I haven't made all that many new threads here, but I was inspired by the other threads with movie lists, so I hope I don't mess this up. Since Halloween is coming soon, I thought we should have a discussion on what the best horror/thriller/scary movies were.
IF YOU DARE, just PM me your ten favorite movies that scared the pants off of you, let's say by October 21st, and I will post the results daily up until then.
Anyone interested?
Nothing scarier than Ernest Scared Stupid.
yea I'll submit a list
I’ll send a list, but I’m saying this now, if Watership Down is in the final 10, the list is null and void.
1,000% interested.
Hell yeah, i think I could manage this.
Will do!
I honestly couldn't list 10. 3 movies scared me when I was a little kid but by the time I was 7 or 8 I was watching faces of death and that pretty well neutralized all horror movies from then on out.
Gremlins - the ending voice over scared me. Said to check under your bed for them. Up until that point I loved it. Then I was like "oh fuck"
The hand - creeped me out.
Swampthing 3d- first 3d movie I ever seen. Was maybe 4 or so. I just remember hiding behind the coffee table when he came swimming at me.
Not sure how I forgot this but Darth Vader scared the fuck out of me. 30 minutes later I thought he was the coolest thing I ever saw. Still do.
I'll tell you I'll submit a list and then never do it.
Not my fave genre but IN
The horror genre in general is my absolute favorite. It was somewhat tough to put the movies in order, and I had to focus on movies that were more of the scary nature than gory or satanic type stuff unless it was also terrifying.
I don't think I can put my list in a specific order but I can put together ten movies, I'm pretty sure. Is that ok?
I'm finding this harder myself to actually rank them. Horror/Thriller/Scary movies can include quite a range - not just monster or scary movies. But since a lot of them get played this time of year, it's a good time. If the replies aren't listed with a given order, I will presume they are listed 1 to 10.
Just use my list lolOriginally Posted by 3puppies
we're ranking this based on our favorite scary movies, as opposed to ranking them by how scary they are. yea?
Definitely based on our own personal favorites, of movies that we think qualify in the blended genre of horror/thriller/scary flicks.
Just bumping this to remind folks to get responses in by Monday 10/21 at noon, Eastern US time zone...
sent
I can't wait. Hoping to get some movies mentioned that I haven't seen yet.
mine are all basic as hell because I'm not a big horror guy
So here come the results. Tied for 10th are two films -
The Witches -
Based on Roald Dahl's book of the same title, often listed among the scariest children's book ever written. A young, recently orphaned boy is taken to England by his grandmother. At a hotel, he stumbles upon a witch convention and he is turned into a mouse. This 1990 release was the last film the late Jim Henson worked on. Angelica Huston took 8 hours to get into the makeup as the high witch, but it was memorable and terrifying.
Also at number 10 -
The Descent - this 2005 film follows a group of women who enter a cave for an Appalachian adventure, only to struggle against the humanold crawlers who live inside.
I will admit I hadn't seen this until it was nominated, so seeing how well it was doing, I took some time to watch - and it was well worth it. Filmmakers kept the design of the crawlers hidden from the actresses until they were revealed in the scenes in which the characters encountered them, to add to the tension. Good call.
Last edited by 3puppies; October 21st, 2019 at 12:37 PM. Reason: add poster image
Shit, wanted to take part and it slipped my mind
The Grand High Witch was certainly a terrifying part of my childhood. I guess I didn't even consider this on my list because I didn't think outside the box enough.
I remember The Witches. Shit I think I watched some of it last year on tv around this time with one of my kids. It's not one that I'd probably have in my top 100 but I could see some that think back to when they were kids, I did that with several of my choices.
Coming in at # 9 -
Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" from 1960
A secretary (Janet Leigh) is on the lam after stealing $40 grand from her employer, in order to run away with her boyfriend. Traveling on the back roads to avoid the cops, she's overcome with exhaustion in a rainstorm and stops for the night at the rundown Bates Motel. There, she meets the polite, but quirky proprietor, Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins). Hitchcock was truly the master of suspense, and the shocking impact of this film all work perfectly.
