Horror '71
by martijnnoordhuis | created - 28 Apr 2023 | updated - 28 Apr 2023 | PublicThe best genre movies of 1971
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1. Duel (1971 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Action, Thriller
A business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell
Votes: 78,450
2. Play Misty for Me (1971)
R | 102 min | Drama, Thriller
The life of a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, John Larch
Votes: 31,930 | Gross: $11.80M
3. Fright (1971)
PG | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
An English baby sitter is terrorized by her friend's ex-husband, escaped from an asylum.
Director: Peter Collinson | Stars: Honor Blackman, Susan George, George Cole, Tara Collinson
Votes: 1,922 | Gross: $0.17M
4. See No Evil (1971)
GP | 89 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A young blind woman is pursued by a maniac while staying with family in their country manor.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dorothy Alison, Robin Bailey, Diane Grayson
Votes: 4,102 | Gross: $1.32M
5. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror
Doctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
Director: Robert Fuest | Stars: Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North, Terry-Thomas
Votes: 16,685 | Gross: $0.55M
6. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the U.K.
Director: Peter Duffell | Stars: John Bryans, John Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Peter Cushing
Votes: 7,513
7. Hands of the Ripper (1971)
R | 85 min | Horror
As a young child Jack the Ripper's daughter witnesses him kill her mother. As a young woman she carries on the murderous reign of her father. A psychiatrist tries to cure her with tragic consequences.
Director: Peter Sasdy | Stars: Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell
Votes: 3,025
8. A Bay of Blood (1971)
R | 84 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The murder of a wealthy countess triggers a chain reaction of brutal killings in the surrounding bay area, as several unscrupulous characters try to seize her large estate.
Director: Mario Bava | Stars: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Anna Maria Rosati
Votes: 12,721
9. The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
GP | 112 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two journalists try to solve a series of murders connected to a pharmaceutical company's secret experiments, becoming targets of the killer themselves.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak, Pier Paolo Capponi
Votes: 13,033
10. Twins of Evil (1971)
R | 87 min | Horror
A religious sect led by Gustav Weil hunts all women suspected of witchcraft, killing a number of innocent victims. Young Frieda, Gustav's niece, will involve herself in a devilish cult, and become an instrument of Justice in the region.
Director: John Hough | Stars: Peter Cushing, Dennis Price, Mary Collinson, Madeleine Collinson
Votes: 6,504
11. Daughters of Darkness (1971)
R | 87 min | Horror
While passing through a vacation resort, a newlywed couple encounters a mysterious, strikingly beautiful countess and her aide.
Director: Harry Kümel | Stars: Delphine Seyrig, John Karlen, Danielle Ouimet, Andrea Rau
Votes: 7,051
12. The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
R | 115 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An old, dying satanist arranges to transfer his soul into the body of a young concert pianist.
Director: Paul Wendkos | Stars: Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 3,272
13. Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)
PG | 104 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A musician is stalked by an unknown homicidal maniac, who blackmails him for the accidental killing of another stalker.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Aldo Bufi Landi
Votes: 9,887
14. Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A series of victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open, much in the same way tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. The victims all seem to have a connection with a spa.
Director: Paolo Cavara | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, Rossella Falk
Votes: 3,633
15. The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
R | 97 min | Horror
In early 18th century England, the children of a village slowly convert into a coven of devil worshipers.
Director: Piers Haggard | Stars: Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice
Votes: 7,532
16. Countess Dracula (1971)
PG | 93 min | Horror
In 17th-century Hungary, elderly widow Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy maintains her misleading youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi.
Director: Peter Sasdy | Stars: Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Sandor Elès, Maurice Denham
Votes: 4,816
17. Devil's Nightmare (1971)
R | 95 min | Fantasy, Horror
A group of tourists traveling on a bus take a detour to stay overnight in a castle owned by a family cursed with a history of Satanism and death.
