Your scariest movies

[frogbison]

I know, I know....It's been covered before. Still, I'd like to know what you recommend that the hubby and I watch on Halloween...

The daughter says Fog, or High Tension, or Children of the Corn, or Exorcist 3, or Don't Look Now.

[The Jacobin]

1. You only need one: The Shining

[frogbison]

3. First or second?

[CanuckAmok]

18. I thought the second one was pretty good.

Even though it was hard for my mind to be frightened by the doofus from "Wings".

[maveric]

51. The Shing was good if you didnt read the book before you saw the flick.

Kubrick made some changes that really pissed Steven King off.
All in all it was pretty scary.

[carnival]

64. Agreed

Agreed: The Shining.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. The Fog (the first one), The Exorcist, Jaws,

though the Fog and Jaws aren't really scary, per se, they are ridiculous suspenseful.

The Thing is not quite scary, not quite suspenseful, but quite likely the best horror film ever made.

The Exorcist scared the living shit out of me for a few days when I saw it when I was in high school, and I saw it on TV, with commercials and the ability to change channels occasionally and, no doubt, some of the stuff edited out.

[ghostsofgiants]

4. The Shining is a must...

Jacob's Ladder
Rosemary's Baby
Donnie Darko (not overly scary, but weird and relates to Halloween a little, it'd fit the vibe well)
Lost Highway, maybe.

[frogbison]

9. Jacob's Ladder!

Haven't seen it in years....

[tigereye]

17. Donnie Darko is one of the most oddly disturbing

but weirdly positive movies I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot of weird art films. It does have the creepy thing down, though.

[ghostsofgiants]

23. It's a great film...

Since you've seen a lot of weird art films, recommend some for me. I'm always in the mood for a weird art film, haha.

[Cats Against Frist]

128. Jan Svankmajer's "Little Otik"

I'm not sure if I spelled his name right -- but he does stop-motion animation, and the movie is about a menacing root baby. Fucked up.

**And there's a Korean (I think) film called "Audition," which is really weird and scary-ish.

[CanuckAmok]

137. Augh! Svankmajer!!

"Street of Crocodiles".

Brrrr....

[amerikat]

5. The original "The Haunting" 1963

This was a classic at our house when I was a kid.


Amazon.com essential video
Certain to remain one of the greatest haunted-house movies ever made, Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963) is antithetical to all the gory horror films of subsequent decades, because its considerable frights remain implicitly rooted in the viewer's sensitivity to abject fear. A classic spook-fest based on Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House (which also inspired the 1999 remake directed by Jan de Bont), the film begins with a prologue that concisely establishes the dark history of Hill House, a massive New England mansion (actually filmed in England) that will play host to four daring guests determined to investigate--and hopefully debunk--the legacy of death and ghostly possession that has given the mansion its terrifying reputation.

Consumed by guilt and grief over her mother's recent death and driven to adventure by her belief in the supernatural, Eleanor Vance (Julie Harris) is the most unstable--and therefore the most vulnerable--visitor to Hill House. She's invited there by anthropologist Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson), along with the bohemian lesbian Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has acute extra-sensory abilities, and glib playboy Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn, from Wise's West Side Story), who will gladly inherit Hill House if it proves to be hospitable. Of course, the shadowy mansion is anything but welcoming to its unwanted intruders

[Awsi Dooger]

6. I haven't seen this movie in 20+ years

But it scared the crap out of me as a kid. It was a black and white movie, probably made in the '50s, called Night of the Hunter, or maybe The Night of the Hunter. I don't remember too many specifics, just two kids trying to hide from a man who was pursuing them. They were on a river and hiding in barns and the like. He was a preacher, I think, but turned bad and had commited murder. He was pursuing a sum of money, I think. For me, it meant nightmares for weeks.

[frogbison]

10. Ooooh! That sounds good!

[stanwyck]

44. Robert Mitchum as the ultimate

bad guy. Excellent movie.

[frogbison]

7. We watched new Amityville Horror

the other night. Not too bad.

[Tallison]

92. I remember thinking the original was scary

back when I was around 9, but saw it again recently and found it pretty hokey. Haven't so far bothered to see the remake, as the one of Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the. worst. ever. x(

[last_texas_dem]

100. I liked it, too

I thought it was a lot scarier than the original. I liked the style of the original more but it wasn't very scary. (I saw the original the same week I saw the remake so it made it easier to compare them.)

[khashka]

8. I spit on your grave

Ugly more than scary. But the scene where she crawls home after being gang raped (spoiler alert) and picks up the phone to call the cops and has it kicked out of her hand by one of the rapists was the only scene in any movie that frightened me enough to make me scream. Really, I truly did.