I first saw this film in a packed campus theater, back when I was in college, and most of the audience hadn't seen it before - we'd of course all heard great things about it from parents/friends, and stuff we'd read. I think it was re-released just at the time the sequel came out, and our student film club picked it up. A few students had seen it on cable or whatever, but at this point in time, I don't think it had even been released on VHS - it was common for the studios to re-release films one more time, before making them available on tape. But the theater experience is what Hitchcock intended - the black and white screen lighting up a darkened room, with the great score - he often said he was directing the audience, not the actors. What a great ride, made even more enjoyable in a crowd where we're all shocked together, then nervously laughing at our own reactions.
Never seen The Witches, I need to.
Good choices with The Descent/Psycho.
They are remaking the Witches with Anne Hathaway...I'm sure you'll have opportunities to see the original when the remake comes out.
I had Psycho on my list. The score, the acting, the iconic shower scene. The whole concept of Norman Bates stands the test of time. Funny thing is, I hadn't seen this movie until I was probably out of high school. I had actually seen the other sequels including the remake with Vince Vaughn (great movie as well). But the original was hands down the best and imo one of the scariest movies to date.
There's a theory out there that Sam Loomis from the Halloween films is the same Sam Loomis from Psycho. I think that's pretty cool.
Has anyone seen Bates Motel? Something I've been meaning to watch but never have.
That's dope. I haven't watched it yet but it's on my netflix list.
Bates Motel is supposed to be really good.
Oh yeah, I remember The Witches. 80s puppetry is second only to clay animation for being very scary.
It had one of the best endings, but scary as hell for kids. Spoilers!
I remember being freaked out more by those Christmas movies about Rudolph than Freddy Krueger lol. That clay animation was twisted.Oh yeah, I remember The Witches. 80s puppetry is second only to clay animation for being very scary.
It had one of the best endings, but scary as hell for kids. Spoilers!
Randolph gets it. That movie fucked me up as a kid and even rewatching some clips recently was unsettling.
Coming in at number 8 -
Scream (1996)
Wes Craven's movie that re-vitalized the horror/slasher genre by combining it with black comedy - the characters openly discussed the horror genre cliches as they attempted to use their knowledge to survive. The villain, Ghostface, dresses in a Halloween costume inspired by the Edvard Munch painting known as "the Scream". Nowadays, it is hard to recall the Halloween season without seeing a Ghostface mask or ten. With positive reviews and an audience attracted to already established stars, it became the highest grossing slasher film, earning $178 million in box office receipts.
While not on my personal top-ten list, I very much see the merits of including this film.
Yeah not on my personal top 10 but it would more than likely be on my top 20. If this were top 10 slasher films, Scream would be on it for me no doubt. It still has a scary vibe, intense moments that fuck with you even to this day. A brilliant movie.Coming in at number 8 -
Scream (1996)
Wes Craven's movie that re-vitalized the horror/slasher genre by combining it with black comedy - the characters openly discussed the horror genre cliches as they attempted to use their knowledge to survive. The villain, Ghostface, dresses in a Halloween costume inspired by the Edvard Munch painting known as "the Scream". Nowadays, it is hard to recall the Halloween season without seeing a Ghostface mask or ten. With positive reviews and an audience attracted to already established stars, it became the highest grossing slasher film, earning $178 million in box office receipts.
While not on my personal top-ten list, I very much see the merits of including this film.
And you know how you can tell it's Wes Craven? Because the bad guy isn't The Undertaker 1990. Just like Freddy, Ghost Face would get served from time to time and it made it more realistic.
And I doubt the sequels will be on the list but Scream 2 was a really good movie as well. 3 and 4 were mediocre but still pretty decent if they're nothing more than cash grabs.
Scream may be the first horror movie I recall making waves at the box office. I didn't see it until it hit video, but really enjoy it. Don't think I'd include it on my top ten list though.
It definitely have replay value. I've seen it oh fuck at least 30 times and even to this day I'm finding little nods here and there or little things in the background that you didn't notice. My oldest daughter who is 14 now just started getting into these movies. She actually saw the 4th one before any of the rest because it's the only one I owned at the time. So within the last 3-4 months we've bought the others for super cheap and watched those.
Don't watch Scary Movie before Scream, it ruins it for you.
Still love both though.
The Scream killers are such loathsome shitheads. It's kinda nice to be able to thoroughly hate the villain(s) in a slasher movie.
Number 7 -
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -
I was surprised this 1974 classic is so low on the list. The intentional misrepresentation of the events as being a true story, and its documentary style filming were intended to make it appeal to a wider audience, and despite (or because of) the controversy of its getting banned in several countries, it became hugely successful, earning $30 million over time, while it was made for a $160,000 budget. It is credited as one of the most influential horror movies ever, and the meathook scene is of course legendary - making a victim watch another character get murdered. But it also introduced the idea of using power tools as a murder weapon, furniture made from human bones, the villain (Leatherface) being a large, hulking faceless figure. Roget Ebert described it "as violent and gruesome as the title suggests" and without any apparent purpose, unless the creation of disgust and fright is its purpose" yet he praised its acting and technical execution. He added " And yet, in its own way, the movie is some kind of weird, off the wall achievement. I can't imagine why anyone would want to make a movie like this, and yet its well made, well acted, and all too effective." He'd also say "It's simply an exercise in terror."
Reading from online summaries and interviews with director Tobe Hooper, was a lot of fun this morning. He stated that he meant the film to be a response to being lied to by the government about all that was going on in the world", from Watergate, Vietnam, the 1973 oil crisis etc. (the primary reason the group is stranded is they are out of gas, and the gas station had run out - was all too common at the time).
I do recall how it got re-released - for a limited time - annually, with lots of hype about how it was banned all over the world. I didn't see it until I was in high school, as it was one of the first R-rated films that I snuck into, with a forged parental consent note. And I recall getting almost sick to my stomach at the amount of blood, to the extent I didn't want to get ice cream afterward, but I settled for a root beer float.
Well deserving of this list.
Funny thing is how little blood there actually is in TCM. Other than the dude cutting his hand in the van near the start, there's barely a drop otherwise. Speaks to the effectiveness of the film to convince you (and I've heard it said similarly by other folks) that they saw more than they did. Reminds me of how folks who saw Psycho (a black and white film) remembered all the red blood in the shower scene.
I meant all of the animal blood sprayed around the "slaughterhouse", and on Leatherface's clothes, which was implied to be human, but yeah, I get your point, especially since the TCM sequels had far more blood than the original.
Oh damn this was one that I missed that I should have put in my top 10. A classic. The style of horror movies that I tend to gravitate toward is more along the lines of TCM 2 (Mainly due to the love I have for Bill Mosley) but the first is on another level. I actually didn't mind the remake or the newer ones in general. Leatherface is such a great horror icon.
It's too bad Hollywood bailed on any further ideas of a Freddy v. Jason type movie because seeing something like Leatherface v. Michael or Leatherface v. Gremlins where he's just slaying all these fuckers and green shit is everywhere would have been cool.
I've never seen TCM 2 or 3, only the more recent remake, prequel, and reboot crap. Would folks recommend them?
It's been FOREVER since I saw 3 but no doubt you should check out TCM 2.
I think Rob Zombie took a lot from TCM 1 and 2 when he did House of 1,000 Corpses. It's pretty obvious when they go on Capt Spaudling's Murder Ride and they have a little spot for Ed Gein. But TCM 2 has that classic 80's B-movie vibe.
Fun fact about TCM 3 though is that it's one of the early movie roles of Viggo Mortensen. Oh and don't forget TCM 4, which stars Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey. It fucking SUUUUUUUUCKS
I forgot there was a 4 but it sounds like that's for the better. I'll give 2 a watch sometime.
I remember always seeing the cover at the video store and just never caring about it because 3 was so awful. I really wasn't high on Leatherface until I was older.I forgot there was a 4 but it sounds like that's for the better. I'll give 2 a watch sometime.
The movie that actually turned me on to it is so underground, it's called REDNECK ZOMBIES. Released by Troma in the mid 80's, shot entirely on a fucking home video camera lol. But it's soooo fucking corny it's a favorite of mine. Anyway, in it they give a nod to TCM 1 where this dude picks up a hitchiker who's the "shaver" at his brother's barbershop and the hitchhiker is all crazy and cuts the driver's arm with an old fashioned straight razor.
So my buddy was like "oh shit this is a nod to Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and eventually I saw that and was like, oh shit this is fucking wild.
If you haven't seen the original on a big screen in a dark room, you've missed something special. The second was good, and even gorier, but a good step down from the first. The first is special in how it creates that feeling that something bad's gonna happen, and when it does, damn.
The first one is almost it's own shit compared to all the others including the remake. The first one is so gritty, low budget, and everything after you can tell they had a little bit more money to play with lol. I liked the remake with Jessica Biel, but it should have been dirtier.
But yeah man all the ones that followed were treated like your standard horror movie in terms of the way it looked and didn't have that same low budget gritty vibe to it. It's like with Evil Dead. You could tell as the series progressed, they were making money.
I've seen the original a couple of times. Once with a group of friends and once with my wife more recently. It's excellent. Constant state of dread and off-ness, and everything is hot and grimey and gross. First time I saw it, the dinner scene with the family was real disturbing with Grampa trying to smash her with the rock and everything, that was climax as far as creeping me out went. It was very high on my list.
I think the way it looks adds to the realism. It looks like some shit a family shot on the reel and left the copy laying in a corn field.
A classic. So very disturbing.
I like the original, as well as the 2003 remake and the sequel to that, and the 3D one a few years ago. I haven't seen the newest Leatherface movie though.
Coming in at #6....
A game changer to say the least. On a $60,000 budget they managed to make the masses question whether or not this "found footage" was just another low budget horror movie, or the real deal. Even their website was convincing. The movie made almost $250 million at the box office, casting 3 complete unknowns using improvised dialogue, minimal experience, and nature as the score. Without a doubt deserves a place on this list.
I'll be 100% with everyone here. This movie came out the summer before my senior year. There used to be a huge movie theater downtown that would only have 1 or 2 movies showing and this was one of them. So I go with my gf at the time, and it scared the living shit out of me. I was so shook, that I was supposed to go see a Bone Thugs and ICP concert the next day in Bonnar Springs that I flaked out and my boy had to take his annoying ass gf with him. I didn't want to leave my fucking house. I was 17 for fuck's sake, too old to be shook like that, but it did. lol. Too much weed at that age I assume.
I think Blair Witch is one of those films that initially in the theaters it was scary. But then the parodies came out, and everyone made fun of the film so it was cool to not be scared by it. It was a scary film on first viewing. Subsequent viewings I think the movie sucks, always made me wonder if some movies are made to only be seen once.
It's definitely a movie that, like with pro wrestling, once you realize it's 100% not real and the surprises are expected, it dips in entertainment.
Crazy thing is, I liked the sequel, Book of Shadows, quite a bit. I have actually seen that one wayyyy more than the original.
Never saw Blair Witch but feel like it's probably not worth it at this point.
I think it's worth checking out for sure.
I have to assume the reason this is so high is because of the impact it made at the time and how fucking ultra scary it was, and still can be depending on the type of person you are. I can promise you that if you scare easily, it's going to do the trick, or maybe your wife gets scared easily Idk.
Because I remember watching Paranormal Activity and thinking, oh fuck this shit Blair Witch prepared me. Nope, there are scenes where I about shit myself lol. It just feels so realistic, but again, like I said earlier, it can be like pro wrestling where you have to go a little bit deeper to suspend belief after knowing how the magic works.
Paranormal Activities had me nearly jumping off the dang couch.
Same for me, but to turn the movie off they were so boring!
I love Blair Witch Project and think it holds up to multiple viewings. I mean I'm not going to watch it twice in a row but I think you can throw it on every couple Halloweens and enjoy it. At 80 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome. I caught the second half of the newest one, Blair Witch, on TV recently and thought it stunk.
Best seen in 1999 before anyone has told you anything about it at all. It was the first use of the internet as immersive marketing that I had experienced. Okay the movie doesn't hold up well, but the buildup was fantastic. It still has a place in my heart. I remember it dragged a lot in the middle, a longish stretch of people swearing at each other irritably, and not much else. It's not a great movie, and the characters are less sympathetic than they would've been had they not been making such a documentary, but it's fascinating.
