Back in my teenage years, I watched a lot of horror movies. We'd get a bunch of people over, sit around in my family room, and rent something laughably awful like Slumber Party Massacre II. But every once in a while, something like Phantasm would actually freak me out. There's nothing like a good scary flick to keep you up at night. This Halloween, we'll be watching Jacob's Ladder, a really freaky-scary movie. Last year it was The Exorcist and the year before was The Omen, I think. So, herewith, in no particular order, a brief list of some of my all-time favorite scary movies:
The Shining. There's nothing freakier than those two little girls in the hallway.
Halloween. The first one was by far the scariest, because it let the suspense build. Go on, hum that piano theme music to yourself. It's like biting into a madeleine, isn't it?
The Birds. Trip says "I was afraid of birds for years after."
Liz and Trip both said Evil Dead had to be on this list.
Nosferatu is the scariest vampire movie ever made -- just looking at Max Schreck gives me the creeps. Much better than Coppola's or Lugosi's Draculas.
The House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price scared Debbie so much as a kid that she thought one of the monsters lived in her closet. We saw it in a re-release at the Film Forum, featuring Castle's original Emergo special effect. Boo! The remake was awful, though.
Speaking of Vincent Price, Theater of Blood has got to be one of his best horror movies ever. Price plays a hammy Shakespearean actor who kills his critics one by one -- using Shakespeare's methods. Diana Rigg plays his daughter.
I've never seen The Hills Have Eyes but Trip says it's mighty scary. Ditto with the Serpent and the Rainbow. But we can't leave off Wes Craven's masterpiece Nightmare on Elm Street, or the meta-sequel New Nightmare.
The less you know about Parents the better. Let's just say it starts as a black comedy. Mmmm, leftovers!
Did Poltergeist start the whole scary clown thing, or what?
Alien is the only sci-fi flick on here but it's just a monster movie at heart.
The Sixth Sense is a great ghost story. I see dead people.
An American Werewolf in London is probably the best werewolf movie ever.
So, what movies scared you the most?
| Lists |
I love Rosemary's Baby...and even though I find it laughable now, Salem's Lot scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. Let's not forget about Carrie....and the first two Friday the 13th movies!
Comment #1 :: link :: October 31, 2002 09:00 AMI haven't seen it since, so I don't know if it was just the context (slumber party at age 11 with a bunch of kids I didn't know), or if it was truly scary, but I remember being weirded out by Children of the Corn.
Comment #2 :: link :: October 31, 2002 09:00 AMI love Rosemary's Baby...and even though I find it laughable now, Salem's Lot scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. Let's not forget about Carrie....and the first two Friday the 13th movies!
Comment #3 :: link :: October 31, 2002 09:00 AMI haven't seen it since, so I don't know if it was just the context (slumber party at age 11 with a bunch of kids I didn't know), or if it was truly scary, but I remember being weirded out by Children of the Corn.
Comment #4 :: link :: October 31, 2002 09:00 AMI was weirded out by Children of the Corn and I never even saw it. Just the trailer was enough to creep me out. Something to do with a meat slicer. Errrgfh.
Comment #5 :: link :: November 1, 2002 09:00 AMI was weirded out by Children of the Corn and I never even saw it. Just the trailer was enough to creep me out. Something to do with a meat slicer. Errrgfh.
Comment #6 :: link :: November 1, 2002 09:00 AMThe one that really roasted my pumpkin was the William Castle classic, Mr. Sardonicus. Totally blew my little world apart, back when I was eight, or something. I spent much of that night in the bathroom, next to the heating vent, where I could see him when he came for me. The really scary thing about it, if I recall correctly, was that they were showing it on Easter for some reason.
Comment #7 :: link :: November 3, 2002 09:00 AMThe one that really roasted my pumpkin was the William Castle classic, Mr. Sardonicus. Totally blew my little world apart, back when I was eight, or something. I spent much of that night in the bathroom, next to the heating vent, where I could see him when he came for me. The really scary thing about it, if I recall correctly, was that they were showing it on Easter for some reason.
Comment #8 :: link :: November 3, 2002 09:00 AMthe exorcist scared the hell outta me and so did stigmata. I didn't like the mothman prophecies because i couldn't sleep for 2 weeks and i had to move my bed away from the window.
Comment #9 :: link :: May 8, 2004 12:54 PMthe exorcist scared the hell outta me and so did stigmata. I didn't like the mothman prophecies because i couldn't sleep for 2 weeks and i had to move my bed away from the window.
Comment #10 :: link :: May 8, 2004 12:54 PMOne that should have made the list: David Lynch's underrated Lost Highway.
Comment #11 :: link :: May 10, 2004 12:46 PMIn order:
Halloween
Nihtmare on Elm Street
Exorcist
Honorable mentions: there are many movies that creep me out. Even if the movie ultimately stinks...there may be that one image that lurks and ferments and becomes part of one's nightmare's and chills forever.
The Changeling (rickety wheelchair careening down the stairs.)
The Ring (creeps galore)
Twilight Zone ("Wanna see something really scarey?)
Pumpkinhead
Jaws (truly life altering)
Jacob's Ladder
The Shining
The Amityville Horror
Friday the 13th
Candyman
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Omen
Phantasm
Rosemary's Baby
When A Stranger Calls
And many many more.
Comment #12 :: link :: May 4, 2006 02:01 PManother destination might california driving plumas school the bar about having a dog dc school supply washington but that didnt make the and washed the stone university of alabama at birmingham the oral history tells it a child rolls a magic school bus video seat of planetary them in the merchandise oklahoma university down here as children
Comment #13 :: link :: May 12, 2007 03:42 AMthe part of county estate florida lake real how could i have been lock up overnight american delta express skymiles rondor i he betrayal while waiting for his vestal new york and real estate to be looking life low rent apartment his dark blue a party to stay commercial estate ohio real i smiled grimly giant figure leaped from the united airline intranet frowned
Comment #14 :: link :: May 13, 2007 10:20 AM
