When it comes tohorrorcinema, every decade of film production has a value of its own. From the post-war panic of the ’50s to the slasher-infused ’80s, fear has been exploited in different ways at the same pace as film evolution. It doesn’t matter what period you were born in, chances are one of your first contacts with movies was through a horror film that “wasn’t supposed to be seen” and which hit on a vulnerable vein of society. Such a journey is a darn fun one.
One of those insanely important periods of horror, and cinema in general, was the ’70s. The ’70s of the sexual revolution, hippie culture, and disco. Emerging from the more conservative 1960s, cinema was hit with a blunt twist of experiments, new visions, and a new nerve that appealed tohorror filmmakers looking for new ways to shock. It isn’t a coincidence that many of cinema’s greats come from the ’70s, and that includes horror.
’70s horror moviesspeak for themselves.The Exorcist,Carrie,andSuspiriaare only a tiny fraction of the group that make the decade a noteworthy one in film history. However, if we go deeper, we will find a particular style of film that perfectly reflects the aesthetic of the 1970s and the iconic gritty aspect of that cinematic era.
Like many filmmakers behind those peculiar films, we went out of our comfort zone of only observing the ’70s, since many directors have been able to capture the style of the ’70s with more modern films. Again, thisisn’ta list of thebest horror filmsof the ’70s or set in the ’70s. It’s a list of films that perfectly capture the gritty ’70s aesthetic that works so well in setting the mood for a journey back in time that isn’t exactly pleasant or welcoming.
10X (2022)
Ti West’s groundbreaking horror film of 2022,X, featured the story of a group of filmmakers looking to shoot their next film “on location.” The year is 1979, and the adult film industry is becoming a mainstream form of entertainment. Maxine, along with her film crew, arrives at a farm that looks abandoned in a rural part of Texas. However, an elderly couple lives there, but they have no beef with lending them the site. The problem is that this seemingly innocent couple isn’t very… friendly.
Against the “Corruption” of Society
West’s (or should we say A24’s?) return to horror films was very well-received by fans, who saw a confident reawakening of the slasher genre taking place. He believed so much in the concept that he “designed” a character that wasfurther expanded in a prequeland the upcoming sequel.Xis a great horror film that uses the gritty backdrop of ’70s porn production to set a mood and perhaps distract the viewer. Our immediate reaction is to think the elderly couple will attack them because they’re doing porn, and there was a clash between liberal and conservative values in the ’70s because of society being corrupted. The reality is something far more grim, greatly explored in the prequel calledPearl.
Stream on Prime Video
9The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The classichorror film by Tobe Hooper,The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, takes us once again to rural Texas. Five friends are on a road trip, and they’re the average young Americans who see no problem in picking up hitchhikers and addressing astrology as a guide. Their trip is cut short when they’re forced to make a stop in an area where a family of cannibals lives. One by one, they fall prey to a madman wielding a chainsaw. But hey, he was just getting tonight’s dinner.
One of the Greatest Horror Statements Ever Made
AfterThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, horror wasn’t the same again. Forget about passing through Texas and even eating meat. People were in shock because of Hooper’s clever attack on capitalism and Americana, which used a horror-based backdrop to install a message about life in the wasteland of rotting flesh and rusted metal. It’s a film so raw (but not graphic), you’re able to almost smell the odors, touch the bones of long-forgotten victims, and feel like you’re there on a farm where the unspeakable is the rule. When it comes to gritty horror from the 1970s, there’s nothing more authentic thanthis iconic film.
Stream on Freevee
8Black Christmas (1974)
Bob Clark’s slasher classic,Black Christmas, tells the story of a group of sorority sisters who are planning what to do during the holiday season. They receive a very unsettling call from a man, but it all seems to be a prank. However, a murder takes place and a girl disappears, and suddenly Christmas won’t be as jolly when they realize the killer may be closer than they thought. This is a very underrated horror film with a cult status that confirms why it’sthe ultimate Christmas horrorfilm.
The Definitive Slasher Pioneer
Black Christmasis anything but a friendly horror film, considering it carries the word “Christmas” in the title. It’s a gritty film that’s perfectly executed by a director to deliver a message: the place where you live isn’t safe anymore. The framing is claustrophobic, its visuals nightmarish, and it provides a fantastic twist ending that has the capacity to haunt your dreams for days. It set the standard for many films of the slasher subgenre that grew in the ’80s, much more than Hitchcock’sPsycho.
Stream on Shudder
Related:The Best Horror Movie of Every Year in the 70s
7The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The Hills Have Eyes
Wes Craven’sextremely scary filmThe Hills Have Eyestook viewers to the Nevada desert, where a family is passing through on a trip to California. As usual, they stop for gas, and the station owner recommends staying on the main road without making any unnecessary detours. But when the Carters continue their trip, an accident leaves them vulnerable and helpless to the savages that come out of the hills whenever fresh meat shows up.
Something Lies in the Remains
After debuting in the industry with the vicious film that wasThe Last House on the Left, Wes Craven decided to throw another jab at America with his gritty rendering of a road trip gone to shambles. This time he took us to the desert, where the vestiges of a different kind of family remain and survive by cannibalizing the innocent souls traveling through the area. Not much needs explanation as to why this group of savages reside there.
Craven’s film is more about the scorching heat, the smells of rotting meat, and decency being only a suggestion when two families collide due to the survival of their own.
Stream on Tubi
6Carrie (1976)
Carrie,based on Stephen King’sfirst novel, tells the story of a troubled teenager who’s going through bullying and every other type of attacks in school. Carrie White could find comfort in her own home, but her extremely religious mother just feels contempt when she turns into a woman. When her bullies plan the ultimate prank to be executed during prom night, which Carrie attends unaware of the vicious acts that will be carried out that night, Carrie reacts. Her telekinetic abilities will be the end of her school, the teachers, and her classmates.
