When you notify the organizers of Countdown to Halloween
that you’re going to participate, they tell you it’s not necessary to
contribute every day of the month. They
don’t want it to be stressful; they want it to be fun. For me, though, I couldn’t do it unless I
posted every day. That’s the fun part
for me: planning 31 days of posts, watching all those movies, and then tying it
all together at the end. There has to be
a payoff for me; what did I learn about myself during the month?
As you know by now, my theme for the month was the horror
movies of the 1970s. This was the era in
which I grew up and in which I developed my lifelong interests: comic books, Batman, Dark Shadows, Planet of
the Apes, Universal Monsters, Hammer Films, Vincent Price and, of course,
horror movies in general. Individually,
each movie I’ve discussed this month carries a meaningful memory for me. But collectively, what do they say about the
horror genre? What do they say about me?
My Parents
First of all, as if I didn’t already know it, I have the
greatest parents in the world! I would
never admit that I was spoiled, but how grateful am I that Gene and/or Karine
would take me to see all these movies?
Most of them were rated G, GP or PG (more below), so it wasn’t a matter
of them having to sit with me through all of them. It was a matter of getting me to the theater
or drive-in. However, the point is that
they did sit with me through a great
many of them.
When the movie was controversial (The Exorcist) or rated R
(The Reincarnation of Peter Proud), they didn’t tell me “no”; they escorted me
and then afterwards offered to talk about them.
Why would they do this? Was it to
shut me up; did I just hound them until they could no longer stand it? Or did they somehow see how much joy these
movies gave me? I know my mother enjoyed
the thrillers; I’m sure I got that from her.
But my dad? I can’t believe he
endured all these movies for me.
Film Ratings
The modern voluntary movie rating system was born in 1968
with the ratings of G, M, R and X. (M
later became GP, which later became PG.)
Of the 32 movies I watched this month, 21 of them were the equivalent of
today’s PG, which means “some material may not be suitable for children.” I would say that 30 of the 32 movies I watched
have some content that wouldn’t be suitable for children. (Escape from the Planet of the Apes was rated
G and Godzilla vs. Megalon was not rated.)
However, I would also say that of the 21 rated the
equivalent of PG, several of them would be rated R if they were made
today. I realize that society changes
over time, but the subject matter acceptable without parental restriction in
the 1970s continues to amaze me. (I
wrote more about this in my post for The Reincarnation of Peter Proud.) What I’m wondering now, looking at the
general trend, is if horror movies were being made for kids instead of for
adults.
This was during the final years of the “Monster Kid
Era”. An entire generation had
discovered the classic monster movies on TV and were devouring information
about them in Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Rather than actually making horror movies for
kids in the 70s, I wonder if they were simply rating them as acceptable for
kids because they were the appropriate audience. Rating The Abominable Dr. Phibes R would
likely have killed any success for it at the box office.
1970s Horror Trends
I love to categorize and make lists, so I explored various
elements of the 32 movies I watched to see if there were any trends. To learn if those trends carry any historical
significance, we have to assume those 32 movies are “my favorite” movies from
the 70s. I compared them to 32 of “my
favorite” horror movies I’ve watched and rated in the last ten years. Below are the results:
|
Ratings
|
||
|
|
1969-1978
|
2005-2014
|
|
G
|
1
|
0
|
|
M-GP-PG
|
21
|
0
|
|
PG13
|
N/A
|
3
|
|
R
|
7
|
28
|
|
UR
|
3
|
1
|
The results above are obvious. There has been a dramatic increae in the
number of R-rated horror movies between the 1970s and the last ten years. But, I’m not so sure the reasons are
obvious. It could be that the movies
contain content that is more adult in nature.
However, could it also be that we have actually become stricter in the
United States about content that we think
is more adult in nature?
|
Horror Sub-Genres
|
||
|
|
1969-1978
|
2005-2014
|
|
# “Creature”
|
6
|
1
|
|
# “Mad Scientist”
|
5
|
0
|
|
# “Devil/Demons”
|
4
|
1
|
|
# “Vampire”
|
3
|
3
|
|
# “Nature Gone Bad”
|
3
|
0
|
|
# “Hagspoitation”
|
2
|
0
|
|
# “Gory Thriller”
|
2
|
8
|
|
# “Haunted House/Ghosts”
|
2
|
6
|
|
# “Sci-Fi”
|
2
|
2
|
|
# “Portmanteau”
|
1
|
2
|
|
# “Giant Monster”
|
1
|
0
|
|
# “Reincarnation”
|
1
|
0
|
|
# “Foreign Horror”
|
0
|
2
|
|
# “Slasher”
|
0
|
5
|
|
# “Zombies”
|
0
|
2
|
I was interested in the sub-genres that were popular with me
during the two eras. The majority of my
favorite horror movies in the 70s dealt with creatures, mad scientists, the
devil or demons, and vampires. The
majority of my favorite horror movies in the last ten years are gory thrillers,
haunted house or ghost movies, and slasher films.
