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