SHOCK selects 10 of our favorite 70s movie posters.
Here is another nostalgic trip back in time to one of the most important decades in horror, both the films and the works of art that served as the of memorable horror flicks and poster artwork.
So let us venture back to the 1970s…
Here’s this writer’s top 10 list of favorite horror posters from the period.
Now, of course, these selections are personal and cannot do the decade justice, so please pipe in with some of your favorites in the comments section below.
Here we go…
10. DEMON SEED (1977): Dir. Donald Cammell – Carrying on from the psychedelic 60s, the 70s expanded on that style and brought us some unique, hypnotic and visceral head-trip horror like PHASE IV & THE MANITOU. But nothing compares to the weirdness that lurks within DEMON SEED (based on the novel by Dean R. Koontz). The poster, with an upside down Julie Christie, is beautifully haunting and mysterious and truly compliments this misunderstood gem.
9. NOSFERATU:THE VAMPYRE (1979): Dir. Werner Herzog – Almost like a poster constructed for an adult fairy-tale, this classic Herzog experience easily deserved a brilliant one sheet to accompany it theatrically. The image is fantastic and is just as memorable as the flick itself. This poster would make a great tattoo…
8. THE SWARM (1978): Dir. Irwin Allen – Okay, we will admit that our eighth entry really isn’t the most terrifying flick on the list; however, the poster really does, in typical busy Irwin Allen style, sell THE SWARM as a total fright fest: you will never look at bees the same way.
7. PROPHECY (1979): Dir. John Frankenheimer – PROPHECY is a love or hate it kind of film. It also kick-started the trend of Paramount Pictures burying their own horror flicks (THE KEEP or THE SENDERs ill-fates were touched on in our 80s spotlight). Sadly PROPHECY is another great Paramount film that could have been a bigger hit, if promoted properly. But the poster was incredible.
6. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978): Dir. George A. Romero – One can’t have a top ten 70s classic horror poster list without including the follow-up to Romero’s classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD; although simplistic in design, the DOTD poster completely encapsulates the film’s mood, theme and style, an image to be consumed by the consumers for sure.
5. PHANTASM (1979): Dir. Don Coscarelli – An incredibly strange film and the accompanying poster exemplifies that. PHANTASM immediately became a surprise hit with horror fans; boasting a modest budget of $300,000, it went to earn 12 million. Another gem from 1979, and we’re sure this classic poster helped to propel its cult.
4. THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973): Dir. John Hough – Heavily inspired by the poster art of the sixties, this Richard Matheson (I AM LEGEND) tale based on his novel HELL HOUSE is a thing of cinema beauty. And the poster (which borrows the one-eyes skull from 1972s TALES FROM THE CRYPT poster) will forever be remembered.
3. HALLOWEEN (1978): Dir. John Carpenter Coming in at number three is Carpenter’s masterpiece. The film propelled the mass-murderer sub-genre into overdrive (films like FRIDAY THE 13TH & ALONE IN THE DARK quickly and efficiently rode this wave of popularity and success). Like the legendary flick, incredible performances and the infamous soundtrack, the poster is equally potent; a quintessential horror movie image.
2. ALIEN (1979): Dir. Ridley Scott – Second place goes to a poster that simplistically conjures up immediate dread and sheer terror and confirms that, “In space, no one can here you scream”. Sir Ridley Scott’s legendary ALIEN still terrifies audiences and one can’t image this film without this infamous graphic. Truly, if you lived through this decade, it doesn’t get any better than this!
1. THE BROOD (1979): Dir. David Cronenberg – Marginally squeaking past our number two entry, the Canadian horror guru grabs hold of our pole position. The prolific Cronenberg had several entries during the seventies, but THE BROOD is by far the most petrifying poster in his inventory spanning throughout the decade…
