# Movies that scared you!



## mikeb

I am a horror movie fan and was wandering what scary movies have scared you the most? Mine are The Excorcist, saw it during its original theater run, The Hitcher, Halloween, and have to admit I did a little squirming watching Hostel.:R


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## Adz

mikeb said:


> I am a horror movie fan and was wandering what scary movies have scared you the most? Mine are The Excorcist, saw it during its original theater run, The Hitcher, Halloween, and have to admit I did a little squirming watching Hostel.:R



The Shining and the original Omen were beyond a doubt the two scariest movies I ever saw. I saw them both when I was very young in the movie theater and couldn't sleep for weeks. The original Nightmare on Elm Street ranks a distant third.


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## mikeb

Adz said:


> The Shining and the original Omen were beyond a doubt the two scariest movies I ever saw. I saw them both when I was very young in the movie theater and couldn't sleep for weeks. The original Nightmare on Elm Street ranks a distant third.



A couple of classics! Something interesting I saw on the Monsters HD channel was that without The Omen, Star Wars might not have been made. 20th Century Fox was hurting financially and could not afford for Lucas to start work on Star Wars but The Omen became a suprise blockbuster and made enough money to fund Star Wars. We all know the rest of the story.:bigsmile:


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## Sonnie

It's been a while back, but I believe it was _The Town That Dreaded Sundown_ that was pretty wicked. There's also another one out right now that's supposed to be extreme, but I can't think of the name of it right now... but the Omen... :yes:


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## muse77

When I was a kid _"War of The Worlds"_ (original version) used to scare the **** out of me. The cap would slowly unscrew, then the head of the ship would slowly come out and then blast everyone. :scared: I tried watching it in the basement in the dark and ended up running upstairs.

It is tough to single out best horror movies.
_"The Ring", __"Hellraiser"_ first three movies, _"Silent Hill"._ 
I just watched "Descent" and it was very creepy. I got shivers all over from them just crawling through the tunnels.

I was trying to remember the name of _"The Ring" _movie, visiting horror websites only made me want to add to the list so I better stop.

Bryan


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## Hakka

Sonnie said:


> There's also another one out right now that's supposed to be extreme, but I can't think of the name of it right now...


The Pulse maybe? I haven't seen it yet but I have seen it described as 'the scariest movie ever'.


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## Sonnie

That's not the one I'm thinking of, but it may be pretty scary. I know my daughter watched the one I'm thinking of and I was somewhat upset with her for watching it because wasn't sure it was appropriate for a 16 year old. I'll try to remember to ask her tomorrow what it was.


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## scott

i'm still searching for the "one" movie that scares me. i'v seen almost every "scary" movie there is and i'll admit some made me squirm a little, but nothing has scarred me. maybe i'll open my mind one of these days and come up with a script for hollywood. i'll donate half the profit to this forum.:T


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## muse77

Thinking about more movies that scared me, one as an adult that sticks out in my mind is the first Steven King "Pet Semetary" movie. The reason being my son at the time was the same age and had blond hair as the one in the movie. That movie really connected with me, with being a parent raising kids and fearing the worse of what could happen. I have never watched that movie again. It shows that you don't need something jumping out of the dark to scare you.

Bryan


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## mikeb

muse77 said:


> Thinking about more movies that scared me, one as an adult that sticks out in my mind is the first Steven King "Pet Semetary" movie. The reason being my son at the time was the same age and had blond hair as the one in the movie. That movie really connected with me, with being a parent raising kids and fearing the worse of what could happen. I have never watched that movie again. It shows that you don't need something jumping out of the dark to scare you.
> 
> Bryan


I can see that being a very disturbing movie in that situation, Pet Semetary is in my opinion one of King's best and a little chilling even without the child connection. By the way Bryan hello from the east side of the state on Rt. 50 :bigsmile:


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## Hakka

There was a scene near the star of 'the boogeyman' when the kid is in bed, that had me on the edge of my seat, there was a similar one in 'Darkness Falls' when the kid pulls the sheets up over his head and you just hear the noises. I wont say too much incase some of you have not seen it. I wouldn't call either movie very scary, but those scenes were very effective on a HT system.

