Horror Movie Scares

I was re-watching IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS tonight (I forgot how much I like this movie) and had forgotten about the scene in which the white haired man on the bike passes Sam Neill and I almost pooped.

What are some moments in movies that just stop your heart and make you crap your pants?

Speaking of Audition, what about that scene about halfway through where she's on the phone and suddenly the bag behind her convulses.

The first WTF moment in a movie that still holds the crown for WTF moments.

Also:
the final shot of "Carrie"

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I second the final shot of "Carrie". Also the scene near the end of "Halloween" in the hall when Michael Meyers sits up.

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The first scene in THIS montage. Gah!

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Updated On: 10/23/11 at 10:39 AM

You MUST see it. It's my favorite horror film. Of course, I just ruined that scene, for you.

Am I really the only person who has never been scared by THE EXORCIST? I saw it for the first time when I was around 8 years old and just thought it was boring. Over the years I've grown to appreciate it more but it's never once even given me the slightest "chill" watching it.

Updated On: 10/23/11 at 01:16 PM

I always thougt Legion was underrated.

The Heretic is pretty fantastic too, but only as a comedy.

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I love that scene in Exorcist III at the nurse's station, also the "radio lady". Great film, very well directed by Blatty himself.

I'll agree with besty that in 1973 there was no talk of exorcism, so it was totally new and shocking. Since then, and in part due to the film and the many rip off's that followed, there is a resurgence of belief in posession. It also helped if you grew up catholic, I think. Perhaps I was impressionable enough to be scared sh*tless from just the television commercials!

When I was older and could actually see the film, I realized that it was just a great film. Great story, well acted and very well directed, imo. The biggest scare is still the flame in the attic to me.

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BTW, both novels are great. I'm glad you mentioned McCambridge strummergirl. Her contribution and the sound of the film were a big part of the scare and shock. It added so much to the film and the fright of this little girl monster. There are clips of some scenes in regan's room using only Blair's voice and it seems funny (although you do get an even better idea of just how good she was.)

Another shocker is the ending of Sleepaway Camp. Even if you guess what happens, the image is pretty shocking.

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One of the biggest, most effective aspects of The Exorcist is the style. It was shot very "bare bones," with that gritty "noise filled" 1970s cheap film stock. It looks almost like a documentary at times, and that also has to do with the camera work (particularly during the exorcism scenes, but others as well). Then Friedkin was smart enough to throw out the music score that he had budgeted (quite a bit) for, by Lalo Schifrin. He chose instead to use only sparse music throughout, including roughly 30 seconds of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. But during the film's most intense scenes, there is no music. That also helped with the "real" and claustrophobic feeling.

And the subject matter really messed with people's heads. I'm talking about the religious aspects. It made Rosemary's Baby look like Snow White. This was a demon possessing an apple-cheeked innocent young girl and every hideous horror that came with it. Add to that the cooperation of the Catholic Church (to the point that several jesuit priests actually played the jesuit priests in the movie), and it added another level of authenticity to the film. This was largely "taboo" stuff.

People actually fainted watching this film. They had (real or self-imagined) seizures, they "spoke in tongues," they went to therapy for severe emotional trauma after seeing the movie.

As I said, many movies have copied the techniques and basic premise since then, but in 1973, The Exorcist was something new, especially taken to these extremes.

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But as I was saying even at such an early age not having seen many horror movies yet, it still didn't scare me. I found it weird and boring. I remember being more terrified by a movie called THE GATE though, right around the same time. I saw it again not too long ago and it was incredibly stupid and I couldn't figure out what made it so scary to me.

But I do get what you guys are saying about how people who see it now for the first time aren't scared by it. But that's just not how it was in my case.

Jordan, I was never scared by The Exorcist, either. And it could be like best2 said, because I felt the same way about Casablanca, as was mentioned. As for The Gate... well, it had a very young Stephen Dorff in it, and that was probably the only reason I loved it.

I can't pinpoint the scariest moments, but I saw The Shining when I was 8, and I still can't watch it without holding a pillow in front of my face. Same for The Ring - the US remake. I don't know why it scared the **** out of me, but it did.

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