Best Horror Film of 1971 (part 26 of a series)

The Devils is the Oliver Reed one...? that movie is nuts.

I think I've only seen like two or three of these and not in their entirety either

Yep, that's the one by Ken Russell.

Sort of want to see The Third Part of the Night just for the creepy DVD cover:

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww56/harrylime49/7TheThirdPartoftheNight.jpg

Blood on Satan's Claw is probably going to win this one. British folk horror rocks. I love The Devils, it is hilarious. Vampyros Lesbos is obviously pretty great, though perhaps slightly overrated now.

I am ashamed to admit that I have not seen a single one of these - a first for these polls.

(voting for Werewolves on Wheels, on general principle)

Vampiros Lesbos

intersting

A good year - besides Willard and Jessica, I saw a lot of these movies and most of them are interesting.
Love Phibes and Vampiros Lesbos; Don't Deliver Us From Evil made me feel quite bad at the time; Brotherhood of Satan, Daughters of Darkness, Blood on Satan's Claws are all good and Werewolves on Wheels is as good as its title.
Among the Italian ones Fulci's Lizard is a good giallo, Giornata Nera Per L'Ariete is inconsistent but ultra-stylish in a very 70's way (it has also a more than decent Morricone soundtrack).

Louis XIII is depicted as an effeminate homosexual who amuses himself by shooting Protestants dressed as birds.

also

He gives her one of Grandier's charred bones and leaves. Sister Jeanne, now completely broken, masturbates pathetically with the charred femur.

Emil.y OTM, but gonna have to vote for Let's Scare Jessica because it genuinely scared me. Mephisto Waltz was funny because it had Alan Alda in it and he failed to be scary at all.

I need to see What's the Matter with Helen. Won't someone revive hag horror? I thought Black Swan was a good opp for Winona Ryder to distinguish herself as a hag horror revivalist.

Dont Deliver Us From Evil trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va-dwHfiWJc&feature=related

I have seen a ton of these - this is going to be a tough one.

Daughters of Darkness trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFRuSbykaV0

will probly vote Willard or Phibes, neither of which are properly Horror maybe

yeah, has to be jessica for me, but some good runners-up here in blood on satan's claw and willard

still haven't seen phibes, really need to do that

the devils is prolly the best movie on the list but why it's considered horror I have no idea, there are no actual devils in it

have hazy memories of childhood viewings of some of these... the nightcomers is a hollywood remake of turn of the screw w/ brando, right?

can I just

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxpHAlsIGOE

Part of me feels like throwing a bone to the very underrated "the brotherhood of Satan"

I've heard good things about Twins of Evil, but the transfer on Netflix is unwatchable.

This is a hard one, for me. Though partly because I don't remember some of them that well, and I do wish I'd seen more of them...

I watched Daughters of Darkness years ago, I think because it was in one of Danny Peary's cult-movie books--as arty, decadent, lesbian vampire movies go, I guess it was okay. I've seen very few of these films, and have almost no opinion on any of them. I feel like '68 (Rosemary's Baby[i], [i]Night of the Living Dead) to '73 (The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) was a bit of a wasteland, but I'm not as up on the genre as some of you guys. I didn't know there was a Zodiac Killer film from so long ago.

doesn't Vampiros Lesbos have a Krautrock soundtrack?

Arguably the greatest year for horror on record. So many straight-up classics.

The Devils, Short Night Of Glass Dolls, Third Part Of The Night and a couple of others would walk a lot of the other polls. I went for what might look like a strange choice to most people though - She Killed In Ecstasy. Vampyros Lesbos would probably be runner-up. Such strange, beautiful films.

doesn't Vampiros Lesbos have a Krautrock soundtrack?

not really

more groovy than krauty

yeah, it's more like campy psych-rock. performed by Italians.

Yeah, would agree with that. Not kraut, but it is good.

yeah orig VL soundtrack is pretty great, although i have a soft spot for that weirdo electro "in the spirit of vampyros lesbos" cd that came out 10 years ago too.

blood on satan's claw sdtk is REALLY good too!!

I was all set to vote Jessica until I saw a Zulawski film in the running. And though it's a stretch to call it a genre horror film, Third Part of the Night has the lice-feeding day job sequence which is one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever let myself see, so I don't have a problem voting for it

this one:http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Vampyros-Lesbos-Various-Artists/dp/B000003SX7

xpost to myself

The Vampyros Lesbos CD (actually a compilation of songs from VL, She Killed... and the spy comedy The Devil Came From Akasawa) is absolutely astonishing.

yeah agreed

Willard, Phibes and Daughters of Darkness are all great. Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster may be the worst Godzilla film, which is ... something.