I watched "An American Haunting' the other day and there was a very good 'jump moment' in that.

I watched the trailer to 'The Descent' the other night and it looked very creepy, I have the DVD I will watch it over the weekend.

Harry.


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## Guest

When I was young: The Exorcist (I saw it in the theatre in 1973 and it scared the daylights out of me for about 10 years)

As a more "mature" person, and after watching countless gore and scary movies, for whatever reason, that **** bunny in Donnie Darko raises the hairs on the back of my neck every time.


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## Prof.

I find it very interesting, the sort of movies that scare people ...It seems to be a very subjective thing..
A lot of people are scared by movies like "The Omen", "The Exorcist" and movies of a similar genre..
Others get scared with movies that have a theme of whackos running around with knives, axes and chain-saws, mutilating people...
The latter category fits me...

I have seen The Exorcist (original and later version) The Omen (all 3) and didn't find them scary..but if you show me one of the mutilation type films, I'll be cringing in my seat...

Some people found the original "Alien" movie terrifying, and others thought it was pretty tame...

I do find however, that there can be "moments" in some very benign films, that can make you jump in your chair..One that comes to mind was "The Others"..when in the movie there is not a sound, and suddenly there is loud running footsteps, that come from behind you and run to the front...Sounds very real with a good surround sound system..

Scariest movie of all time?...One that probably most of you have never seen...It was only on film and never released on VHS or DVD as far as I know.."The Creeping Unknown"...
Saw it as a kid and it scared the living daylights out of me for a week, and I knew of adults who slept with there lights on after seeing it...


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## Hakka

Justed watched Descent and it was very good, I never considered myself claustrophobic but I think I am after watching that. Its worth a look.

Harry.


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## brandonnash

The ring was pretty good. Nothing has really scared me, but that one brought the heebie jeebies back a bit. Haven't heard from them since I was a kid. Plus I liked the little secret on the menu.


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## JCD

Probably the last movie to really scare the pants off of me was "Alien". I saw it at the theater when I was in my teens and swear I must have done a 360 in my chair 20 times. 

One movie that totally DISTURBED me was "Dead Ringers" with Jeremy Irons. I don't know if it would do the same thing now, but man, at the time, for about 2 weeks I felt like I was in an out of body experience all the time.

Other movies that at least gave me the willies:

Hellraiser -- definitely made me want NOT to go to the bad place
Hostel -- have to admit, it made me squirm.. a LOT.
Audition -- Japanese movie that will hurt the tourism trade to Japan
Eraserhead -- weird AND disturbing
Videodrome -- weird AND creepy
The Exorcist -- nothing needs be said about this one
The Omen -- ditto
The Shining -- Jack is so great in this movie

I'm sure I'll post this and go, "Duh, what about...", but I'm gonna leave it as is for the time being.

JCD


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## Ayreonaut

I'm a real 'fraid-y cat, so I don't see too many _really_ scary movies. But my wife took me to see What Lies Beneath at the multi-plex. I was so tense through the whole movie that my stomach was sore by the time we left the theater.

For a "pleasant" thriller, I recently enjoyed watching the 1946 Spiral Staircase on AMC.


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## John Simpson

"Dead Birds" is a fairly recent move that really surprised us... very creepy.

The US version of "The Ring" also gave me chills.

We're watching "The Descent" tonight actually, so I'm glad it's good...


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## Delphunkey

Some oldies but goodies:

I must say that Event Horizon (1997) has always stuck in my mind as being one of the most nerve-racking.

The Thing (1982) bothered me as well...

If you could forget about the sequels, I still refuse to say Candyman five times in front of a mirror!


