Best Horror Movies of 1971

The highest-rated horror films from 1971, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Horror 1970 Horror 1972 All Time Horror

Action Comedy Drama Science Fiction Thriller Romance Animation Documentary Fantasy Crime

The Devils

1971

In 1634 France, charismatic Father Urbain Grandier becomes the target of sexually depraved Sister Jeanne's accusations of witchcraft, which corrupt officials of church and state are all too happy to exploit.

7.5

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

1971

After a team of surgeons botches his beloved wife's operation, the distraught Dr. Phibes unleashes a score of Old-Testament atrocities on his enemies.

6.9

Godzilla vs. Hedorah

1971

An ever evolving alien life-form arrives on a comet from the Dark Gaseous Nebula and proceeds to consume pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity nor Godzilla may be able to defeat this toxic menace.

6.8

The Cat o' Nine Tails

1971

A newsman works with a blind puzzle-solver to uncover a deadly conspiracy linked to a genetic research facility.

6.7

The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh

1971

When socialite and heiress Julie Wardh begins receiving blackmail letters attributed to a mysterious serial killer, she suspects her cruel and sadistic former lover Jean is behind them. With her husband Neil frequently out of town, she falls into the arms of her friend's cousin George, and as the unknown assassin begins to make his move, she fears that one of the three men in her life may be the killer.

6.8

Twins of Evil

1971

While dabbling in Satanism, Count Karstein resurrects Mircalla Karnstein who initiates him into vampirism. As a rash of deaths afflicts the village, Gustav the head of Puritan group leads his men to seek out and destroy the pestilence. One of his twin nieces has become inflicted with the witchcraft but Gustav's zeal and venom has trapped the innocent Maria, threatening her with a tortuous execution, whilst Frieda remains free to continue her orgy of evil.

6.7

A Bay of Blood

1971

An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.

6.6

See No Evil

1971

In the English countryside, Sarah Rexton, recently blinded in a horse riding accident, moves in with her uncle's family and gallantly adjusts to her new condition, unaware that a killer stalks them.

6.5

Four Flies on Grey Velvet

1971

Roberto, a drummer in a rock band, keeps receiving weird phone calls and being followed by a mysterious man. One night he manages to catch up with his persecutor and tries to get him to talk but in the ensuing struggle he accidentally stabs him. He runs away, but he understands his troubles have just begun when the following day he receives an envelope with photos of him killing the man. Someone is killing all his friends and trying to frame him for the murders.

6.5

#10

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin

1971

Carol Hammond, daughter of a politician, has vivid nightmares involving sex orgies and LSD. In a dream, she murders a neighbor she envies and wakes up to a real investigation into her neighbor's murder.

6.5

#11

The House That Dripped Blood

1971

A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house.

6.3

#12

Daughters of Darkness

1971

Ostend, Belgium. In a decadent seaside hotel, Stefan and Valerie, a newlywed couple, meet the mysterious Countess Báthory and Ilona, her secretary.

6.3

#13

Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde

1971

In foggy London Dr Jekyll experiments on newly deceased women determined to discover an elixir for immortal life. Success enables his spectacular transformation into the beautiful but psychotic Sister Hyde who stalks the dark alleys of Whitechapel for young, innocent, female victims, ensuring continuation of the bloodstained research. With each transformation Sister Hyde becomes the more dominant personality, determined to eventually suppress the frail, ineffectual Dr Jekyll forever.

6.1

#14

The Blood on Satan's Claw

1971

In early 18th-century England, the children of a village slowly convert into a coven of devil worshipers.

6.2

#15

Let's Scare Jessica to Death

1971

Newly released from a mental ward, Jessica hopes to return to life the way it was before her nervous breakdown. But when Jessica moves to a country house with her husband and a close friend, she finds a mysterious girl living in there. Jessica's terror and paranoia resurface as evil forces surround her.

6.2

#16

Willard

1971

A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.

6.1

#17

Countess Dracula

1971

Hungary, XVII century. After being widowed, the old countess Elizabeth Nádasdy, of the Báthory lineage, fortunately discovers a way to become young again; but the price to be paid by those around her will be high and bloody.

5.7

#18

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb

1971

Two Egyptologists, Professor Fuchs and Corbeck, are instrumental in unleashing unmitigated horror by bringing back to England the mummified body of Tara, the Egyptian Queen of Darkness. Fuchs’s daughter becomes involved in a series of macabre and terrifying incidents, powerless against the forces of darkness, directed by Corbeck, that are taking possession of her body and soul to fulfill the ancient prophesy that Queen Tara will be resurrected to continue her reign of unspeakable evil.

5.6

#19

Vampyros Lesbos

1971

An erotic horror tale about a vixen vampiress seducing and killing women to appease her insatiable thirst for female blood.

5.7

Best Horror Movies of 1971

This ranking features the top horror movies released in 1971, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1971 or see the best horror movies of all time.