Category: TV Terror Guide

  • Snatched (1973)

    Snatched (1973)

    After playing tennis at a fancy club in Santa Costa, CA, three cocky rich men and their spoiled wives split into two groups. The men head to the bar, the women to the spa. When the women are finished, the climb into their limousine where the driver has just been knocked out and replaced with…

  • Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)

    Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)

    Sometimes I feel like I’ve watched so many horror movies that I can tell where one’s headed during its early moments. It’s not disappointing when I’m right. I’d almost be disappointed if these films didn’t end like I’ve been trained to think they will. More often than not, it’s the only satisfying way they could…

  • Maneater (1973)

    Maneater (1973)

    We’ve discussed Maneaters Are Loose! (1978) in this feature, and while Maneater (1973) is similar, it at least has a scene where a tiger or two are actually in the same shot as the people. It also has a bit more plot. I wouldn’t call it a most dangerous game, but it’s a kinda-sorta dangerous…

  • Nightmare (1974)

    Nightmare (1974)

    We’ve seen the story many times, going back at least as far as 1954 with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Sure, there are variations and twists, but the basic plot is the same: somebody sees something bad happen in an adjacent building. Usually, nobody believes them and, at some point, they find themselves in personal danger…

  • The Questor Tapes (1974)

    The Questor Tapes (1974)

    Here’s how old school I am. The Questor Tapes (1974) is a Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek) production and the titular character, played by Robert Foxworth, is an android that repeatedly uses the word “logic.” That reminded me an awful lot of Spock, so I thought the character was based on him. Duh! Research has shown…

  • The Elevator (1974)

    The Elevator (1974)

    If you’re going to be trapped on an elevator, this would be a good one. Just look at your co-passengers: Craig Stevens (The Deadly Mantis), Teresa Wright (Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt), Myrna Loy (The Thin Man), and Jean Allison (Devil’s Partner.) And that’s just the old Hollywood royalty. There’s also Roddy McDowell and Carol…

  • Live Again, Die Again (1974)

    Live Again, Die Again (1974)

    If I were to wake up from a cryogenic deep sleep after 34 years, I can’t imagine that I’d be bored and lie around the house all day. Instead, I’d be out and about experiencing all the marvels of a new world. Then again, I wouldn’t have a psychopathic daughter like Caroline Carmichael (Donna Mills)…

  • Hitchhike (1974)

    Hitchhike (1974)

    In Hitchhike! (1974), Cloris Leachman, who’s been so good in several TV movies we’ve discussed in this series, plays Claire Stevens, a woman on the run from someone or something, who picks up Keith Miles (Michael Brandon) beside the road on a rainy drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Made in the 1970s, you…

  • Mousey (1974)

    Mousey (1974)

    Mousey (1974) doesn’t feel like a made-for-television movie. In fact, it was released theatrically in the UK, Australia, Italy, and Denmark, where it was known as Cat & Mouse. I couldn’t find much about its origins, but there’s got to be a story to explain the melting pot of production contributors. It’s a joint US/UK…

  • The Day the Earth Moved (1974)

    The Day the Earth Moved (1974)

    As often as we see movies about disasters in big cities like Los Angeles and New York City, The Day the Earth Moved (1974) reminds us that earthquakes can also strike in small towns like Bates, Nevada. Sure, the stakes aren’t as high… there just aren’t as many people in danger. Plus, there aren’t many…