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## Richard W. Haines

The scariest horror films in my judgment, are those that have strong characterizations along
with the gore and shocks. When you have sympathetic characters, you watch the movie subjectively
rather than objectively. If the film contains only special effects without people you empathize with, I believe it loses much of it's effectiveness.

With this proviso, my favorite horror films that scared me are
"Psycho (1960)", "Carnival of Souls" (1961), "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "Jaws" (1975) and 
"Carrie" (1976). In fact "Carnival of Souls" and "Night of the Living Dead" gave me reoccuring
nightmares after I saw them as an adolescent.


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## Sonnie

I remembered that movie... _The Hills Have Eyes_. I've heard it is terrifyingly wicked and scary, but lots of gore too. Supposedly this movie goes beyond the normal, not holding back. BUT, I haven't seen it. I noticed there is already a part 2 that is supposed to be even more terrifying.


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## F1 fan

I found The Ring a bit spooky and another I can't remember the name of it but it starred Harrison Ford and Michelle Pheiffer.It is called What Lies Beneath.


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## Vader

I would have to give another vote for the original "Omen". I didn't see it until it hit HBO in the early 80's, but I didn't sleep for days (that image of the demonic nanny coming for Lee Remick still freaks me out). It was also the first movie that showed me that evil is more than just a guy dressed up in a red devil costume on the side of a tuna can (if you get the reference, you are betraying your age...)


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## salvasol

Sonnie said:


> ... The Hills Have Eyes[/I]. I've heard it is terrifyingly wicked and scary, but lots of gore too. Supposedly this movie goes beyond the normal, not holding back. BUT, I haven't seen it. I noticed there is already a part 2 that is supposed to be even more terrifying.


I've seen both on Dish .... not to scary for me, but some part gave me chills (when I opened my eyes :rofl2::rofl2::rofl2:, just joking).

I also watched Final Destination 3 (HBO 7/14 & 7/18)and Wolf Creek (Stars Edge tonight) ....and I like it :scared::scared::dumbcrazy::dumbcrazy:


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## Mongrel714

Dead Silence! a very well written movie and very scary, I found myself peaking out from under my blanket a couple times! its a must see! Also the standards, halloween, stir of echoes is really good, the first nightmare on elm street.


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## Jerm357

Wow you liked Wolf Creek? That was a total bomb for me. My favorites have got to be *Nightmare on Elm Street*, *Alien* and *Aliens*, *The Hills Have Eyes *(1977 original), *An American Werewolf in London*, *The fly*(1986), *Lost boys*, *Last house on the left *kind of freaked me out, *Silver Bullet*, good ole' *Texas Chain Saw *(1974),The *Evil Dead *series, *Signs*, *The Thing*, *Misery* and I got to add the *Blair Witch Project*. Theres probably many more that Im not thinking of right now but you get the point. Can you tell Horror is my favorite movie genre.:demon:


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## OvalNut

The Shining. My gosh, I saw it at a midnight showing, and walking through the parking lot to the car afterward was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, I was truly expecting someone to jump out from behind a car with an axe.

Oh, and when the wicked witch throws the fireball at the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. I was about 6 when I saw that the first time, and I immediately dived for cover behind the couch.


Tim
:drive:


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## Richard W. Haines

Another question to ponder in this thread is the conditions that you see a horror movie in
might be part of what makes it scary. For some films, screening it with a large audience makes them more effective like the end of "Carrie" when the hand comes out of the grave which always made viewers scream. The same applied to "Jaws" shock effects like the severed head falling into frame while Dreyfus shook the boat and the shower scene in "Psycho". The scares in these movies were a collective experience. 


A different one was screening "Night of the Living Dead" at a drive in. The surrounding woods and crickets added to the atmosphere. You almost expected some Zombies to walk out from behind
the screen tower. 


On the other hand, a movie like "Carnival of Souls" is quite creepy watching it alone at night with the lights off on video at home. Since it's structure is similar to a Twilight Zone episode, it's more effective
on the small screen than in a theater. There are no shock effects in the film that require a large
audience to appreciate. It's scares are on a subliminal level created by weird imagery and the organ music score. The theme of alienation also works better watching it alone since you begin to feel the lead character's isolation from everyone else.