The Devils has this crazy conspiracy theory surrounding what may or may not be its home video suppression.

a lot of classics on this list that i've never seen, but damn, 1971 was a hell of a year. love all and would happily vote for most of these:

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Brotherhood of Satan
Daughters of Darkness
The Devils
The House That Dripped Blood
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Mark of the Devil, Part 4: Tombs of the Blind Dead
She Killed in Ecstasy
Short Night of Glass Dolls
Twitch of the Death Nerve (aka BAY OF BLOOD)
Vampiros Lesbos
Willard

dr phibes, daughters of darkness, the devils and twitch of the death nerve go head-to-head for #1, and it's really tough to call. devils is probably the most "important" film on this list (whatever that might mean), but it's not a personal favorite, too grim. twitch is awesome, and one of the first & best italian giallo/body count flicks, but again, i don't really LOVE it. that leaves phibes and daughters, both of which i really and truly do adore, but for delphine seyrig alone, it's gotta be Daughters of Darkness - not just one of my favorite horror films, but among my top 10 films of all time.

dying to see the third part of the night!

"a strange choice to most people though - She Killed In Ecstasy"

not strange at all - its a great movie.
I didnt know Twitch of the Death Nerve was Bay of Blood aka Reazione a Catena: not my favourite Bava, but it's like the grandad of all slasher movies.

Only saw Phibes and The Devils, has to be The Devils which is quite extraordinary.

Only other thing which should be on the list is the batshit insane Psychomania. Nicky Henson not a fan by all accounts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1-tDvENdkE

Ah, clip says '72, wikipedia says '71, will defer to the Beeb.

love the soundtracks, costumes and set design/locations of vampyros lesbos and she killed in ecstasy more than the films themselves. they're wonderful oddities, but franco's ability to pull all the amazing bits and pieces together into a compelling move is not 100% there, even at his best.

The Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy soundtracks were actually German productions, I believe. Composed by Manfred Hubler & Siegfried Schwab, recorded in Berlin. In fact I'm quite sure they were recorded and released on albums before the movies were even filmed.

I tend to think of the aforementioned films plus The Devil Came from Akasava as a trilogy, all filmed around southern Europe in 1970 in a single prolonged burst of inspired Franco madness. Akasava is not on the list I'm guessing because it's less horror and more of an espionage flick. Incidentally, by the time She Killed in Ecstasy was released its star had been dead about a year and a half.

Listwise, my favorites have been mentioned upthread, but I would add that Lust for a Vampire and Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde are a couple of strong Hammer releases.

Psychomania, though, is really special. Too bad it didn't make the '71 or '72 lists.

Oh, shit, Tombs of the Blind Dead is on the list? That whole series is boring as hell, but the blind dead Templar zombies themselves are creepy.

love the soundtracks, costumes and set design/locations of vampyros lesbos and she killed in ecstasy more than the films themselves. they're wonderful oddities, but franco's ability to pull all the amazing bits and pieces together into a compelling move is not 100% there, even at his best.

For me, the presence of Soledad Miranda gives both films, particularly the latter, more coherence and more of a compelling edge than most of his other work.

As much as I love Psychomania (great John Cameron soundtrack!), when it comes to motorcycle horror I have a slight preference for Werewolves on Wheels - maybe the ultimate doom metal film: hairy bikers, mindless violence, ritual sacrifices, spiked drinks, evil monks, snake goddesses and Barry "Eve of Destruction" McGuire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nQDGTli3uc

this is such a fantastic list, i wanna sit thru them all in one gulp. i gotta say that hilarious and thrilling as The Devils is i don't think it belongs here, and yeah Psychomania is a weird omission. I've gone for Phibes in the end because for all its campy lulz it invents Se7en and lots of other po-faced stepchildren and i'm a huge sucker for programmatic revenge killing.

also Vincent Price drinking through a hole in his neck!
maybe I'll vote for Phibes too, its full of fantastically weird touches (the marionette orchestra, the art nouveau decors, Phibes' painted profile on his car window).

love the "music, vulnavia! a song of celebration" bit soso much

I just saw that See No Evil is the Richard Fleischer film with Mia Farrow. Not a classic by any means, but it scared me a lot back in the day. All in all, an amazing year for horror buffs.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

dang, only 15 votes! a sad day...

I'm kind of surprised at the lack of votes. It seemed like a pretty good year.

I kept my word!

I haven't seen enough of these to vote tbh

fucking hell i never got back here and voted

I just saw that See No Evil is the Richard Fleischer film with Mia Farrow. Not a classic by any means, but it scared me a lot back in the day. All in all, an amazing year for horror buffs.

― Marco Damiani, Thursday, June 16, 2011 4:34 AM (1 week ago)

I read the novelization (or maybe the novel it was based on?) in grade school but never saw the movie lol

No votes for COUNTESS DRACULA - based on a true story?