# I'm Looking for Scary/Terrifying Movies That Aren't Drenched in Blood **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925 "2006-04-17T00:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/1 "2006-04-17T00:14:48Z")
What I want: Recommendations for movies that are very scary or even terrifying. Alien is a good example, but I don’t mind going beyond a few steps beyond this. I thought The Village was lame. Ditto The Blair Witch. Psycho was quite good for the old school stuff, but I can handle more–provided that mommy holds my hand and I keep all the lights on. What I DON’T like: I want to avoid movies along the lines of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I do NOT enjoy seeing people being tortured, dismembered or struck with blunt (or sharp) weapons. I do not enjoy gore, so that rules out the sophomoric Jason/Halloween/Chucky series. Any recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![HeelB4Zod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19adc/32.png) [@HeelB4Zod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeelB4Zod)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/2 "2006-04-17T00:17:02Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > What I want: Recommendations for movies that are very scary or even terrifying. Alien is a good example, but I don’t mind going beyond a few steps beyond this. I thought The Village was lame. Ditto The Blair Witch. Psycho was quite good for the old school stuff, but I can handle more–provided that mommy holds my hand and I keep all the lights on. > > What I DON’T like: I want to avoid movies along the lines of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I do NOT enjoy seeing people being tortured, dismembered or struck with blunt (or sharp) weapons. I do not enjoy gore, so that rules out the sophomoric Jason/Halloween/Chucky series. > > Any recommendations? Try [Rosemary’s Baby](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063522/) ---
**Author:** ![Gladstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90db22/32.png) [@Gladstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gladstone)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/3 "2006-04-17T00:23:14Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > What I want: Recommendations for movies that are very scary or even terrifying. Alien is a good example, but I don’t mind going beyond a few steps beyond this. I thought The Village was lame. Ditto The Blair Witch. Psycho was quite good for the old school stuff, but I can handle more–provided that mommy holds my hand and I keep all the lights on. [Parts: The Clonus Horror](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078062/) is particularly chilling. In fact, I shudder to imagine how it was even made. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/4 "2006-04-17T00:32:13Z")
Of course, someone has to make the standard recommendation of **The Exorcist**. But I’ll also add that **Exorcist III** is an outstanding movie also, but less scary (more menacing, though) and more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/5 "2006-04-17T00:44:28Z")
[Frailty](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264616/), for one. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/6 "2006-04-17T00:50:10Z")
The original **Cape Fear** , made in or around 1962, scares the crap out of me every time–especially the last half hour. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/7 "2006-04-17T01:01:45Z")
_The Wicker Man_ ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/8 "2006-04-17T01:40:43Z")
I thought _The Hitcher_ and \* the Stepfather\* were good and heavier on the suspense than on the blood and gore. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/9 "2006-04-17T02:03:40Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. I went to a double feature back in the 70’s. The first movie was “Halloween”, but [the second feature](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078239/) gave me nightmares for weeks after. ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/10 "2006-04-17T02:08:42Z")
[The Changeling](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/) with George C. Scott. [Dead of Winter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092842/) with Mary Steenburgen. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/11 "2006-04-17T02:17:06Z")
[The Night of the Hunter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048424/) ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/12 "2006-04-17T02:33:02Z")
Two movies I’ve heard something of, but haven’t seen are The Ring and Hostel. I’m sure these are scary, but aren’t they also gory and violent? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/13 "2006-04-17T02:41:32Z")
It may be old, but I find the original _Frankenstein_ to be very scary. Boris Karloff’s monster still freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/14 "2006-04-17T02:50:16Z")
Ring/ Ringu aren’t really gorey and they are pretty fecking scary. Don’t remember a darn thing abotu Dark Water. I don’t remember the Exorcist being “gory” per se. Ashamed to say it, but the old Damien movies scared the crap out of me, but very dated. Amityville Horror? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/15 "2006-04-17T02:51:37Z")
_Poltergeist_ scared the hell out of me, and it’s got very little blood. There are a couple of scenes where you might have to look away for a few seconds, but all in all it’s a nice creepy and very scary film without buckets of gore. I saw _The Ring_, and it wasn’t that gory. Has some very scary moments, though. You’d probably like that one. Run far, far away from _Hostel_. I read a review of it on “Screen It” (where they give away all the spoilers so parents can decide if their kids can see a movie) and even the _descriptions_ grossed me out. Apparently it’s got extremely graphic and gory stuff throughout. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/16 "2006-04-17T02:51:42Z")
Oh, something called "Session Nine"I think–not a lot of blood but spooky. Lars von Trier’s miniseries The Kingdom (“Riget”)-- like Stephen King’s ripoff version but good. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/17 "2006-04-17T02:53:24Z")
More “spooky” than “horror” but check out _Kingdom Hospital_, Stephen King’s reimagining of _The Kingdom_. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/18 "2006-04-17T02:55:21Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > Oh, something called "Session Nine"I think–not a lot of blood but spooky. _Session Nine_ (starring everybody’s favorite redheaded overactor, David Caruso) is kind of creepy, but I wouldn’t put it in the same category as some of the other films mentioned here. What _is_ cool about it, though, was it was filmed at Danvers State Hospital, an abandoned insane asylum (which has since been torn down to put up condos–a real shame, as it had some gorgeous buildings). There’s some blood in it and some rather icky stuff toward the end, but nothing over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/19 "2006-04-17T02:57:43Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > More “spooky” than “horror” but check out _Kingdom Hospital_, Stephen King’s reimagining of _The Kingdom_. Of course, if you can find it, _The Kingdom_ itself would be more inline with what you’re after. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925/20 "2006-04-17T02:59:53Z")
I don’t know if **Funny Games** would be what you’re looking for. A family gets tormented and tortured, but there is little, if any, gore or blood. It’s more “You’re powerless to protect your family”-style torture than actual physical torture. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-scary-terrifying-movies-that-arent-drenched-in-blood/352925.md?page=2)