# Scariest movie you ever saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666 "2013-06-10T22:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/121 "2013-06-17T13:43:12Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > I can’t believe somebody outside my group of friends has actually seen _Death Ship._ My favorite part about it is that it is always daytime on the Death Ship. 🙂 Yeah, it’s not exactly a well-known movie, is it 😃 ? As far as I know, it was broadcast once in Belgium and that’s when I saw it. Come to think of it, you’re the first person that knows it apart from me and my family (and they probably don’t remember it). Actually, it took me a couple of hours to find it on imdb using the few elements that I still had in mind almost a quarter of a century later. Is it always daytime on the ship? I thought I remembered several scenes that took place in the dark. It’s on youtube by the way. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/122 "2013-06-17T15:33:36Z")
I hate horror movies (TOTAL WUSS) so never watch them. I read The Ring in Japanese when it came out, thinking bah! Words on a page can’t scare me. Holy fuck was I wrong. Blair Witch sucked in my opinion. Totally amateurish and silly. I wanted to be scared but just couldn’t muster it. As an aside, the house scenes from Amityville Horror were filmed in my neighborhood (I guess CG wasn’t so good back then; they literally picked up the house to place it at a different angle for filming). Of course I never went to see the movie when it came out… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Aysgarth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@John\_Aysgarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Aysgarth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/123 "2013-06-17T19:53:52Z")
Without a doubt, the 1968 original version of “In Cold Blood.” The only movie that has ever actually scared me. Based on the Truman Capote book about the 1959 massacre of a Kansas farm family, the Clutters, the film shows what happened with remarkable realism. And it’s a real nightmare. The murders were filmed at the Clutter farm—in the actual house, the actual rooms where they occurred. The trial in the movie was filmed in the courtroom where the killers were tried. The prison scenes were filmed at the state penitentiary. The actors chosen to play the Clutters could have passed for their twins. And the killers? Robert Blake was cast as Perry Smith and Scott Wilson took up the role of Dick Hickock. Both looked very much like the killers they played. One scene that stayed with me for years—to this day, really—is one where a reporter asks the lead detective, played by John Forsyth, how the killers got into the Clutter house. “The probably just walked in,” he answers. “Don’t the people in this town lock their doors?” the reporter asks. “They will tonight,” the detective replied. Now, that got me. Because way back then a lot of folks around my hometown—including my family—were very casual about locking doors and windows. Because of that scene I started checking every door before I went to bed. I still do. Brilliant film. And truly frightening. What man actually does is much scarier than what he imagines. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/124 "2013-06-17T20:37:28Z")
Because I saw it when I was 12, **The Shining**. I’m not exaggerating when I say I slept through the night from birth, until the night I saw **The Shining**. Mom had to come sleep by me. And **Silence of the Lambs** is up there, but it’s more the relentlessly disturbingly suspenseful than scary. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/125 "2013-06-18T02:53:05Z")
In honor of Father’s Day, a day late… When I, as a kid, saw what seemed to be a very scary movie - I now don’t even remember what it was - my dad told me something that stuck with me to this day: “Remember that those are all actors and actresses, and they go to work on a set, and get paid to pretend that bad things are happening. Nobody’s really getting hurt. Sometimes they probably have to reshoot a scene because someone sneezes or farts, or a fake wall gets bumped and falls over. Then, at the end of the day, they just wash off their makeup and go home. Think about that, and you won’t be quite as scared.” And he was right! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Aysgarth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@John\_Aysgarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Aysgarth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/126 "2013-06-18T03:24:01Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Does anyone remember a movie from probably late 60s early 70s that was several short stories and I want to say starred Vincent Price but I’m pretty sure that’s not correct. It was another one of those creature feature type things and the gimmick was when something scary was about to happen they’d sound an alarm and the screen would flash read. After the commercial break they’d show the message “when you see red, turn your head”. That was “Chamber of Horrors,” 1966 with Patrick O’Neal as the madman and Cesare Dante along with Wilfrid Hyde-White as the detectives. Set in Baltimore, much of it in a wax museaum. Great film. I saw it when originally released and several times since. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/127 "2013-06-18T04:07:06Z")
> [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](#): > > _Phantasm_ (the first one). > > [Phantasm (1979) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079714/) > > That movie still creeps me out. _The Shining_ is a distant second in comparison. I love this movie. I made **Girl Wonder** watch a few years ago, and she just didn’t appreciate it like I do. A friend of mine actually created a _Phantasm_ role-playing game when I was in high school. I’d stay the weekend at his house, and we’d play it non-stop. The end of the original film, though…at the end? With the Tall Man in the mirror? “Boy!” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/128 "2013-06-18T12:27:10Z")
> [@John\_Aysgarth](#): > > That was “Chamber of Horrors,” 1966 with Patrick O’Neal as the madman and Cesare Dante along with Wilfrid Hyde-White as the detectives. Set in Baltimore, much of it in a wax museaum. Great film. I saw it when originally released and several times since. Thank you so much for this, **John A**. This time I will write it down! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Aysgarth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@John\_Aysgarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Aysgarth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/129 "2013-06-18T14:34:52Z")
