What Are the Scariest Movies You've Ever Watched?

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In summary, the scariest movies are those that are based in truth or that truly scare the crap out of the viewer.
  • #36
DaveC426913 said:
Not that I want to come down on you like a ton of bricks, but you remind me of many people who seem to feel that movies are an opportunity for showing how clever they are.

They miss a point that everyone else gets intuitively. The act of watching a movie - for all but these types - is premised by the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief" . Key word here being willing.

We can all choose to stand outside a movie (or a party for that matter) and criticize what's going on. This is a defense mechanism for those who are insecure. If one goes into it willingly and confidently, one can let the experience carry them along serendipitously without it threatening their intelligence.

Or maybe he legitimately isn't scared by movies and his sense of humor is geared towards pointing out the obvious? If you really think about it, its funny that we can be scared by things that we know are going to happen in movies such as the candle situation.

Many people go into horror movies with a humorous mindset (myself for one because I am always looking for subtle yet obviously funny things, and horror movies are among one of the best places to search for those kind of things). I don't really think its a defense mechanism for being scared in most cases, some people just have a generally comedic mindset.

Similarly, for your above statement someone could make the case and say that you came back at him to prove that you are say... wise, or have a deeper meaning of things than most(and I am sure you could make the same case for my post here). Or maybe that's just actually how you think. its all relative is my point. This isn't an attack btw, I am just pointing this out... or maybe I am trying to sound like a philosopher...:devil: ... WHO KNOWS...
 
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  • #37
I don't know what's the scariest movie I've ever watched. I can tell you what's the scariest movie my brother-in-law ever watched, though. We were living in Bangor (home of Stephen King) when Carrie came out, and we went to see it together. I was sitting between my wife and Allen, and my wife was holding my left hand. My right hand was on the armrest between me and Allen. There was a scene when Carrie's only friend visited the charred remains of Carrie's house, when suddenly a hand reaches up out of the ash and grabs her. That jumped the hell out of me and I grabbed Allen's leg reflexively. He jumped up and shrieked, sending what was left of his jumbo tub of popcorn flying everywhere. People sitting behind us got a good laugh. He was miffed at me for a few days for causing him to embarrass himself so badly.
 
  • #38
jimmysnyder said:
Please don't be alarmed by what I am about to say, but you might think about taking him to a neurologist to check for autism. It's not likely, but these are common symptoms.

He's been examined before, and he's ADHD but not autistic... nonetheless.. maybe it has something to do with his medicine (Concerta)... it would be worth talking to his doctor about on the visit we have planned this month. Maybe as second wife/mom, (and disgrunted ex-husband), we prefer to think of it as defense against his mom's poor decisions... but looking at it medically is a good idea. Some of these medicines are sketchy; I was against putting him on any, but at the time I wasn't married to his dad... and he was living with his mom.
 
  • #39
I can't remember the titles of the scary movies I saw when I was a kid, except for the classics, like Hitchcock's thrillers. I'd scavenge the roadsides for returnable bottles to try to drum up 25 cents for the matinee whenever there were scary movies shown. 15 cents for the ticket and 10 cents for popcorn - pretty pricey entertainment back in 1960 or so.
 
  • #40
physics girl phd said:
He's been examined before, and he's ADHD but not autistic... nonetheless.. maybe it has something to do with his medicine (Concerta)... it would be worth talking to his doctor about on the visit we have planned this month. Maybe as second wife/mom, (and disgrunted ex-husband), we prefer to think of it as defense against his mom's poor decisions... but looking at it medically is a good idea. Some of these medicines are sketchy; I was against putting him on any, but at the time I wasn't married to his dad... and he was living with his mom.
Forgive me for pressing you, but was he checked by a neurologist?
 
  • #41
jimmysnyder said:
Please don't be alarmed by what I am about to say, but you might think about taking him to a neurologist to check for autism. It's not likely, but these are common symptoms.
Not likely? Latest statistics report 1 in 150 have something in the autism spectrum. 1:150!
 
  • #42
turbo-1 said:
That jumped the hell out of me and I grabbed Allen's leg reflexively. He jumped up and shrieked, sending what was left of his jumbo tub of popcorn flying everywhere.
Just garden-variety homophobia... :rolleyes:
 
  • #43
DaveC426913 said:
Not likely? Latest statistics report 1 in 150 have something in the autism spectrum. 1:150!
Not even to mention 1 in 50M is a PF member, and all of us around are !
 
