This is the first in a series of articles covering the top lesser known Eco-Horror Films by decade. Eco-Horror features narratives about Global Warming, Climate Change, Biohazards and other ecological disasters that affect the environment. A majority of these films also include elements of Natural Horror (or Animals Attack) films where the animal, mammal or marine life has suffered a mutation due to environmental negligence by humans.
Most Eco-Horror Films reside within the horror, sci-fi and thriller genres and are often closely aligned with other film subgenres including Disaster Films, Survival Dramas, Monster Films, Survival Horror Films, Biotech Films, Dystopian Future Films, Films About Genetic Engineering, Aquatic Thrillers, Conspiracy Thrillers and Films About Pandemics & Viruses.
Eco-Horror narratives tend to parallel the societal and ecological concerns of the era: nuclear proliferation and radiation in the 1950’s & 1960’s, climate change and corporate conspiracies in the 1970’s & 1990’s, genetic engineering in the 1980’s & 2000’s, and a combination of climate change, genetic engineering and dystopian futures in the 2010’s to the most recent subgenre films. Popular Eco-Horror Films over the decades include Them! (1954), Matango (1963), Soylent Green (1973), Jaws (1975), The Stuff (1985), Mimic (1997), The Host (2006), Annihilation (2018) and The Animal Kingdom (2023).
This first article will cover the Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen from the 1970’s and you can check out additional articles by decade below. We are also going to include a Best Of subgenre article as a grand finale. There are so many great Eco-Horror Films over the last 60 years that we felt it best to break down some of the subgenre’s forgotten and lesser-known gems by decade before we give you the Best Of list which will likely feature many films you’ve already heard of or have seen.
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2000’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s
- Best Recent Eco-Horror Films
- Best Eco-Horror Films of All Time
We generally only cover films from the 1970’s and forward for these articles, but we couldn’t in good conscience not mention some of the best Eco-Horror Films from the 1950’s and 1960’s including Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Them! (1954), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), The Birds (1963), The Damned (1963) and Matango (1963). These are all films any fan of the subgenre should definitely not miss.
As for the 1970’s, most of the subgenre’s themes during this decade involved sci-fi-based Eco-Horror, ecological disasters affecting marine and animal species and business or government conspiracies.
Though many sci-fi-based Eco-Horror Films have more sci-fi elements than horror elements, we also classify them under the horror genre as their narratives fall within the major themes of Eco-Horror. Examples of these sci-fi films include a virus affecting Earth’s wheat and rice supplies in No Blade of Grass (1970), environmental negligence in Silent Running (1972), chemical dumping affecting a water supply in Doomwatch (1972), climate change due to population growth in Soylent Green (1973) and nuclear war and its effect in a post-apocalyptic world in Damnation Alley (1977).
Animals Attack Films was also a very popular subgenre in the 1970’s and many of these films had Eco-Horror focused narratives involving ‘nature fighting back’ such as Frogs (1972), Night of the Lepus (1972), Chosen Survivors (1974), Phase IV (1974), Locusts (1974), Bug (1975), The Food of the Gods (1976), Squirm (1976), Dogs (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), Empire of the Ants (1977), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), Ants (1977), The Swarm (1978), Piranha (1978), Barracuda (1978), Prophecy (1979), Long Weekend (1979) and Nightwing (1979).
And finally, government and corporate conspiracies were a major focus of all films in the 1970’s and Eco-Horror was no exception. A secret bioweapon inadvertently released in a small town and the government’s efforts to cover it up was the focus of The Crazies (1973). Soylent Green (1973) involved a government conspiracy with a new ‘soylent green’ food supply for an overpopulated Earth. Government experiments turned man’s best friends into relentless killers in Dogs (1976). And Prophecy (1979) featured a corporate coverup of an ecological disaster that led to mutant wildlife.
Our complete list of Eco-Horror Films features over 175+ films from 1954 – 2024. This collection features almost every horror or sci-fi film involving a biohazard, ecological disaster or man-made disaster such as climate change affecting the environment. As we’re always updating our collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Eco-Horror Films, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
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Classic Eco-Horror Films of the 1970’s: No Blade of Grass (1970), Silent Running (1972), The Crazies (1973), Soylent Green (1973), Phase IV (1974), Jaws (1975), Damnation Alley (1977), Jaws 2 (1978), Piranha (1978), Prophecy (1979) and Long Weekend (1979).
