Suggestions for scary movies

[Shadowdancer]

Try renting some of Dario Argento's movies, like "Suspiria."

 

[Wayside]

If you want to seriously scare yourself, watch The House on Haunted Hill (remake version - I haven't seen the original with Vincent Price). I watched that movie alone, at night, in the dark. When it was over, I turned on all the lights and stayed up until dawn - as it is I still try not to think of that movie when I'm trying to fall asleep.

Well, it's got pretty girls anyway . I did like a lot of the camera work.

I'll second Lord of Illusions as a classic. I take the 'If you want something from the grave, you have to give something to the grave in return' maxim in my game from this nice movie.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I never did see the original, but considering that it had to have been made several decades ago, there's no way the special effects could have been as advanced, so I'm not surprised to hear that it isn't so scary.

Advanced special effects have absolutely nothing to do with how scary a movie can be. I'd much rather watch an older movie with simple effects that is truly scarey, than watch all of the garbage that is produced these days and called "scary" when all they mean is "bloody and disgusting".

Psycho, The Exorcist, The Haunting, Alien, Freaks, Night of the Living Dead, etc. were all produced decades ago, and are all scarier than almost anything produced in the last 10 years.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Rosemary's Baby is excellent. Almost any Alfred Hitchcock movie is good watch.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

I never did see the original, but considering that it had to have been made several decades ago, there's no way the special effects could have been as advanced, so I'm not surprised to hear that it isn't so scary.

Cthulhu's Librarian notes that the special effects aren't what makes a movie scary - and it's also that the original didn't really have all that much in common with the remake other than the name. The original's more of a murder mystery than the straight ghost story that was the remake. I concur that the remake was a lot better from a horror movie standpoint.

I can't really suggest any, since most of my suggestions (Seven, The Shining, The Ring) have already been mentioned. From a personal point, for some reason, when I saw it in the theater T2 scared the hell out of me (well, that nuke scene did). I would say the old Hammer movies, but they're more atmospheric than scary.

 

[Bugbear]

Advanced special effects have absolutely nothing to do with how scary a movie can be. I'd much rather watch an older movie with simple effects that is truly scarey, than watch all of the garbage that is produced these days and called "scary" when all they mean is "bloody and disgusting".

Psycho, The Exorcist, The Haunting, Alien, Freaks, Night of the Living Dead, etc. were all produced decades ago, and are all scarier than almost anything produced in the last 10 years.

I must concur. Personally I think it's good sound effects which make a film trully chilling. Take Poltergeist, for example. Whenever I hear Marianne's voice come out of the tv speaker the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

But anyhow, Here are my suggestions: Exorcist, Excorcist III, Poltergeist, Haunted, The sprial staircase, Martin, suspira, the 1972 remake of invasion of the body snatchers, and for some reason, 13 ghosts.

 

[Mark Chance]

Clownhouse, because clowns are scary, and so is director/pederast Victor Salva's thinly-veiled "fondness" for young boys. This film is disturbing on more than one level indeed.

Also: Frailty, The Devil's Backbone, and One Hour Photo.

 

[manofsteel1303]

Definitely want to see the movie Se7en and maybe Fight Club (not so much scary as just weird and kinda creepy), Alfred Hitchcock of course, Signs is pretty good too, stay away from One Hour Photo, it's a waste of your time on all levels, and if anybody can help me identify this movie I'd appreciate it. It's pretty old and really scary, I think it was called Requiem of a Dream, it's got a little girl in it. Anyways I don't remember like anything about this movie except for how much it scared me.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

You can call me the Wussiest Wuss of all Wusses, but I got the crap scared out of me watching Blair Witch. It's even worse on TV, because you don't have 400 people around you.

Of course, my nightmares have always involved me getting lost, and I've always hated camping. Go figure.

 

[Kesh]

I still need to see The Blair Witch Project sometime.

Never really found Hitchcock's movies scary, but they made for wonderful stories. Psycho is incredible, just for the fact that he throws the normal "structure" of a movie right out the window. Vertigo was also good for the sheer plot twists.

The Birds really didn't do much for me, until I went outside.

Oh, and gotta give props to three versions of my favorite story...

Nosferatu
Dracula (1934)
Bram Stoker's Dracula

8)

Tack on Shadow of the Vampire for an interesting twist on the first film. Great stuff.

Oooh! If you want to see the best way to horrifically kill someone near & dear to your characters in a game, pick up the anime X. The movie version has a really nasty death scene in it.

Hmm, what else... The Crow has a really good "fortune teller" character in it, and some other ideas for a Vile/mature campaign. Otherwise, not terribly scary. It does have my favorite line, though.

"Quick impression! 'Caw! Caw! Oh #$%!, I'm dead!'"