Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s – Top Honors!

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

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So which films take the top honors as the best TV horror flicks of the 1970’s?

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I’ve compiled results based upon my posts here on Parlor of Horror. Standing is directly related to Likes, Comments, and Views, I’ve gotten for the posts here. So without further fanfare, here are the Top TV Horror Movies of the 1970’s:

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10) The Norliss Tapes (1977) 16 likes, 1 comment
9) Dead of Night (1977) 16 likes, 7 comments
8) The Stone Tape (1972) 22 likes, 8 comments
7) The Night Stalker (1972)  19 likes, 12 comments
6) The Night Strangler (1973) 20 likes, 5 comments
5) The Gargoyles (1973) 21 likes, 11 comments
4) Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1972) 22 likes

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3) Salem’s Lot (1979) – 22 likes, 10 comments

 

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2) Duel (1972) 23 likes, 10 comments
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and here it is folks, the Top, #1, Television Horror Movie of the 1970’s!!!

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Trilogy of Terror (1975)

26 likes, 17 comments

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Congrats to Karen Black, Dan Curtis and Richard Matheson for making Trilogy of Terror the Top TV Horror Film of the 1970’s!! As chosen by Parlor of Horror and their followers. And thanks to all of you for your likes and comments which helped make the choice!

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didn’t make the cut: Someone’s Watching, Curse of the Black Widow, Summer of Fear, The Stranger Within.

However, its not too late to get your vote in…

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Dead of Night (1977) – movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

Dead of Night (1977)

Directed by Dan Curtis
Written by Richard Matheson

Starring:
Ed Begley Jr.
E.J. André
Ann Doran
Patrick Macnee
Joan Hackett
Lee Montgomery
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Dan Curtis and Richard Matheson team up one more time in the 1970’s for an anthology, three fantastic tales to amaze, astound, and terrify the TV audience. The first story feels more like a Twilight Zone episode as a young man travels back in time in a 1926 automobile and accidentally effects his near future for the better. The next story has a successful estate owner in 1896 foster the town’s superstitions in order to capture his wife’s lover. The last tale, “Bobby,” follows a mother whose son had gone missing some months ago. It is assumed that he had drown when he was playing on the rocky cliffs near the beach. The woman is so distraught she uses a witchcraft ceremony to try and locate her little, Bobby. That night, during a raging storm, Bobby comes back, but he’s not quite the same. He has a nasty disposition and when the power goes out he torments his mother with several attempts on her life. There’s shades of Pet Sematary in this segment which is the best of the bunch. It has some moderate creepiness to it but its not going to scare your shorts off. As a whole this film doesn’t stand the test of time as well as some of the other made for TV horror flicks I’ve reviewed here.

The special features of the DVD includes an additional story/movie previously filmed for a TV pilot made in 1969, shortly after the success of Dark Shadows. Also named, Dead of Night, the series was never picked up by a network, but the pilot produced by Dan Curtis aired in 1969. It was quite melodramatic and not nearly as good as Dark Shadows or the later anthology, but leading man Kerwin Mathews playing a ghost hunter could have made for a nifty little series. It was definitely along the lines of The Night Stalker and The X-files. However it didn’t seem developed enough and I’m sure Curtis used lessons learned with this venture to perfect his vision for The Night Stalker.

Fun Facts:

Dead of Night was also the name of a 1945 horror anthology film, famous for being the first film using the horror anthology format. Dead of Night 1945 was a big influence on the co-founders of Amicus Films.

The segment “Bobby” was remade in the film, Trilogy of Terror II (1996)

Dead of Night 1969 movie

The Norliss Tapes (1973) – Movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

The Norliss Tapes (1973)

Directed by Dan Curtis
Screenplay by William F. Nolan

Starring:
Roy Thinnes
Don Porter
Angie Dickinson
Claude Atkins

It would seem that NBC, seeing the success of The Night Stalker and the vehicle of using a pilot movie to launch a series, wanted in on the Horror movie action. They called upon the highly successful talent of Dan Curtis who enlisted William F Nolan for the script. What is produced is like an upper class version of The Night Stalker. It’s familiar ground, but somehow doesn’t feel derivative despite the similarities.

Author, David Norliss calls his publisher, Sanford, telling him he can’t write the book he was supposed to be working on for the past year. The book was supposed to be a exposé to debunk the supernatural. When David disappears, Sanford goes looking for him at his mountain home. He finds the place in disarray. The publisher sits at David’s desk and sees recorded journals about the research he did for the book. He puts a cassette tape into the player.

The taped narration leads into the tale about a woman whose husband died but doesn’t want to stay buried. Norliss investigates the first attack on the woman, Mrs. Cort, that leaves her dog dead and herself frightened. Soon there are more murders. The victims are found to be completely devoid of blood. Norliss speaks with several suspects gathering clues and a mystery unravels concerning an ancient Egyptian ring and a sculpture Mr. Cort had been working on before his death. This dead guy zombie/husband is seriously creepy as he attacks Mrs. Cort and Norliss again. The only drawback is he growls in a voice that reminded me of the ghoul in an episode of Scooby-Doo (the cartoon). Sheriff Hartley, (Claude Atkins) is the reluctant cop who doesn’t want details of the murders released to the public and doesn’t want Norliss interfering with the investigation. The tale escalates in classic Dan Curtis fashion. It ends with Norliss still narrating on tape and Sanford removing the tape as it stops. He then picks up another tape, one of many, presumably another story that would continue the series, as the credits begin.

