November 17, 2005

• I don't watch horror movies, generally, but I'd heard very good things about The Ring so I rented it. And promptly lost an entire night of sleep. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw that wet, pale foot stepping down on the hardwood floor, and my eyes would fly open again.
• Beware of the blob... it leaps... and creeps...
• Bob Roberts. If only it wasn't turning into a predictive documentary before my eyes.
• I'm not a real fan of horror flicks, but Event Horizon is pretty good. Rather creepy, very gory space-horror. The Skull is really good, too.
• Haute Tension Suspiria Ringu or The Ring, both are good. Koroshiya 1 (aka Ichi the Killer) warning: extreme gore!! Irréversible warning: extreme gore, incredibly long and realistic rape scene These last two I wouldn't recommend for most people, but if you can stomach really hardcore gore and violence, they have their merits. The violence is central to the plot, not gratuitous. There have been some good ghost movies out of China recently, I'll post them if I can remember the titles.
• So what is a scary movie, anyway? Is it a movie that makes us jump in our seats? Is it a movie that grosses us out visually? Is it a movie that makes us afraid for the safety of the main character? Is it a movie that puts scary ideas in our heads?
• Evil Dead... pretty gory but it was pretty creepy when I first saw it.
• Exorcist. Alien. Shining. Blair Witch. Safe.
• (I'm assuming that 'scary' movies are different than 'thrillers', in which case my picks would entirely consist of works from the Hitchcock canon.)
• The first Nightmare on Elm Street messed me up good.
• I thought "Ichi the Killer" was hilarious. Was it supposed to be scary?
• Well, yes and no ... it doesn't really fit the horror genre, except for the extreme violence.
• I have a soft spot for the Nightmare on Elm St. and Friday the 13th series(es?), but I'll admit that they're hit-or-miss on quality. My friends and I have been doing double features of Asian horror movies and their American re-makes, lately. So we did Ringu and the Ring (we haven't yet done the Ring 2 and Ringu 2), and Ju-on and the Grudge. It's fun to compare/contrast, and you get a sweet little shiver. I also second Suspiria.
• I only included it because it really creeped me out, which is hard to do.
• Care Bears Movie II ... Dark Heart scared the poopy out of me!
• The first (and only?) movie that gave me nightmares was Poltergeist. YES!
• Dawn of the Dead. I guess I was at an impressionable age when I saw it.
• Ooooh boy, don't get me started...Horror is my genre.... If you like a good ghost story, I can heartily recommend The Haunting (1963), directed by Robert Wise. Scariest G-rated movie EVAR. See it on a double bill with The Uninvited (1944) or The Changeling (1980) and be prepared to spend a sleepless night. If you like older movies, that is. Avoid the remake of The Haunting made a few years ago, though. It'll ruin it for you...and by "it" I mean "your enjoyment of films generally." Newer ones, it's hard to beat The Exorcist if you've been at all subjected to religion growing up, but The Exorcist III almost does it. Fantastic performances by George C. Scott and Brad Douriff not to mention spectacular writing make this a must-see. If you're looking for a movie that will really scare you--I mean not just make you scared for the characters but really get in your head and make you scared for yourself--I found The Blair Witch Project to be that movie. It's become cool and hip to talk about how crap that movie is now, but when I saw it in the theaters, even aware of all the hype, it stuck with me for days. Really played with my imagination and gave me the gooseflesh. Not a movie exactly, but I'm sure the British monkeys on the board will agree when I bring up what I consider the scariest made-for-TV event ever, 1992's BBC production Ghostwatch. A "War of the Worlds" type practical joke when it first aired, you'd think that knowing it was all an act beforehand would lessen its ability to frighten. You'd be wrong. Really unsettling stuff here, very well executed. Available on Region 2 DVD. Do yourself a favor. And finally I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the movie that made me start watching horror movies, The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney Jr. So it's not that scary today, so sue me--it's still one of my all time favorite films. I could go on...and probably will...just give me a minute..
