

this is what i'd gotten so far...

Don't Torture a Duckling
The Stepford Wives
Dawn of the Dead
It's Alive
The Exorcist
The Omen
The Sentinel
The Amityville Horror
Sisters
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Audrey Rose
Play Misty for Me

"don't torture a duckling" i threw on just because it had a funny name. the italians made a bunch of nutty horror flicks in the 60s and 70s.

I love them all. Horror was at its best in the 70s. But I have to choose The Exorcist!

Of those that you've listed and that I've seen, my vote has to go toward Halloween (that isn't a deliberate rhyme, by the way ;)). I absolutely love that little movie - now that I own it on DVD I'm probably going to make an annual tradition out of watching it every Halloween night. You have to admit it is tremendously re-watchable.

I agree with those who say that horror was at its scariest and most interesting in the '70s. If you like Halloween, I also recommend 1974's Black Christmas - it's a great low-budget Canadian film that starred Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder... John Saxon is also in it. It predates Halloween by a few years and is very similar in theme and approach, though I personally find Black Christmas has an even more sinister vibe. I don't know which one I like more. I found Black Christmas to be the scarier of the two, but there are things about Halloween that I like more (even just the fact that it takes place on Halloween rather than Christmas, for instance, and that's it's arguably more "fun" to watch).

I love good horror movies. :)

Of those that you've listed and that I've seen, my vote has to go toward Halloween (that isn't a deliberate rhyme, by the way ;)). I absolutely love that little movie - now that I own it on DVD I'm probably going to make an annual tradition out of watching it every Halloween night. You have to admit it is tremendously re-watchable.

I agree with those who say that horror was at its scariest and most interesting in the '70s. If you like Halloween, I also recommend 1974's Black Christmas - it's a great low-budget Canadian film that starred Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder... John Saxon is also in it. It predates Halloween by a few years and is very similar in theme and approach, though I personally find Black Christmas has an even more sinister vibe. I don't know which one I like more. I found Black Christmas to be the scarier of the two, but there are things about Halloween that I like more (even just the fact that it takes place on Halloween rather than Christmas, for instance, and that's it's arguably more "fun" to watch).

I love good horror movies. :)


Black Christmas is definitely more sinister than Halloween. I totally agree.

Black Christmas is definitely more sinister than Halloween. I totally agree.
i listed black christmas as a thriller. it's hard teasing out that distinction between thriller and horror sometimes...

i listed black christmas as a thriller. it's hard teasing out that distinction between thriller and horror sometimes...


true, true

Saturday Night Fever - well, in terms of the fashions, anyway!  :D

Saturday Night Fever - well, in terms of the fashions, anyway!  :D
True, to one point, I could not believe when I saw it.

I have to go with my all time favorite horror movie, The Exorcist!!!

Still scares me today, even though I've seen it dozens of times.

As for The Exorcist, I have seen the scenes cut out of the original released version, but not seen the Director's Cut yet.

Halloween.  There's nothing scarier than a man in a William Shatner mask coming to kill you :D

They are all great, all on my list of top 100 ever...
I must admit for scare value, for acting, for bad guy Halloween wins.

The Amityville Horror scared the BEJESUS out of me!
To this day flies in my house creep me out to the point where I have to walk around with a can of raid, killing them all!

I selected The Exorcist

I am a big Horror Fan so I also enjoyed....

Halloween 
The Omen
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 
(looking forward to seeing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning coming this October)
Carrie
Phantasm 
Salem's Lot

I ad to chose The Exorcist, with Carrie a close second.

Of the list given, I chose Halloween. My favorite horror movie was "Inferno" (Dario Argento)
though this movie may have a 1980 release, I'm not real sure. It Starred Leigh McCloskey
and Irene Miracle. The movie wasn't all that good but Keith Emerson recorded the sound-
track. So I watch it for the music.

