Movies - TV
The 15 Best '70s Horror Movies Ranked
By LAYLA HALFHILL
15. The Omen
Richard Donner, the beloved director of "Superman" and "The Goonies," first broke through with "The Omen" — one of the highest-grossing films of 1976. It stars Gregory Peck as an American diplomat who secretly adopts a baby, only to discover later that the boy, Damien, is the Antichrist.
14. Hausu
Nobuhiko Obayashi's wildly psychedelic Japanese cult classic, "Hausu" (also known as "House"), is a work of mad genius: part fantasy, part horror, part comedy, and pure chaos. At a basic level, "House" is a tale of innocence versus evil, infused with the antiwar themes that are a hallmark of Obayashi's work.
13. Eraserhead
Though the plot is somewhat difficult to describe, "Eraserhead" is David Lynch's surrealist, nightmarish vision of fatherhood and domesticity. Using black and white cinematography, industrial sounds and images, grotesque practical effects, and uncomfortable scenarios, Lynch's first feature unnerves and disturbs with an avant-garde style.
12. Black Christmas
The plot of "Black Christmas" revolves around a mysterious killer named "Billy," who begins stalking and murdering the members of a sorority house while occasionally calling them on the phone to harass them with obscenities. It's a terrific and important work that has also inspired two remakes.
11. Body Snatchers
Directed by Philip Kaufman, 1978's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is a more terrifying remake of the 1958 film of the same name. The story revolves around mysterious pods that begin to infect the residents of San Francisco, forcing Donald Sutherland's Matthew Bennell to find a way to destroy or outrun the pods to save himself and others.