Scariest movies

[LennG]

I know this genre of movies isn't for everyone, but scary doesn't have to mean Friday the 13th, or any sort of slasher movie. Some people find certain Hitchcock movies, like Psycho or The Birds to be the scariest, maybe a movie like Jaws or any sort of real tension-filled movie.

Here is a short list of what some people feel are the scariest movies, agree or disagree, it's your choice.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/the-13-scariest-movies-we-ve-ever-seen/ss-AA1nsLxU?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=ENTPSP&cvid=249ec2ef1a7c456b82e327d06d4e790d&ei=26#image=1

Myself, I was never a huge fan of the slasher type movies, but I did enjoy the original Halloween. I also enjoyed both Alien movies. I loved Psycho and The Exorcist, but they were one-and-done.
That said, I think the movie that got to me the most was The Blair Witch Project. Maybe because it was done as a sort of movie documentary, but it scared the beejeebies out of me. (Ifor days after. I refused to rewatch it since the first time I saw it.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I've only seen one of those on the list..."Alien", which I didn't find particularly horrifying

I avoid horror movies on purpose. I don't like igniting an emotion in me that I don't like being ignited. Although, I've seen a few (mostly accidentally not know what the movie was about). With that said, "Pet Semetary" scared the crap out of me

One horror movie I watched that I didn't know was a horror movie was "The Skeleton Key", which I only chose because I thought it was a mystery (and in a way, it was) and I like Kate Hudson. Turned out to be pretty scary. Not sure "The Sixth Sense" was real horror, but it's classified as such, and I watched that with no problem...sorta in the same level as "The Skeleton Key"

I also watched "An American Werewolf in London", which had some parts that were scary, but also some humor to go along with it. I liked it...same with "Silver Bullet", a Stephen King story. I don't know, I just get a kick out of werewolves

Other than those few movies, I've avoided horror movies unless they are a comedy like "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil", which I loved. There's also "Home Sweet Hell" in which Katherine Heigl is a nightmare wife, "The Babysitter", "The Babysitter – Killer Queen" (the sequel), and "Totally Killer", (a "Back to the Future" kind of movie to stop murders that happened years ago), all very enjoyable that won't fill your underwear

[AZGiantFan]

For some misbegotten reason my Dad took me to see Psycho when I was about 6.  It scared the living chit out of me and put me off horror movies forever.  The jump scene that was scariest to me was when the guy goes into the basement, turns the chair around and finds the dessicated Mrs. Bates

[LennG]

I think the genre is scary movies and not horror movies. Myself, I classify them differently, but no matter.

One movie that literally, made me jump out of my seat was Wait Until Dark. Audrey Hepburn played a blind lady who was being attacked by two guys, Alan Arkin and Jack Weston. Since she was blind she broke all the light bulbs in the house to try and put things on an even level, but they outsmarted her by opening the refrigerator and the light there was the only light we could see things by. So at the end, she subdues both guys and we thought that was it, she survived, but out of nowhere Alan Arkin comes leaping across the screen. I saw this in a movie theater and I literally jumped about 3 feet out of my seat. )Along with most of the audience). This was way before we learned that no matter how dead the bad guy seems to be, he never is and will again come at our hero. Poor Audrey, but she did what needed to be done and lived.

[Sem]

I agree with Len in that I don't go for slasher movies, but I do love the original Halloween. Some consider it falling within the slasher genre, I don't, as most of the violence is implied rather than the explicit violence seen in the Friday 13th series of movies for example. "Halloween" is a well written story, superbly acted by Donald Pleasence and Jamie Leigh Curtis. Definitely John Carpenter's finest moment as he co-wrote it, directed it, and even wrote the music for the movie. And that music still sends shivers down my spine, even to this day.

I was not really a fan of The Blair Witch Project for some reason, although I really did like "Paranormal Activity," which was shot in the same pseudo-documentary style. That one creeped me out.

My favorites are the original Universal monster movies - Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, Hunchback, Creature From the Black Lagoon, etc. I was scared out of my mind as a young kid watching those, but even today I still love watching them.

I know I've mentioned this here before, but one of the more disturbing horror movies, (in both a thought-provoking and scary way), that I've seen in the past 20 years or so was "Let the Right One In," a Swedish vampire movie. There are subtitles, but the dialog is sparse enough that it doesn't detract from the movie at all. That it was hauntingly filmed in a small snowy, frozen town in Sweden just adds to the foreboding and claustrophobic atmosphere. Also, the fact that the vampire appears to be a 12 year old, innocent looking little girl just ups the intensity. Highly recommended.
It was remade in America and titled "Let Me In." They added car chases, pretty love interests, and other formulaic crap, not seen in the original, just for the brainless US moviegoers. Steer way clear of the US remake.

[LennG]

Steve

I agree about Paranormal Activity, it was on the same line as Blair Witch and I did see it ONCE. That was enough. I know they have tried to capitalize on that movie and have made several follow-ups, but once you get the premiss, they go downhill very fast.

Another movie that sort of freaked me out was the original 'Wicker Man'. The ending was just unwatchable for me. Just not my type of ending.

Thanks for the heads up on Let the Right One In. Movies like that I do like very much. Anything that has you right at the edge of your seat, even in the comfort of your living room, well that is what the topic was meant to be.