It’s too bad this didn’t spawn a series, it would’ve been a nice addition to the legacy of Horror TV shows. Despite some drawbacks and similarities to the aforementioned films it was fun to watch. It doesn’t offer anything new or spectacular, but it was entertaining. It’s a quality horror film with exceptional acting and well worth a spin for fans of the other 70s horror flicks I’ve been reviewing.

 

 

Duel (1971) – movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

Duel (1971)

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Richard Matheson

This early Stephen Spielberg film penned by Richard Matheson is a fantastic suspense thriller that holds up well even to this day. David Mann, (Dennis Weaver) is heading cross country to a new job. Early in the trip he passes a truck that was moving slow and spewing fumes from the exhaust pipe. He is tormented by a faceless trucker in this mind-game of cat and mouse for the rest of his trip. The suspense and terror associated with the unknown assailant builds to a feverish peak as David tries to shake off his stalker with little success.

There is a scene where David enters a roadside diner after being run off the road and nearly killed by the assailant. He knows the truck driver is in the diner and walks through quietly examining each of the men in a highly tense scene. It’s a great example of psychological horror, worthy of a Hitchcock film. Back on the road, the two are locked into a deadly duel as David in his 1971 Plymouth Valiant tries to fend off the faceless driver in his 1955 Peterbilt 281, tanker truck.

If you have not seen this movie, it would be worth seeking out. It is shot in the style of 1970’s movies, but that doesn’t hinder the tension and suspense of this classic road trip film.

 

Fun Facts:
In one scene, David sees a sedan resembling a police car and hopes to get help with his predicament. However it turns out to be a car for an exterminator service. The name of the company is ‘Grebleips’ which is “Spielberg” spelled backwards.

In the scene where David Mann is calling the police from a telephone booth, Spielberg can be seen in the reflection of the glass. He said in an appearance on The Actors Studio that it was an unintentional cameo.

The roadside Diner in the film, Chuck’s Café, is still standing today and is a French Restaurant.

Some additional scenes were shot for this film for its theatrical release outside the US. These are good scenes with the bus and the train tracks. It’s recommended that you see the extended theatrical release film with these scenes included. (I believe it’s the only version on dvd/bluray)

There are many more interesting trivia and fun facts for this film, If you are interested you should check out the IMDb page.

Salem’s Lot (1979) – movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

Salem’s Lot (1979)

Based on a short story by Stephen King
Directed by Tobe Hooper

Starring:
David Soul
James Mason
Lance Kerwin
Bonnie Bedelia
Lew Ayres

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By 1979, a TV movie written by Stephen King was big news. Add to that the film was directed by Tobe Hooper, the guy that made Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and you have piqued interest in the film. Even us High School kids were abuzz with talk of the coming night’s horror flick about vampires in a small town in Maine. The young boy vampire, floating at his friend’s window chilled a generation of TV watching young horror fans. Salem’s Lot took a familiar horror staple and made it seem new. It told the story in a new way and entertained multiple generations. Some kids watched it with their parents, some despite of their parents, but almost everyone from 15 to 25 stayed home those two nights to tune in. It also made a few of us (like me) think that writing books for a living could be interesting and exciting.

Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood town to write about an old rumored haunted house called the Marsten House. He finds it is occupied by new owners, mysterious in nature. Of course we all know Barlow is a vampire and his sidekick Straker is his cohort, protecting him in the daylight hours. As the town turns into vampire central, Ben, his love interest, Susan, and the boy, Mark, battle the vampire at the Martsen House. This film brings back the Nosferatu style vampire in Barlow with great success. The glowing eyes of Barlow and all that are turned to vampires are something that really stands out in this film.

I love the stunning main theme by Harry Sukman. Long loud horn blasts break between quieter notes in a push and pull sequence, then the theme jumps into a frantic eighth note pace reminiscent of the theme from Psycho with multiple key changes. Paul Monash wrote the screenplay after several writers attempted to with little success. King liked Paul’s script and was familiar with his work as he had adapted King’s novel, Carrie for film. The film is a little slow and quiet by today’s standards, but that makes the horrific parts all the more creepy.

Fun Facts:

The house was made to look like the description in the book by building a façade over the front of an existing home in Ferndale, CA.

Make up man, Jack Young invented the glowing eye contact lenses for the film. They could only be worn for 15 minutes at a time.

Unlike the novel, the Vampire Barlow does not speak a word in the Salem’s Lot movie/miniseries.

A shorter, edited version was released to theaters in Europe. This version, called Salem’s Lot, The Movie, was also released with Return to Salem’s Lot as a double feature home video. WB eventually released the original uncut version that was aired as the miniseries in 1979.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) – movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

“Sally, Sally…join us.”

