"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."
