Years of Terror: 260 Horror Movies, 52 Years of Pure Terror (2021): Years of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

This book contains 260 horror movie reviews; five of the best releases each year between 1970 and 2021. Each film description contains a synopsis, a rating, and a three-paragraph review.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Mar 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778871634

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Year 1970

Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly

1970

A dysfunctional family kidnaps men and forces them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game.

Girly, AKA Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly, was based on a two-act play by Maisie Mosco called Happy Family, which was eventually adapted into a novella by screenwriter Brian Comport. The movie mostly takes place in and around one location, a gorgeous house with rich textures, complex architecture, and dreamlike qualities. The atmosphere is dense and palpable.

The four antagonists are eccentric and there seems to be no reason to their madness. At some point, we can’t help but wonder how they manage to pay for their house, their land, and their expenses. They’re a bunch of degenerates who play kinky games on men, tricking them along the way and, ultimately, killing them when they fail to follow their complicated rules.

This two-bite gimmick runs out of steam in the second half. We understand the family’s M.O. up until they kill their first victim, then they target another man and we get pacing issues. Girly makes us all voyeurs and puts us in an embarrassing situation where we witness a teenage girl flirt with adult males. It is, as it turns out, the strangest aspect of the movie.

5/8

The Vampire Lovers

1970

A seductive vampire and her family target rich people in a remote estate.

If you like gore, vampires, Peter Cushing, and lesbians, this movie was made for you. The woman’s body is celebrated, here, and not in a feminist way. There is abundant nudity, but it is never coarse. Nudity or not, this is a mesmerizing production. Imagine your average Hammer Production film but with softcore pornography. All this exposition pays off, as it turns out.

Many films of this era are slow, but this one is well-paced and intriguing. We care about the characters. Everyone looks good. The costumes are gorgeous, and the set design is elaborated and textured. This being a period piece, none of these elements are left to chance. The dialogue is calculated. The actors are skilled. We are fully immersed. The directing is spotless.

The Vampire Lovers sometimes goes out of control, like that moment when Pippa Steel’s character sees a giant cat while dreaming. That woman, by the way, can scream like no one else. She’ll pierce your eardrums. She sure spends a lot of time in bed, which is convenient because that’s where lesbian sex usually happens. She looks good naked and the creators know it.

5/8

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

1970

A couple is stalked by a serial killer.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a Giallo film directed by Dario Argento. It is the first of many productions from a peculiar filmmaker who arguably values style over substance, for whom sound matters, and whose weaknesses contribute to the experience, somehow. This is the first film of the Animal Trilogy. It would become a template for countless other pictures.

The score is too prominent. Some would say it was meant this way. It’s cacophonous, even when it doesn’t need to be; even when there is no tension. The poor character blocking and the overacting are inexcusable. Again, let’s blame it on style. Speaking of style, photography has its moments. Argento sometimes indulges in gorgeous image composition and should probably do so more often.

The characters are interesting but not sympathetic. The procedural is thick and will test your patience. This is one slow film. Are we watching it for the suspense? The gore? The horror? Because there isn’t much of that. Whatever Giallo aficionados enjoy about the subgenre, there’s plenty of that, here. Others will feel left behind, confused and irritable.

5/8

Count Dracula

1970

A vampire preys on residents of Transylvania.

Very atmospheric and somewhat poetic, this rendition of Dracula is dreamlike from beginning to end. It has a few scary moments but is rarely intense. With its gorgeous sets; interior and exterior, Count Dracula never ceases to amaze. Unfortunately, when all is said and done, this one is a little dry. The dialogue is dull and the characters are not that interesting.

Hammer Film legendary performer Christopher Lee plays the vampire count for the nth time. His current interpretation sadly never surpasses his past ones. His castle does a better job of scaring the audience than he does. This is a somewhat faithful in-a-nutshell adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel but it isn’t exactly memorable. Something’s missing...

Eccentric acting can get on one’s nerves. Some performances feel forced and somewhat improvised. The cheap-looking blood constantly wastes the film’s potential for effective gore. Expect a well-told story but don’t expect to be terrified. Count Dracula is close to the original material but it could use better storytelling, some energy, and more eye candy.

4/8

Taste the Blood of Dracula

1970

A vampire avenges his servant by chasing down the ones responsible for his death.

Challenging the audience with an increasing sensual awareness the way Dracula Has Risen from the Grave did, this sequel fleshes out the flirtatious side of its protagonists and its infamous vampire, still played by Christopher Lee. The movie starts with a celebration and therefore with a lively vibe. It gives Lee something innocent to destroy and allows for character exposition that pays off.