• And if by some fluke of fate you've never seen The Exorcist, do NOT get the "version you've never seen"--there's a good reason you've never seen it. Get the theatrical release. Also Rosemary's Baby and the original Night of the Living Dead...give me a few minutes more...
• Tenacious - good call on both the original Haunting and excoriating the remake... only movie I've asked for my free pass back. some of my favorites, high on the creep-out meter: Let's Scare Jessica To Death The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane Phantasm Burnt Offerings
• I've been wanting to see "Haute Tension" and "Ichi" for awhile now. "Event Horizon" fucked me up. And I heartily, heartily second TP's suggestion of Exorcist III, one of the most overlooked and underappreciated horror flicks ever. While we're on the subject of underappreciated Number Threes, I'll throw in Day of the Dead, the much-maligned red-headed stepchild of Romero's legacy. Not really scary per se, but full of tension and gore, and including the greatest film line ever: I'm runnin' this monkey farm now, Frankenstein!!! Teh awesome. Blast from the past? How 'bout "Nightbreed?" Oodles of fun, that one. Another great Number Three? Alien 3. Great sequel. Charles Dutton kicks ass. TP introduced me to "I Walked With a Zombie," which is a screen adaptation of Jane Eyre. With zombies. I'm not kidding. Watch it, it's fantastic. He also loaned me his copy of "The Unknown," a silent film about psychotic sideshow performers and love unrequited. Full of fantastic dread and creepiness. Lon Chaney, Sr. (one of TP's personal heroes) is stunning in this.
• On the subject of Day of the Dead, btw, I liked it better than dawn. Flame on, bitchez.
• Dark Water and please consider these selections from David Cronenberg (in no particular order): Dead Ringers The Brood Rabid (starring 70's porn star Marilyn Chambers) Scanners
• You had me at "starring 70's porn star Marilyn Chambers."
• Koko: is the Dark Water remake any good? I thought the japanese original was fantastic, and I've had a crush on Jennifer Connelly since I saw her for the first time in Labyrinth, so I have high hopes. Oh, Jen...so beautiful...so, so lovely... Aherm. Also, while we're on the Asian kick, A Tale of Two Sisters is an all around amazing film. Part ghost story, part mindfuck, part twisted character study, all brilliant. Don't read about it beforehand--just watch it.
• what a great list of movies!! my mind is completely blown by the concept of "I walked with a zombie" (I am a big bronte fan) must begin searching....
• Koko: is the Dark Water remake any good? Why, yes! I don't know how it compares to the original though. Oh, Jen...so beautiful...so, so lovely Thank you! ... oh, Connelly, nevermind ...
• You're in luck, Medusa! They just released a bunch of Val Lewton classics on DVD, and you can rent/buy I Walked With a Zombie and get as a super-duper bonus the wonderfully creepy The Body Snatcher--not "Invasion of," but a literate adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story starring Boris Karloff in what I think is one of his best performances. And if you're looking for Xmas ideas, the whole series is available in a tremendous box set, all of which are totally classic. From that set, the Jacques Tourneur-directed The Cat People is also an absolute must for old-school horror fans. Just a masterpiece of a movie. The remake is not quite so good, but does have a lot more naked Natassia Kinski in it, so it's a trade-off.
• Koko: if the shoe fits... ;)
• The man is an encyclopedia of teh creepy. He could run this thread to 100 comments single-handedly.
• I'm not done yet... ;)
• TenaciousPettle tenaciously pelt me with scary movies, yes yes YES!!!! (I'm total scammin' for the box set now!!)
• Okay, how did this suddenly get so sexy? *licks own nipples*
• pervert!