Khash.

[Hardrada]

11. I used to get scared by Vincent Price flicks before

I found them amusing. Kind of like my reaction to the Bush Cabal.

[SeattleGirl]

12. "Don't Look Now"

Damn, that movie scared the crap out of me!!!

[stanwyck]

45. Another vote for Don't Look Now n/t

[JimmyJazz]

13. "Wait Until Dark" - scariest movie EVAH!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

29. Is that the Audrey Hepburn/Alan Arkin "world champion blind lady" flick?

[SeattleGirl]

39. Another one of my favorites!

:scared:

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

55. I just watched that tonight! Good film

especially tense when it all goes black.

[libnnc]

112. only thing scarier is seeing it performed live onstage

Great movie. Even better play.

[IntravenousDemilo]

125. The only thing scarier than seeing it performed live onstage

is stage managing it, your first time out as a stage manager, in total darkness.

[EstimatedProphet]

14. Alien, Prince of Darkness, The Exorcist

[Gabi Hayes]

15. duh.....Bush's Brain

[CanuckAmok]

22. OMG are those Bosch figurines? where did you find them?

...???

[Gabi Hayes]

26. there's this thing called google.......

I had the link, but it's not there anymore

there ARE tons of sites that have the same sort of figs, though

check it out

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. Soylent Green

[Orrin_73]

19. The Thing

by John Carpenter. You cant find anything scarier then that.

[CanuckAmok]

20. Alien, Saw, The Vanishing, The Kingdom, The Thing (John Carpenter version)

The original, European version of The Vanishing is one of the most frightening, didturbing movies I've ever seen.

The Kingdom is subtitled, but it's four hours long, so it'll be good for a whole evening.

[ghostsofgiants]

24. The Vanishing is great...quite suspenseful and atmospheric...

The Kingdom, I assume you mean Lars Von Trier's Riget? If so, VERY good call. Best miniseries ever.

[frogbison]

27. Great choice!

[CanuckAmok]

31. Yep, that's the one.

Riget... aka Tiger... aka The Kingdom.

[ghostsofgiants]

33. Von Trier's masterpiece...

Too bad he won't be able to make Riget 3.

[CanuckAmok]

35. I know!

I guess the reason is because the actor who played Helmer died, and von Trier said he wouldn't do the conclusion without the original cast.

A guy I work with did a commercial in Whistler, BC with von Trier a couple of years ago, and got him supremely drunk one night in hopes of extracting the final storyline, but according to von Trier, he never even began to write it. von Trier has no idea what was going to happen next.

So whatever you decide to be the ending, that's what it is.

One clue is that Udo Kier says he was to return in part three, either as the baby or as (I forget the adult Kier's character's name)... but that's the only hint there is.

[ghostsofgiants]

37. Aage Krüger is Kier's other character...

The guy who played the male dishwasher died as well.

[CanuckAmok]

75. I got Udo Kier to sign my Vampire Encyclopedia!

He was a guest star on an episode of a TV show I worked on. He's hilarious in person. He's like a Teutonic gothic Paul Lynde.

[Cats Against Frist]

129. Riget is fantastic -- and it does scare me

but, moreso, it's just a great movie. It is one of my favorites of all time. I just got the second part on DVD, but I haven't watched it, because I'm waiting for Netflix to get the first one, so I can do a marathon. It's been about six years since I watched the first one.

[u4ic]

120. Riget gets my vote

An amazing piece of work. :thumbsup:

[tigereye]

21. Polanski'sThe Tenant

and Frenzy, or Psycho

I'm not really into the gory stuff - I find the psychological stuff much more scary.

[ghostsofgiants]

25. I've never seen all of The Tenant...

I keep attempting to watch it but get distracted. I own the dvd, though. Maybe I'll watch it tonight.

[tigereye]

28. shiver...

;)

I'll have to think of some art films for ya... too sleepy now.

[ghostsofgiants]

32. That would be much appreciated.

:)

[ghostsofgiants]

43. Any art film ideas for me?

I think I'm going to watch The Tenant tonight.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

58. Have you seen Jodorowsky's 'Santa Sangre'?

I'd also recommend Alejandro Amenabar early work "Tesis" and the Korean film "A Tale of Two Sisters".

Also, more a thriller (& if you've seen it, you'll see what I mean) I can't recommend "Funny Games" by Michael Haneke highly enough. Plus for a heavy psychological experience you can't go wrong with Gasper Noe's "I Stand Alone" and "Irreversible".