Teenage Angst on Steroids
King’s materialization of a puberty burst was transformed into a fantastic horror film that heavily reflected teenage culture in the ’70s. But it also provided a very realistic glance into the world of religious values taken to the extreme, during an era of sexual reawakening and political turmoil. Brian de Palma’s direction allows audiences to visit the realistic setting of Carrie’s household, where mother Margaret would rather keep everything in the dark before allowing the outside world to see what a sinner her daughter has become. This isone of the best religious horror filmsever made, and it faithfully encompasses the 1970s horror aesthetic.
Stream on Max
5The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
The Devil’s Rejects
Rob Zombie’s follow-up toHouse of 1000 Corpses,The Devil’s Rejects, is a 2005 horror film that invites viewers on a trip as the surviving members of the Firefly family have gone on the road to escape the wrath of Sheriff Wydell. Unfortunately, their rampage of murder and mayhem only seems to grow while navigating the wasteland of 1970s America. It’s one of Zombie’s finest films and the best of the Firefly trilogy.
What Does Gritty Look Like?
Zombie’s filmsare almost all based on the aesthetic of 1970s horror. However, inThe Devil’s Rejects, he uses a bigger budget and creative freedom to transport us to a more authentic version of the decadent ’70s. Of course, it takes place in Texas, because there’s no other setting for gritty horror films. It’s obviously much better thanHouse of 1000 Corpses, but more than that, it’s an entirely different film. While the former was a visual spectacle of horror imagery, the latter is a character-driven journey to hell itself, led by a great representation of evil in the hands of Bill Moseley.
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4Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter’s classic,Halloween, is the quintessential ’70s horror film that introduced many tropes to pop culture and changed the genre’s landscape forever. It all starts when 6-year-old Michael Myers viciously stabs his sister when she decides to sleep with her boyfriend and doesn’t take care of him during Halloween. Michael never speaks again and is institutionalized. Fifteen years later, he escapes and returns to Haddonfield to continue his rampage of murder.
Suddenly, Home Wasn’t Safe
There are many reasons whyHalloweenis an important film. From setting the rules of its subgenre to perfectly replicating Carpenter’s idea of paying tribute to his favorite films, However, it’s also a gritty rendering of suburbia being shaken by nothingness, a faceless villain who kills without reason, and the great embodiment of that figure known as the boogeyman.
Laurie Strode,one of Hollywood’s finest final girls, confirms Michael is the boogeyman. But who does she confirm this to? Dr. Sam Loomis or an entire generation of viewers who understood the message: Your home wasn’t exactly safe anymore, and there could be a monster watching from outside, waiting for you to turn out the lights.
3Death Proof (2007)
Death Proof
The project that wasGrindhouseis an underappreciated effort to teach a bit of history to modern audiences. It consisted of two features being shown back to back, each portraying a different adaptation of an exploitation film, a film style heavily prominent in ’70s cinema. In Quentin Tarantino’s feature,Death Proof, Stuntman Mike McKay is a specialist at modifying vehicles, so he can experiment on wild car accidents to see how death-proof the vehicles turn out.
A Homage that Works
It’s a Tarantino joint, so you can be sure he will apply his cinematic language to make the film as authentic as can be.Death Proofis an exploitation film that builds up to its iconic car crash sequence that not only reflects the graphic violence but also goes for the raw aesthetic of the ’70s films that relied only on practical effects and risky stunt sequences.
Trust us when we say Tarantino knows enough about this period of cinema to transport us to a decade where, in horror, rules were a mere suggestion and gritty aesthetics were part of every single movie experience. It was sadlya box-office bomb.
Rent on Prime Video
2Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
John McNaughton’s feature directorial debut,Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, is a horrific film starring Michael Rooker (also debuting) as Henry, a Chicago newcomer who, right from the start, goes on a murder rampage in the Windy City. There he reunites with Otis, also an ex-convict who lives with his sister. Henry plants the seed in Otis' brain, and they both continue Henry’s destructive tour through 1970s America.
The Monster that Lurks
Based on the lives of Henry Lee Lucas and his buddy Ottis Toole,Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killeris a celebration ofthe nihilistic nature of a serial killerwho felt no remorse when ending the lives of many Americans throughout his spree. McNaughton’s was extremely controversial during its initial run, and it was rated X until 1990, when an unrated cut was shown. Few films feel as raw and full of dread as this one. Considering it was shot on 16mm on a very low budget, it has that beautiful grainy aspect to it, something very prominent in the ’70s aesthetic of horror films from that era.
1Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Cannibal Holocaust
InCannibal Holocaust, the 1980 exploitation film that bent the rules of horror and actually put its director on trial, a group of filmmakers went unresponsive after entering the Amazonian jungle to make a documentary. When a professor heads over to investigate the disappearance of the crew, he comes across the footage that may reveal what happened to them. Ruggero Deodato’s film was one of the first attempts atfound footage horror.
Shock Value in the Birth of the Reagan Era
Many accused Deodato of shooting a snuff film and releasing it to audiences all over the world. But in reality,Cannibal Holocaustis just another one of the cannibal films that got very popular in the ’80s, all capitalizing on the gritty nature of realism and documentary-style footage that was somehow always found. When it comes to exploitation horror films of the 1970s, Deodato is one of the greatest referents, withLast Cannibal World(1977) being the business card for getting a higher budget to makeCannibal Holocaust, the gritty spectacle that shook the entire world just as Reagan was establishing his conservative ways.
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To stay in the mood of the ’70s, here’s a video about the best Westerns from that decade:
