Truely Scarriest Horror Movies Ever?

[Darthjaye]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Stephen King's It. Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown is still unnerving to this day, and was absolutely terrifying when I was younger.

I kinda did in passing on post 67, but your absolutely right, Curry played this role with absolute perfection. He can be a creepy guy when he wants to be. I disliked clowns for a while after that.

As I pointed out, the movie almost worked except for the aforementioned letdown that was the spider thing at the end of the mini-series. In the book it was nearly an indescribable (??) monster, but it came down to a clunky looking creature.

 

[Chaldfont]

Angelheart creeps the bejeesus outta me. My wife and I threaten each other with renting it everyonce in a while. Every couple of years we actually do. Whoa.

Another good one like that is Jacob's Ladder.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Night of the Living Dead (I'm pretty sure there was never a remake)

Yeah, there was. It was remade in 1990 with Tom Savini (make-up guru from Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Maniac, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, etc.) directing.

I liked Patricia Tallman as Barbara, and the changes were nice for keeping fans of the original guessing what would happen....but the first is (usually) the best and this remake was no exception!

 

[Soel]

Note: Also a strong nod to odd and rare flicks like Begotten and 120 Days of Sodom...truely...just...over the top.

Begotten's technique was more interesting than the film itself...120 Days of Sodom is more deserving of the term "horror."

I'll add Irreversible and I Stand Alone (both are not "horror" films in the typical sense, but they could very likely scare you in a much more impactful way than many of the films discussed here.

Eyes of Fire is one I just watched this past weekend. It's from the 80's but it's got some really cool story elements involving otherworldly possession.

Threads is another great film, this time dealing with post nuclear war and its repercussions, much better and bleaker than The Day After. Scary...

 

[spidertrag]

Screams of a Winter Night was one that freaked me out----i think it was part of a double feature with Galaxy of Terror

 

[Joshua Randall]

Ooh, I thought of another one:

Repulsion

It's not a traditional horror movie -- it deals (farily seriously) with insanity -- but it is scary. To me, anyway.

 

[Lissilambe1]

How about...

I've yet to see anyone mention the Changeling. No surprise, it's an obscure gem, but DAMN scary I think. Has some genuinely creepy moments. The bouncing ball in particular spooks me to this day. Starring George C. Scott, from 1970, and definitely worth looking up. A really good mystery as well, plus one of the more realistic and yet still scary seances I've ever seen in film.

Don

 

[Richards]

There were two movies that really frightened me as a kid. The first was The Blob (the original), because I made the mistake of watching it halfway through, getting scared, and then turning off the TV. As a result, I didn't get to see it get defeated, so in my 8-year-old mind, it was still out there somewhere! I spent the next few weeks making sure my arm didn't accidentally dangle over the side of the bed at night, because the blob could be right there, under my bed, ready to get me!

The other one was Trilogy of Terror, a film of three short stories starring Karen Black. The first two were sort of ho-hum, but that third one, when the African Zuni doll came to life and terrorized her across her apartment...whoo boy, that left some scars in my (then 10-year-old) brain.

Johnathan

 

[Harmon]

What draws you all to scary movies? Personally I have a problem watching them in that they bore me, or disinterest me in the attempts of the movie makers. Is there some part of the script or the direction, acting or something else that draws you to it?

Sweet list BTW- I am thinking about watching more horror just to see what the fasination is with the horror.

 

[Steel_Wind]

The Exorcist and The Omen are the movies which prey on our fear of the supernatural best. These two are the winners. (Trivia: it was by reason of The Omen's great box office success that 20thCent Fox had the money to green light Star Wars. No Omen - no Star Wars.)

Prince of Darkness I thought could have been so much better. The premise was unique and different from other horror movies. In Prince of Darkness, people knew what they were facing, had all of science there to bring to bear on the problem and it could have been really well done as a science and man vs. the devil flick. Then is turned into cheesey zombie movie. Meh.

Event Horizon was not scarey - but it was a deeply disturbing film. I will definitely give it that.

Blair Witch was a good creepy movie. Tell me you didn't get the creepies when you see him standing in the corner of the basement and I'll call you a liar.

Carrie: arm out of the earth in the last scene. I was 10 yrs old and I must have leapt back 5 feet from the TV.

Best candidate for a good remake: The Legacy.