• Phantasm made quite an impact on my younger self. That hovering sphere, roaming the marble hallways... the Tall Man... *shivers*. I think this list is mixing gore and horror. Which, IMO, are very different things. The Shining, for example, has not that much gore and I consider some scenes true hair-raisers. Thse films with the Pinhead character strike not scary but plain disgusting, with its' gory excesses. And, biomechanical gore and all, I find Cronenberg's stuff fascinating, but not that haunting or scary. Well, perhaps a couple scenes in Dead Ringers and Videodrome...
• In fact, I find Requiem for a Dream truly frightening in some parts. Heck, it manages to make a sex scene involving Jennifer Conelly scary and gut-churning...
• Yeah, another vote for The Blair Witch Project. Sheeeeeit. *shudder*
• Ooh, horror is my genre too. ;-) Another vote for the Exorcist and the original Night of the Living Dead. For sheer creepiness, it's hard to beat the original Psycho. Exorcist III is surprisingly good... nobody does creepy and psychotic quite like Brad Dourif, but whatever you do, do NOT spend money to see Exorcist II: the Heretic. Being buried up to your neck in an anthill while drenched with honey would be more fun. And quicker. For David Cronenberg films, I'd suggest Videodrome, the Fly, and the Dead Zone along with Dead Ringers and Scanners. Rabid is... interesting, but don't go into it expecting polish or effects - the budget was about $3.95 - or that Marilyn Chambers can act, 'cause she can't. Speaking of David Cronenberg, he can act, and is marvelously creepy in Nightbreed. Some I haven't seen mentioned yet: Hellraiser Dracula (The original, with Bela Lugosi. The remake with Gary Oldman is notable for the camera effects, especially at the beginning, when Harker first encounters Dracula in his castle. The 1979 version with Frank Langella is good... he was the sexiest Dracula by far, but a little less on the creepy/scary scale.) Carnival of Souls Prince of Darkness I'll probably think of more.
• I agree with Flagpole that a distinction between scary and gory is necessary. gore is about shock, but I personally prefer the atmosphere of dread that can be created even in the absence of much action. Alien, does it, the first 3/4 of Session 9 nails it. I suppose I am personally more interested in dark paranormal fantasy, psychological suspense and mindfuckage etc., I agree that The Blair Witch Project was very satisfying in this regard.
• Ooh, I saw Carnival of Souls and the Exorcist in one sitting one time, and somehow the two got mixed up in my nightmares for a while. I kept feeling like I was going to see the scary guy from Carnival's face in my rearview mirror! (see also: that guy in David Lynch's Lost Highway) Another good (Ok, I use the term loosely) movie that deals with the scary things you can see in mirrors is Poltergeist III. For more silent film creepiness, try out Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
• The other ISP address is INSIDE THE HOUSE!
• Nothing in any movie has ever scared me as much as the flying monkeys did in the Wizard of Oz when I was a kid.
• I second "The Haunting". I don´t think anybody has mentioned The Night of the Hunter yet.Also, Audition was unsettling, especially for a love story :-).
• Audition - No film has ever disturbed me as much as this. I walked out of the cinema six minutes from the end the first time I saw it. Cube 28 Days Later Already mentioned: Night of the Living Dead Dawn of the Dead Rosemary's Baby Lost Highway Ringu If you liked Ringu, have a look at Korean film Phone. It's a little derivative, but good nonetheless.
• Oohhh, yes. Lost Highway's scene in that dark room... oh seeez, getting goosebumps now. And that short, jumpy scene in 'Signs' with the home video of the alien at the party... I flinched at the theather. And many people screamed, also. That's what terror is to me. Not oceans of blood, or cheap shock scenes, but something truly alien suddenly happening in a normal, familiar context.
