Posted on 02/27/2020 8:07:34 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The number of horror movies released each year has increased hugely since the 1930s, at least doubling since the 1960s. 2007 in particular was a golden year for horror – over 100 million tickets sold led to the genre taking a 7% market share. Coupled with the proliferation in number, horror movies have become increasingly violent, graphic and explicit. The harrowing shower scene in Psycho (1960) looked mild by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's standards (1974), and the sexual violence of Hostel (2005), briefly popularised in the 'gorno' subgenre, would have been unthinkable three decades earlier.
The scare tactics might be notched up each year, but YouGov's halloween horror ranking reveals it's the satanic terror of The Omen (1976) and The Exorcist (1971) that make them the all-time scariest movies for British people.
Paranormal Activity (2007) and The Ring (2002) are the only post-2000 horrors to make the top ten.
In terms of pure reach, lighter horror makes for a larger audience – Jaws, The Silence of the Lambs, Alien and The Birds are the most-watched, all with over 50% of British people having seen them.
But tastes are changing. Only seven movies have a net positive score for scariness among 18-24s, and five of these were made after 1999, while the two scariest movies nation-wide have negative net scariness scores. 25-39 year olds find 15 of the 22 movies scary on balance, and both 40-59s and over-60s find 19 of them scary.
By analysing the profiles data of over 7000 fans of the horror movie genre fans, we have also pulled out attitude statements that are disproportionaly true of horror fans compared to the general population.
The religious inversion theme of popular horrors chimes with this group for a reason – they tend to see religion as having created more harm than good throughout history – and these are definitely creatures of the night, tending to say they are night owls and can survive on very little sleep. They also share some of the recklessness of the genre ('when I drink, I drink to get drunk'), along with the rough justice necessary in the netherworlds ('an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth').
I quite agree.
“Mr. Sardonicus”
With the Joe Biden smile.
Because it was a documentary.
The Pit and the pendulum
I was entranced as a kid with the 1953 movie "Invaders From Mars." I was six at the time. It stayed in my memory, and when VHS came out, it was one of the first tapes I purchased. After watching it, I was a little let down, because as a kid, I think I built it up to be more than what it really was. The part that haunted me was when the people would walk out to the end of the rail fence, and then just drop out of sight.
Another good sci-fi movie is "Quatermass and the Pit" from 1967.
Anyone remember a movie called “The Other”?
The scariest movie didn’t even make the list...
Rosemarys Baby...
The original Haunting of Hill House (1963). Thinking about the part about the pounding on the doors still gives me the creeps.
Heh, heh, I’ve run up those steps—my rowing crew used to train in D.C. during spring break, and that’s one of the things we did for training.
Long before The Exorcist those stairs were a landmark for any of us who grew up in DC.
I was living in California when the movie came out and I was all excited seeing them show up in the movie.
“Hey! I know those stairs!!”
My California friends didn’t share my excitement. Jerks.
It is indeed. IIRC you see it when you drive over Key Bridge into the District. I wasn’t driving yet when I lived there but I remember seeing it many times. Kind of a local landmark.
When I was a small child “Carrie”, “Burnt Offerings” and “The Omen” scared the heck out of me.
The owner of the local drive-in theater was my father’s best friend, so I had the privilege of seeing movies for free. We practically lived at the Drive-In on the weekends. My parents were very lenient on what movies my older sister and I watched. I watched many scary movies but the films listed above were the scariest.
As for the modern scary movies, “The Ring” is my favorite.
But, the most terrifying movie that I’ve ever watched is the British nuclear drama “Threads”. That movie gave me nightmares.
The most disturbing, sick movies that I’ve seen are “I spit On Your Grave” and
“A Serbian Film”. I don’t recommend either film.
The Haunting..
“If it wasn’t you, then who was HOLDING MY HAND?!?
Saw The Thing From Another World about the same age you did.
A few years later...
The Quatermass Xperiment (a.k.a. The Creeping Unknown in the United States) in 1955
I do! Very creepy movie, based on a terrific book by Tom Tryon. I love 70's horror movies.
Saw the Exorcist....once. Will not see it again.
*****
Still a good flick today.
Completely missed it!
RE: The Shining didn’t make the list?
It’s right there in the top 10. Look at the chart in the article!
Theeeere’s Johnny!
Loved that. Scared the crap out of me as a kid. I watched it again about 4 months ago. Still holds up. Great production quality for a 1970s TV mini series.
I always though Sinister with Ethan Hawke punched above its weight in being scary.
Blair Witch Project was pretty scary, too.
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