Then there were the William Castle Gimmick films. I saw "The Tingler" at the Film Forum back in 1990
and the seats were rigged with the motors to vibrate them ("Percepto"). I was on edge the entire
film, unsure of when the seats were going to jiggle so I'd have to say it was a scary horror film providing
you saw it under those circumstances.


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## salvasol

Richard W. Haines said:


> ..... is the conditions that you see a horror movie in
> might be part of what makes it scary.....


I agree :T:T .... last night I watched "The Messengers" for the first time, with all those surround effects, bass on my two subs and the buttkickers ....:scared::scared::scared:

Usually the only light on the room is the TV brightness ... but yesterday, I had to turn on the rope light installed on the riser to avoid been in the dark alone :dumbcrazy::dumbcrazy::dumbcrazy:...there is some scenes that make you :sweat::sweat::yes::yes:


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## FlashJim

The Shining
Poltergeist
The Exorcist
Jaws (I was 9 years old on opening day)
Blair Witch Project (I saw it the day it originally opened in limited release) 

You can tell the era that I grew up in.


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## Richard W. Haines

Salvasol,

Conversely, while watching some horror movies alone with the lights off makes them scarier,
I would have to say that watching comedies with a crowd (either in a theater or with friends
at home) makes them funnier. Laughter is infectious which is why they used laugh tracks
for sitcoms. For a film like "Barat", the larger the group you see it with, the more outrageous
and funnier it is since so many people will get offended and grossed out with his bizarre sense of humor. In that case, experiencing the audience reaction is part of the fun. I guess that applies to some
comedy-horror films too like "Andy Warhol's Frankenstein" in 3-D. Crowd reactions to the over the top gore coming out of the screen was half the fun.


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## Owen Bartley

Mongrel714 said:


> Dead Silence! a very well written movie and very scary, I found myself peaking out from under my blanket a couple times! its a must see!


If you mean the recent one with the ventriloquist's dummy, then I will shamefully speak up and admit that I was pretty creeped out during this one too. I thought it would be more cheesy than scary, but there's an old lady that just creeps the hell out of me.

Another for me would be The House on Haunted Hill... overall not that great, but there were some parts when a few of us watched the DVD in the basement with all the lights off that really freaked us out. The sped up film of the old doctor, and the "facemouth" out of nowhere, yikes. The movie turned too much towards SFX near the end, but there were some good moments before that.

I remember being scared by The Gate and Witchboard when I was a kid. Although I was pretty upset about it then, I still have fond memories of renting ****** horror movies on VHS with my family.


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## Jerm357

Oh man, I forgot all about The Gate. I also loved that movie when I was a kid. I need to see that one again.


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## Blaser

I am very surprised that nobody mentioned "THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE". IMO, this is by far the scariest movie I have ever seen:sweat:, and is really not for week hearts (I am very serious).
Moreover this movie has a very very dynamic sountrack with lots of deeeeeeep bass. The plot is great, and is not based on blood or vampire or so...
The first time I watched it, I was alone at home. I turned off the lights and played it at RL-5 db. It really scared the snot out of me:scared: I couldn't complete the movie until my wife came back home:no: but I did not tell her that: I only told here I was watching something else because men have to be brave and should never be scared :R...

Pls post your opinion on this movie!!


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## Vader

Blaser,

I definately concur about THE EXCORSISM OF EMILY ROSE! The bass during several passages is just insane, and adds to the overall feeling of dread. Several times during Emily's "halluciations" in the rain, and in her classroom, I just about dropped my drink!


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## Blaser

Yes, I stopped the movie during the Classroom scene:sweat:


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## Jerm357

EMILY ROSE another great one...:devil:


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## Scuba Diver

Ghost Boat comes to mind. It was not the scariest but the scene where the railing cable cuts everyone on dancing on the ship deck in half was a little disturbing. I think disturbing effects me more than scary.


