Classic old horror movies allowed the viewers mind to do the dirty work; which was perfect due to the limitations of what they could actually show on-screen in those days.
For the record, regarding the OP, John Frankenheimer’s “Prophesy” scared the crap out of me in the late 70’s. Probably because of the poor acting of pre-Rocky Talia Shire as much as anything else. I used to love camping, but not after that movie.
Just FTR, but Prophecy was made three years after Rocky, in 1979. I never saw it, but I understand that it was pretty awful (except for some good puppet work with baby things), featuring the worst movie monster from a major studio since The Giant Claw.
I had the exact same reaction.
We have just finished watching a bunch of the Hammer Studios horror films from the 50s and 60s, and they’re pretty much laughable. I remember as a kid, the advertisements in the newspaper for THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS scared the pants off me (just the ad, mind you! I wasn’t allowed to see the movie.) Now it’s pretty thin. Coming next week, we’re doing some Japanese monster movies – ahhhh, Netflicks!
My feeling: Movies that rely on special effects tend to be the most outdated – that’s why THE BIRDS or THE EXORCIST don’t hold up well today. On the other hand, THE THING (the 1953 b&w version, not the idiotic later version) has a moment that still causes me to jump out of my skin… despite other bits that are just silly (and were then): “An intellectual carrot! The mind boggles!”
REAR WINDOW still works well – I saw it with a live audience a few years ago, show on theatre screen, and the moment when Raymond Burr turns and looks straight out at Jimmy Stewart/ the audience caused actual screams in the audience.
Most of Hitchcock still works because it’s suspense, not relying on special effects. Most old vampire movies don’t work well because the vampire legends have been told over and over, so often, that they’re almost like children’s fairy tales. And, of course, the level of blood and gore is much tamer. Well, that’s how I see it, anyhow.
Wow, I think you might have the minority opinion there; most people I know found the Carpenter version to be far superior and a classic in its own right.
That part did not scare me.
The scary part for me was a quick scene where the camera was set up in the child’s (dark) room, and there was… an image of something… on the inside of her door that dissapeared when the mom opened it from the other side.
When I am still half asleep late at night, and it is dark, and I let myself think about that scene, I always end up glancing over my shoulder at least once. 
IMO these aren’t scary at all, just absolutely disgusting. Different emotions, but people still call movies like the SAW series horror films. Whatever.
The only part of the Exorcist that freaked me out was when she was at the doctors getting blood drawn from her neck. Everything else was meh. The Shining was interesting, but I don’t understand how it became such a towering classic.
I’m probably the wrong person to ask though because I don’t find most horror movies to actually be scary. Still fun to watch, but they don’t give me nightmares or anything like that. I think the most scared I’ve ever been was when watching The Ring (American version), maybe because it was dark and raining. The atmosphere was good, the music got to me for some reason, the tape thing was freaky as fuck, and during the climax when she fucking teleports that’s just… :eek:
Any movie that has that Jacob’s Ladder face/head twitchy thing gives me the heeby jeebies.
Does Eraserhead count as horror? That movie has all sorts of wrongness going on.
I’ll take a stab at this:
A couple is isolated (in this case, by Father Winter) and on their own, more or less, with no outside assistance (medical or police). Even travelling cross country is not an option. (Notice at the end, Nicholson’s character freezes to death after getting lost in the hedge maze.)
The husband goes insane, and becomes homicidal (we see him axe Crothers’ character). The weaker (and meek) housewife and little boy are trapped inside with him! Whatever are they to do?!?
They also add a little supernatural tidbits just to keep you wondering “Whats really going on?”.