• So yeah, When A Stranger Calls is pretty good. However, When A Stranger Calls Back has one of the creepiest "Holy Shit!" moments ever. As far as gross-out gore stuff, it is hard to beat Ilsa She-Wolf of the SS which has a lot of gross out torture scenes strangly bookended by nudie scenes and was filmed on the abandoned set of Hogan's Heroes. Lots of people seem to like The Wicker Man, but I'm more of a fan of To The Devil A Daughter which is kind of a Rosmary's Baby and Omen-style movie. Sleepaway Camp seems to be a standard kill the kids at camp movie, except the kids are mostly actually kids, not twenty-somthings and the end is another great shocker. While not strictly horror, I found Quatermass and the Pit to be pretty creepy as a kid because it goes from scifi to scary-sinister pretty quickly. Raw Meat aka Death Line is pretty creepy too.
• Haven't seen The Descent mentioned yet. Fantastic little British horror film released earlier this year. I watched it last night and it scared the bejeezus out of me. One of the finest monster-appearing scenes in a while.
• Okay since there are all these horror/scary geeks here, someone should know which movie this is. It's a 40's black-and-white flick based on a classic gothic horror book. It involves a governess and two kids, a boy and a girl, in an old mansion. I don't remember the plot details since it's been so long, but I think the end of the book/movie involves the governess lamenting that she'd "lost" the boy while holding him to herself. Well, considering that I don't remember much of the movie, it still freaked me the hell out.
• ooga_booga, that sounds like "The turn of the screw" based on the short story by Henry James. one of the all-time great ghost/possession stories ever! Its been adapted for film more than once, I believe.
• Turn, turn, turn again I searched imdb under "turn of the screw" none of these are old...the title may have been different of course
• and I HIGHLY recommend reading the story, its a great one!! creepy and atmospheric and rich with psychological subtext and double meanings....
• I remember being scared out of my wits by The Amityville Horror (the original, haven't seen the remake) [1], and Dark Night of the Scarecrow [2], which admittedly was made for TV, but still gave me chills. Not sure if either of these have stood the test of time, or if they were truly as scary as I remember them to be. pt [1] Which explains why I've been a half-wit most of my adult life... [2] Which I thought was released in Australia under the shorter name of "Night of the Scarecrow", but imdb doesn't mention it having been.
• And I'd love it if someone could do a competent adaption of Danielewski's House Of Leaves. In a way, it begs to be transferred to the screen, and in another, it would be almost impossible to do. pt
• Not so scary, but I think John Landis' film An American Werewolf in London stands out for its fantastic stop-motion special effects, and the incredible howl/cry of the werewolf - it has to be one of the best animal sounds in any movie :)
• The Hills Have Eyes still gives me the willies.
• I'm not the biggest horror fan, though I have been going to screenings by these peopls in Philly because it's fun with audience that shows up. I really liked the first Dawn of the Dead because I cared about the characters (particularly Roger) and it made it scary because I didn't want them to get hurt. I like Cronenburg a lot too, I just saw Rabid recently and it was hilarious.
• Hmm. My idea of horror movies: 1. they star people like the Olsen twins or Chevy Chase 2. when the alleged Giant Killer Shrews can be seen to be German Shepherds dressed in shag rugs that fail to cover their feet and tails 3. one in which Japanese fairies with high-pitched voices are not squashed flat by the Giant Luna Moth 4. any movie where the review includes this disspiriting phrase: "a gay coming-of-age film..."
• Here's a tip for watching the Exorcist, that made it scare the bejeebus out of me. There are quasi-subliminal shots embedded in it. I say quasi, because they are too long to be true sublimnals, if you know they're there they can be easily seen without pausing or stepping through the frames. I read about the shots in a book, which accidentally or deliberately gave the wrong location for the second one. A friend and I watched it on VHS, the first subliminal creeped us out, the second made us fling popcorn all over my living room. The first one occurs when Father Karras is dreaming, seeing his mother descend the stairs into the subway tunnel. I'm not saying where the second one is. *g* A couple more. Pitch Black - Has a similar claustrophobic "something BAD is out there" vibe as Alien. the Hitcher - Rutger Hauer as a psychopathic hitchhiker who makes the young man who gives him a ride's life hell.