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## Jerm357

From what I remember that was the only cool thing about that movie. But, man that was about the coolest opening scene Ive ever seen in a movie.


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## Owen Bartley

I haven't seen the Exorcism of Emily Rose, but it sounds like one I should pick up, if it has some good scares, and some good bass! I wanted to go see 30 Days of Night, but my cousin (who is the only person I get to see scary ones with, my gf and other friends are too scared) already saw it. Anyone catch that one? 

I've been watching some old scary ones on AMC this month, but the Halloween movies aren't really scary, and Hellraiser was just downright confusing.


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## JCD

I just had my "Oh Duh" moment..

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

I'm pretty jaded with "scary movies" these days. I'll tense up and squirm occasionally, but I don't really get SCARED. This one was scary because it was so real. Filmed in a gritty/graining documentry style, it was so believable that it really disturbed me in a way that I haven't been in a REALLY long time. Especially effective for a movie with a budget of only $125k. 

For a good review with spoilers, read this.

JCD


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## thekl0wn

Scariest movie... Let's see. Twister.

Now, it doesn't sound like a real scary one, but when I saw it the first time was at a large outdoor amphitheater... at night... spitting rain... then lightening... then thunder... then right after the whole drive-in scene the city's storm sirens go off. So yeah, I was quite scared! :hide:


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## evan

if you like a good ghost story it is an oldie but goody
The Changeling- George C. Scott.
I saw this in the 80's and it still gives me chills when I think about it


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## Scuba Diver

So the list from the first page is this copy and ad yours to this list: 

Alien
An American Haunting
Audition 
the boogeyman
Carnival of Souls(1961)
Carrie(1976)
Carnival of Souls
Candyman
Dead Silence
Dead Birds
Darkness Falls 
Dead Ringers
Descent
Event Horizon (1997)
Excorcist
Evil Dead
Eraserhead
Final Destination 3
The Hitcher
Halloween
Hostel
The Hills Have Eyes
Jaws (1975) 
Nightmare on Elm Street 
Night of the Living Dead
Omen
Psycho (1960)
The Pulse 
Pet Semetary
The Town That Dreaded Sundown 
The Ring
Hellraiser
Silent Hill
The Shining
The Thing (1982)
Videodrome 
What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath 
Wolf Creek


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## Guest

Anyone remember an old movie called "Corruption"? I remember turning that on one day when I was really little and it has haunted me ever since, something about a face lift doctor gone horribly, horribly wrong...:scared:


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## MatrixDweller

I went to see Signs in the theater by myself and was on the edge of my seat a few times. I wouldn't say I was scared, but the suspense had me going.

Most horror movies are just plain predictable and cheesy. I guess that's because I've seen quite a few of them so instinct tells me what's going to happen next. It's when an original one comes along that sets the spider sense tingling.


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## Guest

Well you don't want bloody or shooting movies for them to watch, untill they think they are ready. Comedy and family Are the best type of movies. Drama, Action or anything other movies may have some things in that that might make them scared.


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## MatrixDweller

If "them" is refering to kids you're right. Comedies can have a lot of mature themes and sexual inuendo's however. The MPAA's rating system is good for filtering what your kids should watch. I wouldn't say the MPAA's rating system is perfect though and there is a lot of controversy on how consistant and unbiassed they are. The documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" discusses that.


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## nova

Funny to think about now,... but back in late '73,.....
This double feature was the (I believe) last double feature released by a major motion picture studio,...(until Grindhouse I suppose) when it hit the discount theater here, mom sent us off to get 4 hrs peace and quiet. :bigsmile:

Anyone know what that horror film double feature was???


*Spoiler* 



Sssssss and The Boy Who Cried Werewolf.


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## Richard W. Haines

"What Really Frightens You". Scariest movie ever made.