This is why I think I liked the 2nd one a lot. It starts out with all the clips of hysteria the movie caused in a time where you just didn't see it. I remember stories of people puking and running out of movies like The Exorcist. This movie was our generation's version of that. But then the way the 2nd one plays out as these super fans of the movie letting it consume their life, pretty genius and it stars Jeffrey Donovan
Part of what makes The Blair Witch Project so effective is how real it looks, and what they don't show. There's nothing overtly supernatural or implausible caught on film, and it doesn't particularly act like a movie. It never shows you anything implausible to make your brain say "this isn't real". It's not even 100% clear whether or not something supernatural is going on, or if there's just killer(s) in the woods messing with them as they grow increasingly lost and desperate...
It relies on fear of the unknown, and looks, acts and feels like something that happened...
What sticks out to me when it comes to the original film is the way Leatherface is presented. He's a brute, but there's nothing cool about him. He's a tragic figure in that he's a physically imposing mentally retarded man that's being used as an attack dog by his family. Leatherface is almost completely a product of his environment. There's a scene in the film where he's clearly distressed and looking out a window worried about whether or not more people are going to trespass on his family's property. It's kind of sad.
Regarding The Blair Witch Project: I admire it and the effort from everyone involved, but it's not a movie that has replay value, in my opinion. People still talk about it, though. There's definitely something to be said for that.
Thanks to ND for posting the last one for me.
Next on the list is
The 1979 original Alien, took Sigourney Weaver among a crew of workers on a mission in deep space, where they get picked off, one by one, by an Alien life form that we never seem to be able to get a grip on what it is. And the beauty of the film is just that. Hitchcock once described the importance of pacing in a movie by describing a bomb under a table. If it explodes, it's action. If it doesn't, it's suspense. For long stretches of this film, we don't know what's out there, and as we try to imagine what it is, based on the more information developing - it becomes more unknown.
When it came out, it was described as a slasher film set in outer space. Which of course it is, but I think it is so much more than that.
The dinner scene, where the creature explodes from John Hurt's chest/stomach, is truly terrifying. The reaction of the crew is genuine horror, especially because other than Hurt, the actors hadn't been told what the scene was really about.
This is a fantastic movie and well deserving of this list.
I completely agree with this. I did not have it on my list, because when it came out, my kids were small, and I simply didn't have the time to get caught up in the considerable hype. I think the age and experience of the viewing audience has a lot to do with how a scary movie is thought of over time.
Good call on Alien. I love that franchise, but I've only seen Alien maybe 2-3 times. ALIENS on the other hand, yeah I've seen that about a billion haha.
Definitely deserving a place on the countdown. This wasn't just some science fiction alien movie. It was no doubt scary as fuck. I think the people involved in Alien 3 tried to recreate that kind of vibe, but there were just too many people and it was too bright lol. Alien was dark, it had a great cast of solid actors, the ambiance of the movie is pretty hard to replicate.
A movie that I think is a good sci-fi scary horror type movie but not in my personal top 10 of scary movies is Event Horizon. It's in my top 10 of all time favorite movies. I know it's not Alien but it's one of the few sci fi horror movies that actually scares the shit out of me lol.
Thinking my sex tape is gonna be number one on this list.
I'm looking at my top 4, and if I don't see 3 of them revealed on this list I'm going to extremely shocked. I was already shocked to see a movie like The Descent when we haven't even hit a single Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St, Hellraiser, fuck even the first Child's Play lol. So I'm very very curious to see the last 4.
I put films that actually scared me on my list, I don't think I was ever scared of any Friday movies, as awesome as they are. Same with Hellraiser and Elm Street, though come to think of it New Nightmare had it's scary moments.
Child's Play had not crossed my mind, but if I had to redo my list, I would have swapped one out with that.
Number 4 -
The Ring
You watch a video, the phone rings, and you have a week before you die.
Honestly, I am not a fan of this film, it just never captured my attention enough. But several of y'all had it rated very high.
Last edited by 3puppies; October 28th, 2019 at 10:37 AM. Reason: add image
So let's recap.....
#10 The Witches and The Descent (Tie)
#9 Psycho
#8 Scream
#7 Texas Chainsaw Massacre
#6 Blair Witch Project
#5 Alien
Edit: And now #4...The Ring
Man I saw the Ring alone in an empty movie theater. That scene where she comes out the damn TV fucked me up
Yeah I can tell by your shit "review" that you're not a fan lol. You can see that you do not care one bit about this movie lol.Number 4 -
The Ring
You watch a video, the phone rings, and you have a week before you die.
Honestly, I am not a fan of this film, it just never captured my attention enough. But several of y'all had it rated very high.
This movie was fucking incredible. Scary as fuck, AMAZING concept. The Japanese version this was pulled from, Ringu, super dope as well.
I loved this movie. Seriously one of my all time favorites, not just horror but in general. Naomi Watts kills it in the lead role, really every single actor in this movie delivers. I loved how the images in the tape would surface in the real world leading to the 7th day.
This movie ushered in the fad of remaking a shit ton of Japanese horror movies like The Grudge, Mirrors, The Eye, etc. And I'm pretty sure 90% of the kids named "Aiden" owe this movie their namesake lol. So yeah, despite 3pup's lackluster synopsis lol, definitely worth checking out if you haven't seen it. Definitely deserves a spot in the top 5 IMHO.
And there's a reason why it debuted with $18 million or say but made it to over the $100 million mark. It had great word of mouth.
I was literally holding my breath during that scene. Climactic as fuck. I was in college at the time and we had a TV dead center of our dorm room and it made me real uneasy that night.Man I saw the Ring alone in an empty movie theater. That scene where she comes out the damn TV fucked me up
I think I saw the original Japanese version of The Ring before the US remake. Not a horror person at all, but good shit.
I've seen 3 from this countdown so far.
Blair Witch, Scream and The Ring.
I liked Scream. It had the right balance, for me. Blair Witch, meh.
Yeah it's grossed almost $250 million since it's release. And it was #1 opening weekend right? Shit I saw it twice in the theater.
And I didn't realize Hans Zimmer did most of the score. He's fucking incredible. The GOAT.
The ring scared the shit out of me when I saw it in the theater. Great flick I wouldn’t mind watching it again this week for Halloween
the ring is the only movie that has ever scared me as an adult due to the fact that during one scary moment the power went out on our block.
Coming in at number 3 -
"You're gonna need a bigger boat"
This is a terrific film, and for those of us who remember when it came out, people were absolutely terrified of going swimming in the ocean. Our family took summer vacations every year, and one of the things we liked to do was to go see a movie in an air-conditioned theater. As we were heading to the campground, in the nearby town we saw folks lining up outside the theater and we saw "Jaws" on the marquee. So my dad gave my sister and me some cash and told us to get in line, and get tickets for all of us. He took my the rest of the family to the camp site, and mom came back to get us, leaving Dad with the trailer, and to set up the tents. We didn't get to see the movie until the day we were leaving the area.
Spielberg famously made one of the conditions of his agreeing to direct the film be that the shark was not to be seen for the first hour. Instead, we see suggestions of the shark, or the results of its actions. And the use of music to set the mood, build the anticipation, is masterful. I'm thinking about the scene when Hooper discovers the corpse of Ben Gardner - the audience knows something is going to happen, the music plays and then gets quiet, and we get a long quiet shot of a huge hole in the side of the boat. We are expecting a shark, but we get a small fish swimming by. As we exhale, and Hopper examines the large tooth stuck in the hull, and instead of a shark, we get scared senseless by the head popping through the hole in the hull. And for some reason, this still holds up and is scary as hell every time, despite viewing this at least 50 times.
The movie is as suspenseful as they come, and the payoffs are definitely worth it.
No Halloween will invalidate this list. But I didn't vote, so fuck me.
Has any movie ever scared audiences quite like Jaws? I know so many people who were afraid to swim in the ocean because of that movie.
Never got into Jaws. At all. I've never liked movies about killer animals or crossbreeding animals. I'm not the guy you're going to find with a collection of Mansquito and Sharknado DVDs.