Although the extended dialogue can be anticlimactic, a bad habit the franchise slowly tries to get rid of, this is one of the more Hectic sequels to date. Dracula is slowly embracing his magic side, augmenting his presence and his potential for fear. The esoteric side of the character was never a thing of this franchise. Make-up and effects are getting better, but it’s nothing to call home about.

The leads are some of the most eccentric Hammer’s Dracula has known. They bring forth light elements of comedy, frivolity, and indulge in partial nudity. You get sumptuous set designs, the same implicated actors the previous entries have provided, and a well-paced script not unlike the previous ones. The story is fun to sit through because it adds to the hermetic Hammer Dracula mythos.

4/8

Year 1971

Duel

1971

A commuter is pursued by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.

The plot of this film fits in the palm of your hand. It is simple and straight to the point. It is so quintessential, that you wouldn’t believe, at first glance, it is a feature film. Duel is 90 minutes long, and it’s a roller coaster ride. The antagonist is introduced six minutes in, and that alone is a tour de force. The identity of the bad guy isn’t revealed, and we may never see his face.

In Duel, a business commuter is pursued by a giant truck. Spielberg puts his camera everywhere he can, usually mounting it onto vehicles. It’s not rocket science, but it works. The suspense starts early on and never drops, not even when the protagonist leaves the road, like that moment when the film turns into a short whodunit, with David trying to figure out who his assailant is inside a diner.

The truck driver is such a good stalker that, at some point, we start doubting he’s even human. It doesn’t matter where David hides and how fast he drives, he’s always two steps behind the villain. This is written by Richard Matheson, so expect a strong and captivating screenplay. The movie pretty much writes itself, but there are many surprises along the way.

7/8

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

1971

An organist avenges his dead wife by killing the doctors who neglected her operation.

Meet Anton Phibes; an organist presumed dead taking his revenge on the incompetent doctors who couldn’t save his wife from death on the operation table. He murders them by taking inspiration from the ten plagues of Egypt. Phibes is played by Vincent Price in one of the most defining roles of his career, which means a lot since he doesn’t even talk.

Despite a rather serious investigation from a Scotland Yard detective, this is a surreal black comedy with tongue in cheek moments. It is also a period piece that takes place somewhere around 1925. The photography is sumptuous, the acting is irreproachable and the story unprecedented. The script unravels like a sinister poem to those gifted with a dark sense of humor.

We’re not sure who’s side to take between the boring doctors and the much more colorful Phibes. We don’t want Phibes to get caught, but he is clearly mad and barely deserves our sympathy. Writers James Whiton and William Goldstein make sure we never really pick a protagonist. In the hands of other creators, this could’ve been a more tragic story. What we have, instead, is a first-person slasher.

6/8

Willard

1971

A social misfit uses his influence on rats to exact revenge on his tormentors.

Willard is good at two things: making enemies and controlling rats with his mind. He is weird but somehow more sympathetic than everyone around him. People dominate him or make fun of him. This escalates until Willard loses his mind and sends his rat on a revenge mission. This is a simple story but someone still had to lay it out. Willard is inspired by a novel by Stephen Gilbert.

The photography and lighting are basic and in fact downright unsatisfactory. The film is captivating for many reasons but it leaves a lot to be desired visually. It is a slow burn that never gets boring because the characters are colorful. Shooting a film with wild animals never feels like a challenge in director Daniel Mann’s hands, but we presume it was no small task.

Is this horror? Kind of. Is it scary? No. Not really. It is tense when it needs to be and it is a sad story first and foremost. It gets better towards the end. Everything in here is preliminary and builds up towards a satisfying third act. This dramatic crescendo is designed to leave an imprint on the audience’s mind. It is a twisted tale you won’t soon forget.

5/8

The House That Dripped Blood

1971

A Scotland Yard inspector investigates an unoccupied house involved in four mysterious cases.

The first two Amicus Portmanteau films had some sort of oracle allowing the narrator to tell the fates of the protagonists. The wrap-around story, here, is a surreal police procedural leading a Scotland Yard inspector to investigate the past of four previous tenants of an old house. The pretext is thin and too serious but you get the same vibe and production value as the previous entries.

