Plot: When Sally hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.

Horror Subgenre(s): Slasher Films

KBZ’s Take: Though there have been eight additional Chainsaw films (including sequels and reboots), none of these films comes close to the raw, brutal and shocking horror of the 1974 original film. It’s a film that’s still scary to this day and helped pave the way for more extreme Slasher and Survival Horror films in the 80’s.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: When an insatiable great white shark terrorizes the townspeople of Amity Island, the police chief, an oceanographer and a grizzled shark hunter seek to destroy the bloodthirsty beast.

Horror Subgenre(s): Survival Horror Films, Eco-Horror Films

KBZ’s Take: If there’s one horror film of the 1970’s that shows the difference between what was rated PG then but would more likely be PG-13 or even R-rated now, it’s Jaws. While the film was also instrumental in creating the summer blockbuster season, from a horror perspective, it was the catalyst that ushered in an era of Animals Attack Films that continue to this day.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him.

Horror Subgenre(s): Psychological Horror Films, Cosmic Horror Films

KBZ’s Take: Because this cult classic is primarily known as a Horror Film, the Alien Invasion aspects of Phantasm are usually overlooked. But beyond the weird and nightmarish horror throughout the film is a rather unique method for aliens to invade – through a multi-dimensional portal. Though some of the scarier moments in the film might be considered dull by today’s standards, it still boasts a unique and creepy atmosphere that was a hallmark of 70’s horror.

Additional Lists: Best Alien Invasion Films #10

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.

Subgenre(s): Horror Films About The Devil, Demons & Hell

KBZ’s Take: The OG of the devil child films that seem to appear in waves every decade. However, the original film about the antichrist is still the best of them all and one of the best Religious Horror films of all time. For older viewers, it’s a film that requires a re-watch every few Halloweens for nostalgia purposes and for younger viewers, it’s a must-see horror film of the 70’s.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Carrie White, a shy and troubled teenage girl who is tormented by her high school peers and her fanatically religious mother, begins to use her powers of telekinesis to exact revenge upon them.

Horror Subgenre(s): Films About The Paranormal, Hauntings & Ghosts

KBZ’s Take: Though there have been remakes with Carrie (2002) & Carrie (2013) and a sequel in The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999), there’s just no topping the original. Casting was perfect with Sissy Spacek (as Carrie), Piper Laurie (as her demented mother) and John Travolta and Karen Allen as great teenage villains. And the coup de grace of the film is Brian DePalma’s direction of one of the most suspense-filled and iconic finales to any horror film.

Additional Lists: Best Films About Telekinesis #1

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.

Horror Subgenre(s): Films About Zombies, Splatter & Gore Films

KBZ’s Take: The slow, lumbering Zombies and sense of impending doom in the 1978 classic or the fast, chaotic Zombies in the 2004 remake? Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either film as they’re both classic Zombie films. They also make a great double feature as there’s enough plot differences that set them apart from each other. For our money though, we’ll always go with the original as it has that special George A. Romero TLC…

Where to Stream / Buy: YouTube

Plot: During 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 creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.

Horror Subgenre(s): Body Horror Films, Cosmic Horror Films, Films About Monsters, Survival Horror Films

KBZ’s Take: We couldn’t leave Alien off our list as it’s THE film that defined Space Horror as a subgenre. Alien was so popular at the time that it spawned numerous subpar knockoffs including Inseminoid (1981), Forbidden World (1982) and Creature (1985). None of those films could recreate the deep space horror that Ridley Scott so expertly crafted with its claustrophobic suspense and novel use of the Ten Little Indians film trope. There’s no better Space Horror film than the one that inspired countless others and established the best sci-fi/horror franchise of all time.

Additional Lists: Best Space Horror Films #1, Best Body Horror Films #6, Best Films About Space #8, Best Future Noir Films #20

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Man starts to discover that his friends are acting strangely and discovers they’ve been taken over by alien entities.

Horror Subgenre(s): Body Horror Films, Psychological Horror Films

KBZ’s Take:  While the 1978 version of Body Snatchers wasn’t the first, here is a list of all the films based on this concept and story: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), this film, Body Snatchers (1993), The Puppet Masters (1994), The Invasion (2007) and Assimilate (2019). While all the films have their pros and cons, The 1978 version is the scariest, has some truly disturbing scenes (you’ll never forget the homeless man and his dog), and has arguably one of the most horrific and bone chilling endings to any film you will see.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Alien Invasions You Haven’t Seen #1, Top Scariest Halloween Films For Adults You Haven’t Seen #7, Best Alien Invasion Films #2, Top Body Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s #2, Best Body Horror Films #8

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Fifteen 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.

Horror Subgenre(s): Slasher Films

KBZ’s Take: The only film of the 13 Halloween franchise films that was directed by John Carpenter and it shows. Carpenter’s unique sense of atmosphere and suspense created the best Slasher Film of all time and propelled the subgenre into prominence in the 80’s. And though most of the subsequent Halloween sequels and reboots were of varying quality (from eventual cult classic to bad), we have to give props to David Gordon Green for at least trying to give closure to the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Stroud (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: 12-year-old Regan MacNeil begins to exhibit an explicit new personality as strange events befall the local area of Georgetown. Her mother becomes torn between science and superstition in a desperate bid to save her daughter, and ultimately turns to her last hope: Father Damien Karras, a troubled priest who is struggling with his own faith.

Horror Subgenre(s): Films About Exorcism & Possession, Films About The Devil, Demons & Hell

KBZ’s Take: That 50 years later, The Exorcist is still considered the scariest film of all time is quite an accomplishment. Even with evolving trends in horror and moviegoers’ numbness to all forms of horror violence over five decades, it’s a film that is equal parts disturbing, shocking and horrific. It’s a film you won’t forget after seeing and is still terrifying today as it was in 1973.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon