WHO FREAKED YOU OUT?

[DodgingGrunge]

I have been pretty much immune to the gratuitousness of cinema my whole life because I became an avid John Waters fan after seeing Pink Flamingos when I was little.  Haha.  But there are two films that come to mind that actually disturbed me:

1985 - Guinea Pig - a very convincing imitation snuff film from Japan.  It feels as though it were shot with a personal camcorder.  It has no credits, etc.  Just 45 minutes of torture unleashed on one girl.  This makes Cannibal Holocaust look like a Disney film.  Haha.

1994 - Aftermath - a short film by Nacho Cerdà about a mortician who mutilates and has sex with the corpse of a prostitute.  It wasn't the necrophilia that I found disturbing as I've seen Nekromantik plenty of times (and even met Jörg Buttgereit at a midnite screening).  My discomfort came from the fact that the cinematography was positively gorgeous!  I was watching a man have sex through various incisions in a corpse and it was pretty.  Well, at least until I remembered what I was watching.  But that's the thing, the mise-en-scène was orchestrated in such a way as to skillfully trick me over and over again.

[Allhallowsday]

I have been pretty much immune to the gratuitousness of cinema my whole life because I became an avid John Waters fan after seeing Pink Flamingos when I was little.  Haha.

My own list is less gratuitous and more cinematic.  Waters did not wash away cinematic sore sights.  Cinema does not need to be gratuitous in order to be freaky. 

But there are two films that come to mind that actually disturbed me:
1985 - Guinea Pig - a very convincing imitation snuff film from Japan. 
1994 - Aftermath - a short film by Nacho Cerdà about a mortician who mutilates and has sex with the corpse of a prostitute. 

Ew-oo definitely sound freaky. 

[DodgingGrunge]

I have been pretty much immune to the gratuitousness of cinema my whole life because I became an avid John Waters fan after seeing Pink Flamingos when I was little.  Haha.

My own list is less gratuitous and more cinematic.  Waters did not wash away cinematic sore sights.  Cinema does not need to be gratuitous in order to be freaky.

Admittedly "gratuitous" was a poor choice of adjectives.  I read "freak out" two different ways:  1) As in something so utterly revolting as to cause one to take leave of his senses; 2) Something psychologically chilling that lingers long after viewing.  Since this was started in the bad movies section, I figured the intention was probably closer to the first interpretation.

But, two movies come to mind that fit the latter.  Both of which are cleverly devoid of any real sex or violence!  Who'd of thought!

1988 - Spoorloos (AKA The Vanishing)  A man's wife disappears from a large petrol station.  He bankrupts himself (both financially and emotionally) searching for her for three years.  He pleads on television to the nameless kidnapper (and/or killer) for information.  The culprit responds and promises to show him exactly what happened to her.  This was just a really, really spooky movie and the ending has stuck with me all these years.

1975 - Picnic At Hanging Rock  This film is based on a true story.  The girls of Appleyard College go on a school trip to Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day, 1900, and several of them disappear inexplicably while exploring.  I can't really delve into further details without betraying the film's mystery, but this is definitely an eerie tale.  For those of you who are fans of The Cars That Ate Paris, you might consider checking out a good Peter Weir film. 

[Allhallowsday]

I have been pretty much immune to the gratuitousness of cinema my whole life because I became an avid John Waters fan after seeing Pink Flamingos when I was little.  Haha.

My own list is less gratuitous and more cinematic.  Waters did not wash away cinematic sore sights.  Cinema does not need to be gratuitous in order to be freaky.

Admittedly "gratuitous" was a poor choice of adjectives.  I read "freak out" two different ways:  1) As in something so utterly revolting as to cause one to take leave of his senses; 2) Something psychologically chilling that lingers long after viewing.  Since this was started in the bad movies section, I figured the intention was probably closer to the first interpretation.
But, two movies come to mind that fit the latter.  Both of which are cleverly devoid of any real sex or violence!  Who'd of thought!

"Who'd have thought?" typically verbally abbreviated to "Who'd've thought?"    

I didn't intend to restrict contributors selections to be "BAD MOVIES" though that is considerate and I need to place threads more carefully. 

1988 - Spoorloos (AKA The Vanishing)  A man's wife disappears from a large petrol station.  He bankrupts himself (both financially and emotionally) searching for her for three years.  He pleads on television to the nameless kidnapper (and/or killer) for information.  The culprit responds and promises to show him exactly what happened to her.  This was just a really, really spooky movie and the ending has stuck with me all these years.

1975 - Picnic At Hanging Rock  This film is based on a true story.  The girls of Appleyard College go on a school trip to Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day, 1900, and several of them disappear inexplicably while exploring.  I can't really delve into further details without betraying the film's mystery, but this is definitely an eerie tale.  For those of you who are fans of The Cars That Ate Paris, you might consider checking out a good Peter Weir film. 

Two great films that certainly "freaked me out" (particularly SPOORLOOS)!  Thanks !!   

[Susan]

WHO FREAKED YOU OUT?  Who was so twisted and scary that it disturbed you as a film viewer? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOIJtS4gbaY

[Allhallowsday]

WHO FREAKED YOU OUT?  Who was so twisted and scary that it disturbed you as a film viewer? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOIJtS4gbaY

I can't tell you how funny it is to listen to Nina Simone singing "Pirate Jenny" and watch the clip of Jean Claude Van Damme dancin' you provided.

[Gabezilla84]

As you can probably tell, I'm a huge Godzilla fan, have been one since early childhood. There were some moments in G-movies that scared me big time as a kid (around 5-6 years old):

Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster: the scenes in which Hedorah would fly over people and reduce them to skeletons just traumatized my little mind for years. It would take about ten years before I would sum up the courage to watch this film again! Now, it's one of my absolute favorite G-movies.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974 version): I was scared of the aliens that would turn into apes when they got killed by the heroes. This didn't scare me quite as bad as the victims of Hedorah, however, but it was still unsettling.

[Allhallowsday]

Freaked out?  Another thread about THE INNOCENTS got me to thinking about my own favorite cinema ghost: Quint!!  

[indianasmith]

The ghastly girl crawling out of the TV at the end of THE RING.

The first time you see the CREEPER in JEEPERS CREEPERS.

[Rev. Powell]

Probably mentioned already but:

Max Schreck in NOSFERATU
Michael Rooker in HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER

[JJ80]

I'm a little ashamed to say it but the latex puppets from the old T.V show "Spitting Image" used to ruddy terrify me!  They were very grotesque caricatures of politicians, celebrities etc and their very appearance used to send me running for cover. The were featured in the video for the Genesis song "Land Of Confusion", a very good reason why I didn't watch "Top Of The Pops" for years.

[Terf]

Well, as a kid I never really saw anything that wasn't considered "appropriate" for my age (meaning I saw hardly any movies). Now, I'm desensitized to the point where movies and tv don't really scare me, but they can disturb me.

Some really random stuff here:

- "A Bug's Life," where the bird is trying to eat the bugs. I guess I found it bizaare and annoying that something so innocent (like the sparrow) would be portrayed as evil. And where that evil grasshopper is slowly being lowered into the babies' nest...but bah!

- A scene in the TV show "Arthur" where, in a fantasy sequence, a cat is being abused with a whip.  (I like cats.)

- I guess Toy Story, where the mutant dolls appear.

- In one of the movies about a cat and 2 dogs roaming around U.S. (?), there's a scene where a child is trapped in a burning building (if I remember correctly). Kinda scary.

- Laurel and Hardy 

Oh, and besides being disturbed, there are times when I'm just really surprised, but I don't think it counts as being scared.  (IDK)

- I particularly remember in "Dawn of the Dead" 2004, when the girl is driving through her suburb, and another lady suddenly appears at her door and asks for help. The sudden "bang" of music was really startling.   


So, hmmmm...

[Sister Grace]

Very rarely does a film freak me out anymore. I wasn't even flustered by all the drama in The Dreamers; i thought it was pretty tame although several of my friends made a big deal out of it. You expect wierd things from the French anyways.

However, when I was a little kid and started sneaking into the Beta collection that my parents owned and then to VHS, two movies really freaked the crap out of me. One was The Deadly Spawn (1983) also know as Return of the Aliens and the other was Mother's Day (1980). The creepy brothers were the worst.

[KYGOTC]

When I was but a wee lad, Large Marge gave me the heebie jeebies.

[Terf]

When I was but a wee lad, Large Marge gave me the heebie jeebies.

"Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those peepers?" (I was annoyed by the ending of that movie.)

What is she from? Is she a puppet from a children's program or something?