You get a segment about an imaginary stalker; one has haunted waxwork, one an evil child, and the last one deals with a cursed cloak. The ideas are creative but the delivery is flat and the twists are badly handled. The thrills aren’t there. We should be surprised at every corner but the film staggers. The acting is not a problem. Some of the familiar faces of the franchise even show up.

As is the case with some horror anthology films, the package is more interesting than the individual segments. Maybe there’s too much vampire stuff and not enough authentic supernatural material with exclusive monster design. With a disappointing wrap-around story, this is not a great sequel. It’s just another attempt at recreating Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors.

5/8

Murders in the Rue Morgue

1971

An inspector investigates a series of unexplained murders at a Paris theatre.

The opening scene will stun you if you expect a sequel or a remake of the previous films in the Rue Morgue franchise. 1971’s Murders in the Rue Morgue is closer to Phantom of the Opera than it is to any of its predecessors. There’s a meta angle, here, way before filmmakers even used that term to describe stories within stories. In this case, we have a play nested inside a movie.

What a gorgeous film this is. The creators spared no expense. You’ve got a carnival and a theatre populated with a bunch of extras featured in several other vibrant set pieces, and all these people are wearing what looks like expensive period clothes. The architecture is just as lavish and elaborate. This is a high-budget production and it’s a charming mindfuck.

Murders in the Rue Morgue is a succession of mesmerizing scenes of ghastly tension. It is reminiscent of older films, it does feel like déjà-vu, but it accomplishes what others have more gracefully. It is at times unintelligible and sometimes scattered. It features a bunch of talented entertainers hired for thirty seconds each so they can show us their shtick and taste fame. It’s clumsy but cute!

5/8

Year 1972

Tales from the Crypt

1972

Five people meet a crypt guardian who has a story for each of them.

Tales from the Crypt comes out as a pleasant surprise after the lesser two entries. Some will find it even surpasses on many levels the first installment in the Amicus collection: Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. It is also arguably the most creative anthology in the franchise. It avoids relying on classic monsters to tell its horrors and that’s the ultimate reason it succeeds so well.

The segments are all highly entertaining. The twists are brilliant and hard to predict. The different narratives used are unprecedented. The same can be said about set and production design. Because Tales from the Crypt takes its source material from popular EC Comic publications, the sets are high in color, contrast and show great depth and detail.

The antagonists are varied and all interesting. They bring their world into their respective segments. Evil Santa, a genie hiding in a statuette, a revenant, Valentine’s Day pranksters, and a berserk dog; this anthology can seemingly make anything or anyone as amusing as scary. Tales from the Crypt offers five horror stories in which the bad guys get it worse than their victims...

6/8

Asylum

1972

As a test for an interview, a psychiatrist examines four patients locked into the rooms of an asylum.

This franchise varies in its ability to grab the audience’s attention and keep it. It succeeds in doing so when the wraparound story is fun enough, dark enough, and leads us to segments of quality with incredible twists and a good build-up. Asylum isn’t the best nor the worst of Amicus’ collection of anthologies. It suffers from its past mistakes but benefits from what it learned to do well.

We get a possessed doll, revenants, animated severed limbs, and a bit of psychological horror on top of the supernatural element for good measure. The stories range from entertaining to boring. By tradition, all stories end with an unpredictable twist. As always, the acting, the photography, the lighting, the costumes, and the set design are strong aspects.

Two of the tales in this anthology are particularly creepy visually. The effects are minimal but effective. Those short segments are meant to trade time normally dedicated to character exposition for chills and shorter arcs, which is handled brilliantly here. Asylum’s main problem, as usual, is its weaker segments. Those quality productions are sometimes sadly overlooked.

6/8

Dr. Phibes Rises Again

1972

A man travels to Egypt to find a way to resurrect his wife.

Vincent Price returns as Phibes, a grotesque villain whose side the camera takes to show us what an eccentric man he is. Scotland Yards wants him dead or alive but they’re not trying that hard to catch him. They’re busy talking... Peter Cushing plays a small role. Don’t expect too much from him. Other characters return; some are recast. Performances are very theatrical. I hope this works for you!

Like most sequels, Dr. Phibes Rises Again doesn’t surpass the original. Contrary to most sequels, though, it almost equals it. Aside from a bunch of slow moments, and an investigation that asks too much concentration and patience, you can expect the same ingenious traps and murders the original film had in store. It is not as well-paced but it is just as creative when it comes to torture devices.

This film takes place in a surreal representation of Egypt. The set design is even more interesting than that of The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Phibe’s secret layer is so elaborate it can’t have possibly been built in so little time.