1970s Slashers and Proto-Slashers List
Slashers and proto-slashers from the 1970s. This list was created by combing through other lists, books, podcasts, and documentaries on the slasher genre.
*These are not my own personal opinions.
*This list is a work in progress.
*List is organized by year.
*I will not be listing every giallo released in the 70s despite the genre being a clear influence on slashers.
*These are not my own personal opinions.
*This list is a work in progress.
*List is organized by year.
*I will not be listing every giallo released in the 70s despite the genre being a clear influence on slashers.
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- DirectorRobert FuestStarsPamela FranklinMichele DotriceSandor ElèsTwo young English women go on a cycling tour of the French countryside. When one of them goes missing, the other begins to search for her. But who can she trust?
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsTony MusanteSuzy KendallEnrico Maria SalernoAn American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
- DirectorAndy MilliganStarsJohn MirandaAnnabella WoodBerwick KalerA murderous barber and his equally psychopathic friend, a baker, the barber and baker hatch a plan to murder and make human pies to be sold in his shop.
- DirectorLeonard KirtmanStarsEarle EdgertonJudith ResnickMartin BarolskyA psychopathic killer uses the carousel ride at a carnival to pick his victims, who he then murders and dismembers.
- DirectorAlan GibsonStarsStefanie PowersJames OlsonMargaretta ScottA young American woman Susan Roberts goes to the south of France to do her thesis research on a recently deceased composer, staying with his eccentric relatives.
- DirectorGordon HesslerStarsVincent PriceElisabeth BergnerEssy PerssonIn 1500s England, a cruel witch-hunting magistrate, who often tortures innocent villagers for his entertainment, runs afoul of a witch who conjures a banshee to kill the magistrate and his family.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsWilliam BergerIra von FürstenbergEdwige FenechAn industrialist invites his colleagues to his private island so they can exploit a resin formula invented by one of the guests, but a killer within the group disrupts the proceedings.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsStephen ForsythDagmar LassanderLaura BettiA cleaver-wielding bridal designer murders various young brides-to-be in an attempt to unlock a repressed childhood trauma.
- DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsRay SagerJudy ClerWayne RatayA TV talk-show hostess and her boyfriend investigate a shady magician who has the ability to hypnotize and control the thoughts of people in order to stage gory on-stage illusions using his powers of mind bending.
- DirectorRobert FuestStarsVincent PriceJoseph CottenVirginia NorthDoctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
- DirectorFernando Di LeoStarsKlaus KinskiMargaret LeeRosalba NeriA rehabilitation hospital in the Italian countryside which offers treatment for women suffering from various psychological disorders is stalked by a mysterious cloaked killer.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsClaudine AugerLuigi PistilliClaudio CamasoThe 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.
- DirectorPaolo CavaraStarsGiancarlo GianniniClaudine AugerBarbara BouchetA 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.
- DirectorPhilip GilbertStarsGloria GrahameMelody PattersonMilton SelzerAfter her prostitute mother is murdered, a teenage girl is sent to a remote orphanage run by a mysterious woman and her handyman, both whom she comes to suspect are hiding dark secrets.
- DirectorNewt ArnoldStarsRobert WinstonKatherine HenrykYvonne NielsonA sex-crimes specialist from New York travels to the Philippines to help his friend, a Manila homicide detective, solve a series of murders.
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsGeorge HiltonAnita StrindbergAlberto de MendozaAn insurance investigator tries to determine any irregularities in the policy of a heiress' dead husband, but soon finds himself suspected of her murder.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJames FranciscusKarl MaldenCatherine SpaakTwo journalists try to solve a series of murders connected to a pharmaceutical company's secret experiments, becoming targets of the killer themselves.
- DirectorTed HookerStarsMike RavenJames BolamMary MaudeAn obsessed sculptor kills a young woman to make a perfect bronze sculpture of her. Years later at his secluded home a number of people become trapped in a web of revenge, murder and horror.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsSusan GeorgeBarry EvansChristopher SandfordAfter their parents divorce, one daughter lives with her mother in England while the other lives with her father in Portugal. After the untimely death of her mother, the one daughter stands to inherit a large sum of money and also a number of documents containing information that will incriminate her father, who was a crooked judge. While her father wants the documents, her sister wants the money and they will each stop at nothing, even murder, to get what they want.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsRalph BatesMartine BeswickGerald SimA Victorian scientist tests a serum that transforms him into a sensuous murderess.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsMichael BrandonMimsy FarmerJean-Pierre MarielleA musician is stalked by an unknown homicidal maniac, who blackmails him for the accidental killing of another stalker.
- DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsHonor BlackmanSusan GeorgeGeorge ColeAn English baby sitter is terrorized by her friend's ex-husband, escaped from an asylum.
- DirectorPeter SasdyStarsEric PorterAngharad ReesJane MerrowAs 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.
- DirectorKent BatemanStarsBo BrundinRamon GordonKelly SwartzPoor artist gets eye gouged out while committing a robbery. When his eye heals, he goes on a killing spree and cuts out women's eyes with a spoon.
- DirectorRiccardo FredaStarsLuigi PistilliDagmar LassanderAnton DiffringA corpse is found in the trunk of a car that belongs to the Swiss ambassador to the UK. Speculations run wild, as more people around the ambassador keep falling victim to the vicious killer. A former detective is hired to investigate.
- DirectorEric Jeffrey HaimsStarsSebastian BrookMady MaguireDonn GreerA man commits a series of murders due to his dual personalities and his zodiac birth sign.
- DirectorEmilio MiragliaStarsAnthony SteffenMarina MalfattiEnzo TarascioA 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.
- DirectorJesús FrancoStarsSoledad MirandaFred WilliamsPaul MullerAfter a doctor commits suicide when his research into human embryos is terminated, his widow seduces and then executes revenge upon those she holds responsible.
- DirectorThomas CaseyStarsAbe ZwickWayne CrawfordDon CraigTwo over-the-top eccentric fugitives become roommates in Miami to avoid the law, while one dresses as the other's aunt in drag, leading to deception and murder.
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsGeorge HiltonEdwige FenechConchita AiroldiAn ambassador's wife discovers that one of the men in her life - either her husband, an ex-lover or her current lover - may be a vicious serial killer.
- DirectorTom HansonStarsHal ReedBob JonesRay LynchA serial killer in San Francisco murders without motive or apparent pattern and taunts the police with phone calls and letters.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsJoseph CottenElke SommerMassimo GirottiA young man, visiting the castle of a murderous ancestor in Austria, accidentally brings his dead relative back to life - searching for new victims.
- DirectorRobert Hartford-DavisStarsAnn ToddPatrick MageeTony BeckleyA religious sect called the Brethren has taken control of widow Birdy, sending her unstable son, Kenny, into a spiraling descent into madness. No woman is safe when Kenny's religious mania overpowers him and leads to murder and chaos.
- DirectorBrad F. GrinterSteve HawkesStarsSteve HawkesDana CullivanRandy GrinterA biker gets a job at a turkey farm and agrees to act as guinea pig for some chemicals that need tested, failing to anticipate the murderous side effects.
- DirectorVernon SewellStarsPaul LutyRoy MacreadyDerren NesbittTwo men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
- DirectorEloy de la IglesiaStarsVicente ParraEmma CohenEusebio PoncelaA meat factory worker accidentally kills a taxi driver, and begins gradually killing people close to him in order to cover up his original crime. He starts getting rid of the mounting corpses stored in his bedroom through his day job.
- DirectorGiuliano CarnimeoStarsEdwige FenechGeorge HiltonPaola QuattriniHaving recently escaped the clutches of a hippie sex cult, a beautiful model is pursued by a serial killer whose previous victims include former occupants of her new apartment.
- DirectorJohn FarrisStarsAgnes MooreheadWill GeerMichael AnsaraA sickly matriarch of a dysfunctional family living in an old Southern mansion teases her siblings about finding a long lost treasure hidden in the premises, little did she know that there is someone ready to kill to get their hands on it.
- DirectorGary ShermanStarsDonald PleasenceNorman RossingtonDavid LaddWhen a government official disappears in the London tunnels, after several reports of missing people in the same location, Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously, along with a couple who stumble into a victim by accident.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsFlorinda BolkanBarbara BouchetTomas MilianWhen a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.
- DirectorWalt DavisStarsCleo O'HaraSandra HendersonJane TsentasA religious fanatic murders people who are engaging in sex.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsRay BrooksJenny HanleyLuan PetersActors rehearsing a show at a mysterious seaside theater are being killed off by an unknown maniac.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJon FinchBarry FosterBarbara Leigh-HuntA serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.
- DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsFrank KressAmy FarrellHedda LubinA young reporter enlists the help of a top notch private eye to solve the murder of a female stripper at a Chicago nightclub.
