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.
#50. God Told Me To (1976)
- Director: Larry Cohen
- Stacker score: 71.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#49. Demon Seed (1977)
- Director: Donald Cammell
- Stacker score: 72.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 94 minutes
#48. Rabid (1977)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 73.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#47. Burnt Offerings (1976)
- Director: Dan Curtis
- Stacker score: 73.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 48
- Runtime: 116 minutes
#46. Phase IV (1974)
- Director: Saul Bass
- Stacker score: 73.4
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 49
- Runtime: 84 minutes
#45. The Fury (1978)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- Stacker score: 73.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 118 minutes
#44. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
- Director: Wes Craven
- Stacker 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
- Stacker score: 74.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 89 minutes
#42. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
- Director: Fred Walton
- Stacker score: 74.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 97 minutes
#41. Shivers (1975)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 74.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#40. The Vampire Lovers (1970)
- Director: Roy Ward Baker
- Stacker score: 74.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#39. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
- Director: Peter Duffell
- Stacker score: 75.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 102 minutes
#38. Asylum (I) (1972)
- Director: Roy Ward Baker
- Stacker score: 75.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#37. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
- Director: Alfred Sole
- Stacker score: 75.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#36. Race with the Devil (1975)
- Director: Jack Starrett
- Stacker score: 75.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 53
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#35. Dracula (1979)
- Director: John Badham
- Stacker score: 76.4
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 109 minutes
#34. Horror Express (1972)
- Director: Eugenio Martín
- Stacker score: 76.5
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#33. Long Weekend (1978)
- Director: Colin Eggleston
- Stacker score: 76.8
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 97 minutes
#32. Twins of Evil (1971)
- Director: John Hough
- Stacker score: 76.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#31. The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
- Director: Dario Argento
- Stacker score: 77.0
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 112 minutes
#30. Daughters of Darkness (1971)
- Director: Harry Kümel
- Stacker score: 77.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#29. The Legend of Hell House (1973)
- Director: John Hough
- Stacker score: 77.3
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 95 minutes
#28. Magic (1978)
- Director: Richard Attenborough
- Stacker score: 77.6
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 49
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#27. Phantasm (1979)
- Director: Don Coscarelli
- Stacker score: 78.0
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 89 minutes
#26. Zombie (1979)
- Director: Lucio Fulci
- Stacker score: 78.2
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#25. The Medusa Touch (1978)
- Director: Jack Gold
- Stacker score: 78.7
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 49
- Runtime: 109 minutes
#24. The Brood (1979)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 79.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 92 minutes
#23. The Stepford Wives (1975)
- Director: Bryan Forbes
- Stacker score: 79.2
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#22. The Other (1972)
- Director: Robert Mulligan
- Stacker 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
- Stacker score: 80.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 53
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#20. Sisters (1972)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- Stacker score: 80.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 93 minutes
#19. Martin (1976)
- Director: George A. Romero
- Stacker score: 81.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 95 minutes
#18. Black Christmas (1974)
- Director: Bob Clark
- Stacker score: 82.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 98 minutes
#17. Theater of Blood (1973)
- Director: Douglas Hickox
- Stacker score: 84.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 104 minutes
#16. Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- Stacker score: 84.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#15. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
- Director: Jim Sharman
- Stacker score: 85.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 100 minutes
#14. Suspiria (1977)
- Director: Dario Argento
- Stacker score: 86.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 92 minutes
#13. The Omen (1976)
- Director: Richard Donner
- Stacker score: 86.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 111 minutes
#12. Don't Look Now (1973)
- Director: Nicolas Roeg
- Stacker score: 86.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 95
- Runtime: 110 minutes
#11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- Director: Philip Kaufman
- Stacker score: 86.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#10. Eraserhead (1977)
- Director: David Lynch
- Stacker score: 87.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 89 minutes
#9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Director: Tobe Hooper
- Stacker score: 87.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 83 minutes
#8. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
- Director: Werner Herzog
- Stacker score: 87.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#7. Carrie (1976)
- Director: Brian De Palma
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 98 minutes
#6. The Wicker Man (1973)
- Director: Robin Hardy
- Stacker score: 89.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#5. Deep Red (1975)
- Director: Dario Argento
- Stacker score: 89.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#4. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Director: George A. Romero
- Stacker score: 90.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#3. Halloween (1978)
- Director: John Carpenter
- Stacker score: 91.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#2. The Exorcist (1973)
- Director: William Friedkin
- Stacker score: 94.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 122 minutes
#1. Alien (1979)
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Stacker score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 117 minutes
