Quick List: 5 Movies That Scare The Bejesus Out of Me
Filed under: Horror, Fandom, Lists, Trailers and Clips
Well, it's just about 'All Hallows Eve' and if you're anything like me, then you have already depleted your candy supply and you've been watching as many horror movies as you can get your hands on. And as I've watched everything from The Wolf Man to 13 Ghosts I've been thinking how few movies actually scare me -- the rise of torture porn was nauseating, sure, but scary? Not really. Over at Den of Geek they've compiled a list of movies that scare them and it has inspired me to think about what flicks have given me the honest to goodness heebie-jeebies over the years.
Usually when I watch horror, it's with an eye for comedy and usually the lamer the film, the better. But occasionally there's a film that actually does what it's supposed to: scare the crap out of me. But as much as I tried to find a common denominator for what scares me on the big screen, I came up empty. In fact, there's never really any way to tell just what is going to hit the right buttons when it comes to horror, but I guess that's what makes it so much fun.
After the jump: 5 movies that guarantee me a 'bad night's sleep'...
Now before we get started, keep in mind, this list isn't about the 'best' in horror, just the stuff that scares me. So if I haven't included your favorite, go easy on me.
1. Zodiac
Usually serial killer movies aren't my thing, but in David Fincher's adaptation of Robert Graysmith's book, the scenes in which we see The Zodiac 'go to work' were some of the most horrifying things I had seen committed to film. It wasn't because they were gruesome or because they were 'creative' kills -- instead, what made them so scary was how quick and utterly unremarkable they were, and reality is way scarier than fantasy.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
I saw Tobe Hooper's classic almost 20 years ago, and I still avoid it like the plague whenever possible. Part of the reason I was never all that into the 'Hostel' brand of horror was that I never got a thrill out of watching people beg for their lives. Chainsaw is the granddaddy of that feeling for me, and it's all thanks to the scene in which Sally is dragged in for Grandpa to slaughter at the family 'dinner' table. I get the willies just thinking about it.
3. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Alexandre Aja was hired by Craven to remake his 1977 horror on the strength of Aja's High Tension -- which is a great horror, but just didn't quite scare me as much as it should have. But Hills made up for it, and even after Aja had to re-edit the film to get an R rating, it still freaked me out -- I mean, the breast milk thing alone was enough to give me nightmares for days.
4. The Shining
This one usually takes the top spot on most people's list of scariest flicks, and with good reason. Sometimes when a film becomes so entrenched in pop culture (and the subject of a Simpson's episode) some of the fear factor can wear off. But as a friend pointed out, what makes this movie still scary is that while we can write off monsters as just part of our imagination, in The Shining, the monster is just a regular guy with writer's block.
5. Twilight Zone: The Movie
Now this is actually kind of a funny story: as a kid, whenever my parents felt that a movie was getting a little intense, my sister and I would hear the magical phrase "cover your eyes!" and instantly the offending content was, for all intents and purposes, 'censored'. I'd watched Twilight Zone on TV, so when the movie was released my parents figured we could handle it, but in the opening scene when Dan Aykroyd asks Albert Brooks "Do you want to see something really scary?", it turns out the answer for me was no, and I instantly covered my eyes. Now here's where it gets kind of strange, because to this day, I still can't bring myself to watch it. I know it won't scare me (probably) but I think I kind of like my quirky childhood story more than actually knowing what takes place (and yes, I've even had it explained to me.)
Well now that you know what scares me, how about you? Leave your scariest movies in the comments below...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-30-2009 @ 7:49PM
Frantic Monkey said...
Halloween (1978) - I just have to hear that theme and I get goosebumps.
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10-30-2009 @ 8:18PM
JackGonzo said...
Maybe not "scary" but movies that get to me deep down.
1. Poltergeist-can't explain it, may be that f'n clown
2. Event Horizon-just the flashback cannibal scene
3. The Gate-any child of the 80s knows this movie and will testify
4. Creepshow-Whatever one has the tar thing in the lake
5. ...can't think of anything else, but watching Jaws as a child has kept me out of the water since
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10-30-2009 @ 10:15PM
Kate said...