|
Companies Producing
Horror Films
|
||
|
|
1969-1978
|
2005-2014
|
|
American International
|
6
|
0
|
|
20th Century Fox
|
3
|
2
|
|
Hammer Films
|
3
|
1
|
|
Bing Crosby Prod.
|
2
|
0
|
|
MGM
|
2
|
0
|
|
Warner Bros./Subsidiaries
|
2
|
8
|
|
Amicus
|
1
|
0
|
|
Toho
|
1
|
0
|
|
Columbia/Sony
|
0
|
2
|
|
Lionsgate
|
0
|
1
|
|
Paramount/Subsidiaries
|
0
|
2
|
|
Universal
|
0
|
1
|
|
Other/Independent
|
10
|
15
|
What companies were a horror fan’s friends in the 70s,
producing the most of my favorite films in the genre? Without a doubt, American International
Pictures (AIP) takes the crown. Hammer
Films is second at half the number of movies; however, they were winding down
production in the mid-70s. Still, the
majority of horror movies in the 70s were produced by independent filmmakers.
Warner Brothers and its various subsidiaries (Dark Castle,
New Line, etc.) own the crown currently, with no other major studio really
making horror movies that have been favorites.
It’s interesting that the majority of horror movies are still being
produced by independent filmmakers, perhaps proving that the genre is
best-suited for the creativity and flexibility that exist only outside the
traditional studio system.
|
Studios Releasing
Horror Films
|
||
|
|
1969-1978
|
2005-2014
|
|
American International
|
8
|
0
|
|
Warner Bros./Subsidiaries
|
6
|
5
|
|
20th Century Fox/Subsidiaries
|
5
|
2
|
|
MGM
|
2
|
2
|
|
Columbia/Subsidiaries
|
1
|
2
|
|
United Artists
|
1
|
0
|
|
Lionsgate
|
0
|
2
|
|
Paramount
|
0
|
1
|
|
Universal
|
0
|
1
|
|
Television Movie
|
2
|
0
|
|
Straight to Home Video
|
0
|
2
|
|
Independent
|
7
|
14
|
American International again led the way for horror by
releasing more of my favorite genre movies in the 70s than any other
studio. Warner Brothers and 20th
Century Fox were not far behind, though.
It looks like in the 70s, the traditional studio system took the
responsibility for releasing most of my favorite horror films.
But in recent years, the studios have gotten away from
releasing my favorite horror movies.
Nearly 50% of them are released independently. Nevertheless, Warner Brothers and its
subsidiaries are still a horror fan’s friend.
Actually, I don’t know that they’re particularly friendly to horror of
if they just release the most movies in general.
|
Miscellaneous
|
||
|
|
1969-1978
|
2005-2014
|
|
# of sequels
|
7
|
2
|
|
# based on a book (or graphic novel)
|
6
|
3
|
|
# that were/will be remade
|
11
|
7
|
|
Average IMDb User Rating
|
6.1
|
6.3
|
|
Average IMDb My Rating
|
7.0
|
7.8
|
|
Average Rotten Tomatoes Critics Rating
|
57.2%
|
57.7%
|
|
Average Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating
|
57.0%
|
55.2%
|
As sequel crazy as we are these days, more of my favorite
horror sequels were from the 70s, as were horror movies based on previously
published books.
Eleven of my favorite horror movies of the 70s have been
remade at least once since then, compared to seven of my favorite horror movies
from the last ten years that are remakes.
Interestingly, none of the current favorites are remakes of my favorite
70s horror movies; however, two of them are remakes of 70s horror movies that
are not my favorites.
Public opinion regarding my favorite horror movies of the
70s has not changed much with my favorite horror films of the last ten years,
if you look at the average IMDb User Ratings, Rotten Tomatoes Critics Ratings
and Rotten Tomatoes Audience Ratings. This
could mean that, regardless of era, the general public thinks an average horror
movie would be rated about a 6 (IMDb) or around 57% (Rotten Tomatoes).
