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Author Topic: "What Is Your Favorite Scary Movie?"  (Read 16291 times)
BoyScoutKevin
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« on: December 10, 2008, 12:53:04 PM »

This question was asked on another board. But the question is something of a misnomer, since there is more than one type of scary movie. Thus, perhaps, the better question is: "What is your favorite 'type of' scary movie?" Here are some of my favorite types with examples.

"The Nothing Happens"
Example: "The Village"
You keep waiting for something scary to happen, but nothing ever does. It is the anticipation that is scary.

"Something Happens (But You Don't Know What Is Going to Happen)"
Example: "The Descent"
"The Descent" was scarier, when you didn't know what was down there. Because once you knew what was down there, you knew it was something you could deal with.

"Something Happens (But You Know What is Going to Happen)"
Example: "Lair of the White Worm"
When you see Kevin, the boy scout in the film, standing by the side of the road, in the rain, trying to thumb a ride, you know what is going to happen. Someone is going to pick him up, take him home, rape him, and then murder him. And there is nothing you can do about it.

"The Slow Riser"
Example: "Finding Nemo"
The audience sees the skindiver rising slowly behind Nemo, but Nemo doesn't The audience sees the danger, but Nemo doesn't.

"The Fast Leaper"
Examples: "Wait Until Dark" or "2001: Space Odyssey"
Alan Arkin leaping toward Audrey Hepburn in the darkened apartment, in the former, or the leopard leaping upon the ape, in the latter.

"The Unexpected"
Example: "The Fly" (1958)
Patricia Owens pulling the bag off of Al "David" Hedison's head to reveal a fly's head.

"The Expected"
Example: "The Hellstrom Chronicle"
The filmmakers knowing that there are people out there, such as myself, who have a fear of bugs, but will still see a documentary about scare inspiring bugs, make a documentary about scare inspiring bugs. And the filmmakers really play on this fear. For at the end of the documentary, I'm whispering: "Kill 'em! Kill 'em! Kill 'em all!"

"Miscellaneous or Who? Where? When? What?"
Example: "8 Below"
Who?: a leopard seal. Where?: a dead killer whale. When?: a sled dog approaches. What?: I jumped. Knowing the who, the where, and the when, it still made me jump.

Thus: "What is your favorite type of scary movie?"
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peter johnson
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« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2008, 12:50:22 PM »

Something happens but you don't know what is going to happen --

Example:  The Innocents.  Ghosts(?) happen -- but are they real or not?  If not, then the murder at the end is doubly horrible.

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« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2008, 04:20:44 PM »

"The Nothing Happens"
Example: "MANOS! Hands of fate!"
Honestly, its technically a badly-made film but I like the atmosphere it puts forth. Valley Lodge is certainly not a place you'd like to stay for a night, honestly who would feel safe with a syphilitic-sounding cripple fondling your wife?

"Something Happens (But You Don't Know What Is Going to Happen)"
Example: "Saw" series.
You hear people talking about this like only sadistic gore-addicts love it, I myself am attracted to the franchise because I can't wait to see how the plot develops/twists! That being said, I was really disappointed with the latest installment :P

"Something Happens (But You Know What is Going to Happen)"
Example: "Suspiria".
The chase scene with the main girl's friend provided an amazing sense of palpable fear. The girl manages to avoid the razor-wielding killer, but does so by locking herself in an agoraphobic room, weaponless, with one tiny point of exit majorly out of her reach and her pursuer quickly undoing the latch on the door... Can she possibly make it through and out of harm's way? ...Kind of...

"The Slow Riser"
Examples: Both "The Howling" and "An American Werewolf in London".
Werewolf movies seem to be great at this. In the former you have one girl trying to uncover a conspiracy theory in the middle of a hopefully empty camp, sort of like the usual "spy sneaking around scene", except here instead of being caught by the sleazy enemy agent, she is approached by a huge, lanky werewolf, who proceeds to tear her to bits. ...In the latter we have the somewhat famous opening scene, where in the middle of a foggy meadow in the dead of night, two backpackers hear loud howling. Where is it coming from?? They can't accurately find out, and it keeps getting closer until it finally shoots out of the shadows and mauls one to a bloody pulp.

"The Fast Leaper"
Examples: "Carrie" and "An American Werewolf in London" (Again)
They both used to have shining examples, but those kinds of scares work less and less later on, at least with me.

"The Unexpected"
Example: "The Orphanage"
The mother finding the long missing young boy's corpse, trapped in the basement by nothing more than an unfortunate move was heartbreaking and sickening all at once.

