Best Horror Movies of the 1970s
The 1970s reshaped horror cinema, and this is what survived the decade's own hype cycle — 20 films ranked purely by audience score, from 1971 to 1979. Alien leads at 8.2. If you only work through the top ten, you will have covered the decade properly.
20 titles · average score 7.5 ·
The top 5 picks
- 1
Alien (1979)
★ 8.2 · 16,681 ratingsDuring its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a…
- 2
The Exorcist (1973)
★ 7.7 · 8,799 ratingsWhen a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
- 3
Deep Red (1975)
★ 7.7 · 1,620 ratingsAn English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal murder of his psychic neighbor. With the help of a tenacious young reporter, he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods. The two are soon…
- 4
Jaws (1975)
★ 7.7 · 11,749 ratingsWhen the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to kill the…
- 5
Halloween (1978)
★ 7.6 · 6,291 ratingsFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
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How this list is ranked
Nothing on this page is hand-picked to hit a word count. We pull films matching this list's criteria from TMDB, require a real audience behind each score, and rank by that score — 20 titles averaging 7.5. The page rebuilds daily, so new releases appear here as soon as enough people have rated them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best horror movie of the 1970s?
Alien (1979) leads the decade with 8.2. The full list covers 1971–1979 and averages 7.5.
How many horror movies from the 1970s are on this list?
20, each with at least 300 audience ratings behind its score. Anything with a thin vote count is excluded so the ranking reflects a real consensus.
Is this list updated?
Yes — it rebuilds every day from TMDB, so newly released movies appear as soon as enough people have rated them. You do not need an account to browse it, and there is no paywall on anything at MovieAI.