The Decade in Horror: The 1970s

"We have a lot of reason to be fearful in the world," Frank Farley, Temple University

One of the common theories used to explain the horror paradox is that people watch horror movies as a way of coping with actual fears or violence. Since one source of our fears in undoubtedly the world in which we live, I thought it would be interesting to look at the popular horror movies of different decades to see how they reflect the general fears and uncertainties of the times.

The 1970s

As a result of the turbulent 1960s, horror films of the 1970s became even harder and more excessive.  They were also more of them than ever before.  The phenomenon of looking inward continued and when President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 after the Watergate scandal, mistrust of a corrupt America was at an all-time high.  A new attitude towards individualism became such a contrast to the past that author Tom Wolfe coined the term, the "Me Decade", to describe the 70s.

A revoltuion against Hollywood had begun in the late 1960s with a new generation of young filmmakers producing movies outside the system.  In the 1970s, the "graduating class" of horror filmmakers remains the most influential of any decade:  George A. Romero, Brian DePalma, Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Joe Dante and John Carpenter.  At the same time, influential directors of other genres were getting their starts in horror: Ivan Reitman, William Friedkin, Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg, Richard Donner and Ridley Scott.

     

 Influential horror directors got their starts with Carrie (Brian DePalma), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper), The Hills Have Eyes (Wes Craven) and The Brood (David Cronenberg).

 

This is my favorite era of horror to study because of the number of horror trends that occurred in the 70s.  It's like producers and/or studios figured out that from one horror blockbuster could spring a seemingly unlmited number of profitable knockoffs.  Hence, The Exorcist started a mini-industry of devil/Satan movies, including titles like: Satan's School for Girls, Satanic Rites of Dracula, Devil's Rain, Race with the Devil, The Omen, To the Devil a Daughter, Demon Lover, Demon Seed, The Possessed, Ruby, Satan's Cheerleaders, The Sentinel, Patrick and The Redeemer: Son of Satan.

Three of my favorite devil/Satan movies of the 70s:  The Exorcist, The Omen, Race with the Devil.

 

 As the hippie generation wound down, a new culture of environmentalism wound up; hence the horror trend of nature gone wild films like Willard, Frogs, Jaws, Grizzly, Squirm, Day of the Animals, Empire of the Ants, Kingdom of the Spiders, Orca, The Pack, Piranha, Killer Fish, Nightwing and The Prophecy.

The quantity of  Hammer Films continued through the mid-70s, if not the quality.  At the same time, British rival Amicus Productions used many of Hammer's onscreen and offscreen talents to develop the popular sub-genre of the horror anthology.  Their successful movies of the 70s included:  The House the Dripped Blood, Tales from the Crypt, Asylum and The Vault of Horror.

When Jaws was released in 1975, the summer blockbuster was born.  Now, the first blockbusters were really in the 1950s, as Hollywood attempted to lure audiences away from television even as they began using the medium to advertise their product.  This was the first time movies opened simultaeously coast-to-coast and there were lines around the block.  But Jaws reflected this phenomenon on steroids.  One result of the summer blockbuster was that one hit movie seemed to automatically green-light a sequel (or sequels), usually nowhere near the quality of the original.    Exorcist II: The Heretic, Damien: Omen II, Jaws 2, anyone?

Unworthy horror sequels of the 70s:  Exorcist II: The Heretic, Jaws 2, Damien: Omen II.

One last horror trend to mention is the exploitation movie.  These movies did not have major releases, but could be found in seedier theaters on grindhouse double-bills.  And while they may not have had the exposure of the blockbusters, they would eventually experience great success in the home video boom of the 1980s.  Even their titles were exploitative:  Don't Open the Door, Don't Go in the House, Don't Look in the Basement, Are You in the House Alone, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, Toolbox Murders, Driller Killer and Tourist Trap.

Finally, at least for purposes of this article, 1978 saw the release of perhaps the most influential horror movie of my lifetime: Halloween.  Its success spans decades and remains evident today.  Even though director Bob Clark walked similar grounds four years earlier with Black Christmas, it is Halloween that will be rememberd for finally bringing into the horror consciousness the slasher sub-genre introduced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960s Psycho.  Horror in the 1980s would largely be a result of the success of Halloween.  Check back tomorrow to read all about it...

Underrated classic Black Christmas and the most influential horror movie of the 70s: Halloween.

Other 1970s milestones:

1970.  First pocket calculators
1972.  The Munich massacre at the Summer Olympics
1973.  Oil crisis
1973.  The first MRI.
1975.  The official end of the Vietnam War
1975.  Birth of VCR for mass market
1978.  Guyana tragedy (Jim Jones)
1979.  Energy crisis

Sources:

Horror Film History: Horror Films of the 1980s