'The Adventures of Young Sherlock Holmes' due to the creepy dudes in those huge hoods, the hallucinations, and the girls being buried alive and covered in boiling wax. It remains the only movie that prompted me to sleep with the lights on when I was little.
I still can't do horror movies. They fuck me up for months. After I saw 'The Ring' (during daylight hours and on TV), I couldn't go downstairs at night for almost a year because I'd hear the sound effects from the video.
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10-30-2009 @ 11:45PM
Charles said...
If you think that those are scary you should take a look at Dead Silence (2007). Much better music score than Halloween in my opinion. I've gotta trailer for it here: http://www.deephorror.com/featured-trailers/dead-silence/
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10-31-2009 @ 2:02AM
Sam Davis said...
The alien on the airplane wing and that freaky looking rabbit still scare the shit out of me in Twilight Zone: The Movie.
When Lithgow shoots the window open, gets stuck out there, and the alien runs up on him and gets right in his face?
Whatever happened to movies like that?
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10-31-2009 @ 3:25AM
Mr. R said...
As a boy, I insisted on being taken to see An American Werewolf in London. I had seen the previous and thought it looked just amazing. Guy at the door told my dad it wasn't for children (Mexico, you are tall enough, you go in) but I still wanted in.
When David dreams himself asleep in the middle of a quiet forest and the camera zooms into his face, suddenly his eyes open and they are bright yellow and he shows fangs like sharp knives. I felt my heart rate pounding and begged my dad to take me out for a bit. Guy at the door gave us his I told you so look. Went back to see the rest of the movie, which I could handle but that scene still haunts me to this very day.
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10-31-2009 @ 3:27AM
Mr. R said...
sorry for my typo, I meant previews there.
10-31-2009 @ 12:58PM
Zach Lawrence said...
I will say that I have to agree with you, considering the twilight zone movie. As a kid, the lightning creature on the planes wing TERRIFIED me, everything from his silhouette shredding the wing, to his deliciously terrifying violin music as he grabs john lithgow...
But Personally, what did it to me.?.And while I hate to admit this to thouasands of people, that fuckin clown from Poltergeist made me sleep in my parents bed til I was 10!
I think I deserve a plug for self humiliation..We at NerdBastards.com are 'uge followers of cinematical.
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10-31-2009 @ 1:06PM
Andy said...
I know there's a ton of hate for it now, but the original 'Blair Witch Project' creeped the bejesus out of me.
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10-31-2009 @ 2:25PM
Condor said...
8mm when Cage is going through the house looking for the dude.
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11-02-2009 @ 7:01AM
Rosie said...
The Grudge scared me to tears and I think Jaws is the best horror film ever made. However, the movie that goes and stays in my scary place is Fellini Satyricon. Obviously, this is not generally thought as horror, of course, but that director's choice of images can make me squirm like no other's.
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11-02-2009 @ 8:51AM
lw said...
Thanks to Zodiac I will never listen to Hurdy Gurdy Man the same way again, very creepy. But for me the atmosphere of Alien with its slowly building sense of dread is the best horror/scary movie. Just the ominous sounds of the ship along with the moaning wind are enough to give me the chills still.
I watch Jaws more now for Robert Shaw's performance, but it is still scary as hell.
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12-01-2009 @ 4:18PM
stratos said...
well done Rosie. i have the same feeling with fellini's 8 1/2. in my opinion pure (?) fear is caused by :
1.the tenant (polanski)
2.the shining (kubrick)
3.mullholand drive (lynch)
4.a short film about killing (kieslowski)
5.the hour of the wolf (bergman)
6.the antichrist (trieer)
7.rosemary's baby (polanski)
8.blair witch project
9.jaws (spielberg)
10.psycho (hitchcock)
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1-17-2010 @ 9:33PM
Teddy said...
Did you guys ever see any of the first set of After Dark Horror Fest 8 films to die for. My oh my: Abandon was freeky cause they had dead versions of themselves running around in that creepy house. Oh, and oh my gosh Reincarnation, That one was the best one out of the all of the movies made for, Afterdark horrorfest One more to mention but really wasn't all that scary but for the gore lovers out there Dark Ride another one of the frist set of Afterdark Horrorfest was good for the gore. Oh and dang before i forget Hatchet is another one that spills buckets of blood. Awesome movie for the gore lover
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