"The Expected"
Example: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
You hear from the beginning that all our characters will either be killed or severely maimed, however unlike in some movies this only goes to heighten the scares. The way the film deals with the horror is effective enough, and knowing the fates of our heroes only makes the terror steeper when we ask; "We've seen people die like cattle, what could possibly be in store for those who are left???".
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« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2008, 04:37:56 PM »

"The Fast Leaper":  Jaws

Believe it or not, back when Jaws first came out (when dinosaurs still roamed the earth), the scene where the shark unexpectedly pops out of the water and lands on the boat was incredibly effective. People practically fell out of their seats with shock. I don't know if you could recapture this, unless you were raised in a cave, knew nothing about this movie, and were watching it for the first time on a large screen TV.
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ER
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« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2008, 06:01:02 PM »

"The Nothing Happens"
The Haunting (1963)
I’ve been known to consider this the greatest horror film of all time but it must be admitted, by genre standards, almost nothing happens here.
(Runner up, The Blair Witch Project.)



"Something Happens (But You Don't Know What Is Going to Happen)"
Call me mundane but The Sixth Sense caught me completely off guard.



"Something Happens (But You Know What is Going to Happen)”
The Shining (1980) Yes, Jack’s headfirst leap off the deep end was telegraphed from the first scene but it still managed to be the most effective onscreen losing of…ahem, "cool," that’s ever been done.


"The Slow Riser"
The Exorcist moved sloooower than molasses in January through its first half before delivering big time later on. (And I’m with Beetlejuice, I’ve always found this movie does get funnier with each viewing.)


"The Fast Leaper"
Vertigo flirted with being a horror film, it still somehow unnerves me, and hey, it’s got a leap in it, metaphorically and literally.


"The Unexpected"
Les Diaboliques is another movie with a twist I didn’t expect.


"The Expected"
By the time I saw King Kong (1933) in the ‘80’s, I wasn’t exactly unaware of the ending but I still thought it was an entertaining and effective film that has some scary moments. Imagine a giant ape reaching into your window and carrying you off. Yep, that’d do it for me.


"Miscellaneous or Who? Where? When? What?"
The Others. Here's why...Who was Nicole Kidman’s image-breaking performance. Where was a practically perfect setting on a fog-cloaked Channel island. When was right after WWII, with its parade of death and loss a good choice for setting a ghost story. What was…..a clever twist ending to a creepy tale.
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« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2008, 08:22:01 PM »

"The Nothing Happens"
The Haunting (1963)
I’ve been known to consider this the greatest horror film of all time but it must be admitted, by genre standards, almost nothing happens here.







I'm with ER on this one....but it includes a "Leaper" as well...! When Mrs.Montague jumps in front of Elenor's car....! I t gave me (and all the people I showed the film to) quite a jolt!

The TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (the first version)-I don't know what kinda catagorey to place this...but the chase threw the woods with Leatherface hot on the heels of Maryilyn Burns had me grinding my teeth out of pure nervousness. "RUN!RUN,DAMMIT!" And the dinner table scene just was one of mounting horror....all they were doing was laffing and giggling like retarts...but the close ups of  Sally's eyes...and the weird music (?) notes just freaked me out!
Come to think of it...the whole dang movie scared the crap outta me...and is one of the few movies that STILL can creep me out!!!
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Allhallowsday
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« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2008, 08:54:49 PM »

..."The Fast Leaper"
Vertigo flirted with being a horror film, it still somehow unnerves me, and hey, it’s got a leap in it, metaphorically and literally...
The "horror" is what HITCHCOCK reveals about his own psyche, and what it's like to create a work of art, muse and all. 

Something happens but you don't know what is going to happen --
Example:  The Innocents.  Ghosts(?) happen -- but are they real or not?  If not, then the murder at the end is doubly horrible.
peter johnson/denny crane
Murder...??  Question

THE INNOCENTS is a favorite of mine. 

I think THE HAUNTING is superb, but it gets a bit creaky upon repeated viewings (I must have seen the thing 30 times and RICHARD JOHNSON gets a bit, er, tired.) 
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is relentless and unmatched, certainly the scariest thing yet. 

