Buzz
How is Richard “Tricky Dick” Nixon connected to a niche horror movie featuring giant, carnivorous rabbits? The link might surprise you.
The roots trace back to the surge in environmental awareness post-World War II, with topics like pollution, deforestation, and endangered species legislation gaining traction. Influential works such as Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring played a pivotal role, highlighting the devastating impact of DDT, a widely used pesticide, on bird populations.
Silent Spring sold over a million copies in two years, reflecting the growing public concern for environmental issues. Events like the 1969 Cleveland river fire further fueled the outcry. In reaction, President Nixon founded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, coinciding with the inaugural celebration of Earth Day.
Hollywood adapted to the era, introducing a fresh wave of terrifying films that stormed into cinemas. Known as “eco-horror” cinema, this genre explores humanity's clash with nature, often depicting a world where human arrogance, greed, or negligence push the environment to its breaking point. When the balance tips, characters are left defenseless against threats ranging from deadly insects to genetically altered sea creatures.
The 1970s are celebrated as the pinnacle of eco-horror. Below are 11 essential films from that iconic decade that deserve a spot on your watchlist.
1. Frogs (1972)
Revenge takes a slippery form in this peculiar tale. Sam Elliott, without his signature mustache, portrays Pickett Smith, a wildlife photographer visiting the estate of Jason Crockett (Ray Milland), a wealthy Southerner celebrating his birthday over the 4th of July. However, the festivities turn deadly as frogs, snakes, spiders, and alligators begin attacking the guests. The animals’ fury is justified, as Crockett’s reckless use of pesticides has poisoned their habitat.
Upon its 1972 release, Frogs faced criticism but resonated with contemporary issues. That year, the EPA’s crackdown on DDT dominated headlines. The film’s promotional material emphasized its environmental message, with the official trailer declaring: “Imagine nature declaring war … with humanity, the polluters, as the target.”
2. Night of the Lepus (1972)
Adapted from Russell Braddon’s The Year of the Angry Rabbit, Night of the Lepus stands out as the ultimate lagomorph horror film. (Admittedly, the competition is sparse.) The story unfolds when a flawed scientific experiment spawns a swarm of carnivorous rabbits. Oh, and did we mention these bunnies are as large as forklifts? The special effects team achieved this by blending live rabbits, tiny sets, and the timeless “man-in-a-rabbit-costume” approach.
Needless to say, this spells disaster for the Arizona town overrun by these oversized hoppers. “The script was solid,” remarked actress Janet Leigh (Psycho), who appears in the film. “But no one anticipated that even a 6-foot-tall rabbit still looks like the Easter Bunny. It’s hard not to laugh when you see a herd of giant rabbits meant to be terrifying—they’re just too adorable to be scary.”
3. Grizzly (1976)
Often labeled as one of the earliest Jaws imitators, Grizzly shifts the terror to terra firma, swapping the great white shark for a ferocious bear. Instead of beachgoers, the victims are unsuspecting campers in a national park, making for a woodland nightmare.
Filmed in Clayton, Georgia, Grizzly proved to be a box office success, reportedly grossing $30 million on a modest $750,000 budget. A follow-up, Grizzly II: Revenge, started filming in 1983 but wasn’t released until 2020. Interestingly, the sequel features an early attack scene starring three future Hollywood icons: George Clooney, Charlie Sheen, and Laura Dern.
4. The Food of the Gods (1976)
In The Food of the Gods, the saying “you are what you eat” takes on a literal meaning. This 1976 exploitation film revolves around a strange substance that, when ingested, causes animals to grow to enormous sizes. A Canadian farmer stumbles upon the goo and uses it to breed oversized chickens. Unfortunately, other creatures also get a taste, leading to an invasion of giant rats and wasps that wreak havoc.
Based on H.G. Wells’ 1904 novel, The Food of the Gods employed prop animal heads for some scenes, while others featured live rats navigating miniature sets, much like Night of the Lepus. Critics were merciless: Roger Ebert gave it a one-star rating, and Gene Siskel awarded it only half a star in his harsh Chicago Tribune review.
5. Squirm (1976)
Squirm draws inspiration from a childhood experiment. Director Jeff Lieberman and his brother once used electrified model train parts to lure earthworms from their backyard soil. Thankfully, those worms weren’t carnivorous—unlike the aggressive, flesh-eating worms terrorizing a Southern town in Lieberman’s debut film.