To me this was a movie that for it's time was probably dope. Props to it being on the list as I think it does deserve a place on a list like this and I respect why it would be so high. #3 in my world seems extremely high BUT I've heard and read enough from people I respect about this movie to understand the fact that it is no doubt a top 10 scary as fuck movie, especially for that time where we didn't have a lot of scary movies in general in the mainstream.
Don't forget that Jaws changed Hollywood forever, as it created the "summer blockbuster" idea.
See, if you put half the effort you put into Jaws as you did for The Ring, I might care. lol just kidding.
$100 million within 2 months, pretty fucking incredible for the time. Even by today's standards....Not very many movies based around killer animals even break even.
This list is garbo. I'm glad I didn't waste time submitting one.
Since you didn't submit one why don't you post what you consider your personal top 10? It wouldn't hurt. I swear to God if I see Big Money Hustlas on your list I'm going to snap lol.
The fact that I can still spook myself in a goddamn swimming pool with illogical thoughts of sharks nailed Jaws a pretty high ranking on my list.
This. People not on the coasts, were scared of swimming in pools, ponds, lakes and streams because of this movie. The entire promotion for the sequel - which was of course terrible - was "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water"
One of the reasons SNL's early "Land Shark" sketches worked so well, was because it successfully mocked this paranoia.
I always stop everything to watch Jaws no matter how many times I've seen it. It fully holds up after all this time. It's glorious.
I considered jaws but left it off my list because I wasn’t quite sure if it fit the genre of scary movie. I guess I was equating scary movie with horror movie and this is more of a thriller/monster movie. Anyway I’m glad you guys ranked it highly.
Jurassic Park would be another one in the vane of Jaws for me. I saw it in the theater when I was about 7 and it scared the daylights out of me. But again I didn’t include it here as I felt it wasn’t near enough to horror.
I too remember Jurassic Park scaring the shit out of me, especially the fucking spitting dinosaur one that gets Newman.
Coming in at the runner-up spot -
William Friedkin's 1973 film, "The Exorcist" tells the story of a 12 year old girl who is either suffering from a severe neurological disorder, or is possessed by an evil spirit. This movie is horrifying, and literally had people fainting in the theaters, or walking out due to how disturbing several of the scenes were. Having re-watched it a year or two ago with my daughter and her friends, it has surprisingly held up (other than the 360 rotation of Linda Blair's head, which by today's standards looks silly). But since the core of the movie is the character development - Ellen Burstyn as the concerned mother is fantastic, the shock and horror is largely still very believable.
I was not allowed to see this when it came out - despite my father's willingness to take us, my mother objected as she had read about the faintings etc., and that the film probably deserved an X rating instead of an "R". My father later got a copy of the book that it was based on, and after he read it, he tried to convince her that the film was careful not to be disrespectful to catholic theology. So, when I was a freshman in high school, I was set to see it during one of its re-releases, but at the last moment she changed her mind, and decided that my sister, younger brother and I could not go with them to see it. I didn't get to see it until I was in college (coincidentally, in the same building where part of it was filmed).
Since the movie and screenplay were based on the book of the same title by William Peter Blatty, who'd had access to the doctors notes and priests diaries from a real-life, authorized-by-the-church exorcism in St Louis, even though he changed a lot, including the location, the victim's age and gender, it remains a very haunting story.
The Exorcist is iconic. The stories of people puking during the movie and running out screaming, love it. The only movie in my lifetime so far that I've experienced that feeling was Blair Witch. I don't remember the very first time I saw this movie, but I've seen it so many times it's not even funny lol. And just all the stories I've read about the making of the movie, people just do not appreciate what goes into movies that turn out to be legendary. With this movie, the physical harm Linda Blair went through, the fact that 9 people died during the making AND Jack MacGowran dying shortly after due to a heart attack.
And I think Ellen Burstyn has pretty much denounced this movie and any association with it.
This was #3 on my list. #2 was The Ring. I'm really hoping my #1 is the actual #1, and I'm extremely shocked we haven't seen Halloween or Nightmare On Elm St yet.
Exorcist....I mean, how many of us started fucking with Quija boards thanks to this movie? I know I did. I wanted to contact Capt Howdy.
I saw the extended version when they released it in theaters...I'm going to say 2001? That seen where she spider walked down the stairs, fuck me I saw people get up and leave after that lol.
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