The president of the jury was the same person who had received the Carnation Medal for Best Director the previous year: Dario Argento. The spotlight was focused on Mexican fantastic films, with screenings that included, among others, The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz as well as Fando and Lis. The film that opened the Festival was Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive. The main award went to Dan Curtis's Burnt Offerings. Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes won the Critics' Award.