My mistake. Should have said Cesare Danova, not Cesare Dante. Typing after drinking isn’t a good idea! ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/130 "2013-06-19T09:35:47Z")
FWIW, one of the scariest movies I remember is the 1971 version of **“The Andromeda Strain”**. Especially when the scientists are exploring the dead town. For a young kid like I was when I watched that movie for the first time, that was beyond eerie. ---
**Author:** ![SpinyNorma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SpinyNorma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinyNorma)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/131 "2013-06-19T11:55:09Z")
I wouldn’t say it was the scariest movie I’ve ever seen but the one that had the most effect on me afterwards was the original Dawn of the Dead. I was in my early 20’s and, while I liked horror movies, I’d never seen a zombie movie before and this was pretty gory for its time. I saw it alone as the second movie in a double feature at the drive in. It didn’t get dark till 8:30 or 9 so it was pretty late when it was over and I headed home. I was living alone and, well, back in my callow youth I was rather cavalier about paying my bills in a timely fashion so my electricity was out. To add to the creepiness, it was a windy night which made me keep thinking I was hearing shuffling footsteps outside. I knew in my head that if I’d just go look, I’d see there wasn’t anything out there but, just in case, I couldn’t make myself go near a window or the door. My cats, helpful as cats always are, joined in by making assorted noises in the house. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/132 "2013-06-19T12:55:41Z")
> [@SpinyNorma](#): > > I wouldn’t say it was the scariest movie I’ve ever seen but the one that had the most effect on me afterwards was the original Dawn of the Dead. I saw the Original Dawn of the Dead when I was young (maybe 12ish) and a bunch of other zombie films at that age. I’m not sure why, but DotD never really scared me - I always really liked it. I say this because ‘Return of the Living Dead’ (maybe part 2? I can’t remember) _did_ scare me. I’m not sure what the difference was that made Return more frightening than Dawn. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/133 "2013-06-19T14:30:14Z")
The original **Cape Fear** is the stuff of nightmares, with the stalking and harassment escalating to the killing of the family dog and then menacing said family on a houseboat. Robert Mitchum scared the bejeebers out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/134 "2013-06-19T14:37:36Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > FWIW, one of the scariest movies I remember is the 1971 version of **“The Andromeda Strain”**. Especially when the scientists are exploring the dead town. For a young kid like I was when I watched that movie for the first time, that was beyond eerie. Ah, yes, that _was_ good. And when the moonsuited doctor slit an artery on a corpse, he found that the blood had turned to powder. Yikes! Michael Crichton’s book’s quite a bit different, but also worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/135 "2013-06-20T21:16:27Z")
The first Paranormal Activity … especially the scene with the woman getting out of bed in the middle of the night and standing over the boyfriend staring at him for hours. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/136 "2013-06-21T00:57:43Z")
It’s not a horror film exactly, but _Blue Velvet_ features one of the most terrifying characters I’ve ever seen: Frank Booth, played by Dennis Hopper. With those big angry eyes and that mask he puts on to inhale a drug that makes him even worse…,… eeeeeeee! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/137 "2013-06-21T02:24:07Z")
And his voice… and his very creepy lip-synching to Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams”… :: shudder ::. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/138 "2013-06-21T12:30:21Z")
Watership Down. I just wanted to see the cartoon bunnies… ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/139 "2013-06-21T17:06:44Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > [This.](http://static.dyp.im/vOstmt6WV2/943f523e7efebee681cd1a5b8240e562.JPG) > > Which showed (Warning, scaaaary) [this](http://static.dyp.im/YibO9osgSt/40d44ce3326ca1cf6395ab4744d600ac.JPG). Where did they show the 2nd picture? I’ve seen this movie but I don’t think all the way through. I know of the spinning head and pea soup vomit, and the shadow of a horned demon on the wall, but when did that face appear and why? It looks like its looking right at the camera ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666/140 "2013-06-21T17:18:02Z")
For me, it was the American remake of **The Ring**. The first and only movie I’ve ever covered my eyes at. My friend and I went to see it at the 10:30pm show. We both like horror movies and get a little freaked out but nothing serious. This was back in 2003 or so when the movie came out, before all of the Japanese horror remakes started coming over to America. It scared the bejeezus out of us! At the end, when she came out of the TV, I had to cover my eyes and stare at the bottom corner of the movie screen, I couldn’t handle it any more. When we got out of the movie at around midnight, both of us were too scared to go home. We ended up hanging out for an hour at this late night market just wandering around not buying anything until they kicked us out. When I dropped off my friend and drove home alone, I rolled down all the windows and blasted the music just to distract myself. I couldn’t sleep until 4:30am that night and had trouble sleeping the following week. Finally, in order to desensitize myself, knowing that I would feel better if I watched it again and knew what to expect, I snuck into the movie the following weekend and watched the ending that I missed. Seeing it again, but knowing how it turned out, made it much less creepy, though I was still a bit scared. I wasn’t jumping at every little thing anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie-you-ever-saw/660666.md?page=8)