  • #44
My favourite cousin, from New Jersey, was up visiting when 'Alien' came out, so we went to see it. When there was finally a close-up of the adult alien, and that tongue slid out with the extra jaws on the end, the whole theatre fell silent... so everyone could plainly hear Trev say 'Wow, man... cantilevered lips!'
 
  • #45
DaveC426913 said:
Not that I want to come down on you like a ton of bricks, but you remind me of many people who seem to feel that movies are an opportunity for showing how clever they are.

They miss a point that everyone else gets intuitively. The act of watching a movie - for all but these types - is premised by the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief" . Key word here being willing.

We can all choose to stand outside a movie (or a party for that matter) and criticize what's going on. This is a defense mechanism for those who are insecure. If one goes into it willingly and confidently, one can let the experience carry them along serendipitously without it threatening their intelligence.

Some of us just expect something different from the movies we watch. Not to be defensive or anything... But since I have read a lot and seen quite a few movies i am much more impressed when the story goes in a direction that we are not programmed to expect.
A rather artful representation of this is in a recent movie called Burn After Reading in a scene where Brad Pitt is hiding in a closet. Not a scary movie and liking it probably depends on taste but the director certainly likes to trip up your "suspension of disbelief" by hitting you with something you don't necessarily expect.
 
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  • #46
TheStatutoryApe said:
where Brad Pitt is hiding in a closet. ...the director certainly likes to trip up your "suspension of disbelief" by hitting you with something you don't necessarily expect.
Yes, I thought it was Tom Cruise that was in the closet.
 
  • #47
mgb_phys said:
Yes, I thought it was Tom Cruise that was in the closet.

lol... no that would be hiding behind an alien. ;-)
 
  • #48
Oerg said:
So what are the scariest movies you have ever watched?

For me, I just watched the exorcist recently in the dead of the night and it scared the crap outta me. I wasn't able to get to sleep for the rest of the night.

It has got to be the scariest movie i ever watched.

i have watched other horror movies like the shining and the ring and they weren't really scary to me.
Same for me. I watched it when it first came out at the theaters (years ago). I remember driving home at night on the back country roads. Felt like I was being watched all the way home. Couldn't get home fast enough.
 
  • #49
TheStatutoryApe said:
Some of us just expect something different from the movies we watch. Not to be defensive or anything... But since I have read a lot and seen quite a few movies i am much more impressed when the story goes in a direction that we are not programmed to expect.
A rather artful representation of this is in a recent movie called Burn After Reading in a scene where Brad Pitt is hiding in a closet. Not a scary movie and liking it probably depends on taste but the director certainly likes to trip up your "suspension of disbelief" by hitting you with something you don't necessarily expect.

Good point. You're right, it depends on how much one expects from ones movies. Admittedly, these days one can easily throw up ones hands at the whole movie industry and say "C'mon! Now you're not even tryin'!"
 
  • #50
TheStatutoryApe said:
A rather artful representation of this is in a recent movie called Burn After Reading in a scene where Brad Pitt is hiding in a closet. Not a scary movie and liking it probably depends on taste but the director certainly likes to trip up your "suspension of disbelief" by hitting you with something you don't necessarily expect.

That movie was quite...something.

Back on topic: When I was 8-11 or so, any history channel documentary on aliens would scare the hell out of me. Movies were never able to actually scare me (this is different from jumpy parts during the actual movie)... There were times when I couldn't sleep for hours upon hours fearing I was going to get abducted, even though I knew it was completely irrational.
 
  • #51
When the Evo Child was little, she watched a documentary with me about asteroids. Well, it was a highly sensational show about asteroids destroying the Earth and all through the show they kept basically repeating "it's going to happen and we're all going to die". It scared the crap out of her and she's never forgiven me. I hadn't seen it before, so I didn't know. :frown:
 
  • #52
I'm sitting here reading this stuff about scary movies and I'm not scared or jumpy, but I just heard gunshots outside. that always makes me jump a little bit.
 
  • #53
tribdog said:
I'm sitting here reading this stuff about scary movies and I'm not scared or jumpy, but I just heard gunshots outside. that always makes me jump a little bit.

