I've never been the greatest fan of horror movies that have more blood than a slaughterhouse, but there's a realm of movies that are good movies and scary movies. I have great appreciation for Signs, The Sixth Sense, Carrie and the Shining. Any othes I should add to the list?
I don't know how it holds up, but I thought the Blair Witch Project was pretty good. I think the scariest movie I've ever experienced on first viewing was Alien.
well "scary" is pretty generic. You got your hollywood scary. My favs being: Exorcist The Omen Rosemary's Baby Don't Look Now The Shining You got decidely non hollywood scary: Night of the Living Dead Evil Dead Last House on the Left The Brood Texas Chainsaw Massacre Then you got truly depraved: Audition Salo Cannibal Holocaust Men Behind the Sun Mordum
I'll throw a couple of titles out there and you can tell me what you think. Newer Release: The Fourth Kind Older Release: Frailty
The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a great and scary movie. Agree, Night of the Living Dead has to be on the list. But the scariest of all time-Oklahoma, without doubt.
Honestly, I haven't watched most of the movies mentioned. I gotta agree that Invasion of the Body Snatchers is realy scary.
If you're just looking for "scary" these would work: "Alien" was the first one that came to my mind. "The Hitcher" (the original one with Rutger Hauer) "Silence of the Lambs" "Manhunter" "Jaws" "Seven" John Carpenter's version of "The Thing" "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (the original from the 50s or the remake from the 80's with Donald Sutherland) The original "Halloween" The original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" The original "Night of the Living Dead"
Horror is probably my favorite genre. Here's my list... - The Ring - The Blair Witch Project - The Descent - Paranormal Activity - The Human Centipede
Can't believe it took that long to list "Silence of the Lambs". First move I ever went to where I was honestly looking over my shoulder all the way through the parking lot. I thought Jaws was right up there in terms of acting and the way the action was developed - it's amazing to watch that movie now because so many of the scenes almost seem cliche, until you realize that they're cliche because so many movies after Jaws seemed to borrow ideas from it. Sixth Sense was great in terms of the delivering the stomach-sinking punchline at the end. The Shining definitely belongs on the list as well. I find that the best scary movies are the ones that are able to build that tension and suspense and sustain it through scenes which otherwise would seem pretty ordinary and run of the mill. I'd also add Scream not because it was especially scary but because I thought the concept was clever and pretty well written.
OK, start with "The Exorcist." Now, set that aside as its own category. Everything else is on another list and that list starts with "Alien." After that are all the wannabes.
I'll recommend "Seconds" starring Rock Hudson, between when he was in "Pillow Talk" and "Ice Station Zebra," and directed by John Frankenheimer right after he made "Bird Man of Alcatraz," "The Manchurian Candidate," "Seven Days in May" and "The Train," all of which are very good also. The Link "Seconds" may be the best thoughtfully scary movie I've ever seen. It's comparable to "Rosemary's Baby" in slowly suspenseful buildup, followed by "****, what's going on here?" I don't think Hudson or Frankenheimer either ever made another flick that's held up so well. You can fast forward through the grape stomping festival in the muddle, if you like, but pay attention to the rest. Check it out, I bet few of you have seen it. Another good one is "Sisters" with Margot Kidder and Charles Durning, directed by Alfred Hitchcock fan Brian De Palma before he did other memorable movies such as "Carrie," "Blow Out," Blow Up," "Dressed to Kill,." "Scarface," "Body Double" and "The Untouchables." The Link Again, mental fear trumps bloody gore. Let me know what you think.
Agree with "Jaws." Was terrifying when I was a little kid... I can remember water skiing in Lake Travis when I was in elementary school, and though I was old enough to understand that there were no sharks in a freshwater lake, I had a true fear that my legs were going to get taken off at any moment. Years later, watching that movie as an adult, I realize how well it builds tension and angst, and there is relatively little blood and gore. Fast Fred, will check out a couple of those recommendations.
I still think Robert Shaw's story about the USS Indianapolis ranks as the seminal "table-setter" scene in horror movie annals.
Jaws is great, so well done. But speaking of Hitchcock, how about Psycho and The Birds, both scary movies, and possessing greatness. OK, you have all missed the scariest movie of all time, Ed Wood's classic "Plan 9 from Outer Space." I'm disappointed, thought there would be more knowledgable movie fans around here.
The Exorcist - When that came out, people in the audience were throwing up and passing out. I was afraid to be alone at night for awhile. Jaws - Scary in a different way. It made me afraid to go to the coast. The Changeling - When that wet child's ball came bouncing down the stairs (George C. Scott had driven it miles away and thrown it off a bridge) it sent chills down my spine. The Haunting (the 1960s original) - those doors that buldged but didn't break when "it" came around scared the crap out of me. The remake was trash. Alien - In Space no one can hear you scream. It was all new at that point. Sigourney hot in white panties. The Thing (Carpenter version) - I still like this one. The Thing - German Shepherd wandering around the compound was spooky. you knew something was wrong. I liked the 1954 version also.
Why has no one mentioned "The Omen." That little kid was creepy, and so was the nanny. The Rottweilers were awesome. That's one of the reasons I own one.
Good calls on the Omen, Alien - and also Blair Witch, again more because of the techniques used to build tension in a unique way. Psycho was a good add as well - I remember reading that the screening, there was no indications of what the movie was about, so people just figured they were seeing a movie about some woman on the run from the law, and all of a sudden she's getting hacked to bits in the shower. I love when a movie is able to pull off that kind of unexpected twist, but in an age when the story pretty well gets told in the trailer, it almost never happens. Event Horizon was just disturbing. I just remember it being over the top gross and feeling the need to shower afterward.
2 movies that didn't scare most people absolutely scared the **** out of me: Poltergeist and Children of the Corn
Children of the Corn scared the crap out of me when I was kid and Event Horizon when I was a teenager. I watched both recently and was surprised how not scary they both were. I'll add Paranormal Activity to this list. I watched it twice in the theater and was terribly creeped out.
