12 Most Underrated Horror Movies Of The 1970s

6. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Nosferatu 1979
MGM - EMI

The Saw franchise owes a lot to the Dr. Phibes series as it's mostly the same premise only with a better set-up and more fun tone as a dark, horror-comedy.

After a famous musician is gravely injured in a car accident, his wife dies and he blames the incompetence of the surgeons who operated on her. He recreates his face and speaks through a grotesque hole in his throat then goes on a killing spree of revenge.

Based on the 10 plagues of Egypt, his spree involves a series of death traps, a highlight including forcing a Doctor to perform heart surgery on his son within a time limit.

Vincent Price is at his absolute best here, never hamming it up too much and bringing a real intimidating stature as he torments his victims. Seeing him ghostly white and draining a victim of every drop of their blood without a flicker of remorse is delightfully creepy.

It's also a surprisingly good looking film with the rich colours popping on screen and big grandiose sets giving the whole film a sense of spectacle amongst the terror.

It's unique, swiftly paced, and has some insanely creative ways of dealing death for a film from 1971. definitely give this strange little tale, and its sequel, a watch.

Contributor

Crazy fan of MMA who also loves his films.