Saying “This looks like it was made for television” is an efficient way of pointing out what’s wrong with a movie without the need for further explanation. The average person knows exactly what you’re trying to say. Without a doubt, the telefilm has a reputation these days as being low-quality and poorly acted. That may be true of the ones airing today, but the TV-movie was a different beast forty years ago.
Horror has, for the most part, lied in film more than in television history. Although, this changed in the 1970s when TV was becoming more popular and more diverse in genres. Cop stories and sitcoms were still prolific, but horror had found its way to the small screen thanks to innovators like Aaron Spelling and Dan Curtis. For two decades starting in the 70s, one could turn on their television every week and experience some great thrills. So, let’s check out some classic horror TV-movies you have never seen before.
Hotline (1982)
A bartender and art student volunteers at a hotline after narrowly escaping a drunkard’s unwanted advances. When she receives a call from someone calling himself The Barber, she becomes entangled in the caller’s clues. Now, she’s out to find the identity of The Barber before she becomes his next victim.
Lynda Carter is best known for playing Wonder Woman in the classic 1975 series. Once the show went off the air in 1979, Carter switched gears. She went from hero to victim in this CBS thriller that highlights the growing popularity of crisis hotlines at the time.
Bay Cove (1987)
Unhappy with their urban life, a couple moves to an old house on an island outside the city. There, the wife experiences a series of unusual incidents that she can only conclude is supernatural in nature. However, her husband, as well as the local townsfolk, don’t believe her.
Bay Cove (or more pointedly, Bay Coven) feels dated as it’s a “satanic panic” movie from the late 80s. Anyone brushed up on their horror history recalls this moral panic was popular in the 1970s. The genre capitalized on it with theatrical films like Race with the Devil, The Omen, and The Exorcist. On television, the same fears were expressed in tele-pics like Satan’s School for Girls and, of course, the all but forgotten Bay Cove.
Death Car on the Freeway (1979)
A television reporter investigates the Freeway Fiddler, a homicidal maniac who drives a blacked-out van. He intentionally targets female motorists on the freeway. When the reporter gets too close to the story, those around her plead with her to step back.
Shelley Hack of Charlie’s Angels fame starred in this exciting story about road rage and women’s safety. In a bid to bring attention to violence against women, 1970s era television was prone to these in-house films that featured imperiled, female protagonists. With well-choreographed, daredevil stunts, Death Car on the Freeway is a menacing and exciting thriller.
Deadly Lessons (1983)
Starkwater Hall Boarding School is a prestigious private academy for girls. During the summer, Stephanie is enrolled so she can work on her French. There, she and the other students she’s befriended are targeted by an unseen killer. The detectives assigned to the case are having no luck sussing out the culprit, though. So, it’s up to Stephanie to solve this mystery.
Deadly Lessons (or Highschool Killer) is a 1983 teen-aimed slasher with no actual slashing. It’s admittedly not for anyone who craves action and bloodshed, but there are amusing dialogue and characters here. Familiar faces include Donna Reed (It’s a Wonderful Life), Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club), and Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons).
No Place to Hide (1981)
A college-aged artist named Amy lives with her stepmother. For the longest time, Amy has suspected someone is out to hurt her. She feels as if someone is following her in her every waking moment. The police are fed up with her claims; only her stepmother believes her at this point. But Amy’s stalker is real. And he’s about to make contact.
Dynasty star Kathleen Beller starred in one of the more well-known TV-made horror movies, Are You in the House Alone?, in 1978. She resumes her role as the “final girl” in No Place to Hide, an eldritch, cat-and-mouse flick that first aired on CBS.
I Saw What You Did (1988)
When a shy teen named Kim invites Lisa over, they play a game with Kim’s younger sister. They choose a random number from the phone book and prank whoever answers. When they tell one man “I saw what you did, and I know who you are,” they are unaware they called just as he murdered someone. Thinking his caller now knows his secret, the killer searches for Kim and Lisa.
This remake of William Castle’s 1965 movie of the same name is, in some ways, a better film. Fred Walton (When a Stranger Calls) effectively amps up the suspense and removes any of the incidentally awkward humor from the original.
The Spell (1977)
Rita is a fifteen-year-old teenager who is picked on by her classmates because of her appearance. Her home life is no better; Rita’s not close to her father, and her sister makes fun of her, too. It’s when accidents start to happen around Rita that her mother Marilyn finally takes notice. Marilyn believes something unnatural is going on with Rita—perhaps even supernatural.
Not unlike Carrie, The Spell deals with teen pangs by using the supernatural as a metaphor. Due to its financial limitations, The Spell obviously cannot ascend to the chaotic fireworks display that made Brian De Palma’s 1976 film so memorable. Rather, it succeeds through casting of the most foreboding atmosphere. The compelling performances of its leads—Susan Myers and Lee Grant as Rita and Marilyn respectively—is crucial as to why The Spell is so potent.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
Upon inheriting an old mansion from her grandmother, Sally and her husband move in. When Sally notices the peculiar, bricked-up fireplace in the basement, she opens it without realizing the consequences of her actions.
It’s rare for a TV-movie to be remade as a big-budget Hollywood feature. Yet that is exactly what happened in the 2011 remake starring Katie Holmes and co-written by Guillermo del Toro. Something the 2011 movie fails to do, though, is have a comparable level of suspense. This is mainly due to the fact that the film’s pint-sized villains are seen on screen so frequently. This overexposure only desensitizes viewers.
Don’t Go to Sleep (1982)
Looking to move past the death of oldest daughter Jennifer, a family of five moves from Los Angeles to a countryside house in the north. The other daughter, Laura, starts to hear her dead sister’s voice after moving in. This ignites a rash of horrifying situations that neither the mother or father can readily explain. Has their beloved Jennifer come back from the dead to haunt them?
One cannot go deep-diving into all that television horror has to offer without broaching the classic Don’t Go to Sleep. This 1982 movie is an evocative tale of grief intermingled with a palpable sense of dread. To boot, the acting from Valerie Harper and Dennis Weaver is exemplary.
Home for the Holidays (1972)
When four adult women return home to see their ill father over the Christmas holidays, the patriarch tells his daughters he thinks their stepmother is trying to kill him. His children are not immediately convinced, but they will be when a killer—wearing a yellow raincoat and brandishing a pitchfork—picks the women off one by one.
Sally Field (Mrs. Doubtfire) and Jessica Walter (Arrested Development) lead an ensemble cast in what is generally considered a seminal proto-slasher. Home for the Holidays even predates “slashics” like Halloween and Friday the 13th by several years.
