Please read on, before you answer this post's question
The above clip shows you the opening scene or first 5 minutes of the movie Scream (1996).
It's up to you whether you want to (re)watch it or not. One question that went through my mind today - when thinking of movie topics to blog about - was the famous line originating from this particular scene. The question in the title of this post:
"What's your favorite Scary Movie?"
The Movie Scream (1996) - and it's opening scene - has been copied, borrowed from
and made fun of so many times, that it's almost impossible to keep count. It even led to the very successful 'Scary Movie' franchise. A series of movies that I loved and hated all at the same time. Part of me didn't want to, but I couldn't help laughing about certain scenes that mocked/ made fun of some of my very favorite (horror) movies.
But, let's be honest, the movie Scream was pretty refreshing at the time and has owned it's place in (scary) movie history. It also arrived at a time when I had just gotten into horror movies. I was 15 years old and - being a teenager - I really enjoyed these kind of films.
Not just because they scared me but also because of - let's be honest - the pretty,
often scarcely dressed girls that usually had more scream time then they had dialogue or screen time
Kill Your Darlings
Talking about pretty girls being slaughtered in cinema... It took almost another decade -
I guess it was around 2005 - before I discovered the italian giallo films. These thriller/ horror movies, that originated in the 1960s, actually had a huge influence on American slasher movies like Scream. One example: Friday the 13th borrowed heavily from Mario Bava's 1971 giallo film Bay of Blood. There's quite a chance that I will do a future write up on the italian giallo movie, as I am a big fan of this subgenre.
Scream and Scream again* - and now back to you!
Movies can scare you for different reasons. It can be due to a (childhood) trauma or fear. Many kids fear clowns, witches, monsters, shadows, the dark, et cetera. This fear often - subconsciously - stays with us in one form or another. But, where we found it scary in the past, we might now find it enjoyable and laugh at our forgotten fears in a kind of nostalgic way.
It can even be a movies soundtrack or ending that scares the hell out of you. Even a particular topic that just makes the hairs on your neck stand up. Sometimes it's that what is being shown that freaks you out. But often is is the unknown or that what is not being shown, the constant build up of suspense, that makes you bite your nails to shreds. Or, it is just the overall atmosphere that gives you goosebumps. For some, is is just the age when - you were too young? - you watched a certain movie the first time. It happened to my younger brother when I showed him Gremlins. More about that in my earlier post:
Conclusion:
There might be several reasons why a certain movie scares you. What scares one person might not scare another one at all. Your favorite scary movie does not even need to be a horror movie or thriller. It might be a psychological thriller? - I know you like these a lot @themovieplace - or even a drama or documentary.
To be honest, I can't think of one favorite scary movie, but here's a list of several of my favorites - in chronological order - and the main reason why they scare(d) me:
- Psycho (1960) - Too many reasons why this is a favorite of me. It's very scary at times and overall a great movie.
- The Haunting (1963) - There is something with haunted house movies. I can't really put my fingers on it. This classic black and white one is a legend in the (sub)genre.
Hell House won't let you escape! - Rosemary's Baby (1968) - one of the things I find the scariest about this classic horror film by the legendary (or should I say notorious) Roman Polanski, is the fact that there is so little happening. It's full of suspense. Very claustrophobic too.
- Don't Look Now (1973) - doesn't the title alone creep you out or make you wanna see it? No matter how many times I watch this movie, it gets under my skin. Especially the final part of the film. It gives me goosebumps every time!
- The Exorcist (1973) - Several scenes scare me. But the one that stands out most, and gets me every time, is the notorious 'spiderwalk' scene.
If you haven't seen it, I dare you to google it! - Invasion of the Body Snatchers - there are several versions of this movie but my favorite - and in my opinion the most scary one - is the film from 1978. Who isn't scared of the idea of the human race being replaced by emotionless clones?
- Alien (1979) Do I really need to explain why? If you've seen this film, you will understand why it's one of my favorite scary movies. And if you haven't, stop reading now
and please go watch it! - The Shining (1980) - several scenes - it's mainly the hotel that scares me. Not Jack trying to kill his own wife and kid. In fact, I find the wife and the kid pretty annoying, so I actually root for Jack to get them, every time I watch this movie.
- Blue Velvet (1986) - see Lost Highway
- Misery (1990) - one of my favorite claustrophobic movies with a very scary Kathy Bates. The nightmare of every writer come true.
- Lost Highway (1997) this David Lynch movie, together with the earlier mentioned Blue Velvet, is creepy for several reasons. It has this kind of eeriness to it, that is typical for much of David Lynch's work. It shows us that side of humanity and society that we often don't want to see or try to suppress.
- The Blair Witch Project (1999) - What I enjoyed about it and what scared me, had partially to do with the whole hype around it. It was the start of the found footage craze and this 'realism' made it a little scarier. But the main reason was it's intelligent execution:
scaring the viewer by showing as little as possible. Making it look as if we were handling the camera all the time. Putting us in the forest with the characters. Talking about scary, you gotta love its ending! - Fat Girl (original title A ma Soeur, 2001) - One of these movies that totally shocks you with its unexpected ending. Enough said.
- Red State (2011) - This very a-typical Kevin Smith movie (my favorite Smith movie after Clerks) is scary in its depiction of an American cult.
Some Runner ups:
- Most movies by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke (Benny's Video, Funny Games, Caché and more).
- Creep (2014) - this is a pretty recent movie that mainly scares me because it's about a filmmaker who gets involved in a gig he will never forget. Having been a filmmaker for quite some time, that certainly creeps me out.
- The Babadook (2014) - one of the scariest movies in the 'playing on childhood fears'- I just made that up - subgenre that I know.
- Child's Play - no need to explain this. See the above
- One Hour Photo (2002) A scary psychological thriller starring the late Robin Williams, who tried to get rid of his comedy typecasting. In my opinion, he didn't have to proof that he was a great actor. He did this in the past with movies like Dead Poets Society (1989).
- The original Ju-On The Grudge and Ju-On The Curse movies as well as Ringu (1998) and Dark Water (2002). This handful of Japanese horror movies put Japan - once again - on the map of horror cinema and led to several American remakes of which The Ring (2002) is arguably the most famous.
Movies with scary children: The Brood (1979) The Bad Seed (1956) Village of the Damned
Okay, let's end it here. I find I can go on and on. Might do a follow up to this post one day ;)
So, do you like scary movies? What are your favorites and why?
Hit me up in the reply to this post and let's start a discussion!
If you enjoyed this writing, you might want to give my earlier movie posts a read:
@vincentnijman/lesser-known-movies-worth-watching-spirit-of-the-beehive-spain-1973
@vincentnijman/horror-movies-from-the-80s-and-why-i-love-and-laugh-them
For those of you who are using Letterboxd, here's my profile with over 3000 movies that I've watched. Feel free to connect with me on there:
https://letterboxd.com/vinfilm/
And here's a list to a big chunk of all the horror movies that I've seen in my life. I couldn't remember them all but I have seen a lot more. Many of these films make it onto my list of favorite scary movies. Perhaps your favorites are on there too!
https://letterboxd.com/vinfilm/films/genre/horror/
TO BE CONTINUED