Best '70s horror movies
The 1970s have been referred to as a 鈥攁nd with good reason. This is the decade that birthed the slasher franchise as we know it with the debut of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and "Halloween." It gave us horror blockbusters like "Jaws" and "Alien," both of which inspired franchises of their own. On the whole, horror captured the feeling of the era, delivering paranoid thrillers like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Don't Look Now," along with the sharp social satire of "Dawn of the Dead" and "The Stepford Wives."
These films continue to be talked about, analyzed, and revived. In honor of its 50th anniversary, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is through November 2025 with some of the original cast in attendance. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of "Jaws," which enjoyed a of its own, along with . Other '70s horror films live on in different ways: The story of "Alien" has continued with the FX on Hulu series "," which wrapped up its first season on Sept. 23, 2025. The well-received show between the original "Alien" and the 1986 sequel "Aliens."
But which of these beloved movies are the best of the best? When it comes to the greatest horror films of the 1970s, there's almost too much to choose from. To figure out which titles truly rise to the top, 爆料TV compiled a list of the best '70s horror movies of all time based on our own 爆料TV score, a weighted index split evenly between user rating and . To qualify, the film had to have horror as one of its genres on IMDb, have a Metascore, and have at least 5,000 IMDb user votes. Ties were broken by votes.
#50. God Told Me To (1976)
- Director: Larry Cohen
- 爆料TV score: 71.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#49. Demon Seed (1977)
- Director: Donald Cammell
- 爆料TV score: 72.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 94 minutes
#48. Rabid (1977)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- 爆料TV score: 73.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#47. Burnt Offerings (1976)
- Director: Dan Curtis
- 爆料TV score: 73.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 48
- Runtime: 116 minutes
#46. Phase IV (1974)
- Director: Saul Bass
- 爆料TV score: 73.4
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 49
- Runtime: 84 minutes
#45. The Fury (1978)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- 爆料TV score: 73.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 118 minutes
#44. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
- Director: Wes Craven
- 爆料TV score: 73.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 90 minutes
#43. Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
- Director: John D. Hancock
- 爆料TV score: 74.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 89 minutes
#42. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
- Director: Fred Walton
- 爆料TV score: 74.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 97 minutes
#41. Shivers (1975)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- 爆料TV score: 74.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#40. The Vampire Lovers (1970)
- Director: Roy Ward Baker
- 爆料TV score: 74.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#39. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
- Director: Peter Duffell
- 爆料TV score: 75.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 102 minutes
#38. Asylum (I) (1972)
- Director: Roy Ward Baker
- 爆料TV score: 75.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#37. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
- Director: Alfred Sole
- 爆料TV score: 75.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#36. Race with the Devil (1975)
- Director: Jack Starrett
- 爆料TV score: 75.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 53
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#35. Dracula (1979)
- Director: John Badham
- 爆料TV score: 76.4
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 109 minutes
#34. Horror Express (1972)
- Director: Eugenio Mart铆n
- 爆料TV score: 76.5
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#33. Long Weekend (1978)
- Director: Colin Eggleston
- 爆料TV score: 76.8
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 97 minutes
#32. Twins of Evil (1971)
- Director: John Hough
- 爆料TV score: 76.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#31. The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
- Director: Dario Argento
- 爆料TV score: 77.0
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 112 minutes
#30. Daughters of Darkness (1971)
- Director: Harry K眉mel
- 爆料TV score: 77.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#29. The Legend of Hell House (1973)
- Director: John Hough
- 爆料TV score: 77.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 95 minutes
#28. Magic (1978)
- Director: Richard Attenborough
- 爆料TV score: 77.6
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 49
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#27. Phantasm (1979)
- Director: Don Coscarelli
- 爆料TV score: 78.0
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 89 minutes
#26. Zombie (1979)
- Director: Lucio Fulci
- 爆料TV score: 78.2
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#25. The Medusa Touch (1978)
- Director: Jack Gold
- 爆料TV score: 78.7
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 49
- Runtime: 109 minutes
#24. The Brood (1979)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- 爆料TV score: 79.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 92 minutes
#23. The Stepford Wives (1975)
- Director: Bryan Forbes
- 爆料TV score: 79.2
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#22. The Other (1972)
- Director: Robert Mulligan
- 爆料TV score: 79.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#21. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
- Director: Nicolas Gessner
- 爆料TV score: 80.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 53
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#20. Sisters (1972)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- 爆料TV score: 80.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 93 minutes
#19. Martin (1976)
- Director: George A. Romero
- 爆料TV score: 81.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 95 minutes
#18. Black Christmas (1974)
- Director: Bob Clark
- 爆料TV score: 82.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 98 minutes
#17. Theater of Blood (1973)
- Director: Douglas Hickox
- 爆料TV score: 84.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 104 minutes
#16. Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- 爆料TV score: 84.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#15. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
- Director: Jim Sharman
- 爆料TV score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 100 minutes
#14. Suspiria (1977)
- Director: Dario Argento
- 爆料TV score: 86.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 92 minutes
#13. The Omen (1976)
- Director: Richard Donner
- 爆料TV score: 86.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 111 minutes
#12. Don't Look Now (1973)
- Director: Nicolas Roeg
- 爆料TV score: 86.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 95
- Runtime: 110 minutes
#11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- Director: Philip Kaufman
- 爆料TV score: 86.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#10. Eraserhead (1977)
- Director: David Lynch
- 爆料TV score: 87.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 89 minutes
#9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Director: Tobe Hooper
- 爆料TV score: 87.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 83 minutes
#8. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
- Director: Werner Herzog
- 爆料TV score: 87.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#7. Carrie (1976)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- 爆料TV score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 98 minutes
#6. The Wicker Man (1973)
- Director: Robin Hardy
- 爆料TV score: 89.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#5. Deep Red (1975)
- Director: Dario Argento
- 爆料TV score: 89.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#4. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Director: George A. Romero
- 爆料TV score: 90.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#3. Halloween (1978)
- Director: John Carpenter
- 爆料TV score: 91.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#2. The Exorcist (1973)
- Director: William Friedkin
- 爆料TV score: 94.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 122 minutes
#1. Alien (1979)
- Director: Ridley Scott
- 爆料TV score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 117 minutes
