Sunday, October 26, 2008

Scary Movies

The upcoming holiday has got me thinking, not surprisingly, of scary movies (and by "holiday," I mean Halloween, not my birthday--although, when you're about to turn 32 and are still single, that's pretty damn scary, too). It also helps that I'm currently watching Panic Room--a psychological thriller that still freaks me out. I know that there are a lot of great scary movies out there that I've never seen (case in point: Psycho. Is it really as scary as they say?). So, I'm asking all of you to post your favorite scary movies. Classic or more recent, which movies scare the shit out of you?

When submitting your picks, I ask you to keep the following guidelines in mind:

1) They should be movies that scare you as an adult. For example, Freddy may have given you nightmares when you were at sleepovers as a 12-year-old, but maybe now you realize that Nightmare on Elm Street is more cheesy than scary. (Then again, maybe not. If it still scares the crap out of you, then by all means, submit it.) Which brings me to point #2

2) I'm looking for scary, not campy (case in point: Night of the Living Dead, etc).

3) There is a difference between "suspenseful" and "scary." The Sixth Sense had me on the edge of my seat, but it wasn't necessary SCARY. (Then again, maybe some would disagree.)

And last:

4) They should be universally scary. Maybe you have a phobia of traveling, and so Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants freaked you out. Or maybe your name is LCB, and therefore any movie about commitment, fidelty, or being a non-shithead terrifies you. (LOL.) You get the point here.

To get us started, I submit:

Panic Room
Arachnophobia (this does violate guideline #4, because even if you're At One with spiders, this one is still scary)
Candyman

Now it's your turn: what scary movies do I HAVE to put on my Netflix list?

16 comments:

Renee said...

Yeah, I was gonna say Arachnaphobia, too.

Cujo scared me, for some reason. At, like, age 16 or 17. I wouldn't sleep in the basement (where my bedroom was) for a week after watching it. I couldn't tell you anything about it now, though, other than that there was a rabid dog in it :-)

I don't like scary movies, so I can't help much on this one.

Anonymous said...

LOL I shivered just reading the name, candyman.

#1 most pee-my-pants movie was Candyman.

#2 Children of the corn (some might think it campy but it still creeps me out.)

#3 Open water, about the couple left behind after a scuba trip. and its not the sharks that spooked me, it was the helplessness.

Jen said...

I tried to watch COTC recently and just laughed over the horrible acting. that was the only thing I found scary about that movie.

LOLOLOL

But I respect that it freaks you out.

Renee said...

I know I watched Candyman, probably with YOU GUYS, but I don't remember it that well.

redrum, redrum! Lisa, I always think of you and Ang when I see The Shining because you guys used to always say that :-)

Anonymous said...

lol true nuff.

thing i hate about scary movies today is they all have the same "scary part" you know the one, when the nasty little kid jumps out and screams at you! Its always the same- long dirty hair, pale faced, big eyed kid comes outa no where and screams at the camera! I think the trend started with the ring, and it drives me bat sh@#.
the kids from COTC, and The Shinning are way creepier.

Oh Oh i almost forgot Poltergeist!
that little girl who gets sucked into the TV, my dad used to always go "look there you are lisa"!

Fred said...

I not too sure Carrie would completely fit the bill, but the ending required toilet paper on my part.

sparkydiva said...

omg open water! yes!

fred - toilet paper?

my pick? 1408.

Jen said...

1408 is on my netflix queue--next one up. Glad it's as good as it looks.

Fred said...

Yup, I almost crapped in my pants.

sparkydiva said...

lol fred.

my jen - DO NOT watch 1408 alone.

i'm just sayin.

Nik said...

Honestly, I can't think of anything. Not saying that there aren't parts in movies where I jump, but overall scary, not so much.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Renee on this one. I don't watch many because they stick in my imagination and scare me for weeks afterwards.
My friend Eddie likes to take me to scary movies to watch Me freak out. He's nice.

I Am Legend scared me recently. It's very suspensful and then the zombies pop out at you.

What about The Ring or the new Texas Chainsaw Masacre or those movies where some scary clown makes people kill or maim themselves? What are those called?

Jen said...

The clown one: Do you mean "It," Anna? Cuz you're right, good call. That one's freaky as shit.

keesh said...

I get freaked out too. so dont watch them anymore. But i would say the worst one i have ever seen, is the Entity!! Cujo made me sleep in my Mom's room cause I thought for weeks after a dog would kill me, and the Shining is just classic. didn't scare me but Jack Nicholson going crazy is pretty damn funny!! Blair Witch was a little creepy too...those are my picks. But the Entity scared me and to this day I can't even think about watching it! Oh and Psycho was stupid, not scary.

Anonymous said...

No, I was talking about the Saw movies. There are several out now and whenever I see the commercials I think "What kind of sick people are entertained by this? This kind of movie is just breeding psycho serial killers." So you could look into those ;)

Jen said...

See, I know those Saw ones are way heavily into the blood and gore....I'm more into the "psychological" ones--it's almost more what you DONT see...or the ones that dont resort to the graphic violence to scare you. Does that make sense?