(And I second the recommendation for "Repulsion" - plus "The Fearless Vampire Killers" for some welcome light relief!)

[ghostsofgiants]

83. A Tale of Two Sisters and Irreversible are definitely good.

Haven't seen Repulsion and Fearless Vampire Killers though, I'll have to check them out as well.

[tigereye]

59. I guess I like the old style ones or are you more into the newer

stuff? Like Memento? Which I have to admit I hated, as clever as the idea was. Being John Malkovich, that was pretty challenging.

I went looking for Bergman's The Seventh Seal tonight, but of course The Blockbuster didn't have it. That's what I get for not going to the local indie place. ;)

hmmm

original Ed Wood films, if you like really goofy low production values
Residents videos - don't get much more surreal than those.
Blood Of a Poet
Maya Deren
Kenneth Anger
Stan Brakhage
Peggy Ahwesh (whom I actually knew in the old days before she went to NYC)
Tony Buba (another Pittsburgher)
Tampopo, A Taxing Woman - d by Juzo Itami, Japanese films, very funny.
Hayao Hizaki? Spirited Away. Those are so beautiful and creepy.
Warhol films, like Dracula?


I'll have to think about newer ones.

[ghostsofgiants]

81. Being John Malkovich is one of my favourites...

Memento and Spirited Away were great too, I thought.

I really recommend The Seventh Seal if you haven't seen it.

I'll check into the rest of those.

Thanks! :hi:

[tigereye]

85. oh I've seen plenty of Bergman films in my time

since my h was a film student. He said he first saw the Seventh Seal when he was 15 on PBS. I have seen it, but not in a long time... and sometimes some of those Bergman films really bear repeated viewing at different stages of your life. He thought it might be a good Halloween flick! I ended up getting Godzilla vs. Mothra instead.

So, did you watch The Tenant? ;)

Hope you don't mind getting an experimental films listing! :hi:

[ghostsofgiants]

95. I didn't get a chance to watch it after...

Got hung up working on my halloween costume, haha. If I'm not out too late, I'll probably watch it tonight.

And I don't mind at all, I love a good art/experimental/whatever-the-hell-else film.

[Cats Against Frist]

130. Maya Deren -- Meshes of the Afternoon is verrrry freaky.

It's been about ten years, since I've seen it, but I still get the heebie-jeebies when I think about it.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

50. Polanski's Repulsion

Is pretty good and freaky too.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

30. I thought "The Ring" and "The Grudge" were pretty good. Never saw the

original Asian versions though.

[phusion]

34. Blair Witch Project

scared the crap out of me, but that was in the theater.

I watched it later at home and it didn't have the same effect...Maybe if you had the right environment?

[ghostsofgiants]

42. Really underrated film in my opinion...

What you have to do is watch it alone in a completely dark room. Gives it the right atmosphere (at least for me).

[CanuckAmok]

65. I find it can only truly be enjoyed once.

Kind of like "The Usual Suspects". It's still fun to watch, but once you've seen it once, you've taken everything you can take from it.

I liked BWP, actually. And their pre-release promotional campaign was just inspired.

[last_texas_dem]

101. That one was really scary when I first saw it

Mainly 'cause I hadn't heard much of anything about it and went into it actually thinking it was supposed to be a legit documentary! I started wondering about three-fourths of the way into it if that was really true, asked my friends about it, and they made fun of me the rest of the night.

Still, it has some very creepy scenes. It is scarier if you think it really happened, though. haha

[Merrick]

36. Japanese Version of "The Grudge"

[Az]

63. Got to agree. Ju-On the Grudge is consistantly the most scary movie

It is always the sure fire to scare the bejeezus out of people. Its not so much the plot or even the special effects. Its all in the faces. They trigger recognition in the mind but there is something wrong about them. And while you are trying to figure it all out it keeps coming at you. Relentless.

[Broken_Hero]

38. With me...

Jaws, that movie changed my LIFE forever...and ever. I was born and raised on an island, water was a part of my life, and since watching that movie, i couldn't even go into the pool,without thinking of that damn shark

[DanCa]

40. Manchurian Candidate - explaination below

I was first getting used to my miraprex when I saw that one. Not only did it mess with my head I went sleep walkin' and was looking for my legs. Fortunately the neighbors called my house and my old man was able to get me before I hit the lake behind the house.

[SeattleGirl]

41. Angela Lansbury was so freaking scary and evil in that movie!

Gives me goosebumps just to THINK about her in that role!

[Chan790]

140. Interesting fact

She was only 3 years older than Laurence Harvey who played Raymond Shaw, her son. That according to a college professor of mine. It's also in the trivia on the IMdB page so I feel comfortable repeating it.

