Book Review - Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the Seventies

When people think of British horror films, thoughts turn to Hammer (with a nod to Amicus). But now for something completely different: A book about independent British horror cinema, 1970 to 1979. Ten years, ten chapters.

Why those years? The editors explain:

"When people talk of the long tradition of British horror cinema, they're talking about a myth. In fact, British horror films only thrived for a twenty year period. Before 1960, there had only been a handful of genre movies made in the UK; and since 1980, horror film production has dwindled to an almost non-existent level."

But if British horror began flowering in 1960, why not Twenty Years of Terror? Because, the editors believe, British horror cinema peaked in the 1970s, both creatively and quantitatively: "The 1970s saw boundaries broken down, taboos challenged, censorship under assault and the rule books torn up. It had never happened before, and it hasn't happened since."

While the editors acknowledge Hammer's past contributions, they believe that by the 1970s, independent filmmakers had assumed the creative cutting edge:

"Hammer—particularly under the leadership of Michael Carreras—seemed to have little idea of how to deal with the sweeping changes that were taking place. It's sobering to think that while William Friedkin was shooting The Exorcist and Wes Craven had made The Last House on the Left, Hammer were dusting off Terence Fisher to grind out another Frankenstein movie."

Ten Years of Terror is part film encyclopedia, with production credits and analyses for each film entry. Its huge format resembles the Overlook Film Encyclopedia, yet naturally, its coverage of 1970s British horror is more extensive. Vastly so. The Overlook's horror edition covers all North American and European horror films up till 1992, plus films from Japan, India and Latin America, yet is only 1/3 longer than Ten Years of Terror. Ten Years of Terror lavishes over 300 pages for films that the Overlook covers in under 30. Likewise, Fragments of Fear: An Illustrated History of British Horror Films, covers nearly a century of British horror in 283 pages, compared to Ten Years of Terror's decade in 336 pages.

Clearly, Ten Years of Terror offers much more on 1970s British horror films than previous books. But what more is there? No, not padding. There's meat - and blood and guts and gore. This is a beautiful book, hugely glossy, lavishly illustrated, in resplendent color.

Specifically: 143 film entries, 733 illustrations, 48 pages in full color. That's what it claims. I didn't count, but it doesn't appear off-base.

In addition to ten chapters, there are appendixes for: (1) short and experimental films; (2) TV movies and series (for BBC and ITV buffs); (3) borderline cases (what didn't quite fit the editors' definition of 1970s British horror); (4) foreign films shot in Britain (including by us Yanks), and (5) unfilmed British horror movies (some films that were announced but not completed). Appendixes also illustrated, although the entries are briefer.

Ten Years of Terror should not be confused with all those other oversized horror film books, scant on text, heavy on the same old glossy stills. Like them, Ten Years of Terror is big and beautiful, oversized and lavishly illustrated. But it's thick with text. And its stills are rarities, obscure gems.

But wait—there's more! The foreword was written by Norman J. Warren, director of such British gems as Horror Planet (aka Inseminoid) and Terror. I first saw Terror in a New York theater, some 20 years ago. Terror soon sank into obscurity, forgotten and ignored, and I've been partisaning its revival ever since. I discussed Terror in my NYU film school paper on horror films (1982), and in Horror magazine (1997), and for Horrorfind.com, and in my anthology book Halloween Candy (2001), and in my HollywoodInvestigator.com (2004), and in an upcoming issue of Mondo Cult (2006). Happily, Ten Year of Terror grants proper coverage to Terror (Fragments of Fear doesn't even mention the film), generously illustrated.

Article Author: Thomas M. Sipos

Thomas M. Sipos is the author of the anti-Communist satire, Vampire Nation and Manhattan Sharks. Some of his essays on horror film aesthetics appear in his horror collection, Halloween Candy. He founded the Tabloid Witch Awards horror film contest and festival. …

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