 As a young child, my Dad took me into Manhattan to go to a movie. He, because I wanted to see this, chose 'The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms". Why I wanted to see this, I had no idea. I got so scared during the movie, that I faked having to go to the bathroom, and when I came back the movie was still going and I made my Dad leave. Poor Dad, he really wanted to see the ending.
From that point on, I really tried to overcome my fear of scary movies, so I watched everything I could, Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, and every silly Sci-Fi movie from those years. I overcame my fears and usually laughed at most of those movies after that.

[DaveBrown74]

I can't come up with a movie that frightened me more than "The Shining."

I actually found the first "Blair Witch Project" quite scary as well.

Another movie I found frightening was "The Thing."

Horror movies tend to be pretty weak now IMO.

[AZGiantFan]

I think the genre is scary movies and not horror movies. Myself, I classify them differently, but no matter.

I don't disagree.  I was thinking about movies that have 'jump' scenes, not gory slasher movies.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Anyone watch "It"? They ran ads for weeks a few years back and showed a clown watching through a sewer gate. Rated horror, so I certainly didn't watch it

[LennG]

Does anyone watch "It"? They ran ads for weeks a few years back and showed a clown watching through a sewer gate. Rated horror, so I certainly didn't watch it

There have been a couple of versions of 'It', the last being in 2017 I believe. Overall, you could classify it as a Horror movie and it was pretty scary. Horror in the sense that people die, but not in any gory sort of way. Pennywise, the killer Clown has become a sort of anti-hero to some. Overall, the book by Steven King was much scarier.

this is the opening scene when we first meet Pennywise.

[ozzie]

One horror movie I watched that I didn't know was a horror movie was "The Skeleton Key", which I only chose because I thought it was a mystery (and in a way, it was) and I like Kate Hudson. Turned out to be pretty scary. Not sure "The Sixth Sense" was real horror, but it's classified as such, and I watched that with no problem...sorta in the same level as "The Skeleton Key"


Other than those few movies, I've avoided horror movies unless they are a comedy like "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil", which I loved. There's also "Home Sweet Hell" in which Katherine Heigl is a nightmare wife, "The Babysitter", "The Babysitter – Killer Queen" (the sequel), and "Totally Killer", (a "Back to the Future" kind of movie to stop murders that happened years ago), all very enjoyable that won't fill your underwear

I watched every classic "Monster" movie I could growing up, Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, etc. and I loved them all.  I was never really frightened by any of them, but I think that may have been due to watching them on t.v. in broad daylight after school.

Then came "JAWS". I was still in high school and to this day I'm still very leery about going into the ocean unless I'm on a boat! That movie has stayed with me for the past 50 years! I think the main reason is because a shark attack is something that could actually happen to the average person. I think the more real the "villian" (in this case, a shark), the more inclined I am to find it unsettling. I don't know any mad scientists, or anyone bitten by a werewolf, so that type of thing, while it makes for fun movies, doesn't really frighten me.

Fast forward many years and my brother and I would get together about once a month for movie nights, which consisted of just about any horror / slasher / ghost / movie Blockbuster had available. Good or bad it didn't matter we watched more movies than I can remember and again, was never really freaked out by any of them.

I guess the "Home Invasion" type of thing....The Strangers or even a movie like "Taken" is also something that gets me looking around corners, haha. The more real and realistic the premise the more likely I am to be "scared".

Now as far as Jolly's quote above....I LOVE The Skeleton Key. That is one of my all - time favorite movies and I'm just kind of surprised you mentioned it as I don't know anyone else who has even seen it.
I also agree with your Horror / Comedy choices. The Babysitter movies were great along with Totally Killer.

Just two suggestions I'll pass along...if you liked Skeleton Key & The Sixth Sense I'll ask if you've seen
"The Others" starring Nicole Kidman. It is along the same lines and rightfully spooky.

As for Horror / Comedy I will recommend "Ready or Not". The same girl from the Babysitter movies is the main character and she marries into a wealthy family but has to survive her wedding night before being accepted into the family proper. Good fun.

Sorry, this post took much longer than I expected. Anyway...scariest movie for me is JAWS. A masterpiece!

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I watched "Ready or Not" and laughed my ass off through the whole thing...but it was a little gory, which I don't mind. What a wedding night 

[LennG]

There was an interview with Hitchcock where he said the scariest things are things you know are going to happen and then watch people try and stop them, instead of things just popping out at you. Maybe that's why many of the so-called 'slasher' type movies are all the same and they try and scare you by things just popping out.
Maybe that's why Halloween was so much better because we always saw Michael Myers before he sort of 'did his thing'. And like Steve said, even the music to Halloween was great.

[LennG]

No one really mentioned The Exorcist, which always rates in the top 5 of the scariest movies ever. Myself, I loved this movie and could watch it many times.

Funny story. My wife HATES these types of movies. When we got married I used to meet her in the City and I had passes for new movies, so I took her to see The Exorcist the day it opened. We both really know nothing about the movie, but she got so freaked out, that to this day, she hears the music and she runs in another direction. It was the last time we went to a movie without knowing what it is about first.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Never seen the Exorcist. I'm a man of faith, and I don't watch anything to do with religious stuff (especially stuff that I think is hokey). It probably wouldn't scare me, but rather put me in a defensive stance because the movie is giving seeming legitimacy to something I don't believe. I believe these kinds of things tend to undermine a faith that I'm staunch in...dittos with faith healing, cults, casting out demons, etc. Too many good movies to watch instead