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)

directed by John Newland
Written by Nigel McKeand

Starring:
Kim Darby
Jim Hutton
Barbara Anderson
William Demarest

This original, made for TV movie, had a very low-key script with not much back story, and little special effects. Somehow this low-key film managed to be creepy as hell. When Sally and her husband inherit an old Victorian home, she opens up a basement fireplace despite the urging of a family worker telling her she should not. She unknowingly releases little goblins that were locked up in there for decades. They torment her while her husband is out, whispering her name and urging her to “Join us.” The most shocking scene is when Sally is having a dinner party for her husband’s firm and the nasty little demon man pulls the cloth napkin from her lap. There is a great sequence in the bathroom where the little goblins mentally torture her, clicking off the lights to attack but becoming still and silent when she calls her husband in. The husband insists that Sally is having some kind of mental breakdown making her further isolated in fear. This is another TV movie that shocked viewers especially because of the ending.

Fun Facts:

The movie was filmed in a little over two weeks due to a looming writers strike.

This had been a favorite movie of Guillermo del Toro when he was growing up. He and his brothers would tease each other around the house whispering, “Sally, Sally.” He produced and co-wrote the 2011 remake. Despite the fact, you can skip the remake, it has very little to offer.

 

The Night Strangler (1973) – movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

The Night Strangler (1973)

Written by Richard Matheson
Directed by Dan Curtis

Starring:
Darren McGavin
Simon Oakland
Jo Ann Pflug
Richard Anderson

Dan Curtis, Richard Matheson, and Darren McGavin return with another TV movie. Hard Boiled reporter, Kolchak, having been escorted by police out of Las Vegas, finds himself in Seattle with his loud and reluctant boss, Vincenzo. This one concerns a killer living in the Seattle underground, the city buried beneath the city, and a series of murders taking place every 21 years since the 1800’s. Strangler offers even more mystery than the first film and has some gripping suspense and action. There are enjoyable cameos and guest stars including, John Carradine, Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster), Wally Cox and Margaret Hamilton (the wicked witch of the West).

This film offers more of the action, mystery, and suspense seen in ‘Stalker’ but never feels redundant. ‘Strangler’ is as good as ‘Stalker’ due to Darren McGavin’s immersion into the character and another finely written script. The film’s success prompts ABC to create a series. Like I stated in the Night Stalker review, Curtis and Matheson were not part of the series, but I have reviewed one of my fave episodes and mentioned others in different posts. I will probably review more of my fave episodes in future posts, as I often watch the series around Halloween each year.

Fun Facts:

A 3rd film in the series was planned titled, The Night Killers. Conflicting story ideas show up for the 3rd film. One has Kolchak visiting NY and finding a vampire lair. The other idea placed him in in Hawaii and involved UFO’s and a government conspiracy/cover-up. The story is reminiscent of the X-Files. The 3rd film was abandoned when ABC decided to instead order the TV series.

The Seattle Underground. In 1889, Old Seattle was devastated by a destructive fire. Instead of rebuilding the area the same, city builders decided to raise the level of the city. This would ensure areas would no longer be flooded and that tides would not back up the toilets in the area. The new street level was anywhere from 12 to 30 feet higher than the old one. In 1965 an underground tour was stated to visit the ruins.

links:
The Night Stalker movie review
The Night Stalker episode review
The History of Zombies in film

The Night Stalker (1972) – movie review

Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s

In the 1970’s the major networks began producing their own horror movies brought on by the success of the Dan Curtis’ TV film, Dark Shadows, and it‘s subsequent series. At this time period more than any other, horror flicks flourished on prime-time network television. I am going to review a bunch of these flicks. Each will be posted with my “TV Horror flick logo”

The Night Stalker (1972)

Directed by John Llewllyn Moxey
Starring
Darren McGavin
Simon Oakland
Carol Lynley
Barry Atwater

 

Dan Curtis and Richard Matheson teamed up to produce and adapt the Jeff Rice unpublished novel, The Kolchak Papers. Renamed The Night Stalker. It held the record in ratings for the most watched TV movie up to that time boasting a 54% Market share. Filmed for ABC, it was an entertaining vampire film with an outstanding protagonist in Carl Kolchak played deftly by Darren McGavin. I remember the vampire being highly active and having tremendous strength, different than vampires in films up to the time. It was a huge event to have a horror film on prime time TV and it made for active water cooler and school hall chatter for weeks. The finale where Kolchak enters the vampires lair to drive a stake through the vampire’s heart offers rich suspense and atmosphere as powerful as any major film. This film was followed by another made for TV film, The Night Strangler, and a TV series. Unfortunately, Curtis and Matheson were not part of the series which struggled for two years before being cancelled, but there are some fun episodes in the series nevertheless. The Night Stalker is a great movie and holds up well even to this day.

 

related links:

The Night Stalker TV episode review
The Night Strangler review – coming soon

Barry Atwater

Carol Lynley

Kolchak the night stalker artwork