The 1970s laid the groundwork for the horror genre that endures today, perhaps with more popularity and intrigue than ever. From supernatural horror like The Exorcist to the birth of the modern slasher in Halloween, the genre proved to be incredibly versatile, whether in prestigious fare or B-movie schlock. Many of these films received mass critical adoration, including major Oscar consideration, like The Exorcist. One year before William Friedkin's classic spooked the world, a non-horror movie with all the genre's sensibilities, Deliverance, belonged to the same Best Picture nominee class as The Godfather and Cabaret. John Boorman's adventure drama/thriller has many shorthand descriptors. If you mention the banjo number and the line "squeal like a pig," everyone knows what you're talking about. However, rarely is this story about four upper-class Americans embarking on a journey through the woods that devolves into a nightmare recognized as a foundational text for modern horror. If the genre has told us anything, it's that you stay the hell away from the backwoods.
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