All this talk about "leapers" reminds me of a thread I started over at the old SciFilm board ("Climactic Swan Dives"). 
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peter johnson
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« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2008, 06:13:00 PM »

Yes, murder --

Deborah Kerr either kills the boy while trying to protect him from possession by the ghost, or accidentally kills him becaue she's insane and isn't really protecting him from any real danger.  You simply aren't told which, and it leaves it open to interpretation, but either way she's responsible for his death --

Also a favorite of mine -- that's a beautiful still, by the way -- Some of the best black and white photography ever seen in a picture.  The perfect thing to show people who insist they don't like or won't watch black and white films.

peter johnson/denny crane
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schmendrik
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« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2008, 12:26:04 PM »

"Fast Leaper" - The Mothman Prophecies

I've mentioned this elsewhere in this forum. I think it qualifies as a fast leaper. There is a scene where Richard Gere is alone in his hotel room, and he swings a closet door shut. As he does so, you get a very fast glimpse of SOMETHING in the mirror, something watching him. Along with the masterful mood building of this film, that really made me jump. WHAT THE *$&#(*&^ WAS THAT? DID I REALLY SEE THAT?

As I was watching on DVD, I was able to go frame by frame through the scene and yep, I really saw that. Totally unexpected, not really a boogie that does any harm or anything else to Gere, in fact he never sees it, and yet somehow it contributes in a big way to the mood. Still gives me chills in fact.
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Doggett
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« Reply #9 on: December 16, 2008, 03:21:32 PM »

The Innocents is wonderfully creepy.
Just the opening music is enough to give me the creeps.
It's the only film that's scared me even before the production company logos come up.
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Allhallowsday
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« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2008, 02:45:17 PM »

Yes, murder --
Deborah Kerr either kills the boy while trying to protect him from possession by the ghost, or accidentally kills him becaue she's insane and isn't really protecting him from any real danger.  You simply aren't told which, and it leaves it open to interpretation, but either way she's responsible for his death...
Nah.  That's not murder.  Maybe negligent homicide, I'll give ya...  Lookingup
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Doggett
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« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2008, 03:19:50 PM »

Yes, murder --
Deborah Kerr either kills the boy while trying to protect him from possession by the ghost, or accidentally kills him becaue she's insane and isn't really protecting him from any real danger.  You simply aren't told which, and it leaves it open to interpretation, but either way she's responsible for his death...
Nah.  That's not murder.  Maybe negligent homicide, I'll give ya...  Lookingup

Both wrong...I think...
I thought Quint killed Miles out of spite. The kid wouldn't drop dead for no reason.
He did seem to enjoy manipulating Miles and the Governess, and killing Miles would be the icing on the cake for him.
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« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2008, 04:18:13 PM »

Two recent films that totally creeped me out:

THE RING

JEEPERS CREEPERS

An 80's horror that scared me so bad I left the theater:

ANTHROPHAGUS (THE GRIM REAPER)

And another 80's classic that I absolutely loved:

HELLNIGHT
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Allhallowsday
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« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2008, 04:43:55 PM »

Yes, murder --
Deborah Kerr either kills the boy while trying to protect him from possession by the ghost, or accidentally kills him becaue she's insane and isn't really protecting him from any real danger.  You simply aren't told which, and it leaves it open to interpretation, but either way she's responsible for his death...
Nah.  That's not murder.  Maybe negligent homicide, I'll give ya...  Lookingup
Both wrong...I think...
I thought Quint killed Miles out of spite. The kid wouldn't drop dead for no reason.
He did seem to enjoy manipulating Miles and the Governess, and killing Miles would be the icing on the cake for him.
Sorry, Doggett, don't agree.  The spookiest part of this whole story is the strong implication that there is no ghost... but I do agree that there is no murder, either.  People can drop dead from stress.
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« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2008, 05:10:15 PM »

Yes, murder --
Deborah Kerr either kills the boy while trying to protect him from possession by the ghost, or accidentally kills him becaue she's insane and isn't really protecting him from any real danger.  You simply aren't told which, and it leaves it open to interpretation, but either way she's responsible for his death...
Nah.  That's not murder.  Maybe negligent homicide, I'll give ya...  Lookingup
Both wrong...I think...
I thought Quint killed Miles out of spite. The kid wouldn't drop dead for no reason.
He did seem to enjoy manipulating Miles and the Governess, and killing Miles would be the icing on the cake for him.
Sorry, Doggett, don't agree.  The spookiest part of this whole story is the strong implication that there is no ghost... but I do agree that there is no murder, either.  People can drop dead from stress.

There are ghosts...
I mean, it could either way, but I definitely feel there's a little supernatural element to it. The kid must have been possessed when he was staring out the window reciting that creepy poem. C'mon, a normal kid wouldn't do that. I feel the ghosts hide from the children so they do they freaked when the Governess starts acting all freaky.


Still, nothing is written in stone with this film.
I guess, that's why I love it.
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