"Don't Look Now" IS fucking amazing. Howevs, even on your atmospheric creepy list (though good) is missing a huge contender: Rosemary's Baby. The WEIGHT of that apartment after you begin to realize something is amiss, oh man. Plus doe-eyed Mia floats through that movie like a beautiful little satanically impregnanted feather.
Unrelated, know this list excludes serial killers...but the Nightmare on Elm Street series is truly incredible. I DESPISE formulaic horror, so even the Friday the 13th & Halloween franchises bore the shit out of me, but I recently got on amazon for 9 bucks all 4 N.O.E.S on 2 DVDs and GODDAMN. You get so fucking nervous for those kids to fall asleep! I think this series in particular touches on a lot of nerves because it makes you fear something you usually want (SLEEP! PEACE! REST!) and the anything goes in the dream world. Freddy is truly the quintessential monster because he plays on personal fears and shortcomings and incoporates them into his revenge. The mind-fuck and slightly psychedelic component of these movies is PRIME horror viewing, not to mention the deliciously hyper colorized 80s-ness that pervades the entire thing.
"Your mother was at the carnival tonight, Jim....she rode the Carousel.
We spun her backwards...and forwards...until she was quite...quite mad. And when we gave her a mirror and showed her what she had become; you should have heard the one...single..sound she made."
Something Wicked has always been a tradition in my house, whether we read it aloud by a kerosene lamp or watch it on video.
Mr. Dark is the epitome of elegant evil, and deserves his place of honor.
I will always owe Mr. Bradbury an infinite debt for showing me the human soul, in this and all of his stories. #scarymovies
This isn't going to shock anybody, but I have to say the Buffy episodes "Hush" and "Killed by Death" freaked me out more than most horror movies I've ever seen. #scarymovies
I have so much love for you for many of these choices, but tops: Night of the Hunter. Not only is it the psycho movie to end all psycho movies, the black and white cinematography is the most beautiful and haunting I've ever seen. #scarymovies
I saw the Wicker Man as a teenager and thought initially it would be campy and funny. And then it turns into one of the the most disturbing films ever! The music is really beautiful and creepy too.
Anyway, an excellent list. I'd love to rewatch Something Wicked This Way Comes, because I remember it being really creepy (in a good way) but haven't seen it in years. And good to see The Others getting some appreciation - I found it much more disturbing than I expected it to be. For some reason, in retrospect I found the
MILD SPOILER!
brief visit of her husband really unsettling - where had he actually come from? And where was he going when he left? Shiver. #scarymovies
@Stellanova: My impression in hindight was actually that he came back from his final destination to give her a prod. At that point in viewing the movie the first time, the entire estate was giving off a major "Ravenloft" vibe: pocket universe was a serious possibility. #scarymovies
I am Legend scared the everlasting piss out of me when I saw a midnight showing in theatres. Just the idea of being all alone, and having to fight thousands of violent, irrational beings who killed my loved ones makes my skin crawl.
The 1960s adaptation of The Masque of the Red Death also scared me. It's a pretty intense Poe story, and the colors of the costumes and set are perfectly eerie. #scarymovies
@queenofdebt: Maybe you should check out the original version of I Am Legend, also starring Vincent Price. It's called The Last Man on Earth. As it is in the public domain, here's a google video link to it: [video.google.com]#scarymovies
Man, I love scary movies. I feel a bit lame for not liking many of the oldies. Honestly, the scariest classic films, for me, are Psycho (it's the whole down-shot of the old lady with the knife, gets me ever fucking time) and What Ever Happened To Baby Jane.
Otherwise, The Exorcist, as obvious as it is, will always get me. Mostly because religion scares me. Related, The Exorcism of Emily Rose was SO underrated and a seriously amazing film. I have to agree on The Others, beautifully filmed. As is The Orphanage.
Any version of The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers makes me piss myself, as my big fear is my being the only "normal" around a sea of zombies.
Name this movie (b/c I missed the beginning so I don't know the title): It's an indie and they shot the whole thing with the family just driving through the woods, and the journey just gets weirder and weirder. They see strange people off to the side, and they get out of the car and start losing people. then they drive over someone and it turns out to be someone they saw dead miles back. In the end, it was all a flashback/blip in reality sort of thing.
It was similar to Crouch End by Stephen King, a short story in Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in that "strange unsettling journey" genre. #scarymovies
And "Tourist Trap." I feel a bit weird recommending it because it strays close to the current torture porn model, but the set-up is so amazingly baroque--dolls, department store mannequins, puppets, anatomical models, marionettes, automatons, robots, wax figures, dresser's dummies, music boxes, carved statues--are they actually alive...?
Am I the only one who shrieks in horror whenever "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" appears on TV? The coke-fueled, 70's Hollywood descecration of the Beatles always gets to me. #scarymovies
10/30/09
Unrelated, know this list excludes serial killers...but the Nightmare on Elm Street series is truly incredible. I DESPISE formulaic horror, so even the Friday the 13th & Halloween franchises bore the shit out of me, but I recently got on amazon for 9 bucks all 4 N.O.E.S on 2 DVDs and GODDAMN. You get so fucking nervous for those kids to fall asleep! I think this series in particular touches on a lot of nerves because it makes you fear something you usually want (SLEEP! PEACE! REST!) and the anything goes in the dream world. Freddy is truly the quintessential monster because he plays on personal fears and shortcomings and incoporates them into his revenge. The mind-fuck and slightly psychedelic component of these movies is PRIME horror viewing, not to mention the deliciously hyper colorized 80s-ness that pervades the entire thing.
GAWD I love it. Happy Halloweeners! #scarymovies
10/29/09
We spun her backwards...and forwards...until she was quite...quite mad. And when we gave her a mirror and showed her what she had become; you should have heard the one...single..sound she made."
Something Wicked has always been a tradition in my house, whether we read it aloud by a kerosene lamp or watch it on video.
Mr. Dark is the epitome of elegant evil, and deserves his place of honor.
I will always owe Mr. Bradbury an infinite debt for showing me the human soul, in this and all of his stories. #scarymovies
10/29/09
10/31/09
10/29/09
10/29/09
10/29/09
Anyway, an excellent list. I'd love to rewatch Something Wicked This Way Comes, because I remember it being really creepy (in a good way) but haven't seen it in years. And good to see The Others getting some appreciation - I found it much more disturbing than I expected it to be. For some reason, in retrospect I found the
MILD SPOILER!
brief visit of her husband really unsettling - where had he actually come from? And where was he going when he left? Shiver. #scarymovies
10/29/09
10/28/09
The 1960s adaptation of The Masque of the Red Death also scared me. It's a pretty intense Poe story, and the colors of the costumes and set are perfectly eerie. #scarymovies
10/29/09
10/28/09
Otherwise, The Exorcist, as obvious as it is, will always get me. Mostly because religion scares me. Related, The Exorcism of Emily Rose was SO underrated and a seriously amazing film. I have to agree on The Others, beautifully filmed. As is The Orphanage.
Any version of The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers makes me piss myself, as my big fear is my being the only "normal" around a sea of zombies.
Alien? SCARY.
God I know I am missing so much... #scarymovies
10/28/09
Dunno, really depends on how big a stick you've got. #scarymovies
10/29/09
10/28/09
It was similar to Crouch End by Stephen King, a short story in Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in that "strange unsettling journey" genre. #scarymovies
10/28/09
10/28/09
I have always wanted to be Midge when I grow up, which is completely missing the point of that movie. #scarymovies
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
OH SHIT, THEY FUCKING ARE. #scarymovies
10/28/09