The Crypt Charts
The 31 Worst Horror Movies of the 1970s
The 1970s' most notorious duds — thirty-one horror films the crypt spat back out, ranked from bad to unspeakable by the Crypt Score. Only titles enough people actually saw to earn their infamy.
Ranked by Crypt Score · Updated weekly · captured Jul 20, 2026
Eligibility: a title needs at least 2 rating sources and 10,000+ votes to chart — no thin-data entries. Ranked from bad to worst.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
PG1978 · Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction · 87m · David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor, J. Stephen Peace
After a wave of reports of mysterious attacks involving people and pets being eaten by the traditionally docile fruit, a special government task force is set up to investigate the violent fruit and put a stop to their murderous spree.
Orca
PG1977 · Horror, Thriller · 92m · Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, Bo Derek
After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.
Day of the Woman
NC-171978 · Horror · 101m · Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols
A young, beautiful career woman rents a backwoods cabin to write her first novel. Attacked by a group of local lowlifes and left for dead, she devises a horrific plan to inflict revenge.
Jaws 2
PG1978 · Horror, Thriller · 117m · Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Joseph Mascolo
Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
The Amityville Horror
R1979 · Horror · 118m · James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and their three children have just moved into a beautiful, and improbably cheap, Victorian mansion nestled in the sleepy coastal town of Amityville, Long Island. However, their dream home is concealing a horrific past and soon each member of the Lutz family is plagued with increasingly strange and violent visions and impulses.
The Car
PG1977 · Horror, Action, Thriller · 96m · James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, R.G. Armstrong
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
The Sentinel
R1977 · Horror, Mystery, Fantasy · 92m · Cristina Raines, Chris Sarandon, Martin Balsam, John Carradine
As a young girl, Alison Parker attempted suicide after being traumatized by her father's sexual exploits. Now an elite fashion model, she moves to a Brooklyn Heights apartment building where she encounters a number of bizarre, eccentric tenants and attempts to uncover the building's sinister secret.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
R1976 · Horror, Mystery, Thriller · 86m · Ben Johnson, Andrew Prine, Dawn Wells, Jimmy Clem
When two young lovers are savagely beaten and tortured on a back country road in Texarkana, local police are baffled and must find "the Phantom Killer" before he can kill again.
The Last House on the Left
R1972 · Horror, Crime · 84m · Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln
On the eve of her 17th birthday, Mari and friend Phyllis set off from her family home to attend a rock concert in the city. Attempting to score some drugs on the way, the pair run afoul of a group of vicious crooks, headed up by the sadistic Krug.
Damien - Omen II
R1978 · Horror, Thriller · 107m · William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth
Since the sudden and suspicious deaths of his parents, young Damien has been in the charge of his wealthy aunt and uncle and enrolled in a military school. Widely feared to be the Antichrist, he relentlessly plots to seize control of his uncle's business empire — and the world.
King Kong
PG1976 · Adventure, Fantasy, Horror · 134m · Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange, Charles Grodin, John Randolph
An oil company expedition disturbs the peace of a giant ape and brings him back to New York to exploit him.
Piranha
R1978 · Horror, Science Fiction, Comedy · 94m · Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn
When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.
Tourist Trap
PG1979 · Horror, Fantasy · 89m · Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood
After their car breaks down, a group of young travelers find themselves stranded at a roadside museum run by the enigmatic Mr. Slausen and populated by his collection of life-like wax mannequins.
Eyes of Laura Mars
R1978 · Mystery, Thriller, Horror · 104m · Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, René Auberjonois
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.
The Crazies
R1973 · Science Fiction, Horror, Action · 103m · Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lynn Lowry
The military attempts to contain a manmade virus causing death and permanent insanity in those infected, as it overtakes a small Pennsylvania town.
When a Stranger Calls
R1979 · Horror, Thriller · 97m · Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst, Tony Beckley
A student babysitter has her evening disturbed when the phone rings. So begins a series of increasingly terrifying and threatening calls that lead to a shocking revelation.
Burnt Offerings
PG1976 · Horror, Thriller, Mystery · 116m · Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Bette Davis
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Demon Seed
R1977 · Horror, Science Fiction · 94m · Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger
A scientist creates Proteus, an organic supercomputer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.
Phase IV
PG1974 · Horror, Science Fiction · 86m · Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
The Hills Have Eyes
R1977 · Horror · 90m · Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Martin Speer, Dee Wallace
Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.
Shivers
R1975 · Horror, Science Fiction · 88m · Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Allan Kolman
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.
Rabid
R1977 · Horror, Science Fiction · 91m · Marilyn Chambers, Terri Hanauer, Frank Moore, Joe Silver
A young woman develops a taste for human blood after experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into bloodthirsty zombies, leading into a city-wide epidemic.
The Fury
R1978 · Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller · 118m · Kirk Douglas, Amy Irving, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress
When a devious plot separates CIA agent Peter Sandza from his son, Robin, the distraught father manages to see through the ruse. Taken because of his psychic abilities, Robin is being held by Ben Childress, who is studying people with supernatural powers in hopes of developing their talents as weapons. Soon Peter pairs up with Gillian, a teen who has telekinesis, to find and rescue Robin.
Alice, Sweet Alice
R1976 · Horror, Mystery, Crime · 108m · Linda Miller, Mildred Clinton, Paula E. Sheppard, Niles McMaster
Alice is a withdrawn 12-year-old who lives with her mother and her younger sister, Karen, who gets most of the attention from her mother, leaving Alice out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church, suspicions start to turn toward Alice. But could a 12-year-old girl really be capable of such savagery?
Dracula
R1979 · Romance, Drama, Fantasy · 109m · Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Kate Nelligan
In 1913, charming, seductive and sinister Count Dracula travels to England seeking an immortal bride.
The Legend of Hell House
PG1973 · Horror, Mystery · 95m · Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt
A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic, and the only survivor of the previous visit are sent to the notorious Hell House to prove or disprove survival after death. Previous visitors have either been killed or gone mad, and it is up to the team to survive a full week in isolation, and solve the mystery of the Hell House.
Horror Express
R1972 · Horror · 87m · Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas, Alberto de Mendoza
Mysterious and unearthly deaths start to occur while Professor Saxton is transporting the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature he found in Manchuria back to Europe.
Phantasm
R1979 · Horror, Science Fiction · 89m · A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
The Stepford Wives
PG1975 · Thriller, Science Fiction, Horror · 117m · Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Nanette Newman, Judith Baldwin
Joanna Eberhart comes to the town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.
Magic
R1978 · Drama, Horror · 107m · Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter
A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.