
Decade
1970s Horror
The horror that defined the 1970s — ranked by Crypt Score, from era-defining classics to the deep cuts worth resurrecting.
397 titles

Let's Scare Jessica to Death
›PG1971 · Horror, Mystery, Drama · 89m · Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor
Newly released from a mental ward, Jessica hopes to return to life the way it was before her nervous breakdown. But when Jessica moves to a country house with her husband and a close friend, she finds a mysterious girl living in there. Jessica's terror and paranoia resurface as evil forces surround her.

Blood for Dracula
›R1974 · Horror · 103m · Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Vittorio De Sica
Deathly ill Count Dracula and his slimy underling, Anton, travel to Italy in search of a virgin's blood. They're welcomed at the crumbling estate of indebted Marchese Di Fiore, who's desperate to marry off his daughters to rich suitors. But there, instead of pure women, the count encounters incestuous lesbians with vile blood and Marxist manservant Mario, who's suspicious of the aristocratic Dracula.

And Soon the Darkness
›PG1970 · Mystery, Thriller, Crime · 99m · Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, Sandor Elès
Two 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?

Deranged
›R1974 · Crime, Horror, Thriller · 83m · Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Leslie Carlson
A man living in rural Wisconsin takes care of his bed-ridden mother, who is very domineering and teaches him that all women are evil. After she dies, he misses her, and a year later digs her up and takes her home. He learns about taxidermy and begins robbing graves to get materials to patch her up, and inevitably begins looking for fresher sources of materials. Based loosely on the true story of Ed Gein.

Love at First Bite
›PG1979 · Romance, Comedy, Horror · 96m · George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin
Dracula and Renfield relocate to '70s era New York in search of Cindy Sondheim, the reincarnation of Dracula's one true love, Mina Harker. "Trouble adjusting" is a wild understatement for the Count as he battles Cindy's psychiatrist, Jeffrey Rosenberg, a descendant of Van Helsing, who may be in love with Cindy too.

Full Circle
›R1978 · Drama, Horror, Mystery · 98m · Mia Farrow, Keir Dullea, Tom Conti
After the death of her daughter, wealthy housewife Julia Lofting abruptly leaves her husband and moves into an old Victorian home in London to re-start her life. All seems well until she is haunted by the sadness of losing her own child and the ghosts of other children.

Frightmare
›R1974 · Horror, Thriller · 88m · Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax
In 1957, Dorothy and Edmund Yates were committed to an institution for the criminally insane, she for acts of murder and cannibalism and he for covering up her crimes. Fifteen years later, they are pronounced fit for society and released. However, in Dorothy's case the doctors may have jumped the gun a bit. Edmund and eldest daughter, Jackie, try to discover just how far Mother's bloodlust has taken her. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Debbie begins to explore the crazy roots of her family tree as fully as possible.

Rituals
›R1977 · Horror, Adventure · 99m · Hal Holbrook, Lawrence Dane, Robin Gammell
Five doctors go camping in the remote woods of Northern Ontario. When their boots are stolen they begin to suspect they are being stalked.

Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural
›PG1974 · Horror · 85m · Lesley Gilb Taplin, Cheryl Smith, William Whitton
A notorious bank robber kills his wife and flees the police, only to be captured by a mysterious group of figures in an abandoned town. His beautiful daughter, Lila Lee, receives a letter stating that her father is near death and that he needs to see her. Sneaking away at night from her minister guardian, Lila embarks on a terrifying journey...

The Witch Who Came from the Sea
›R1976 · Drama, Horror · 88m · Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown
Anger stemming from being abused as a child drives an alcoholic's daughter to kill as an adult.

What's the Matter with Helen?
›R1971 · Thriller, Horror · 101m · Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.

Petey Wheatstraw
›R1977 · Fantasy, Action, Comedy · 99m · Rudy Ray Moore, Jimmy Lynch, Leroy Daniels
Petey Wheatstraw is a candidate to become the devil's son-in-law. The storyline is a scaffolding on which Rudy Ray Moore's standup humor can be unfolded. Beginning life as the afterbirth to a watermelon, the young Wheatstraw becomes a martial artist, but is unable to best the evil comedy team of Leroy and Skillet, who also indulge in wholesale murder. Satan restores the comedians' victims to life, and charges Petey with the task of marrying his clock-stoppingly ugly daughter to give him a grandchild. When Petey attempts to default on the deal, he is pursued by the devil's henchmen.

The Killing Kind
›R1974 · Thriller, Horror · 95m · Ann Sothern, John Savage, Luana Anders
A twisted ex-convict moves into his mother's boardinghouse.

Scream, Pretty Peggy
›NR1973 · Drama, Horror, Mystery · 74m · Ted Bessell, Sian Barbara Allen, Bette Davis
A sculptor hires young college girls to take care of his elderly mother and his supposedly insane sister, both of whom live in the old family mansion with him.

When Michael Calls
›1972 · Horror, Thriller, TV Movie · 73m · Ben Gazzara, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Douglas
A woman begins to receive ominous phone calls from her nephew, who died 15 years earlier. With each phone call, a family member dies. Will she be the next in line?

Piranha
›R1978 · Horror, Science Fiction, Comedy · 94m · Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy
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
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
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.

Scars of Dracula
›R1970 · Horror · 96m · Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley
The Prince of Darkness casts his undead shadow once more over the cursed village of Kleinenberg when his ashes are splashed with bat's blood and Dracula is resurrected. And two innocent victims search for a missing loved one... loved to death by Dracula's mistress. But after they discover his blood-drained corpse in Dracula's castle necropolis, the Vampire Lord's lustful vengeance begins.

Madhouse
›PG1974 · Horror, Mystery · 92m · Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry
A horror movie star returns to his famous role after spending years in a mental institution, but the character seems to be committing murders independent of his will.

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
›R1974 · Horror, Science Fiction · 95m · Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith
Dr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
›PG1972 · Horror, Thriller · 91m · Shelley Winters, Mark Lester, Chloe Franks
A demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.

The Mephisto Waltz
›R1971 · Horror · 115m · Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins
A frustrated pianist himself, music journalist Myles Clarkson is thrilled to interview virtuoso Duncan Ely. Duncan, however, is terminally ill and not much interested in Myles until noticing that Myles' hands are ideally suited for piano. Suddenly, he can't get enough of his new friend, and Myles' wife, Paula, becomes suspicious of Duncan's intentions. Her suspicions grow when Duncan dies and Myles mysteriously becomes a virtuoso overnight.

Sugar Hill
›PG1974 · Crime, Action, Horror · 91m · Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley
When a nightclub owner is murdered by gangsters after refusing to sell his business to the mob boss, his grieving fiancé enlists the help of a voodoo priestess to avenge his death.
