# Scariest movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 14, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831 "2025-07-14T01:56:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/81 "2025-07-15T21:14:27Z")
Eighty posts in and no mention of _Jaws_. Until now. There are two types of people who have seen _Jaws_: (1) those who will admit that the movie induced some level of fear about going into the ocean; and (2) liars. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/82 "2025-07-15T21:15:25Z")
**Hell House, LLC** Cheesy low-budget found footage. I have long been a fan of horror and couldn’t even remember the last time I was scared by a movie. Creeped out? Sure. Scared? Nope. Then those fucking clowns…I spent days afterward furtively glancing into every empty room I walked by in my house just hoping a monster clown was _not_ in there. EDIT: I’m not even sure it’s objectively scary, btw. I call them “monster” clowns but they’re regular, normal clowns. I think it just has to hit you right way for it to be effective. Boy did it ever hit me the right way. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/83 "2025-07-15T21:17:18Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Eighty posts in and no mention of _Jaws_. Until now. > > There are two types of people who have seen _Jaws_: (1) those who will admit that the movie induced some level of fear about going into the ocean; and (2) liars. I just came in to post that movie. Granted, I was only 8 when I saw it in the theater, but it scared the holy hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/84 "2025-07-15T21:27:33Z")
I thought of two others: **30 Days of Night** , which is vampires in Pt. Barrow, AK. **Descent** , about cavers encountering some unexpected things underground. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/85 "2025-07-15T21:28:55Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Eighty posts in and no mention of _Jaws_. Until now. > > There are two types of people who have seen _Jaws_: (1) those who will admit that the movie induced some level of fear about going into the ocean; and (2) liars. The summers of 1975 and 1976 were the most fantastic years of my beach-going life. We had the waves to ourselves. _Jaws_ was terrifying but I (or anybody else that lived at the beach and around fishermen) had no reason to think that big screen monster was anything but fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/86 "2025-07-15T21:41:14Z")
Are we talking full-length theater-released movies? Because if we expand into analog horror there’s a lot to choose from like Channel 58’s work. I think the reason _Fail-Safe_ and _Dr. Strangelove_ work is not only because of how realistic it was, it also relied on the fact that the bomber pilots did the right thing. IOW not dependent on incompetence. I’d put _The Thing_ into that category too. It’s scarier when everyone does everything right but it still doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/87 "2025-07-15T22:17:22Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > it also relied on the fact that the bomber pilots did the right thing. [Well, mostly…](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Uh%2BGkSkA&id=A3D616B3F895F85494D1311570B567C30129836B&thid=OIP.Uh-GkSkA_Kdft-SZ1xOlzQHaEK&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmikechurch.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F04%2FHomerRidesBomb-banner.jpg&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.521f86912900fca75fb7e499d713a5cd%3Frik%3Da4MpAcNntXAVMQ%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=1080&expw=1920&q=homer+riding+the+bomb&simid=608041742472273084&FORM=IRPRST&ck=EE2B7B5A7115A8511EADB2250E74B0BD&selectedIndex=17&itb=0&cw=1527&ch=743&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/88 "2025-07-15T22:36:25Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > The X-Files - Home left me disturbed, unnerved, shook. The thing that really makes this one effective is that if you watched its premiere - we did - you just aren’t expecting it. The X-Files could be scary, sure, but all within a certain standard Chris Carter framework. This one starts horrifically, a different tone from any other episode, and it just keeps going. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Scary? Depressing? Or both? > > Come and See > > Hereditary That second one, hoo boy. There are some scenes still stuck in my head where your eyes start to focus in a darkened scene, and your eyes start to adjust and you’re like holy fuck what is that, is that what I think that is, why doesn’t he see that? [Plus, you know, never burn a demonic book.] Not a movie, but The Haunting of Hill House had a similar bunch of scenes. > [@Disinfectus](#): > > I just came in to post that movie. Granted, I was only 8 when I saw it in the theater, but it scared the holy hell out of me. We were 12 and had been dropped off at the mall as one is in the suburbs, and a disinterested teenager pushed free sneak preview passes into our hands. Sadistic bastard. I’ll be honest, at some point one of us said “this is boring!” in the least convincing tone ever, and we left. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/89 "2025-07-15T23:14:47Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Eighty posts in and no mention of _Jaws_. Until now. Hell yes, great selection. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/90 "2025-07-16T04:36:39Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Eighty posts in and no mention of _Jaws_. Until now. > > There are two types of people who have seen _Jaws_: (1) those who will admit that the movie induced some level of fear about going into the ocean; and (2) liars. Hey now. Parts of Jaws scared me, like the head and various floating body parts, but that was more like fear of being grossed out. But the movie as a whole didn’t inspire any fear. I haven’t really watched it in years because I root for the shark and we know how it ends for it. Same with Cujo. To be fair, I know it did indeed scare lots of people, so maybe they have more common sense than I. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/91 "2025-07-16T12:28:58Z")
While I personally don’t think that _An American Werewolf in London_ is one of the “scariest movies,” I have a couple close friends who do. In fact, one of them accompanied me to a matinee showing when the movie was first released and he found that he had to leave the theater. I think the combination of practical effects, jump cuts, sound, and humor was just a bit too much for him to handle. He eventually was able to watch the (uncut) movie on TV, but he still found it extremely unsettling…and he still does. It’s notable in my house because my wife knows that I cry every time at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/92 "2025-07-16T14:56:26Z")
I watched _The Blair Witch Project_ in the theater without having heard much about it and it absolutely was the most scared I’ve been watching a movie. I think a large part of it was the lack of a musical soundtrack. It made it feel real in a way I’d never experienced before. I remember looking away during the ‘at night’ sequences and wishing for morning to come. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/93 "2025-07-16T15:44:49Z")
I didn’t see the Blair Witch Project until it came to cable. I’m sure it hits different when you’re watching at home on the couch, but the only thing I really felt the whole time watching it was how I hadn’t been camping in a while and remember it being fun. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/94 "2025-07-16T15:56:47Z")
I saw _The Blair Witch Project_ in its original run in the movie theater, at a time I was leading scout groups on overnight camps. The sound of a tent being zipped opened during the middle of the night still gives me the willies (mostly because I didn’t want to get up to find some kid’s tent splattered with vomit). If the tent got zipped up again a few minutes later, they means it was just a bathroom run. Otherwise, there’s something that needs to be investigated _in the dark_. By me. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/95 "2025-07-16T16:27:47Z")
My distinct memory of the first time I saw _Jaws_ was wet floor mats. Double-dating to the drive-in. KFC and beer for refreshments. When Bruce rose out of the water to smile at Brody, the sound you heard was 4 beers hitting the floor. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/96 "2025-07-16T16:45:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > the sound you heard was 4 beers hitting the floor. Thank you for explaining the wet floor mats. I was thinking something else. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/97 "2025-07-16T18:34:43Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > The movie that scared me more than any other is _The Blair Witch Project._ Oddly enough, that was a movie we both got bored watching. I didn’t watch it during it’s first run in part because I heard how scary the movie was. I think this is because when the movie first came out it was very novel in it’s use of a shaky cam and lack of music made the movie feel different and more real. We had already watched Cloverfield (which she LOVED) so it felt passe by the time we watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/98 "2025-07-16T18:35:17Z")
The old “Casablanca is full of clichés” effect. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/99 "2025-07-16T18:40:29Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > > [@Odesio](#): > > > > There’s a movie called _The Changeling,_ a ghost story starring George C. Scott that was released in 1980 or 1981. > > My daughter’s been on an “old scary movies” kick lately. This is the one she found most upsetting. Laugh, sounds like our daughters should meet. She is the only one in her friend group who likes scary movies. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831/100 "2025-07-16T18:46:29Z")
> [@Calder](#): > > > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > > The movie that scared me more than any other is _The Blair Witch Project._ > > Oddly enough, that was a movie we both got bored watching. I didn’t watch it during it’s first run in part because I heard how scary the movie was. > > I think this is because when the movie first came out it was very novel It was the first “found footage” film I had ever seen and had a huge impact on me. I left the theater thinking this low budget film was going to win the Oscar for best picture. I’m sure it would be laughable watching it today. Its influence has retroactively diminished its quality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-movie/1020831.md?page=6)