It’s interesting to me that there isn’t more of a shift one
way or the other. This might indicate that
horror films have always been somewhat popular.
The only significant difference I see from this table is I’ve tended to
rate my favorite horror movies from the last ten years almost a point higher on
average than my favorite horror movies from the 70s. This surprises me since I tend to complain
that “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
Awards
There are names that appear frequently in the credits of my
favorite horror movies from the 70s and I want to recognize them here as
perhaps the most influential people in the genre.
Producer.
First of all is Dan Curtis, who is responsible for writing, directing
and/or producing four of my favorites.
He is also responsible for 14 more genre productions that were not my favorites.
Director.
Although several directors made more than one of my favorites, there
isn’t one who is a clear favorite.
Instead, I want to recognize two “up and coming” directors who got their
start with my favorites: Richard Donner
and Brian DePalma.
Makeup/Special Effects. This one is a no-brainer. Although involved with only 3 of my
favorites, this was the beginning of Rick Baker’s career. I was a fan of his from the 1976 remake of
King Kong. In fact, when my family went
to Houston on vacation, I met him at a convention. He signed a lobby card picturing Kong’s giant
palm holding Jessica Lange (who was struggling to keep her top on) with an
arrow and the statement, “That’s my hand.”
Actor. I’m
surprised that more of my favorite actors don’t appear in my favorite horror
movies of the 70s. Vincent Price is in
only two of them, Christopher Lee is in only one, and Peter Cushing is in only
three of them. Of course, they were all
in many more horror movies during the decade.
So I’m going to judge this one based on my favorite performance, and I’d
say it’s Oliver Reed from Burnt Offerings, simply because watching it recently,
I hadn’t remembered how good he was in it.
Actress. I’m
going to use the same criteria to say that my favorite performance by an
actress in one of my favorite 70s horror movies is Ellen Burstyn from The
Exorcist. You can refresh yourself by
reading the post in which I rave about her.
Writer. The
name that appeared most frequently on my screen as I re-watched my favorite 70s
horror films was Richard Matheson. Here
is a writer who I acknowledge on any given day as a favorite, yet I did not
realize was so prolific in the 1970s.
The interesting thing about him is that he was prolific in the decades
on either side of the 1970s as well.
Composer. This
one is a tie between two people who both composed music for many of my
favorites: Bernard Hermann and Jerry
Goldsmith. Hermann was, of course famous
for his work with Alfred Hitchcock, but also scored some great music in the
70s. Goldsmith’s most active decade was the
70s. I never liked his music as much as
I did that of John Williams; nevertheless, her scored more of my favorite 70s
horror films than anyone else.
Best Movie.
Well, if you go by my ratings, my favorite movie of my favorites would
be The Stepford Wives, my only perfect ten.
Worst Movie.
Similarly, my least favorite of my favorites would be Dracula vs.
Frankenstein. (You know, I shouldn’t
imply that it’s a favorite by any criteria!)
Biggest Surprises.
There are a few movies that surprised me based on my memories of
them. Godzilla vs. Megalon was not as
awful as I remembered. (I didn’t say it
wasn’t awful, though.) On the other
hand, The Exorcist was much better than I remembered. Several were not as good as I
remembered: The Legend of Hell House,
Asylum, Westworld and The Omen. And
several were just as great as I’ve always believed: Escape from the Planet of the Apes, House of
Dark Shadows, Sisters and Magic.
Conclusion
I think it’s obvious that I’ve liked horror films from a
very young age. Some of my favorites
from the 1970s don’t hold up very well four decades later; however, I enjoy
watching them over and over again… well, most of them. Considering them collectively, I’m going to
say I developed my fondness for the genre due to the way these movies
stimulated my imagination. These were
not graphic movies. Time and time again,
specific scenes that I remember being terrifying are tame, perhaps laughable by
today’s standards.
These movies somehow engaged me at an impressionable age. I don’t know had I been the same age in the
80s if I would have taken as easily to the gore of slasher movies. Conversely, I wonder if I had been the same
age in the 60s if I would have become more of a strictly sci-fi fan. Horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and thrillers share
some of the same themes. I enjoy them
all, periodically favoring one or the other.
But it always comes back to horror, my first love. I don’t know that the 70s gave us the best
horror movies, but the decade sure gave us some of my favorites.
Happy Halloween!