duncan228
10-30-2009, 03:29 PM
The scariest movies ever (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/scared-scary-people-2627576-movies-experience)
We offer two lists of the movies that gave us nightmares
By Barry Koltnow and Kelli Skye Fadroski
The Orange County Register
There is nothing scarier than trying to scare up a list of scary movies.
Not swimming in a pool of Great White sharks. Not being possessed by a demon spewing green soup. Not riding with a busload of vampires, werewolves and chainsaw-wielding psychos.
Deciding what is scary to people is worse than deciding what is funny to people.
The inherent problem with compiling a list of scary movies is that being scared is a personal experience, although it is an experience that is usually shared in a theater full of other scared people.
It's all so subjective, but that's why we get paid the big bucks.
Here are two lists of scary movies, put together by distinct generations Kelli (the first 10) representing a younger perspective, and Barry (the second 10) doing his usual old-guy thing.
Please feel free to comment on our choices. We welcome your comments. No, we don't. We're scared. We're very scared.
Kelli's Top Ten
"Halloween" (1978)
Michael Meyers has always been scarier than Freddy Krueger and Jason combined. The guy stabbed one sister to death and made it his life's mission to terrorize the other. You can't trust family.
"Child's Play" (1988)
Chucky scared a helluva lot of children in the '80s, especially because he resembled the cute and cuddly My Buddy doll. Alone in the dark with that thing - I'm over it.
"Saw" (2004)
This is disturbing because you know there are real psychos out there who seriously think this stuff up. If you're afraid of being kidnapped and held captive, this will have you looking over your shoulder.
"The Devil's Rejects" (2005)
For his second film Rob Zombie created three soulless characters who could essentially be your neighbors yet you'd never know they were cutting up and torturing people right in your own backyard.
""The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)
This film sparked my No. 1 shivers-up-my-spine fear: I am scared to death of someone ripping off someone else's face and placing it on my own. Freaks me out.
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)
Two words: Freddy Krueger. When I was 8, I sneaked in with older kids to watch it one night while our parents played cards. I wasn't scarred for life. But I never wanted to sleep on a waterbed again.
"Audition" (1999)
This Japanese horror flick teaches a valuable lesson: Don't date! It also will make you very uneasy around piano wire.
"Pet Sematary" (1989)
Who wants to think about dear, beloved Rover being dead and buried - then brought back to life only to go all Cujo on his owners.
Scream (1996)
I was in 8th grade when this genre-revitalizing film came out, and once again I sneaked into a theater to see it. I was lured in by its big star, Drew Barrymore, who spoiler alert bites it within the first 10 minutes of the film.
"Dawn of the Dead" (2004)
Imagine a world where zombies have gotten stronger, faster, smarter, more organized that's exactly what this amped-up remake of George A. Romero's 1978 classic portrays.
Barry's Top Ten
"Psycho" (1960)
The mother of all slasher films, only better written, directed and acted than other slasher films. If a movie makes you think twice about taking a shower, it's scary.
"The Exorcist" (1973)
This was a head-turning experience, and one that turned me off to pea soup for years.
"Jaws" (1975)
This not only created the concept of an "event" movie, which we now take for granted, but redefined scary movie music. It chased an entire generation of swimmers out of the ocean, and sent them scurrying for the nearest swimming pool.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956)
Even without the McCarthy-era vibe, this story about pods and aliens replacing your friends and relatives while they sleep has always made me look closer at my friends and relatives after a good night's sleep.
"Night of the Living Dead" (1968)
This was back when Johnson was president, the Beatles were kings and zombies were slow.
"Village of the Damned" (1960)
I haven't trusted blond, blue-eyed children ever since I saw this movie.
"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)
It's one of the most intense thrillers of all time, but it crosses over into serious scary time in that one scene near the end when Jodie is being stalked in the dark.
"The Ring" (2002)
Perhaps it was the setting - I sat alone in the front row of an empty screening room - but this movie gave me the creeps.
"Alien" (1979)
I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting at dinner and wondering if an alien was going to pop out of the chest of the person across from me. Hey, it could happen.
"The Omen" (1976)
As if I needed it, this was yet another good reason not to have children, particularly if they're going to grow up to be the Antichrist. It's hard to love a kid like that.
*********************
Slideshow of list:
http://www.ocregister.com/photos/scared-scary-people-2627576-movies-experience
We offer two lists of the movies that gave us nightmares
By Barry Koltnow and Kelli Skye Fadroski
The Orange County Register
There is nothing scarier than trying to scare up a list of scary movies.
Not swimming in a pool of Great White sharks. Not being possessed by a demon spewing green soup. Not riding with a busload of vampires, werewolves and chainsaw-wielding psychos.
Deciding what is scary to people is worse than deciding what is funny to people.
The inherent problem with compiling a list of scary movies is that being scared is a personal experience, although it is an experience that is usually shared in a theater full of other scared people.
It's all so subjective, but that's why we get paid the big bucks.
Here are two lists of scary movies, put together by distinct generations Kelli (the first 10) representing a younger perspective, and Barry (the second 10) doing his usual old-guy thing.
Please feel free to comment on our choices. We welcome your comments. No, we don't. We're scared. We're very scared.
Kelli's Top Ten
"Halloween" (1978)
Michael Meyers has always been scarier than Freddy Krueger and Jason combined. The guy stabbed one sister to death and made it his life's mission to terrorize the other. You can't trust family.
"Child's Play" (1988)
Chucky scared a helluva lot of children in the '80s, especially because he resembled the cute and cuddly My Buddy doll. Alone in the dark with that thing - I'm over it.
"Saw" (2004)
This is disturbing because you know there are real psychos out there who seriously think this stuff up. If you're afraid of being kidnapped and held captive, this will have you looking over your shoulder.
"The Devil's Rejects" (2005)
For his second film Rob Zombie created three soulless characters who could essentially be your neighbors yet you'd never know they were cutting up and torturing people right in your own backyard.
""The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)
This film sparked my No. 1 shivers-up-my-spine fear: I am scared to death of someone ripping off someone else's face and placing it on my own. Freaks me out.
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)
Two words: Freddy Krueger. When I was 8, I sneaked in with older kids to watch it one night while our parents played cards. I wasn't scarred for life. But I never wanted to sleep on a waterbed again.
"Audition" (1999)
This Japanese horror flick teaches a valuable lesson: Don't date! It also will make you very uneasy around piano wire.
"Pet Sematary" (1989)
Who wants to think about dear, beloved Rover being dead and buried - then brought back to life only to go all Cujo on his owners.
Scream (1996)
I was in 8th grade when this genre-revitalizing film came out, and once again I sneaked into a theater to see it. I was lured in by its big star, Drew Barrymore, who spoiler alert bites it within the first 10 minutes of the film.
"Dawn of the Dead" (2004)
Imagine a world where zombies have gotten stronger, faster, smarter, more organized that's exactly what this amped-up remake of George A. Romero's 1978 classic portrays.
Barry's Top Ten
"Psycho" (1960)
The mother of all slasher films, only better written, directed and acted than other slasher films. If a movie makes you think twice about taking a shower, it's scary.
"The Exorcist" (1973)
This was a head-turning experience, and one that turned me off to pea soup for years.
"Jaws" (1975)
This not only created the concept of an "event" movie, which we now take for granted, but redefined scary movie music. It chased an entire generation of swimmers out of the ocean, and sent them scurrying for the nearest swimming pool.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956)
Even without the McCarthy-era vibe, this story about pods and aliens replacing your friends and relatives while they sleep has always made me look closer at my friends and relatives after a good night's sleep.
"Night of the Living Dead" (1968)
This was back when Johnson was president, the Beatles were kings and zombies were slow.
"Village of the Damned" (1960)
I haven't trusted blond, blue-eyed children ever since I saw this movie.
"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)
It's one of the most intense thrillers of all time, but it crosses over into serious scary time in that one scene near the end when Jodie is being stalked in the dark.
"The Ring" (2002)
Perhaps it was the setting - I sat alone in the front row of an empty screening room - but this movie gave me the creeps.
"Alien" (1979)
I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting at dinner and wondering if an alien was going to pop out of the chest of the person across from me. Hey, it could happen.
"The Omen" (1976)
As if I needed it, this was yet another good reason not to have children, particularly if they're going to grow up to be the Antichrist. It's hard to love a kid like that.
*********************
Slideshow of list:
http://www.ocregister.com/photos/scared-scary-people-2627576-movies-experience