If Sonnie has the capability on this site, I can post the trailer.


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## OvalNut

The Shining

Whan Scatman Cruthers took an axe in the chest, I about lost it. I saw it at a midnight showing. We left the theater out the back door, and all during the walk thru the parking lot, I kept looking around every car to make sure no one was going to jump out from behind it and kill me.

:hide:


Tim
:drive:


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## Owen Bartley

This was a great thread to come back to. I've been trying to add to my scary movie section recently, and other than the usual basic stuff, it's nice to get some ideas from others, since you don't usually hear as much about horror. It's nice to see a few more obscure ones that I wouldn't think of, or older movies I'd forgotten about.


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## wbassett

Definitely the Excorcist. I don't believe in Vampires, werewolves, mummies, zombies or anything like that... but the Devil and demons, that's scary stuff!

Another one I found frightening mainly because it was more real than shock value horror or gore fests was Cujo. Try to imagine yourself trapped in the car towards the end of the movie and it really takes on a whole new meaning of terror. For those of us that have kids, movies like this and in Pet Cemetary where the little boy gets hit by the Semi, they are particularly unnerving.


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## Blaser

Richard W. Haines said:


> "What Really Frightens You". Scariest movie ever made.
> 
> If Sonnie has the capability on this site, I can post the trailer.


Do you find it scarier than "the exorcism of Emily Rose?? :raped: :rubeyes:


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## wbassett

I've seen a couple mentions of The Hills Have Eyes.

I have both the original and the remake on DVD, and recently watched the new sequel. They were fun and I enjoyed them, but never was really scared at any point.

The Decent... that had a few really creepy scenes in it that actually came back in a couple of dreams, which woke me up scared! So I'd have to add the Decent on my list too.

Other than that, I rarely am scared by gore fests... most of the time I sit there thinking, wow that was a cool FX, wonder how they did it! What's really scary to me are movies that are more mental terror, you know the ones... where they don't always show and make your brain imagine what happened- and usually what we think up is way scarier than something they can put on film. Probably because our brain taps into our subconscious to pull out what really frightens you.

The Shining never really did anything for me, I don't know why, but I found it and the remake boring and almost funny instead of scary.


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## hddummy

"The Ring" without a doubt for me. Something about the emotionless haunting spectre really creeps me out.


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## Wayde

When I was a kid... The Invasion of the Body Snatchers... the one with Leonard Nimoy and Donald Sutherland.

I saw it at the theaters somehow and went home to bed. I was so scared I could barely sleep. Finally went to sleep and I half awoke in a cold sweat... I'll never forget the sheer terror I experienced that night. 

I lay in my bed half awake hearing this mucousy clicking sound - it was obvious to me that this was the sound of a Pod producing a replicant of *me* next my bed. I tried to tell myself it wasn't so, the more awake I became the more positive that there was a body snatcher next to my bed. 

It took a long time to work up the courage to flick the light on and look. Next to my bed my family dog had just delivered a full litter of 8 puppies.


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## Richard W. Haines

blaser,

Of course but I am biased since I made it. It's for you to decide when it's released. I certainly
researched scary movies extensively and storyboarded the movie from the first frame to the last.
We have a great score by Andrew Nixon and Seth Wright, imaginative cinematography by
Tom Agnello and f/x by Brian Spears. We're currently having it negative matched now. Then
we must prepare for the mix. I'm creating a unique sound design for the 5.1 stereo format. Of
course we'll transfer the negative on a Spirt at 4K for both Blu-ray and standard DVD. I might have
them make a custom HD DVD for my own private use.


RWH


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## Guest

The Exorist and the Shining by far.


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## Pinhead-227

Most definitely The Exorcism of Emily Rose. ESPECIALLY after I installed the subwoffer. They made excellent use of the LFE channel!!


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## steverc

Someone in an earlier post talked about “Them” referring to kids. It reminded me that “Them” was my 
favorite scary movie when I was a kid.


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