[stanwyck]

46. Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon

came out about 3-4 years ago. Very well acted and directed spooky film.

[Left Is Write]

47. If I could get my husband to watch "Halloween" with me on Halloween...

I'd be thrilled. It's my favorite movie of its genre. I also like the first "A Nightmare On Elm Street." Unfortunately, my husband hates that type of horror movie.

I do have the Bela Lugosi "Dracula" on DVD, and we plan to watch that together this weekend.

Creepy movies are among my favorites also (a la "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane"), as are psychological thrillers that mess with your mind.

[maveric]

48. "Wolfman", with Lon Chaney Jr. Still scares me after all these years.

[CanuckAmok]

74. I saw him drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's; his hair was perfect.

n/t

[Tyrone Slothrop]

49. The Wickerman

I think it's safe to say that that movie freaked me out and disturbed me more than any other I've ever seen.

It's not gory or anything like that, and I don't want to say too much about it if you've never seen it, but it's a very, very creepy low budget British film from the 70's. It has atmosphere to spare, as the critics say.

[tigereye]

61. I used to see that on TV every so often

very, very creepy!

[CanuckAmok]

67. OOOH CHRIIIIST NOOOOO!

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[tonekat]

78. not many people have seen that

that is such a cheapo, strange film.

[CanuckAmok]

79. It's a classic.

It was a big release in the UK, because of its contemporary star power (Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward).

On edit: the remake just wrapped shooting in the San Juan Islands between BC and WA State. I have a feeling it's gonna suck-diddly-uk.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

93. Nic Cage is no Edward Woodward

though maybe Neil LaBute can pull it off (who am I kidding - it's gonna suck balls).

I picked up the 2-disc edition a fortnight ago for £2-99! It's got both versions, with a commentary on the directors cut with Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward & Robin Hardy. Best bargain ever!

[CanuckAmok]

107. Some of my friends worked on the remake...

Even they say it's crap on a stick.

Still, on a bit of a tangent, they'd have to work really hard to screw up a remake of Wicker Man as much as they screwed up the remake of Get Carter. Did you see that dreck? Sorry to admit, I worked on that one. Peeee-u!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

109. and

Alfie and (though not quite so badly) The Italian Job. But yeah, Get Carter was something else! Hang your head in shame!! (Are you the guy who worked on the Shannon Tweed/Hulk Hogan flick?)

I also can't believe the buggers are going to remake Don't Look Now least of all without the ***** SPOILER ****** dwarf.

Also Nic Cage has his eyes on the lead in one of my favorite films of recent times - Oldboy. I dread to think what the hell Hollywood is going to do with that (if you've seen it you'll know what I mean).

[CanuckAmok]

111. Yeah, I did the Hulkster's movie.

In my defence, I only did Second Unit (stunts unit) work on both pictures. No dialogue at all.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

115. I saw a great piece about stunt people today

(on the Beeb of course!) about how computers are changing their profession and the lack of recognition they get from the industry. (They quoted from a letter written this July by the Motion Pictures Academy who'd voted down a proposal for a "Best Stunts" Oscar.)

Incidentally, I saw my first ever trailer for a Shannon Tweed movie the other day - on the Troma DVD of "Cannibal: The Musical" - for a cowgirl flick called "Rowdy Girls".

[CanuckAmok]

117. Yeah, stunt performers....

I don't know... I have mixed feelings about their role in the industry. I mean, they don't get the same level of celebrity that "stars" get, but they generally make about the same money, and they are considered more a part of the crew.

More often than not, a stunt performer is brought in for one or two "gags" ,and that can be anything from a 200ft freefall to having a plate broken over his head. They get paid for the whole eight hours, and generally spend six of them sleeping. Plus, they get their flat rate (about $1500 per day) and an "adjustment" for each stunt they do. It can be from $200 to $5000 depending on the complexity and relative danger of a stunt.

Many stunt performers go on to stunt coordinate, direct, and produce, too.

It's an odd way to earn a living. One of the reasons they are paid so well is because literally each day can be their last working day; I've worked with a handful over the years who get so injured that they can no longer do stunt work, or they get scars that prevent them from doing regular acting gigs.

But on the other hand, they're an incredible liability for production, and I am in favour of technology which reduces the complexity and danger of stuntwork.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

134. One of my favorites!

So well done.

If you like that, see "The Appointment" with Woodward.

Guaranteed to scare the shit out of you!

[Gothic Sponge]

52. Session 9

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

57. Good call

I was really impressed with "The Machinist" so decided to check out Brad Anderson's earlier work & was blown away. The fact they shot it in a real abandoned asylum really shows.




SPOILER







I recently read "Mad in America" & was staggered to discover that that ice-pick like instrument used to perform a lobotomy of sorts - which enters via the eye socket - was genuine. Its use was pioneered by a guy called Walter Freeman:

"Walter Freeman lifted the patient's eyelid and inserted an ice pick-like instrument called a leucotome through a tear duct. A few taps with a surgical hammer breached the bone. Freeman took a position behind the patient's head, pushed the leucotome about an inch and a half into the frontal lobe of the patient's brain, and moved the sharp tip back and forth. Then he repeated the process with the other eye socket."

http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-122.htm

[XemaSab]

53. I'm watching "Nosferatu" tonight

in the theater!

There's even going to be an accompa-... accompa-... a man that plays the organ!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

54. Deliverance.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

56. Most recently -- 'Funny Games'

Not a horror per se, but got under my skin more than I've known in a very long time.

For me, the scariest movie will always be "Nightmare on Elm Street" because it affected me so profoundly when I saw it as a child. The scene where Nancy is taking a bath with the camera placed at her feet, when freddy's gloved hand creeps out of the water between her legs is one of the most menacing ever.

"Clownhouse" gave me a phobia of clowns & now I seriously can't abide that film because the director was sexually molesting the lead boy whilst shoting.

'Mystery Man' in "Lost Highway" is terrifying, as is Dennis Hopper's Frank in "Blue Velvet" (especially when singing 'In Dreams'). "Eraserhead" is also a real nightmare.

"Dead Ringers" is a horrific movie to watch, yet it's probably Cronenberg's most normal. The 'Instruments for Mutant Women' gets me every time.

"Don't Look Now" the first time is incredible; particularly disorientating during the prolonged unsubtitled Italian dialogue.

"Audition" is another good 'first time' film and 'Ringu' & 'Ju-on' have their moments.

"Halloween", "Alien" & "Friday the 13th" deserve a mention too.

Its interesting to see "High Tension" mentioned as the most scary -- I thought it was great up until the twist, which pissed me off so much I was down on the whole film. However, tell your daughter to check out a film called "Seul contre tous" (aka "I Stand Alone") which stars the guy who plays the psycho in "High Tension" in a far darker and more profoundly disturbing role.

[Arkana]

60. Final Destination, just before you go to bed.

See if you can sleep after it.

Cause I couldn't. :scared:

[CanuckAmok]

71. It got pretty goofy...

Some of the deaths (especially the female teacher) were so silly they rivalled the "Clumsy Cleuseau-esque Waiter" from the Simpsons.

BTW, the outdoor cafe in the final scene is my local pub!

[Gildor Inglorion]

62. "Last House on the Left" Wes Craven, 1972

scared me to death.

[wildhorses]

66. self delete

[BOSSHOG]

68. Just watch the last minute of the original friday the thirteenth

[Tallison]

87. Spoil me, please

It's been years since I saw that, and I get all 34 of them confused.

[CanuckAmok]

69. Two more: the original "Hellraiser", and Frankenheimer's "Seconds"

Seconds:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060955/plotsummary

There is a very secret organization that offers wealthy people a second chance at life; the customer picks out someone they want to be and the organization surgically alters the customer to look like the intended person, stages the customer's death, gets rid of the intended person and the customer has a new life. There's only one thing they didn't count on.....


Hellraiser:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093177/plotsummary

Clive Barker's feature directing debut graphically depicts the tale of a man and wife who move into an old house and discover a hideous creature - the man's half-brother, who is also the woman's former lover - hiding upstairs. Having lost his earthly body to a trio of S&M demons, the Cenobites, he is brought back into existence by a drop of blood on the floor. He soon forces his former mistress to bring him his necessary human sacrifices to complete his body... but the Cenobites won't be happy about this.

[khashka]

86. Hellraiser scared you?

It was an S/m love story..... about a woman who damns herself for love of a man who abused her, abandoned her (possibly even raped her - the before the marriage to the brother sex scene). He gives himself to demons for the ultimate pleasure only to discover the pleasure is their's not his.... so he needs to use her to escape. Only instead of choosing her, he chooses incest with his neice.

It's a flawed movie in many ways, hardly really scary, though.


I always thought Clive got it right... sex, violence, romance - just how far will someone go for love?

The story it's based on is better. The heroine is not a beautiful young woman, she's an overweight, dumpy, fairly unnattractive middle aged woman who will do anything to save the man she loves (even though he doesn't love her in the same way).

I love Hellraiser, but try the audio version of The Hellbent Heart narrated by Clive....


Khash.

[Tallison]

88. Is Hellbent Heart

the name of the book it's based on? Sounds more interesting than the movie...

[khashka]

96. It's a novella but was published as a book

And there's an audio version too.

It's very erotic, horrific and transgressive. Clive had to change it to make it OK for Hollywood. In the movie the young beautiful Kirsty tries to save her Dad (last girl syndrome). In the book, she's the unnattractive friend who loves him and knows she will never be loved back in the same way (he's married to a beautiful woman... why should he even notice someone as ordinary as her?).

Something was lost in translation. It's really a love story - about two different kinds of love. Julia - who will commit any horror for a man who doesn't love her (but thinks he does) and Kirsty who will find her strength and her courage for a man who doesn't love her (and knows he probably never will).

It's also a much more explicitly sexual version. (If you don't get S/m it probably won't work for you - for example did Frank rape Julia? He used a knife... he thought it was rape, she thought it was love. Was she wrong? Not a question most people would ask.... but it's important.)

Khash.

[CanuckAmok]

70. Two more oldies: "Village of the Damned", and "Quatermass & The Pit"

If you can get passed lacklustre (by today's standards) 1960s British visual effects, these are ripping good fun:

Quatermass & The Pit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062168/plotsummary

Workers excavating at an underground station in London uncover the skeletal remains of ancient apes with large skulls. Further digging reveals what is at first believed to be an unexploded German bomb from World War II. Missile expert Colonel Breen is brought in to investigate, accompanied by Professor Bernard Quartermass. When the interior of the "missile" is exposed, a dead locust-like creature that resembles the devil is found. It is determined by Quartermass that these "locusts" are evil Martians who altered the brains of our simian ancestors to eventually lay claim to the Earth. When Quartermass's suspicion that the missile can reactivate the dormant evil in humans is confirmed, all hell breaks loose.

Village of the Damned (the original, not the remake):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054443/plotsummary

In the small English village of Midwich everybody and everything falls into a deep, mysterious sleep for several hours in the middle of the day. Some months later every woman capable of child-bearing is pregnant and the children that are born out of these pregnancies seem to grow very fast and they all have the same blond hair and strange, penetrating eyes that make people do things they don't want to do.

[tigereye]

77. Village of the Damned

I always liked that one!

Aren't there other Quartermass movies?

[CanuckAmok]

80. Yes:

The Quatermass Experiment (1953)

Quatermass II (aka Enemy From Space) (1955)

Quatermass and the Pit (1958)

The Quatermass Conclusion (1978)

Quatermass IV (1979)

And ...Experiment was remade for TV last year.


They were all released in the US, as well, but I think they dropped the name "Quatermass" from the some of titles because the character was unfamiliar in the States.

They're great examples of how a movie can still be captivating even with cheap stage/theatrical effects. It's all in the story, baby!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

103. The Beeb did a live remake of 'The Quatermass Experiment'

earlier this year which was excellent (although I've not seen the original).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450315/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/quatermass.shtml

(which, Brits, BBC4 are repeating on both Tuesday & Wednesday night)

[CanuckAmok]

105. "Live"?! Wow, that's cool.

I :loveya: the BBC.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

104. I just read today that Wolf Rilla died.

He had a good innings though.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1599768,00.html

[CanuckAmok]

110. Yes.

I got an email from my union (I'm Directors' Guild of Canada). They email obits whenever a prominant member or president dies.

Yes, a good run indeed. We should be so lucky.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

I thought The Omen was scary

and I've seen it countless times.

[CanuckAmok]

73. The Omen IS scary!!

"It's all for you, Damien! It's all for you-u-u-u-u-u-u...!"

Of course, this is the scariest version:

[Tallison]

90. "This is all for you, Damien!"

Freakiest shot in a horror movie ever, besides the twin girl scene in the Shining. :scared:

[CanuckAmok]

72. Okay, two more: The Changeling and The Others

The Changeling:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/

John Russell (George C. Scott), a composer and music professor, loses his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. Seeking solace, he moves into an old mansion unoccupied for twelve years. But a child-like presence seems to be sharing the house, and trying to share its secrets, with him. Through research into the house's past and a seance held within, Russell discovers the horrific secret of the house's past, a secret that the presence will no longer allow to be kept.


The Others:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230600/

A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.

[Tallison]

89. The Changeling is a real spooker

I love ghost stories.

