1973 • United States • Directed by George A. Romero
After the experimental outings of There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero returned to rather more distinct horror territory with his 1973 infection opus The Crazies.
When a plane carrying a secret biological weapon crash-lands in the vicinity of a small, rural town, the area descends into chaos. Infected with a virus that sends them into a homicidal frenzy, the locals turn on each other in an orgy of bloody violence. As the army cordons off the town and government agents clash with scientists over the appropriate course of action, a small band of survivors attempt to make their way to safety.
Starring cult icon Lynn Lowry (Shivers, I Drink Your Blood), the influence of Romero’s The Crazies can be felt in everything from the director’s own subsequent work – many commentators have noted the stylistic and thematic similarities to his zombie classic Dawn of the Dead – right up to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and beyond.
Up Next in 70's
-
The Pyjama Girl Case
1977 • Italy • Directed by Flavio Mogherini
Throughout the late 1960s and into the 70s, the Italian giallo movement transported viewers to the far corners of the globe, from swinging San Francisco to the Soviet-occupied Prague. Only one, however, brought the genre's unique brand of bloody mayhem...
-
Things to Come
1976 • United States • Directed by Derek Todd
A future dystopia dream-epic shot in San Antonio, THINGS TO COME finds Julie leaving her marriage to investigate a mysterious sci-fi cult on behalf of frustrated women everywhere. With a soundtrack that feels like it was cribbed from A CLOCKWORK ORAN...
-
The Heroin Busters
1977 • Italy • Directed by Enzo G. Castellari
Over a long and wide-ranging career, director Enzo G. Castellari (Keoma, The Inglorious Bastards) helmed some of the most infamous of all the poliziotteschi - the gritty, action-packed crime films that proliferated in Italy throughout the 70s. In 19...