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsSally FieldJill HaworthJulie HarrisAn ailing man summons his four daughters home for Christmas and asks them to kill his new wife, who he suspects is poisoning him.
- DirectorPaul LederStarsZooey HallGeri ReischlJoanne Moore JordanAlbert tried to kill his rich snobby mother once. Then he was institutionalized. Now he's escaped. Albert is after his mother again. And he will torture and kill anything that lays in the way...
- DirectorEd AdlumStarsNorman KelleyTanna HunterBruce DetrickSomewhere in upstate New York, a secretive group of farmers are harvesting human blood for a mysterious purpose.
- DirectorUmberto LenziStarsCarroll BakerAlan ScottIda GalliA mute woman finds herself at the center of a series of murders in the mountains of Spain, which police suspect are being committed by a drug-addled Satanist.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsSandra PeabodyLucy GranthamDavid HessTwo teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.
- DirectorRené Cardona Jr.StarsAnjanette ComerHugo StiglitzZulma FaiadA wealthy playboy kidnaps and murders young women, feeding their corpses to his horde of felines.
- DirectorEmilio MiragliaStarsBarbara BouchetUgo PagliaiMarina MalfattiTwo sisters inherit their family castle, which is said to be haunted by their ancestor, a dark-haired, red-robed woman who is said to take seven lives every hundred years.
- DirectorMarc B. RayStarsFred HolbertLeigh MitchellRobert KnoxA deranged kid murders his father and has his arm crushed by the farm tractor. After being discharged from the mental hospital with an amputee, he discovers that his mother has remarried, prompting him to go on a homicidal rampage.
- DirectorUmberto LenziStarsAntonio SabatoUschi GlasPier Paolo CapponiA woman, a survivor of a failed murder attempt by the so-called "Half-Moon Killer", and her husband try to find a connection between herself, six other women, and the killer.
- DirectorJosé Luis MadridStarsPaul NaschyPatricia LoranRenzo MarignanoIn this version of the famous story of the London serial killer, Jack not only likes to kill prostitutes but he is a cannibal as well.
- DirectorTheodore GershunyStarsPatrick O'NealJames PattersonMary WoronovA man inherits a mansion which once was a mental home. He visits the place and begins to investigate some crimes that happened in old times, scaring the people living in the region.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMargot KidderJennifer SaltCharles DurningA small-time reporter tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment across from hers.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsTab HunterCherie LatimerNadyne TurneyHorror and suspense in the story of a psychotic maniac who literally "loves" women to death.
- DirectorBud TownsendStarsLinda GillenJohn NeilsonArthur SpaceCollege student Regina wins a getaway vacation at the quiet Red Wolf Inn, which is run by a friendly elderly couple, but it gradually becomes clear that something is amiss.
- DirectorWilliam GirdlerStarsCharles KissingerJames Carroll PickettSherry SteinerFour girls go on a romping weekend at a lake, and have car problems on the way home. A nice local boy takes them back to his farm, where he lives with his father. Something ghastly happens, but the father helps his son as he has in the past. When the boy meets a girl and begins falling in love, the father worries about a repeat performance.
- DirectorJim O'ConnollyStarsBryant HalidayJill HaworthMark EdwardsA group of experienced archeologists are searching for an old and mystic Phoenician treasure when they are surprised by a series of mysterious murders...
- DirectorMassimo DallamanoStarsFabio TestiKarin BaalCristina GalbóA teacher who is having an affair with one of his students is reluctant to present an alibi when his lover witnesses the first in a series of murders connected to their school.
- DirectorAldo LadoStarsGeorge LazenbyAnita StrindbergAdolfo CeliBetween a four-year gap in the murder of a young girl, the daughter of a well-known sculptor is discovered dead, and her parents conduct an investigation, only to discover they are much out of their depth.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsEugene LevyAndrea MartinRonald UlrichA young couple spend the night in an old farmhouse owned by a reverend, only to find out that it is also lived in by beautiful women who hunger after human flesh.
- DirectorJuan Antonio BardemStarsJean SebergMarisolBarry StokesAbandoned by their husband/father, a traumatized woman and her disturbed stepdaughter hire a drifter handyman at their secluded estate while a series of murders begins.
- DirectorMarc LawrenceStarsToni LawrenceJesse VintCatherine RossThe owner of a roadside diner, and his new helper, kill people and feed them to pigs.
