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?
"Ghost Story".........John Houseman, Douglas Fairbanks, Fred Astair and Melvin Douglas........(probably the last movie for most if not all of them).
After that come a bunch of good ones. Alien probably at the top, but followed by the original Nightmare on Elm Street, the original Salem's Lot (surprisingly good for a TV movie), the original The Thing (remake's good, too; just a different movie), not sure how to categorize Aliens but it's great... and a stack of others.
Dan
The original Exorcist w/Linda Blair. I watched in at a cousin's house alone in a dark basement ( converted to a family room ). I remember that I wouldn't even get off of the sofa to call anyone downstairs because I was afraid that the devil would "get me". I was 16 or so.
OK...for sheer camp and really good horror with a great ending. . . the original: "Night of the Living Dead"!
Campaign Killer Tomatoes starring Teresa Heinz Kerry. There is bloody red ketchup everywhere!! Rated "D" for Democrat. Not suited Democrats still recovering from PEST disease. Contact you therapist before viewing. Not for recommended in "Blue" states. This movie has been banned in Canada. I am generally desensitized to most horror films...the gore does nothing for me, it has to be suspenseful. I saw it at the theater as a kid...that was the best.
>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.<
Now that's one scary movie. It's very different from most American horror films, which probably has a lot to do with its effectiveness in keeping audiences on the edge of their seats.
As far as old horror movies go, The Birds made a lasting impression on me, although I've seen it as an adult and it was not as creepy.
Did you see The Grudge?
I saw it over the weekend (the first time I've been to a non-kids movie in quite a while). I thought it was decent.
There were a lot of teenagers in the theater and I expected a bad experience because there was a lot of chatter when the movie started. But it died down. It even enhanced the experience a little because there were three teenage girls sitting behind us and they were screaming when something scary happened. That actually seemed to add a little to watching it.
in no particular order:
The Thing (John Carpenter)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hopper - the recent remake is an absolute piece of sh*t...)
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock)
I'm a huge horror movie fan - the gorier the better!!! The good ones are few and far between, though...
Best horror movie?
You'd better believe it when they say, "In space, no one can hear you scream."
ping
I saw "The Blob" on TV when I was seven years old, and it gave me nightmares for months!
I've gotten over it mostly since then, but I still get clammy hands and flashbacks whenever I see Helen Thomas.
(Excuse me, I have to go curl up in a corner quivering for a little while...)
'The Man From Hope'
My dad lived through those battles in northern France (not DDay though), and carried shrapnel in his back for the rest of his life. I guess I just connect too much with the picture...
The scene where Janet Liegh finds Norman's mother's skeleton in the basement is one of the scariest images on film. Anthony Perkins was wonderfully creepy as Norman, and the final shot of him a tthe end, where his mother's personality has taken over completely, and he's just sitting there, staring straight ahead...nobody did suspense like Hitchcock.
I liked "Coma" too. There's another movie called "Targets" that was made by Peter Bagadonovich back in the late 60's, it was about a kid who shoots at people on the freeway with a rifle. Vincent Price had a cameo as an aging horror film star.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein