scare me please! (1 Viewer)

[Frank Zimkas]

Ican't believe that no one mentioned "A Ghost Story" an oldie but still a great film. Another favorite is "The Eyes Of Laura Mars"

Maybe I missed it but did anyone mention "The Birds" or the original "Psycho".....you won't shower for a week!

 

[DeanR]

I agree with the previously mentioned movies:
The Changeling
Event Horizon
The Omen
Evil Dead 2
Sam Neill knows how to be a scary.
I have to add:
Halloween
Burnt Offerings The ending spooked me for weeks
Wicker Man The ending again
Hellraiser
Alien
Recent movies like The Others and Jeepers Creepers had some moments but overall were not that scary to me.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I looked at The Others as an artistic thriller, but not a scary movie. Its very stylish and well done, but it's not inherently scary.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i put existenz in my list. score was 6.8 on imdb.

i didnt want anything below 7.0 for one single reason : there are already too many movies to watch. if i lower the standard...well i dont think i could watch everything.

 

[Mark_vdH]

The brilliant, but lesser known The Kingdom hasn't been mentioned yet. Only released on R1 DVD in Canada so far, but you have to see this one, directed by Lars Von Trier. Score on IMDB is nice too, if that's important to you, with an average of 8.9 (922 votes).
Though originally released as a mini series on Danish tv (title: Riget), because of it success it was released theatrically in foreign countries. With a running time of about 4.5 hours, spread over 5 episodes*, watch one episode every evening......
(*originally 4 episodes on Danish tv)

 

[oscar_merkx]

I thought that The Others was pretty scary in places, and the very beginning of Jeeper Creepers gave the creepers indeed until halfway when it more or less became a parody of other horror films imo.
I agree with The Birds, very scary indeed which reminds me to go and order this one straight away.

 

[Dick]

I am heartened by the number of people posting classic black and white films on this thread. It's gratifying to know others share my opinion that films which rely on suggestion and suspense rather than gore and silly monsters are ininitely superior to most current fare. Of the current crop, THE OTHERS, SIXTH SENSE, DEVIL'S BACKBONE are excellent. Once BURN WITCH BURN, THE HAUNTING, THE INNOCENTS, THE UNINVITED and the Val Lewton films make it to DVD, a vast majority of the really scary movies of all time will be ours for the taking.

 

[Julie K]

if i lower the standard...well i dont think i could watch everything.

I agree. If you are wanting the highlights of a particular genre of filmmaking then you should concentrate on the best. However, I do not believe IMDB scores represent anything close to reality. Talking to people who are fans of the genre (like in this thread) is a much better method IMO.
And once you become a fan of the genre, as opposed to wanting highlights, you'll find yourself searching out the obscure and seldom seen films and making time for them. It's what a fan of a genre does - always on the lookout for the hidden gem.
BTW, The Attic Expeditions is one of those. Horror fans need to watch this one.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Mark
I have recieved your PM and will get the R1 version, send a reply as well.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I second the excellent 1946 ghost film The Uninvited--atmospheric (almost noirish), slightly sentimental, and creepy.

Again, Robert Wise's The Haunting--which proves that it's what you don't see that's scariest. No more effectively creepy and unsettling a horror film has ever been made.

I also agree that Burn Witch Burn is effective--even more effective is the novella by Fritz Leiber upon which the rarely seen film is based.

• Now, The Shining: I tend to class Mr. Kubrick's film on an altogether different plane, as it endeavors to be more than simply a "horror film." It's a must-have film whether one is into horror or not.

• And if it's gore and guts and blood everywhere that tickles your fancy, JulieK is HTF's resident authority on such. I would trust her instincts; she knows good entrails when she sees them. (My vote in this genre still goes to the Romero classics.)

 

[felix_suwarno]

lots of "uninvited" at imdb.
is this the one?
Link Removed
i couldnt find "the kingdom" on imdb. too many of them! which "the kingdom" is it?
thx

 

[Jack Briggs]

Yes, that's the one, Felix--but I could have sworn this film was released in 1946. (IMDb doesn't always get the facts straight.)

 

[Mark_vdH]

i couldn't find "the kingdom" on imdb. too many of them! which "the kingdom" is it?

It is over here: Link Removed.
IMDB always list their movies by their original title, and "Riget" was the original Danish title.
HTF member Jon Robertson reviewed the R2 dvd for the DVD Times:
http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?...835&story=3207
(but he also makes a comparison with the R1 dvd).
Dvd Verdict has a review of the R1 dvd:
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/thekingdom.shtml

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Dick wrote:

If you mean "innately superior" here, I must disagree. It all depends on the film and the filmmakers.
What good horror (on screen or paper) needs is the sense of dread, something that outlasts the creepiness of the moment, the disgust with gross-out, or the thrills. It is very, very, very hard to engender. (Some review I saw of the horror genre in general suggested that The Blair Witch Project, which I have never seen, had that going for it, and succeeded therefore despite its miniscule budget. Of course, others have called it just plain silly.)
Few movies, old or new, succeed at it and I think one of the reasons, particularly for the newer movies' failure, is that the sense of isolation and lasting sense of horror don't go well with all the noise and crowding that clutters today's screens. Thrills aren't the same as chills (or horror). (I have yet to fathom why anybody over the age of 10 can find The Exorcist scary.)
My understanding is that, under the old Hayes code, movies weren't allowed to be very scary. I must say too many of those old movies ruin any scary mood they may have going for them by using ridiculously romantic scores.
I swear that black and white, also, is more conducive to setting such moods than is color, no matter how good modern cinematography may be. Just look at the old Twilight Zone episodes, particularly the creepy ones, and imagine (if you will) those done in color. All other things being equal, they wouldn't be the same.
Although it doesn't meet the "dreadful" standard, a spooky little horror film that should entertain any fan of the genre, for a while anyway, is The Sender (Paramount, 1982).

 

[felix_suwarno]

what is this hayes code?

 

[Marty Lockstead]

I'll second Jeepers Creepers as well. A very underrated horror film with good acting and a gutsy ending. Stir of Echoes was also an underrated gem as well. I don't think The Forsaken has been mentioned (if you like vampire movies) but I thought it was an entertaining cross between the Lost Boys and Near Dark, which is being released in a 2 disk special edition this September by the way.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

felix_suwarno wrote:

It was the "code", a set of censorship rules, that the Hollywood studios followed from about 1934 to (depending on your source) about 1968, when it was abandoned and the Motion Picture Association of America was formed, in its stead, with the precursor of the present motion-picture ratings system. The code---which I think was named after its original enforcing officer---prescribed what would be allowed to be shown on screen in theaters and actively proscribed words and topics deemed "unfit" and "corrupting" to the American public (for example, homosexuality had to be referred to in the movies as "the love that dare not say its name", or something ridiculous like that). It was supposed to govern sex, violence, and profanity, but, in fact, governed a whole lot more. (For instance, bad guys in the movies had to always be punished in one way or another by the end in order to re-inforce the silly American notion (fantasy) that "good" always wins over "evil".)
The code was, in fact, breaking down once the McCarthy Era ended. A lot of risque (for the time) movies started showing up in the mid-50's that explored content (sexuality, drug use, etc.) that had been verboten in American films since the mid-30's.
I'm sure others here, some of whom are film-history experts, can tell you a lot more about it, and even guide you to Web pages specifically on the topic.

 

[Steve Clark]

Phantasm
Pumpkinhead

 

[JonS]

Rex,
I don't think I completely understand your comment about the Exorcist. Are you saying that it doesn't have the lasting sense of dread and relies on thrills and gore, because if you are then I completely disagree. The Exorcist is actually a perfect example of it. If you are religious and believe in that sort of thing it will scare the hell out of you for a long time and if you aren't religious then you will be for at least the next few days after seeing it.
Anyway, here are some scary ass movies:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, both versions are very creepy.
Fright Night
Ghost Story

 

[Rex Bachmann]

JonS wrote:

scary.