- DirectorS.F. BrownriggStarsBill McGheeJessie Lee FultonRobert DracupA young psychiatric nurse goes to work at a remote asylum following a murder. There, she experiences varying degrees of torment from the patients.
- DirectorLarry G. BrownStarsTom BashamGene CarlsonGretchen KanneA children's television show host stalks and murders abusive parents.
- DirectorDarren McGavinStarsPatricia NealCloris LeachmanBobby DarinA teenage drifter becomes embroiled in the lives and mysteries of the residents in a small coastal fishing village while searching for his family roots.
- DirectorLarry N. StoufferStarsPat CardiAustin StokerRosie HolotikA shock-filled tale of a serious and shy but brilliant science student who, when wrongfully forced to consume a new drug he'd created, becomes a modern day Jekyll and Hyde.
- DirectorJosé Ramón LarrazStarsAndrea AllanKarl LanchburyMaggie WalkerA young model and her petty thief boyfriend find their way through the English fog to a backwoods manor in hopes of looting it. What they find instead is murder.
- DirectorEugenio MartínStarsJudy GeesonAurora BautistaEsperanza RoyTwo sisters running a small hotel in Spain kill female tourists whose morals do not meet their strict religious standards.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsAnn SothernJohn SavageRuth RomanA young Terry Lambert returns home after serving a prison sentence for a gang rape he was forced to participate in. He seeks revenge on his lawyer and the girl who framed him.
- DirectorRoger WatkinsStarsRoger WatkinsKen FisherBill SchlageterAfter being released from prison, a young gangster with a chip on his shoulder decides to punish society by making snuff films.
- DirectorChester FoxAlex StevensStarsGeorge SpencerSandra PeabodyJohn MoserA deranged, ferocious killer terrorizes the red-light district of Times Square in New York City by savagely bumping off the lovely young ladies who work at massage parlors located throughout the area. It's up to grouchy veteran detective Rizotti and his younger, more cheerful partner O'Mara to figure out the maniac's identity and apprehend the fiend before he strikes again.
- DirectorTerry BourkeStarsNorman YemmCarla HoogeveenMike DorseyInsane sadistic hermit stalks and captures those who get lost in his part of the woods. A young woman whose car broke down is about to find out what he does with them next.
- DirectorTom AldermanStarsDeborah WalleyPaul CarrDavid G. CannonTrapped in a cave, five men cut the arm off of another companion in order to ward off starvation. After they are saved, their victim seeks revenge on them one by one.
- DirectorBeverly SebastianFerd SebastianStarsClaudia JenningsJean Marie IngelsCheri HowellA group of swingers at a Caribbean resort are stalked by a mysterious killer.
- DirectorHarry ThomasonStarsLori SaundersRobert GinnavenDean JaggerA young woman just released from a mental hospital moves back in with her family. However, she is soon troubled by disturbing visions in which she commits a series of axe murders.
- DirectorGeorg FenadyStarsRay MillandElsa LanchesterMaurice EvansThe murder of a Wax Museum proprietor and some other strange goings-on in the vicinity prompt a police investigator to determine whether the killer is one of the principles who wants to own the museum or if Jack the Ripper has returned to killing after a hiatus of ten years.
- DirectorDouglas HickoxStarsVincent PriceDiana RiggIan HendryA Shakespearean actor takes poetic revenge on the critics who denied him recognition.
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsSuzy KendallTina AumontLuc MerendaA string of appalling lust murders shocks the University of Perugia as a sadistic serial killer strangles to death beautiful college girls with a red and black scarf.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsDavid BaileyTiffany BollingRandolph RobertsA tongue-in-cheek psycho movie in "Duo-vision." The entire feature employs the split-screen technique used in parts of Brian De Palma's "Sisters" that same year. As a handyman at a seacoast hotel, Randolph Roberts wears a monster mask while he kills and dismembers women with blond hair. Tiffany Bolling is a singer, Scott Brady is a detective and Edd "Kookie" Burns is a lifeguard. The music is the original organ score for the silent film "Phantom of the Opera."
- DirectorFrederick R. FriedelStarsLeslie LeeJack CanonRay GreenThree criminals on a murder spree arrives at a farmhouse, where a girl is living with her paralyzed grandfather.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
- DirectorCarlos AuredStarsPaul NaschyDiana LorysEduardo CalvoAn ex-convict, troubled by dreams that he strangles women, is hired as the caretaker on an estate owned by three very strange sisters. Soon after his arrival, a serial killer begins slaughtering blonde, blue-eyed women and leaving their eyeballs in a bowl of water.
