Wrapping Up My Favorite 70s Horror Movies

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 20^th 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!