[CanuckAmok]

113. I found out recently...

My ex-Father-in-Law was the Assistant Propsmaster on Changeling. He had that cool, creepy old wheelchair in a storage locker for decades, until his wife eventually just threw it out with the trash.

I found this out after he died. :banghead:

[Tallison]

114. OMG, I developed a wheelchair phobia

because of that damn thing that ghost drove itself into my young, tender subconscious. I'm an RN now, and still shudder at being alone in a room with an empty one. How crazy it belonged to the family member of another DUer!!!! :o

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

76. "Race With The Devil" and "Devil Dog" were 2 scary TV movies from the 70s

There were quite a few horror made-for-TV movies during the 70's, following The Exorcist's success on the screen. "Race With The Devil" stars Warren Oates and Peter Fonda and is about two married couples who go camping in a motorhome. They accidentally see a Satanic ritual going on in a field at night. Apparently, a young woman is sacrificed. The devil worshippers realize they've been spotted and the rest of the movie is a chase cross country, where seemingly everyone the two couples encounter is connected to the cult. The story has a very unhappy ending.

"Devil Dog" stars Richard Crenna and was about a family dog that was the offspring of Satan mating with a hound. Richard Crenna brings the puppy home and as it grows bigger, its influence on the family turns everyone evil except for the father. When the father tries to get rid of it, the dog comes after him. I saw the film on Halloween on television and I thought it was rather scary for 1970s era tv movies.

I think that both tv movies are available on DVD.

[CanuckAmok]

82. Yeah. Loretta Switt was in "Race with the Devil", too.

I think that might have been released theatrically; I vaguely remember seeing it on a big screen.

I've been saying for years that that's a movie that's dying to be remade.

There are some great directors who could really go to town with that chase theme: John Woo, Jonathan Mostow, John Frankenheimer (I know he's dead, but I think he could still do a good job of it), James Cameron...

[KitchenWitch]

84. Carrie

[Tallison]

91. That mom was terrifying

That locked prayer closet...horror movies with a fringy religious subtext are the spookiest.

[Tallison]

94. Texas Chainsaw Massacre and

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Murderer. Hardly for the faint of heart, but both very brilliantly done in their own ways. TCM was a privately funded project of UT Austin's film school. I think both movies should be required viewing for all film students.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

97. TCM was banned in the UK until 1999

The chief censor at that time, James Ferman, once said this to an audience:

"It's all right for you middle-class cineastes to see this film, but what would happen if a factory worker in Manchester happened to see it?"

Rule Britannia! Ferman also not only cut, but re-edited "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". It wasn't passed uncut & in its original form until 2003.

Both are great films though, Henry especially packs a strong punch. If you've got Showtime, you may be interested to know that both Tobe Hooper & James McNaughton have films in the "Masters of Horror" series:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=210x10073

[Tallison]

98. "What would happen if a factory worker...

in Manchester happened to see it?" What a classist, patriarchal, ignorant remark. Has he ever commented on A Clockwork Orange, and Is there actually a government position in the UK called "Chief Censor"? Christ, you guys really are our mother country.

For what it's worth, along with The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, Henry was the basis for the Motion Picture Association of America's establishment of an NC-17 rating in the US.

Good list. If you get the chance, watch John Carpenter's director's commentary on The Thing; it's fascinating, and the guy's got a wicked sharp sense of humor. John Landis, too. Also good is "The Making of the TCM," and Edwin Neal's (the hitchhiker's) commentary on the experience. He comes off as a really smart guy and said he based his characterization entirely on the presentation of a schizophrenic cousin. I'd love to see the John McNaughton interview and an hour-long debriefing of Stanley Kubrick.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

102. All films have to be certified by a body

called "The British Board of Film Classification" (nee "Film Censors") so that they are legal under our Obscenity Acts, (cruelty against) Animal Acts, Protection of Children laws and (the real killer) Blasphemy Act. The BBFC produces film certificates U(niversal), PG, 12, 15, 18 & R18 (porn) which are legally binding (ie it's illegal to admit a 16 year old to an "18"). Also local authorities have the right to ban films outright (or impose harsher certificates) which some did with Last Tango in Paris and The Exorcist (and after a hate campaign by the right-wing press, Cronenberg's Crash)

(It is legal to show uncertified films in private members clubs, provided they don't fall foul of the above laws. An example of this was when James Ferman made a version of Salo which lost 6 1/2 minutes & added an introduction for context specifically for film clubs.)