- DirectorJohn PeyserStarsJaime Lyn BauerAldo RayDennis OlivieriA depraved religious fanatic sets out to punish all the "immoral" women who have posed for the center-fold of a men's magazine.
- DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsJack PalanceDiana DorsJulie EgeA nutty antiques dealer starts to sacrifice women to an African idol.
- DirectorRalph SenenskyStarsRichard LongPolly BergenEdward AlbertSeveral couples are notified that they have won an ocean cruise, but they actually have been lured onto a ship so that they can be murdered.
- DirectorJeff GillenAlan OrmsbyStarsRoberts BlossomCosette LeeLeslie CarlsonA deranged rural farmer becomes a grave robber and murderer after the death of his possessive mother, whose corpse he keeps, among others, as his companion in a decaying farmhouse.
- DirectorS.F. BrownriggStarsSusan BrackenLarry O'DwyerGene RossIn this horror movie, a dutiful grand-daughter goes home to take care of her elderly grandmother. Once there, she finds herself trapped inside the house with a homicidal maniac.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsRupert DaviesSheila KeithDeborah FairfaxAfter escaping a death sentence for her hideous crimes, a seemingly rehabilitated woman settles in an isolated farmhouse with her husband, only to ache, once more, for blood, and a crash-course in surgery. Is, indeed, her old self back?
- DirectorRay AustinStarsMark BurnsShirley Anne FieldDavid OxleyOn a South African plantation, a maniac is on the loose, first killing the estate's animals, then starting on the human members.
- DirectorWilliam GreféStarsWilliam ShatnerRuth RomanJennifer BishopA paranoid, leisure-suit-wearing conman/gigolo named Matt Stone seduces lonely women, bilks them of their savings via an investment scam, then kills them. When he begins seeing an attractive widow, her daughter Tina becomes suspicious of his motives.
- DirectorRonald Víctor GarcíaStarsMikel AngelJan MitchellGary KentCharlie, a well to do suburbanite lawyer, and his beautiful loving wife Amy have been married for 10 years. He is so bored with his perfect life, so he suggests to her that they go to a swingers party. After a little convincing she agrees, but things don't go as well as poor Charlie had hoped once they get to the party. She's having a great time, all the guys are into her. He on the other hand is having a bit of trouble rising to the occasion. Soon after the party, he launches into a jealous murder spree and begins slaughtering anyone who has or wants to sleep with his wife.
- DirectorLarry G. SpanglerStarsJack ElamRuth RomanJeff CooperA private detective travels out west to investigate the murders of several prostitutes, facing off against the reluctance of the town's grizzled sheriff, and several suspicious characters, each with something to hide.
- DirectorJim ClarkStarsVincent PricePeter CushingRobert QuarryA horror movie star returns to his famous role after years in a mental institution. But the character seems to be committing murders independent of his will.
- DirectorSean MacGregorDavid SheldonStarsSorrell BookeGene EvansTaylor LacherAfter five deranged children are involved in a bus wreck they start killing people at the lodge who insulted them or were rude to them.
- DirectorGene LevittStarsSkye AubreyJack CassidyJackie CooganThe internationally famous Worldwide Studios (really MGM) has hit hard times and is forced to sell it's back lot to Hollywood property developers. The trouble is someone keeps killing off the site surveyors. The studio chiefs then learn of the legend of a masked man who lives on the lot and is sworn to protect it from harm.
- DirectorKuo-Hsiung LiuStarsYan-Yung TsoWei OuKai Kang
- DirectorFeroz ChinoyStarsShatrughan SinhaSharmila TagoreAnil DhawanAfter the brutal deaths of Kanta Mirchandani and Sabrina, Bombay's Police Commissioner concludes it to be the work of a serial killer and assigns this case to Inspector Ashok, who lives with his widowed mother, Radha, and is in love with Nisha, a Journalist, and the sister of Advocate Munish. Evidence leads Ashok to suspect that Munish is the killer, and he is all set to arrest him. Then Shabnam, a Courtesan, comes forward and claims that she was attacked by a maniac, but managed to escape and assists the police to prepare a hand-drawn sketch. Hoping to have her positively identify Munish as the killer, Ashok finds the tables turned against him when Shabnam identifies him, not Munish, as her assailant.