Eco-Horror Films of the 1970’s that didn’t make our list: Octaman (1971), Doomwatch (1972), Frogs (1972), Night of the Lepus (1972), Idaho Transfer (1973), Locusts (1974), Bug (1975), The Food of the Gods (1976), Squirm (1976), Dogs (1976), Tentacles (1977), Empire of the Ants (1977), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), Ants (1977), The Last Wave (1977), Slithis (1978), Piranha (1978), Barracuda (1978) and Nightwing (1979).
Here is our list of the Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s:
#10
Chosen Survivors
Plot: A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. There they learn that a nuclear holocaust is taking place and that they’ve been chosen by computer to survive in the shelter in order to continue the human race. The shelter is designed to allow the people to exist underground comfortably for years, but they are faced with a threat nobody could have predicted: a colony of thousands of bloodthirsty vampire bats finds a way into the shelter and launches a series of vicious attacks where they claim the humans one by one.
Eco-Horror Element: Nuclear Holocaust
KBZ’s Take: Chosen Survivors is a very dated film and not particularly scary. It’s also a film of two halves with the first half of the film playing like an episode of The Twilight Zone as the ‘survivors’ come to terms with their ‘situation’. In our opinion, this is where the better scares of the film happen with the slow reveal of the nuclear holocaust.
The second half of the film also has its merits but is much more focused on survival horror elements with the group battling the vampire bats. It’s not a great film by any means but is somewhat of a forgotten film of the 1970’s that fans of the subgenre will likely enjoy.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: The depletion of the earth’s ozone layer causes animals above the altitude of 5000 feet to run amok, which is very unfortunate for a group of hikers who get dropped off up there by helicopter just before the quarantine is announced.
Eco-Horror Element: Climate Change
KBZ’s Take: Once you can get past the unbelievable premise of Day of the Animals and its numerous plot holes, it’s actually an enjoyable film with a decent number of scares. Like other films of its type, the horror of the film isn’t from the wildlife suddenly attacking humans as much as it’s about the slow devolution of the humans as they become the hunted.
For younger viewers, you might only know Leslie Nielsen as the funny Dr. Rumack from Airplane! (1980) and Lt. Frank Drebin from The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988). But this is one film where Nielsen plays the human antagonist and it’s one his best villainous roles which ultimately makes the film recommended viewing.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#8
The Swarm
Plot: Scientist Dr. Bradford Crane and army general Thalius Slater join forces to fight an almost invisible enemy threatening America; killer bees that have deadly venom and attack without reason. Disaster movie-master Irwin Allen’s film contains spectacular special effects, including a train crash caused by the eponymous swarm.
Eco-Horror Element: New Breed of Killer Bees / Nuclear Disaster
KBZ’s Take: Director Irwin Allen had a reputation as the ‘master of disaster’ in the 1970’s with a slew of popular disaster films including The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). Though Allen also directed The Swarm, it was a box office failure and savaged by critics.
This is a film we saw when we were younger and watched again for this article. Though the film is dated, we actually thought it was one of the better films of the subgenre we reviewed from the 1970’s. However, we wanted to warn potential viewers that if you’re afraid of bees, this is probably a film you should pass on. There are a few scenes of bee attacks that were etched into our memory that weren’t any less horrifying decades later.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: A young woman (Marie George Pascal) discovers that wine made from contaminated grapes is turning people into decomposing zombies.
Eco-Horror Element: Pesticide Creating Zombies
KBZ’s Take: We’re not sure where to begin with this film. It is a Jean Rollin film and if you’re not familiar with his work, he’s responsible for quite a few French Exploitation Films. While The Grapes of Death isn’t as exploitative as his other more well-known films, it does have it’s share of Splatter & Gore.
Though the film never gets into the details of how the pesticide used on the grapes turns people into lumbering, yet coherent, zombies, it is entertaining enough to warrant a recommendation for fans of horror-focused Eco-Horror.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#6
Phase IV
Plot: Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Eco-Horror Element: Evolved, Intelligent Ants
KBZ’s Take: Phase IV has developed a cult following over the years and is one of the better-known Eco-Horror films from the 1970’s. The film effectively balances sci-fi with horror with a unique narrative and unsettling atmosphere.