• Medusa - you're right, it's The Turn of the Screw. Man - that story freaked me out when I read it in Comics Illustrated form as a kid. None of the versions you link to sound quite right, but the one which I probably watched was the Ingrid Bergman version directed by John Frankenheimer. I completely agree with you that the story itself is crawl-out-of-your-skin scary. And you can read it here.
• An American Werewolf in London was a great movie - it's one of the first movies that I'm aware of that mixed comedy and horror quite well. And it shares some themes with Cronenberg's The Fly, which VeraGemini mentioned. A beautiful, horrific movie, that one. (The Fly, not VeraGemini)
• I agree with the recommendation for The Descent. One warning: I told a friend of mine who lives in the US that I had just seen a great horror movie about a bunch of people exploring a cave, and he was very skeptical. He had heard about the film, he said, and everybody agreed that it sucked. It turns out that, at about the same time that The Descent came out in the UK, a very similar film called The Cave came out in the US. The only difference is that The Descent was very good (7.5 rating at the IMDB) while The Cave is apparently pretty bad--it gets a 4.9 at the IMDB. It looks like The Descent hasn't yet been released in the US, but it's worth seeing if you can. (My one complaint was that it had too many fake scares--you know, those moments where something leaps out of the shadows, and it turns out to be a cat. I usually give a horror movie one or two of those, but beyond that, I start to get annoyed. But once the real scares get started, The Descent is practically Hitchcockian in its tension.)
• Exorcist Alien The Omen Silence of the Lambs Five way tie for fifth place, but for now The Shining
• ooga booga - was it The Innocents? I just saw that a few weeks ago - very atmospheric & creepy, although for me it didn't hit as hard as I expected.
• Dang it, I left work right before Medusa started throwin' teh sexay around. But don't worry, baby. I know how you like it. Black Christmas - fantastic proto-slasher (predates Halloween, generally considered the starting point) with some really good dread-inducing atmosphere, a plastered Margot Kidder, and some of the most disturbing harassing phone calls committed to film. You like some Lovecraft? He's spotty on film, but there are a few good ones. The one everyone knows and loves is of course Re-Animator, which is more gore/comedy with some disturbing images and one of the best visual puns evar, but for faithful Lovecraft adaptations, it's hard to do better than Dagon, almost a note-for-note realization of, not "Dagon", but "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." Still, it's great. Also worth mentioning is The Resurrected, directed by Dan O'Bannon and starring Chris Sarandon. One Lovecraftian movie that's not actually Lovecraft but is close enough, and is on its own a pretty fantastic little creepfest, is In the Mouth of Madness, directed by John Carpenter and starring Sam Niell. Very much worth seeing. And mentioning Sam Niell reminds me of an absolutely GREAT movie he's in with Isabelle Adjani, Possession. Words cannot express the disturbing mind-fuck of a movie THAT is. See it if at all possible. And unconnected to any of those, but also a creepy atmosphere rather than jump-out-and-say-boo masterpiece is Polanski's The Tenant. Paranoia, surreality, madness and death. What's not to love? How you like dat, baybee?
• Police Academy VI.
• Oh, and good call on Lost Highway above. Real head-spinner, that one. Robert Blake haunted my nightmares b/c of that movie, well before he was a suspected murderer. I neeeed a DVD of that, but can't find one anywhere. There's an OOP fullscreen version, but you'd think somebody out there would give it a proper release. >:(
• ;E
• The "Shining," "Ringu" (the original Japanese "Ring), and "Clean, Shaven," for one particular scene involving fingernails--I suppose it's not really categorized as a "scary" movie but it's psychological mindfuck.
• ah! TP I have seen Possession and I thought it was the most godawful fucked up wackfest I have EVER seen. JEBUS KEY-RYESSSTTT!! House of Leaves was a delightfully scary read, it kept me up and made me think, but I CANNOT imagine how they could do a film adaptation, but it would be cool if someone tried. I love the subway scene in American Werewolf, it is truly scary, in that great "I am just being paranoid/somethings out there" way...great movie!
