The 50 Greatest Horror Movies of the 1970s

1971

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Verdict: One of the genuinely great revenge tales of the 1970s, Vincent Price plays a mysterious Doctor who sets out to kill other physicians who inadvertently led to his wife’s death. Creative and grandiose in image, this is a timeless classic.

Doctors are being murdered in a bizarre manner: bats, bees, killer frog masks, etc., which represent the nine Biblical plagues. The crimes are orchestrated by a demented organ player with the help of his mute assistant. The detective is stumped until he finds that all of the doctors being killed assisted a Dr. Vesalius on an unsuccessful operation involving the wife of Dr. Phibes, but he couldn’t be the culprit, could he? He was killed in a car crash upon learning of his wife’s death…

The Cat o’ Nine Tales

Verdict: Back when Dario Argento was a master of giallo terror he crafted this eerie little piece which features plenty of fantastic camera work and a mystery that ultimately rivals the brutality of the film.

A newspaper reporter and a retired, blind journalist try to solve a series of killings connected to a pharmaceutical company’s experimental, top-secret research projects and in so doing, both become targets of the killer.

Let’s Scare Jessica to Death

Verdict: Perhaps a tad overrated by some, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death still manages to create some very eerie atmosphere and some imagery that will certainly stick with you.

After a stint in a psychiatric facility Jessica, her husband and a friend move to remote farm they have recently purchased. There they find a young woman by the name of Emily living in the house and they invite her to stay. When Jessica goes for a swim in the lake, she sees a body just below the water’s surface. When they go into the village to sell some old furniture, they learn that a woman by the name of Abigail Bishop drowned in the lake and her body was never found. Local folklore has that Abigail is now a vampire roaming the countryside. A mute blond girl leads her to the body of a dead man but the body is not there when Jessica goes for help. Jessica and those around begin to wonder if she is losing her mind.

Twins of Evil

Verdict: Don’t piss a witch off, because eventually, you’re going to stumble upon one who just isn’t in the mood for taking any crap. Awesome flick with some unexpected chills!

A religious sect led by Gustav Weil hunts all women suspected of witchcraft, killing a number of innocent victims. Young Katy, Gustav’s niece, will involve herself in a devilish cult, and become an instrument of Justice in the region.

Willard

Verdict: It’s one thing to exact revenge when disgruntled, it’s a totally different (and terrifying) thing to unleash your buddy rats to do the dirty work. Freaky. Movie.

A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. (And their increasing number of friends) However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.

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