Video & DVD are much harsher. There's been sporadic bouts of moral panic in the UK (by the Christian right) which have led to knee-jerk legislation, most notably the "Video Recordings Act" of 1984. Also during the 80's there were several court cases against distributers of horror films which had been declared obscene (which led to a list of films labelled "Video Nasties" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_nasty ) Ferman - acting under the guidance of obscenity as that which can "deprave and corrupt" - along with the regular stuff, cut martial arts weaponry, drug use, suicide methods, etc.

When he finally left in 1999 there was much relaxation of the rules. In 2000, hardcore porn was left pretty much alone (although you can only buy R18 films in licensed sex shops) - but S&M (from spanking to hard stuff), watersports, scat & (bizarrely) gay sex with someone watching are still classed 'obscene'. Films that were banned on video - TCM, Exorcist, Straw Dogs, Salo, Maitresse, Story of O, Christinne F and several others - were passed uncut. Horror films began getting passed uncut or cut minimally and erections, penetration & oral sex was passed uncut in "18" films (such as Baise-Moi, 9 Songs, Intimacy, Romance & just recently The Brown Bunny).

So it's taken a while, but we're finally catching up with the free world.

Regards Clockwork Orange - It was passed in cinemas uncut - but only played in London initially. Quote the (pre-Ferman) sensible censor:

"Disturbed though we were by the first half of the film, which is basically a statement of some of the problems of violence, we were, nonetheless, satisfied by the end of the film that it could not be accused of exploitation: quite the contrary, it is a valuable contribution to the whole debate about violence".

Then the press blamed it for a series of murders, Kubrick (allegedly) got death threats and then withdrew it from circulation. It was only re-released after he died.

[last_texas_dem]

99. The Omen, The Ring, The Exorcism of Emily Rose

are my top three. An oddly freaky one is this movie from the eighties called Cat's Eye that I watched several times when I was a little kid and it didn't bother me much at all; when I watched it several years later I found it pretty disturbing.

There are several must-see scary movies I haven't seen, though; of what I've seen those are my picks.

[swimboy]

106. An old one, The Nanny, with Bette Davis.

Very creepy.

[mtowngman]

108. Children of the Corn

I don't remember much about the movie but my wife told me that the night we saw it, I sat up in bed from a dead sleep and yelled "children of the corn". Right now Ive channel surfed into the original Night of the Living Dead on wybe public tv,

[YellowRubberDuckie]

118. I hear ya...

Cornfields FREAK me out...
And The Exorcist freaks me out. As well as any movie that could really happen, like Kiss the Girls and SE7EN.
Duckie

[mtowngman]

121. Forgot about seven,

Kevin Spacey was INSANE.

[BattyDem]

116. Phantasm

I've seen a lot of horror movies, but none ever scared me like this one! :scared:

[CanuckAmok]

123. guess what this is:

That's right!

[BattyDem]

124. Wow ... that's cool!

I want one of those, LOL!

[frogbison]

132. There it is!

Was waiting for someone to mention Phantasm!

Thanks to all for the great suggestions. So far have seen High Tension, The Changling, and The Vanishing, all because of your suggestions and also what the local video store had available. With our 5 rentals for 5 bucks on the old ones, we still have Magic (our Halloween treat!), Jacob's Ladder and Jeepers Creepers 2 left to watch.

Boo!!!!

[nytemare]

119. Exorcist, Silence of the Lambs, Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Something Wicked was really more of a kid's movie, but for some reason I found it very creepy.

[frogbison]

133. By the pricking of my thumbs

Something Wicked This Way Comes is another of the great Ray Bradbury's offerings. Nothing childish about it.

[nytemare]

141. That movie creeped me out.

I liked Ray Bradbury Theatre back in the 80's. I think it was HBO.

[Metta]

122. The 2000 and 2004 debates.

nt

[IntravenousDemilo]

126. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

It's scary how many people like that banal piece of shit.

[Cats Against Frist]

127. This old movie with Wil Wheaton called "The Curse"

Ingmar Bergman's Persona

Rosemary's Baby

The Exorcist Director's Cut

Suspiria (I think that's how you spell it)

The Original Dawn of the Dead

[SaveElmer]

131. Frenzy!!!

When the guy had to break the fingers of that corpse to get a pin out of her hand...oh man...that freaked me out big time!!!

Sixth Sense also gets to me!!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

135. The Appointment

Followed be What Lies Beneath

and

Night of the Hunter (the original with Mitchum)

[XemaSab]

136. 28 days later

creeped me out too.

and silence of the lambs, and se7en.

[Jean Louise Finch]

138. Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Scared me when I was 5, still scares me now.

Those Banshees are the scariest things in the world.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

139. I have seen that in decades - along with Jack The Giant Killer