It’s also one of the better Animals Attack Films from the decade that takes a more cerebral approach to an evolved species that could soon compete against humans for domination on Earth.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: A strange new virus has appeared, which only attacks strains of grasses such as wheat and rice, and the world is descending into famine and chaos. Architect John, along with his family and friends, is making his way from London to his brother’s farm in northern England where there will hopefully be food and safety for all of them.
Eco-Horror Element: Plant Virus / Global Famine
KBZ’s Take: No Blade of Grass is much more of a Post-Apocalypse Film vs. a standard horror film of the subgenre. However, it’s the Eco-Horror basis of the film that is interesting which leads to the resulting breakdown of society.
It’s one of our favorite lesser-known films from the decade that we’re confident fans of this subgenre will also enjoy.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#4
Long Weekend
Plot: When a suburban couple goes camping for the weekend at a remote beach, they discover that nature isn’t in an accommodating mood.
Eco-Horror Element: Disrespect of Nature / Revenge
KBZ’s Take: Even though Australian Director Jamie Blanks made a remake of his own film in 2008, it’s his original 1979 film that is worth seeing and consider a near-classic film of the subgenre. This is a film that truly is about ‘nature fighting back’ as a couple soon find themselves in a fight for survival.
It’s a slow burn of a film that straddles the line between Psychological Thriller and Mystery Thriller with a dose of Survival Horror elements. If you like atmospheric and slow building dread, skip the remake and watch the original if you still haven’t seen this film.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Following World War III, a small group of survivors at an isolated military installation attempt to drive across the desolate wasteland to where they hope more survivors are living, using a specially built vehicles to protect themselves against the freakish weather, mutated plant and animal life, and other dangers encountered along the way.
Eco-Horror Element: Nuclear Holocaust
KBZ’s Take: An oddity from the late 1970’s that bombed at the box office but found success a few years later on network TV as nuclear war-inspired films became popular.
Though it’s not a realistic view of a nuclear holocaust (or the aftermath), it’s still a fun movie with giant scorpions, mutant cockroaches and all other forms of post-apocalyptic fantasy layered over eco-horror elements. It’s an adventure film at heart and worth a watch by fans of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Top Post-Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen (Part 1) #7
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#2
Prophecy
Plot: When a dispute occurs between a logging operation and a nearby Native American tribe, Dr. Robert Verne and his wife, Maggie, are sent in to mediate. Chief John Hawks insists the loggers are poisoning the water supply, and, though company man Isley denies it, the Vernes can’t ignore the strangely mutated wildlife roaming the woods. Robert captures a bear cub for testing and soon finds himself the target of an angry mutant grizzly.
Eco-Horror Element: Chemical Contamination of Water Supply & Wildlife
KBZ’s Take: Has this film aged well? No. Is it still a great time? Hell Yes! This is the best “logging company is poisoning water creating mutant grizzly bears that go on the attack” film that you’ll ever see.
While some of the effects are outdated, there are still enough suspenseful thrills in this film to keep you watching. Though today’s kids might not find this scary, it’s a reminder of what was rated “PG” back in the day.
Additional Lists: Top Animals Attack Films You Haven’t Seen #10
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#1
The Crazies
Plot: Citizens of a small town are infected by a biological weapon that causes its victims to become violently insane. As uninfected citizens struggle to survive, the military readies its own response.
Eco-Horror Element: Biological Virus / Government Conspiracy
KBZ’s Take: We realize The Crazies would hardly be considered a lesser-known film you haven’t seen. If you’re a hardcore horror fan or a fan of the late George A. Romero, it’s a good bet you have already seen both this film and it’s 2010 remake. However, we wanted to call out the original film here for younger horror fans and new fans of the Eco-Horror subgenre.
The Crazies incorporates all the best elements of the subgenre from a government conspiracy to the slowly revealed effects of a biological weapon inadvertently released in a small town. Though it’s not Romero’s best film, he does bring his unique brand of suspense and societal critique to create a thrilling and engaging film.
The 2010 remake is a modern take on the tale that younger fans might be more drawn to. And though the 1973 film is a bit dated, it’s still a classic horror film that’s elevated by Romero’s direction making it a must-see film of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
