Horror films in the seventies.

This decade, which I will discuss below, has been instrumental in the transition from a traditional horror film, which we live today, filled with special effects and 3D irremediablamente oriented. After the power that overwhelms expressionist horror films of the twenties, and the first golden age of the genre during the thirties (with the cycle of Universal), there was a profound decline in two decades following. In the forties, black cinema and the parodies of the icons of the horror film of the comedians Abbott and Costello, seized the theaters. While in the fifties, a predominance of science fiction films of series B, whose arguments were inspired by the fear that existed in the world during the most critical phase of the Cold War to the outbreak of a nuclear confrontation between the two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union (in many of these films, the rivals of the protagonists were the aliens, which was compared with the Russians). The sixties also mean a big change and the horror film genre continued hibernating although, of course, was gradually stretching. Worth noting as two masterpieces were Alfred Hitchcock ("Psycho" and "The Birds"), and the cycle of Roger Corman on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. However, it was a year distinguished by the revolutions and social and political changes worldwide, 1968, which also showed two hugely successful films, despite having two very different styles, served as a prelude to the magnificent productions seventies."Rosemary's Baby, Roman Polanski, and" The Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero. 1972 was the year of "The Other" by Robert Mulligan, strange, but at the same time, poetic film, hinting at a children's version, the myth of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (This film has recently been claimed, it went unnoticed at the time). However, the movie that really took the horror to the top, competing with the big productions of the other genres of cinema, was "The Exorcist" by William Friedkin (1973). This film, made from a best-selling author William Peter Blatty, addressed the possession by the devil of a girl (played by Linda Blair). His terrifying transformations, spasms and convulsions, and the language he used, causing defections from the cinemas. This does not prevent the film from becoming an overwhelming critical and commercial success, (rather it was a strong impulse). Raised nearly eight hundred million dollars and won two Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay for himself Blatty, and sounds. The following year, another film marked a before and after in the form of show and express the horror in front of the cameras. It was none other than the thousand times imitated and remakes, but never surpassed, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper. The production had a shoestring budget, but the impact caused to the public was so enduring, (since I have already indicated that they had never before been seen on the big screen reflected both sadism and cruelty), which raised thirty million dollars. He was also banned in countries like England and Australia.Therefore, the hapless adventures of this group of hikers in the American heartland captivated an audience hungry for emotions and sensations. In 1975, "Jaws" by Steven Spielberg, became the first blockbuster film history, earning a monumental box office success (with more than nine million dollars raised), and spreading fear of sharks tocoastlines around the world. Other good horror movies this first half, but without reaching the impact of the three previously mentioned were the surprising debut of Spielberg, "The Duel" (1971), "The Last House on the Left" , which also marked the debut of some key directors of horror films, Wes Craven, who shook and struck with its scenes of violence and rape. In 1976, highlighted two films. On the one hand, the first and most successful adaptations of a tale of selling author Stephen King. Filmed by Brian de Palma with great tact, in "Carrie" describes the bullying suffered by his protagonist, (played by Sissy Spacek), and its subsequent devastating revenge, (to reach even their mother, where there is religious fanatic) thanks to its telekinetic powers.(The telekinesis is moving objects without the intervention of any known physical environment).And second, "Prophecy" by Richard Donner, tape debtor, in many respects, "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist" still addressing the issue as satanic, but this time with the devil personified materially an innocent child who is adopted by a U.S. diplomat and his unfortunate wife, whose mission is to extend the empire of evil on earth.From this production, rose a trilogy, but the two subsequent deliveries were already significantly lower. Outstanding film of 1977, was "Rage" by David Cronenberg, whose plot revolves around an unknown viral infection. And also, "Eraserhead" (Eraserhead, in Spanish), David Lynch's first film with a surreal atmosphere, highlighted by the black and white. In 1978, two films stood out: "Halloween", the great master John Carpenter (who started the craze for "slasher", the most noticeable feature was the presence of a psychopath, in this case Michael Myers, who brutally murdered young) , and "Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero, which is the continuation of the legendary" Night of the Living Dead, "which is filmed in a shopping center and warned of the dangers to society is the voracious consumerism that began then. The year 1979 was "Alien, the eighth passenger," Ridley Scott, which, in a very appropriate and successful, the merged horror with science fiction.The film, set in the spaceship Nostromo, is remembered by the titanic confrontation between the protagonist, Lt. Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), and a hideous alien monster. Other minor film, although based on a true story, was "Amityville" by Stuart Rosenberg. The story is just creepy is, as it is set in a haunted house who witnessed the killings perpetrated by a youth against all members of your family. And before I forget, another similar-themed movie was "The Legend of Hell House" by John Hough, based on a script by famed writer Richard Matheson, shot in 1973. Finally, 1980 was the year of a new adaptation of another Stephen King story. "The Shining" was a foray into horror films and memorable of the perfectionist director Stanley Kubrick, with the histrionic starring Jack Nicholson. In the interview, describes the descent into the depths of the madness of a creative writer in crisis, trapped with his family in a large hotel surrounded by mountains.Also highlighted in this last year of the decade the production of ghosts "At the end of the ladder" by Peter Medak, remarkable film that has had a significant influence later. In short, the decade has been in history as one of the most productive of the horror film, and one of the most remembered by fans of the genre, it is that has not been the most.