Hawk, the Slayer's Top 12 Horror Flick Picks Of the '70s & '80s

12. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Remake was good, but it lacked the sheer brutality of the original)
11. Psycho 3 (1986) (Anthony Perkins starred and directed this one- Jeff Fahey was a good cast choice)
10. The Omen (I loved it for 3 actors: Patrick Troughton, David Warner, & Lee Remick)
9. Manhunter (Original version of 'Red Dragon'- I liked it, because it's inspired by a true person)
8. Motel Hell (Campy, but with a keen twist on the cannibal theme. Farmer Vincent was a kick!)
7. Halloween 2 (Better than the original, and shows the late Donald Pleasence)
6. Dr. Giggles (A little campy, but with a rather original premise. I found it surprisingly good)
5. Fright Night (Excellent cast- Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowell, William Ragsdale...what a team!!!)
4. House Of the Long Shadows (only film to have V. Price, C. Lee, P. Cushing, & J. Carradine. Classic!!!!!)
3. Return To Horror High (A horror film that effectively mocked the genre, & hid it under being campy)
2. Psycho 2: The Return (Another film to be inspired by the actions of a true person.)
AND! Hawk's Personal Fave Scream Flick:
1. The Serpent & The Rainbow (Based almost entirely on a true story in Haiti...truly freakish.)

Honorable Mention: Candyman 2: Day Of the Dead (Tony Todd is a truly ghoulish actor, in this)

No one has mentioned "The Abominable Dr. Phibes"  1971
I saw it in the theater, that movie freaked me out.
I saw quite a bit of it from the hallway watching through the window
Gotta love Vincent Price!

What category does Jaws fall under?
Thriller? Horror?

What category does Jaws fall under?
Thriller? Horror?
The Genre for Jaws (1975) are Adventure, Horror and Thriller.

The Genre for Jaws (1975) are Adventure, Horror and Thriller.


I saw we have polls for greatest Horror, Thriller & Adventure.  Just wasn't sure which category I should I should put it #1
Guess I could pick it for all 3


Then I would have to say Jaws is the greatest Horror movie of the 70's
My favorite movie of all time.

One underrated Horror film is "Ghost Story".

It stars Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Douglas Fairbanks & Melvyn Douglas.
They are "The Chowder Society", who specialize in horrific stories.
They are lifelong friends, who share a terrible scret from their youths, & it comes back to haunt them.

What about the House of Dark Shadows (1970) or Night of Dark Shadows (1971)?  Gotta love Barnabas Collins (even though he wasn't in the second one.)




Cat

One underrated Horror film is "Ghost Story".

It stars Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Douglas Fairbanks & Melvyn Douglas.
They are "The Chowder Society", who specialize in horrific stories.
They are lifelong friends, who share a terrible scret from their youths, & it comes back to haunt them.


Great movie. definately underrated.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr., From the 30's to the 70's, that man was the hottest 76 yr old I've ever seen. Actually the only hot 76yr old I've ever seen.

Yet another underrated movie, which appears on my Top 10: House Of the Long Shadows.

This one, done in 1978, stars Desi Arnaz Jr. as an author, who makes a bet with his publisher that he can knock out a book in 24 hrs. He travels to the Welsh countryside, gets to the manorhouse where he is allowed to work, and stumbles upon a 40-yr. old tragedy.

This movie is also notable for the casting of the 4 "High Priests Of Horror": John Carradine, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. This momentous film relies on the old-fashioned sense of foreshadowing, the credible plot, and the sense of innuendo to keep moving. It genuinely keeps you guessing up to the very end- there's no gratuitous sex scenes, no overdone bloodbaths, no scantily clad virgins who scream and get killed halfway through the film.

I genuinely recommend it to everyone. In fact, I want to track down the book that it was based on- "The 7 Keys To Baldpate".

I love all the Carradines, as well as Vincent Price and Christopher Lee.  I'll definitely try to track down House of Long Shadows.

I think The Hills Have Eyes is underrated.  To me it was one of the very best of the 70s, but it seems to be lesser known.

I'll be the lone vote for The Omen.

I'll be the lone vote for The Omen.
My second vote would be The Omen, if there was one available.

The Exorcist

Black Christmas should be on this list. Halloween is such a blatant ripoff. It's even known that John Carpenter took it from Bob Clark.

Black Christmas should be on this list. Halloween is such a blatant ripoff. It's even known that John Carpenter took it from Bob Clark.


Yeah, I agree. I would have voted for it if it were on the list.