Duck, trib!
 
  • #54
lisab said:
Duck, trib!

jumping's probably the wrong reaction to flying bullets isn't it.
 
  • #55
tribdog said:
I'm sitting here reading this stuff about scary movies and I'm not scared or jumpy, but I just heard gunshots outside. that always makes me jump a little bit.

Is it weird that it's almost normal for me to hear gunshots? I don't live in a bad part of town, but kinda right next to it. I've talked to cops several times telling them where I think I heard the shots from, how many shots I heard, etc.
 
  • #56
I was pretty on edge watching Alien I. Also had a big scare during Friday the 13th, right when
... the hand came out of the water at the end of the movie ...
my friend who was behind me placed his hands firmly on my shoulders and gave a little shake. I yelled pretty loud (or so I am told) when he did that.
 
  • #57
moose said:
Is it weird that it's almost normal for me to hear gunshots? I don't live in a bad part of town, but kinda right next to it. I've talked to cops several times telling them where I think I heard the shots from, how many shots I heard, etc.

In my neighborhood if you act like that the next gunshots you hear will be aimed at you.
 
  • #58
tribdog said:
In my neighborhood if you act like that the next gunshots you hear will be aimed at you.

I heard an explosion in my area about a week or two ago. I was a little concerned when I never heard any sirens. :-/
 
  • #59
Milk looks a little scary?
 
  • #60
tribdog said:
In my neighborhood if you act like that the next gunshots you hear will be aimed at you.

Lol, it's not my fault I always happen to be walking around at that time and a cop drives past me and asks me if I heard anything. It's never me who actually calls the cops or anything...
 
  • #61
I was 10-ish when I first saw Terminator 2. I had nightmares that the liquid metal terminator killed my friends and family and disguised itself as them to get to me. Not fun. Of course, you grow up and see it as an action sci-fi thriller, not a horror film.

'Communion' gave me the willies as a kid, too.

Most recent 'scary movie' I saw was 'No Country for Old Men.' The cold brutality of the killer was chilling.
 
  • #62
I definitely find the scariest movies to be the ones that delve into the darkness of men. Films like Silence of the Lambs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Fatal Attraction, etc. - people and events that have a possibility of actually occurring.

But for oogey-boogey films, for me the scariest scene was in "Pet Sematary" when the wife was recounting her younger years caring for her elder sister Zelda, and the images of that meningitis afflicted twisted person... *shiver*
 
  • #63
I love seeing people's reactions on shows like Scare Tactics when they get scared. It's entertaining!

A bunch of college guys trying to scare people (very funny!):
 
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  • #64
i'm surprised nobody has mentioned fire in the sky. maybe it's too obscure, or maybe nobody else thinks it's scary. :-p
 
  • #65
I find TV a lot more scary than any movie. For example, seeing how screwed up and twisted this society is when I woke up one morning last week and the only thing that was on TV were endless stories about Obamas daughters starting school. #$%& all of the people dieing in wars or increased tensions with the worlds nuclear powers, let's see what the Obama kids are eating for lunch today! :eek:
 
  • #66
Topher925 said:
I find TV a lot more scary than any movie. For example, seeing how screwed up and twisted this society is when I woke up one morning last week and the only thing that was on TV were endless stories about Obamas daughters starting school. #$%& all of the people dieing in wars or increased tensions with the worlds nuclear powers, let's see what the Obama kids are eating for lunch today! :eek:
True but the media knows that people don't want to watch war and death 24/7.
 
  • #67
when a stranger calls is good also
 
  • #68
Scared by a movie? No not really. Very disturbed by a movie, absolutely. In one of the Kill Bill movies the main characters was buried alive.. that disturbed me.

Also I found the Orphanage (In Spanish, with English sub titles) to be very disturbing. If you have not seen this movie..see it.

I will not watch any more of either of the Saw or Hostel series simply because the basic idea is very disturbing to me. I do not enjoy that type of movie.

I really prefer a good comedy... ie not Adam Sandler, Wayans brothers etc ...


Give Pineapple Express a watch.. I kept thinking... why am I laughing at this?
 
  • #69
The only thing that makes me uncomfortable while watching a film is heights.

In Crocodile Dundee 2, where Hogan walk es along a ledge way up high gave me the cringes.
 
  • #70

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