Director: Jean Brismée | Stars: Erika Blanc, Jean Servais, Daniel Emilfork, Lucien Raimbourg
Votes: 2,189
18. The Devils (1971)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Reed, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian
Votes: 18,683 | Gross: $1.13M
19. Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)
PG | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A Victorian scientist tests a serum that transforms him into a sensuous murderess.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander
Votes: 3,810 | Gross: $0.20M
20. I, Monster (1971)
PG | 75 min | Horror
In the Nineteenth Century, in London, the psychologist Charles Marlowe researches a new drug capable to release inhibitions and uses his patients as guinea pigs. He discusses the principles... See full summary »
Director: Stephen Weeks | Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mike Raven, Richard Hurndall
Votes: 1,977
21. Lake of Dracula (1971)
Not Rated | 82 min | Horror
A doctor investigates the murders of several women at a lakeside resort. His investigation leads him to believe that a vampire is responsible for the murders. He sets out to track the vampire down.
Director: Michio Yamamoto | Stars: Chôei Takahashi, Sanae Emi, Midori Fujita, Shin Kishida
Votes: 1,070
22. Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
GP | 89 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
Director: John D. Hancock | Stars: Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, Gretchen Corbett
Votes: 9,314
23. Lust for a Vampire (1971)
R | 91 min | Horror
In 1830, forty years to the day since the last manifestation of their dreaded vampirism, the Karnstein heirs use the blood of an innocent to bring forth the evil that is the beautiful Mircalla - or as she was in 1710, Carmilla.
Director: Jimmy Sangster | Stars: Barbara Jefford, Ralph Bates, Suzanna Leigh, Yutte Stensgaard
Votes: 3,567
24. The Night Digger (1971)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
The dreary existence of middle-aged spinster Maura Prince takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of young handyman Billy Jarvis, but there is more to Billy than meets the eye.
Director: Alastair Reid | Stars: Patricia Neal, Pamela Brown, Nicholas Clay, Jean Anderson
Votes: 1,163
25. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A rich, mentally-unstable man - with a penchant for playing deadly S&M games with women who resemble his dead wife - sparks off a chain of bizarre events after getting remarried.
Director: Emilio Miraglia | Stars: Anthony Steffen, Marina Malfatti, Enzo Tarascio, Giacomo Rossi Stuart
Votes: 2,926
26. The Night God Screamed (1971)
GP | 85 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
A woman is persecuted by Jesus freaks after they've crucified her preacher husband.
Director: Lee Madden | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Alex Nicol, Dan Spelling, Michael Sugich
Votes: 301
27. The Nightcomers (1971)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Prequel to Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", focusing on groundskeeper Peter Quint's slow corruption of the virtuous governess Miss Jessel and the children she looks after.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews
Votes: 2,896 | Gross: $0.44M
28. Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Mystery
An American journalist temporarily stationed in Central Europe searches for his new girlfriend, who has suddenly disappeared.
Director: Aldo Lado | Stars: Ingrid Thulin, Jean Sorel, Mario Adorf, Barbara Bach
Votes: 3,671
29. Simon, King of the Witches (1971)
R | 99 min | Horror
Simon, a young man with magic powers, invokes the help of the evil forces in order to take revenge on a man who cheated him with a bad cheque.
Director: Bruce Kessler | Stars: Andrew Prine, Brenda Scott, George Paulsin, Norman Burton
Votes: 904
30. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,531
31. They Have Changed Their Face (1971)
92 min | Drama, Horror
In this allegory on capitalism, director of a known car corporation invites one of his employees to his country villa to give him the good news. He just got promoted. However, the old man is not what he seems and promotion has a price.
Director: Corrado Farina | Stars: Adolfo Celi, Geraldine Hooper, Giuliano Esperati, Francesca Modigliani
Votes: 587
32. What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
R | 101 min | Crime, Horror, Musical
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Director: Curtis Harrington | Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver, Micheál MacLiammóir
Votes: 2,303
33. Willard (1971)
GP | 95 min | Horror
A social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.
Director: Daniel Mann | Stars: Bruce Davison, Elsa Lanchester, Sondra Locke, Ernest Borgnine
Votes: 5,507 | Gross: $19.22M
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