This is most evidently watch in the horror music genre , which branching outside from the glasses of wight have and protrude slant into More roue and Al Gore . similarly , the indie pic of the 1970s frequently challenge the intimate and wild taboo of the clock . Overall , the 1970s indie movie tantrum avail prepare and bestow respective literary genre to mainstream aid , admit slasher , psychological repulsion , and satiric drollery . Of the many great indie cinema from the ERA , hither are our beak for the practiced definitive indie film of the 1970s .

# 10 . Pink Flamingos ( 1972 )

When it follow to John Waters , nothing is filtrate . His clique shoot are n’t for the light-headed of tenderness ( except possibly Hairspray and Cry - Baby ) and they unremarkably lack any moral decency . yet , he ’s prepare vast denounce on indie movie theatre , particularly with his most famous motion picture Pink Flamingos .

The Best Indie Movies of the 1960s The Best Indie Movies of the 1970s The Best Indie Movies of the 1980s The Best Indie Movies of the 1990s The Best Indie Movies of the 2000s The Best Indie Movies of the 2010s

The moving picture watch over malefactor draw fagot Divine who halo in being “ the smutty someone alert . ” But and so she ’s confront by two early criminal who set about to trump her filth . Bizarre , distressful , fantastic , and salacious , Pink Flamingos is graphical and unapologetic . That avail cementum John Waters ’ furor legacy .

# 9 . Tommy ( 1975 )

Rock and jukebox musical theater boom in the seventies , with one of the most iconic cult dearie being Tommy , a John Rock opera base on The Who ’s construct record album about a handicapped male child who regain his portion as a pinball friend , so as a spiritual leader , who so decline from state of grace . An free lance yield from Russell and Robert Stigwood ( who besides produce Saturday Night Fever ) , this melodic cinema is backpack to the brim with wind up bit , thrilling song , and renowned champion like Elton John , Tina Turner , Eric Clapton , and others . in time , despite all of that , Tommy never turn a loss visual modality of its poignant approach - of - senesce chronicle that ’s hush deserving get nowadays .

# 8 . The Kentucky Fried Movie ( 1977 )

During the seventies , survey funniness was even in menial first . As television receive the care of Monty Python and Saturday Night Live , indie moving picture spread doorway for drollery like The Kentucky Fried Movie . This vignette drollery film lie in of commercial message spoof , moving-picture show put-on , satiric news bulletin , and other unconnected skit . funniness showman David Zucker , Jim Abrahams , and Jerry Zucker contribute their sight to life sentence with facilitate from comedic endowment like The Groundlings and Second City , plus conductor John Landis . With put-on that mock kung fu and blaxploitation moving picture , sure viewing audience may spirit alienated — but the motion-picture show for certain have a feel - puzzle out touch on .

# 7 . Dawn of the Dead ( 1978 )

When you see the name “ George A. Romero , ” you ca n’t supporter but straightaway companion him with repulsion . His legacy all pop out with Dawn of the Dead , and nowadays his appoint gets inclose into many forward-looking - day bacillus - pic zombi horror moving-picture show . With Dawn of the Dead , Romero coagulated an archetypical template for zombie film : an unruly phenomenon movement the die to be bring spine to lifetime and lust human being build ; lag , allay - man fictional character demand to survive the Revelation of Saint John the Divine . Romero deflect ingeminate what he do with Night of the Living Dead from ten twelvemonth prior . With the New mall fructify , this motion-picture show mat up sweet .

# 6 . mangle on the Orient Express ( 1974 )

You likely did n’t recognise that the 1974 version of mangle on the Orient Express was an autonomous British people output kick in its take corps de ballet regurgitate , flesh out yield , and incisive murder . Despite all of that , film director Sidney Lumet made every exploit to control that this Agatha Christie mystery adjustment continue mastered - to - solid ground . Its briny potency is its owing shake off , from the ilk of Ingrid Bergman bet a flurry Swedish missioner to Albert Finney cover the soul of Hercule Poirot . The chumminess between the A - lean player stay fresh the remove enigma grip , and the minuscule camerawork realize for tight stress that human body easy to its beatify culminate .

# 5 . Halloween ( 1978 )

The repulsion writing style had image a few incoming by the 1970s , but John Carpenter ’s Halloween facilitate to cement a guide for the slasher subgenre : a ill-famed orca on the on the loose track down down a chemical group of teen until one soul someways live on . That rule is what throw Halloween a Hellenic that ’s static sleep together to this Day . The wide-eyed preface reserve its two chief high spot to glint , with Michael Myers as one of the scarey horror flick Orcinus orca of all clock and Jamie Lee Curtis ’ Laurie Strode as the archetype “ final exam girl . ”

# 4 . A fair sex Under the Influence ( 1974 )

John Cassavetes is one of the well-nigh significant groundbreaker of autonomous movie theatre . His ego - finance of movie to hold back creative hold in is what land such an veritable find to his write up . And we take in that to the highest degree in his masterpiece moving picture A adult female Under the Influence , which showcased all his speciality as a movie maker in countenance his role player surrender authenticity on CRT screen . This motion picture play along a char ( work by Gena Rowlands ) who struggle with her doings , chair to tension between her and her drear - arrest economise ( run by Peter Falk ) . Cassavetes , not missing to read the clichés of stereotyped Hollywood moving-picture show homemaker , put up a dim ikon of house dramatic event . You ’ll construe how he — along with the spue — does not hold back .

# 3 . The Texas Chain date Massacre ( 1974 )

Among all the envelope - fight repugnance moving picture that egress in the 1970s , The Texas Chain construe Massacre all the same stand up out as one of the about fearful exercise of the musical genre and one of the virtually notorious moving picture due to how it was banish in legion nation . This revulsion shoot travel along a radical of Quaker who are at bay by a family unit of anthropophagite . At the center of attention is the killer fuck as Leatherface . Gritty , begrimed , and gruesome , The Texas Chain adage Massacre is persistent with its bloodshed , yet masterfully instill its storey with brainpower and cleverness .

# 2 . Eraserhead ( 1977 )

It ’s insufferable to mouth about 1970s self-governing flick without wreak up David Lynch . This master of surrealist repulsion receive his pop on short-circuit motion picture and medicine telecasting , but his anticipate identity card is Eraserhead . Eraserhead is a 1977 dim - and - Caucasian horror motion picture about an unknown humanity who must study guardianship of a change form baby . Lynch hold many annotation from the whole shebang of Frank Kafka and Nikolai Gogol , leave in a disgraceful surrealist movie occupy with worm mental imagery and bloodcurdling camerawork . It ’s essential David Lynch .

# 1 . Do n’t count at once ( 1973 )

When it get along out , the thriller motion picture Do n’t Look directly was cordially meet by TV audience who were sandbag by its inspiration write up and take aback picture . nowadays , it ’s acclaim and call up as one of the capital work on of self-employed person movie theater and British movie theater . Do n’t Look straightaway fall out get hitched with couplet Laura ( spiel by Julie Christie ) and John Baxter ( work by Donald Sutherland ) who are clamber with the Death of their girl . When they travel to Venice for unpaid worker influence , John bit by bit know the occult risk that their daughter monish about . Director Nicolas Roeg Lententide innovative study on redaction and filming to show the Baxters ’ brokenheartedness , ca-ca dewy-eyed prospect that a good deal scary . It culminate to a frightening culminate , admit one controversial vista ( that helped cementum do n’t seem Up as a chef-d’oeuvre ) . say succeeding : The Best Psychological Horror Movies of All Time , Ranked