MGM unleashed this gruesome horror movie in 1976. Years later, in 1999, the cult show Mystery Science Theater 3000 mocked Squirm in a season 10 episode. Lieberman wasn’t amused. “I don’t mind poking fun at the film—I encourage it,” he told Birth. Movies. Death. in 2013. “What angered me was MGM selling it to them for peanuts. It devalues the movie.” Lieberman, who owns a stake in the film, felt the Mystery Science Theater treatment would diminish its worth.
6. Day of the Animals (1977)
In this film, a bare-chested Leslie Nielsen battles a bear and—spoiler—comes up short. This memorable moment is just one highlight of 1977’s Day of the Animals, directed by William Girdler, who had helmed Grizzly the previous year.
Girdler expanded his scope in this film, featuring a variety of deadly creatures. Day of the Animals depicts humans falling victim to rabid dogs, swarms of rats, and even vengeful hawks. The animals’ rampage is attributed to humanity’s destruction of the ozone layer, which drove them mad. (Ozone depletion was a pressing issue in the 1970s, with a 1974 scientific paper on the subject earning its authors a Nobel Prize.)
7. Orca (1977)
“Nature’s ultimate jerks.” That’s how Captain Nolan, portrayed by Richard Harris, refers to Orcinus orca, commonly known as the killer whale. He harbors no affection for the species; after killing a pregnant female near Nova Scotia, Nolan is relentlessly pursued by her vengeful mate across the globe.
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, fresh off his 1976 King Kong remake starring Jessica Lange, Orca aimed to surpass Jaws at the box office. De Laurentiis instructed screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni to “[find] a fish more fearsome than the Great White.” Without spoiling too much, the film features a scene where the whale sets a village ablaze. Also, watch for a young Bo Derek, who appears here before her breakout role in 10 (1979).
8. Empire of the Ants (1977)
Another eco-horror film based on an H.G. Wells tale, Empire of the Ants shares similarities with The Food of the Gods. Both explore creatures that grow to monstrous sizes due to dietary changes—this time, it’s ants that become gigantic (“gi-ants?”) after consuming radioactive waste.
Both Empire of the Ants and The Food of the Gods were directed by B-movie icon Bert I. Gordon, who also handled the visual effects for both films. Empire cleverly blends close-up ant footage with wider shots of human actors. “We never actually saw the ants,” actor Robert Pine revealed in an interview with film historian Tom Weaver. “The production schedule was 11 weeks—five for the humans and six for the ants.”
9. Piranha (1978)
Here’s a surprising endorsement: Steven Spielberg once described Piranha as “the best of the Jaws imitations.” Whether it’s a rip-off or not, Joe Dante’s 1978 film delivers sharp political satire, centering on a Texas river overrun by genetically enhanced piranhas.
The piranhas, it turns out, were a covert bioweapon developed by the U.S. government for the Vietnam War. “We aimed to create a strain of these killer fish that could thrive in cold water and reproduce rapidly,” explains their creator, played by Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) star Kevin McCarthy. One of the most challenging scenes involved actress Belinda Balaski, whose character is pulled underwater and devoured. The crew had to drag her across a pool with a rope while she was covered in rubber piranhas. Talk about dedication!
10. The Swarm (1978)
The trend of “nature fights back” films attracting big-name stars continued with The Swarm, which starred Oscar favorite Sir Michael Caine. Caine later admitted his involvement was purely financial, stating he took the role because his mother “needed a house.” (He gave the same reason for appearing in 1987’s critically panned Jaws: The Revenge, joking, “I made Jaws 4 to buy her a bigger house for her and her friends.”)
A commercial flop about African killer bees, The Swarm originally ran for 116 minutes, though a 156-minute version is now available on home video. The production reportedly used between 15 million and 22 million live bees, some of which reportedly defecated on Caine.
11. Prophecy (1979)
A New England paper mill’s illegal mercury dumping triggers a deadly response from local wildlife, including Katahdin, a mutated bear that attacks lumberjacks and campers. The chaos draws an EPA official and his pregnant wife (Talia Shire, known for Rocky) to investigate.
Despite mixed reviews, this 1979 film by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate) earned praise from Stephen King. “I not only liked Prophecy, I saw it three times … It’s like settling into an old easy-chair with good friends,” King wrote in his 1981 book, Danse Macabre.
Prophecy played a key role in popularizing the practice of filming American movies in Vancouver, Canada, to take advantage of tax breaks and affordable production expenses. The monstrous Katahdin was brought to life by actors in suits, including the late Kevin Peter Hall, who stood over 7 feet tall. Hall later gained fame for his roles as Harry the friendly sasquatch in Harry and the Hendersons and the extraterrestrial hunters in the first two Predator films.
