Pretty Good Television Horror Flick from the 1970s

Read Floydbrennan's post slight down on the list from 2007. I totally agree.

You have to be in your 40s to understand where I'm coming from.

The early 1970s (approximately 1969 to 1974) was the Golden Age of made-for-television gothic suspense/chiller/horror movies that were low-budget but surprisingly good to excellent production values. The late Aaron Spelling was famous for producing a number of these thrillers. Most of these 70s films could easily put to shame the silly, amateurish, made for DVD horror flicks today.

The success of the Dark Shadows televison series and some late 60s horror films like Rosemary's Baby may have had something to do with the flurry of made-for-television horror films of the early 70s. As a result, the Golden Age of early 70s horror films were NOT slashers or monster movies. They tended to rely primarily on the supernatural such as spirits and ghosts, and sometimes occult worship. Sometimes one of these TV horror films cleverly led you to believe it was supernatural but later you learned it was contrived by someone wanting to freak out a victim. Watch, "When Michael Calls" (aka Shattered Silence) and "How Awful About Allen". These television horror movies scared the socks off people, including me, and for the most part, there was little if any, blood shown. (watch, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" circa 1973)

These early 70s television films should be shown to today's film students. It is proof that you can create an excellent, quality production values horror suspense thriller on an economical budget without the movie looking like it's low-budget. These 70s movies did not rely on expensive sets. The film crews used locations as it actually looked. Simple special effects were used, such as artifical rainshowers, thunderstorm sounds, for example. There was effective application of light and shadow to create the atmosphere of tension, suspense and horror, all of which foreshadowed the slasher Halloween in 1978. The background music was highly effective in lending to the gothic suspense and horror without being cheesy.

By autumn 1974 the genre had run its course. I am not certain why the major studios and televison networks decided the genre had had enough. The Vietnam War had ended for the U.S. in 1973 and for the rest of the decade television moved on to humor and adventure, far more lighter fare for the TV audience.

There were some horror television films in 1974, one of which featured an abominable snowman terrorizing a Colorado ski resort; a clever werewolf-type film that turned out to be a villain disguised as a good guy, using a trained killer dog to mimic the attack of a werewolf; then a real werewolf-movie taking place in Louisiana that involved a werewolf curse haunting a wealthy, old-name family. The jewel of that last year, 1974, was BLACK CHRISTMAS, where a mysterious, insane serial killer sneaks into a girl's sorority dormitory attic. From his hiding place he ventured out to murder those few remaining young women who remained at the house over the holidays. Black Christmas was unique in that it was a slasher movie that retained all the gothic suspense themes and elements of its predecessors. It foreshadowed HALLOWEEN but was largely forgotten until the awful 2006 remake, Black Christmas.

I learned that there is a new book on the market, TELEVISION FRIGHT FILMS OF THE 1970s. It surprised me. For some years now I myself contemplated writing a paperback that I wanted to title, " The Golden Age of Television Horror Films, 1969-1974 ". Well, someone beat me to it. I'm going to find it and purchase it as soon as I find it. It's a reminder of my pre-teen years and brings back memories.