• BTW, I don't think the effects in American Werewolf in London were stop-motion. In fact, I'm pretty much certain. Great movie.
• Blood Sucking Freaks Hardly the scariest movie in the world, but it ranks high on my Most Bizarre list.
• I miss Joe Bob Briggs...
• "The Attack of The Killer Tomatoes" and "Bambi". The minds behind them scare the bejaybus out of me!
• The guy who co-wrote and produced Attack of the Kiler Tomatoes was the state senator for my hometown of Chula Vista for a while.
• Great list you have going, T.P. The 1963 version of "The Haunting" is really good. Did anyone read the comments on "Ghostwatch"? That's some serious stuff! I would recommend one that is a little more along the lines of thriller; "Close Your Eyes" aka "Doctor Sleep" starring the ever so gorgeous Goran Visnjic. Very good movie.
• I just realized that in all the Cronenberg love above nobody mentioned one of his earliest flicks, Shivers (aka They Came from Within). It's about some xenotransplantation that goes horribly wrong and turns all the tenants of an isolated apartment complex into sex-crazed cannibal kill machines. Seriously. There's some seriously pre-verted stuff here, but not a lot of polish or flash. Still, the ideas are good, and the ending does manage to creep. I like it better than The Brood. Also, another made-for-bbc thing that gave me some pleasant chills, The Woman in Black. Pretty standard Victorian ghost story, but done very well. Grand stuff.
• I thought of one as well: Kafka, Steven Soderbergh's second film. Stars Jeremy Irons as Kafka -- not a biopic, but a story in which Kafka himself is thrown into a Kafkaesque nightmare conspiracy. Not horror per se, but has some genuinely frightening and disturbing moments. Honestly, it's one of Soderbergh's best films, in my humble. Also stars Sir Alec These-Aren't-The-Droids-You're-Looking-For Guinness in a cameo appearance. Last I checked it was hard to find a copy, though, so you may have to hunt a few video stores to find it, but it is absolutely worth the hunt.
• The only movie I have to add that hasn't been mentioned here is What Lies Beneath. Most people I know were fairly unmoved by that film, but I guess it hit me in all my weak spots. I'd rank it in my very own personal top 3 scariest. Other two are The Ring (of course) and The Grudge. I've also seen both of the Japanese originals of those, and have to say that in both cases I found the American versions far more effective. The Grudge is an odd case, since the story is really exceptionally flimsy, but just the images got themselves thoroughly stuck in my head.
• Just watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose last night. oh the delicious satisfaction of a horror movie that scared and titillated. Very nice job visually and atmospherically, creepy tension puntuated by some good "boo" moments....
• I saw Hostel the other night and loved it. Kind of slow at first but once it started going it was a pretty cool film. Well directed, well written, and Eli Roth actually keeps you in suspense as to what's going to happen to his characters. Takashi Miike makes a cameo apparently.
• Black Christmas - fantastic proto-slasher...with some really good dread-inducing atmosphere, a plastered Margot Kidder, and some of the most disturbing harassing phone calls committed to film. Oh, mercy. I saw this one when I was all alone in a cold house. I was too cold to get up from my blanket and turn lights on. I kept getting sucked further and further into the chilling atmosphere until the dramatic climax. At that exact instant, out in the kitchen, the cat turned the blender on (I had forgotten to unplug it). I've never screamed so hard or jumped so high. I was lucky enough to see "The Others" all alone in the cinema - just me, a hundred empty seats, and the inky blackness. Spine-tingling. I've never understood the philosophy of, "Ghost stories aren't technically horror movies, but movies about some random guy hacking random strangers to bloody bits are technically horror movies." Seems to me like the required element is, well, the horror.
• The kid scratching at the window in Salem's Lot. Killerfish. The ventriloquists dummy in Dead Of Night. American Werewolf: "Oh Jesus David was is that?"