Posted on 11/23/2004 9:31:31 PM PST by John Robertson
What's your favorite horror movie...and why? What fried your hair, and still makes it jump if you get a little too tired and you remember a sequence or two from something that scared the stuff out of you.
I've always dismissed horror movies as a waste of time, but the older I get, the more I realize they must serve some function--some cathartic function--because they are an enduring genre, and each generation likes to find its own favorite scary movies. Heard a commentator saying the other day, the reason the country is so preoccuppied with horror films right now is, it's a horror we can "handle," versus the real, terrorist kind of horror.
I'm interested for a couple reasons: A new horror movie, The Grudge, is turning out to be an enduring hit, and that piqued my curiosity. It also reminded me of my two most horrifying experiences with horror movies. When I was 14, my parents let me see an evening showing of The Blob...at a theater three miles from my home. I grew up in a town and a time where there was no problem or danger with my getting myself home. The deal was, I could go to the movie, but I had to walk home. I broke the deal: I ran the three miles so fast I wish I'd been timed, because I would have qualified for the olympics. I also ran the three miles with my head turned almost all the way around--checking behind me for that freakin' blob!
My other experience that is unforgettable? The Exorcist. Saw it when I lived in the country. Twenty miles to the theater. I was driving, and went to a midnight showing. Exhausted (sleep deprivation ruins logic, of course, and self-control), and spooked from that spooky movie, I drove the twenty miles home...with my head turned all the way around! Kept imagining things in the back seat! Hmmm...maybe I've been avoiding horror films because I'm so damned suggestible.
Freepers...your thoughts?
It's not a horror movie, but the original "Cape Fear" with Robert Mitchum caused me to walk out of the theatre because I just couldn't take the tension. I still can't watch it, and refuse to.
That's interesting...unbearable tension. That qualifies as a form of fear, I guess.
Anyone remember The Tingler movies?
It wasn't a horror movie, but "The Fan" (DeNiro) scared me a bit since I can picture that happening in real life.
Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn. I still shudder just thinking about it.
I did not see it, but "Fahrenheit 9/11" would fall into this category, would it not? Oh - I forgot - it would be fiction.
Blair Witch Project was spooky. I slept that night with the bathroom light on. Alien would be my all time fav.
William Castle's flicks are still great, gimmicky fun. Perfect for midnight snacking to!
Wait Until Dark is a great movie, but isn't is more of a "thriller"?
I'm talking about pure, unadulterated horror--The Fog. The Thing. All the Freddy and Jason movies (which I really dislike). Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I guess Alien would qualify.
OKay, the scariest most damaging movie I ever saw was
THE OMEN!!!!!!
"ahhhh Damien this is for you....."
John Carpenter's "The Thing"...that sprouted head freaked me out...
Love that one! Alan Arkin was really good, an Audrey Hepburn was, well Aufrey Hepburn - what else needs to be said.
A good one for me : Hellraiser.
Made well before the wretched 90's move towards more PC violence (explosions and car chases), with a decidedly unsettling subject matter.
Alien
Groundbreaking, scary as hell, beautifully made, one of the greatest movies ever made period. Often copied, but never quite matched.
Seven - gave me the chills like no other movie.
"The Ring." NOT my favorite, I don't like horror movies. My son begged me to take him to see this, and I had to get up and leave the theater before it was over.
In fact, I won't watch horror movies anymore. But "Night of the Living Dead" and "Alien" are two that I would avoid more than others.
When I was very young, my dad used to tell me stories about Alien - it was one of his favorites. When it first came out on video, I was probably 10-12 years old (well past when the sequel came out). Took me at -least- 3 attempts to watch it past the point where Kane is on the hospital bed with the facehugger on him. Scary stuff - those suckers are MEAN :)
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