# Scary Movie
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 26, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893 "2010-03-26T16:17:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/1 "2010-03-26T16:17:56Z")
I’ve only been scared by 1 movie in my entire life - Stephen King’s It and i was about 6 when i saw it. I didn’t go to the bathroom for 4 days. I peed twice in the yard and i didn’t poop, shower, or brush my teeth.
Since then, I’ve tried to watch “horror” movies but they just don’t do it for me. The brutality and gruesomeness get to me sometimes - the girl falling into a pit of needles in one of the Saw movies, achilles tendon cutting in Hostel, etc. but those were more empathic winces than legitimate fear.
So tonight the gf wants to watch a scary movie and i really don’t want to be bored to tears. She wants to watch some dutch movie from the 70s (the vanishing?) and i really can’t get into scary movies as it is, and i don’t think subtitles flashing across the screen is going to help any.
SOOO… long story short - what are some scary movies that i can rent? people raved about paranormal activity, but similar ravings were heard about blair witch, which almost put me to sleep.
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### Author:  [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/2 "2010-03-26T16:26:08Z")
The Vanishing is quite good. I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand, but if you need some suggestions.
I rather like John Carpenter’s remake of **The Thing** If you haven’ seen it before that is best. It is gruesome in bits but there is a real sense of paranoia that works.
Also in the remake Dept I also got a bit of the creeps from \*\*Invasion of the Body Snatchers \*\*(The Donald Sutherland One) Once again the paranoia factor helps.
**The Shinning** has great creepy moments but it doesn’t move quickly.
The Original **Texas Chainsaw massacre** also give me the willies. My wife can’t stand the sound of the high pitched whine the flash bulb gives when it goes off in the beginning it just makes her uncomfortable
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### Author:  [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/3 "2010-03-26T16:33:16Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#):
>
> The Vanishing is quite good. I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand, but if you need some suggestions.
>
> I rather like John Carpenter’s remake of **The Thing** If you haven’ seen it before that is best. It is gruesome in bits but there is a real sense of paranoia that works.
>
> Also in the remake Dept I also got a bit of the creeps from \*\*Invasion of the Body Snatchers \*\*(The Donald Sutherland One) Once again the paranoia factor helps.
>
> **The Shinning** has great creepy moments but it doesn’t move quickly.
>
> The Original **Texas Chainsaw massacre** also give me the willies. My wife can’t stand the sound of the high pitched whine the flash bulb gives when it goes off in the beginning it just makes her uncomfortable
I second The Thing and Body Snatchers. I didn’t care for the original TCM but I liked Part 2 which was a horror comedy (with Dennis Hopper as the crazed hero) and I also liked the two new ones which starred R. Lee Ermey as the patriarch of the killer family. Also, why it’s a sequel to HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, the much superior THE DEVIL’S REJECTS stands up on its own.
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### Author:  [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/4 "2010-03-26T16:33:32Z")
I haven’t seen it for a while (thank goodness), but **Poltergeist** scares the crap out of me.
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### Author:  [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/5 "2010-03-26T16:33:41Z")
**The Ring** and **The Grudge** both put me off horror movies for good, and I am a horror fan. Those movies scared the crap out of me and **The Ring** in particular gave me a feeling of general dread throughout the entire film.
But then, lots of people hate both movies. I’m just really scared of ghosts (although I don’t believe in them). YMMV
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### Author:  [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/6 "2010-03-26T16:39:04Z")
I always liked **Jacob’s Ladder** , but it’s not so much scary as just…odd.
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### Author:  [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/7 "2010-03-26T16:50:49Z")
Paranormal Activity is the only horror movie that ever scared me. I barely slept for four days, and it took about three weeks to get the imagery from that movie out of my head. I gave the movie away the day after I watched it. I just found it to be evil.
I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but I always found _The Exorcist_ to be enjoyably eerie.
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/8 "2010-03-26T16:58:21Z")
It’s interesting, Paranormal Activity bored both my Wife and I. Too much hype about it I guess. Both my wife and I love Alien, The Thing and The Ring.
We’ve probably seen Alien 30 times.
My cousin and I saw Alien at the theater. Not really knowing anything about it. Scared us good, we couldn’t go back to our apartment for a while, went to a nice brightly lit McD’s.
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### Author:  [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/9 "2010-03-26T17:13:32Z")
Spoorloos (the Vanishing) is a great movie though more unsettling than downright scary. It isn’t really fast-paced though, IMHO, it will hold your attention.
If you’re looking for horror movies that move a little faster. I might go with:
(as others have mentioned) The Thing and Alien
Evil Dead or Evil Dead pt. 2
Shaun of the Dead (more comedy than horror)
Dog Soldiers
The Descent
May
Session 9 (though slower than the others I’ve mentioned).
Dead Alive/Brain Dead (early Peter Jackson)
Black Christmas
Halloween
[QUOTE=Pancakes3]
Since then, I’ve tried to watch “horror” movies but they just don’t do it for me. The brutality and gruesomeness get to me sometimes - the girl falling into a pit of needles in one of the Saw movies, achilles tendon cutting in Hostel, etc. but those were more empathic winces than legitimate fear.
[/QUOTE]
I love, love horror movies but I don’t like movies like Saw or Hostel, fun for the feeble-minded. IMHO, if you have to rely on brutality to keep your movie going than you’re not doing a good job. I’m paraphrasing Stephen King in Danse Macabre here but he believes a horror movie should be about what you think is behind a closed door not what’s actually there. I agree with this.
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### Author:  [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/10 "2010-03-26T17:23:30Z")
Paranormal Activity didn’t scare me in the slightest. The last movie that scared me was Poltergeist but I don’t know if it would still scare me today. Scary movies just aren’t what they used to be - too much blood and guts and not enough psychological scariness.
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### Author:  [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/11 "2010-03-26T17:29:00Z")
One vote here for **The Hitcher** , and another for **Alien**.
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### Author:  [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/12 "2010-03-26T17:48:57Z")
To me, “horror” movies are just good clean fun. They are too unrealistic to be actually scary.
The most scared I ever was in a movie was “Play Misty For Me.” That was some scary-ass shit, that could _really happen_…TRM
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/13 "2010-03-26T18:33:43Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#):
>
> Dog Soldiers
Another vote for Dog Soldiers. The atmosphear is just great. As are the wearwolves.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/14 "2010-03-26T18:57:59Z")
> [@corvidae](#):
>
> I haven’t seen it for a while (thank goodness), but **Poltergeist** scares the crap out of me.
It is creepier when you know in advance that no matter what happens in the movie, the little blond girl in it still dies in real life.
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/15 "2010-03-26T19:18:20Z")
I always liked _Prince of Darkness_. Might be a little dated now, but it’s got Alice Cooper!
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### Author:  [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/16 "2010-03-26T19:28:36Z")
Young Frankenstein.
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### Author:  [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/17 "2010-03-26T21:51:33Z")
i think i’m going with poltergeist, but feel free to keep the suggestions coming. i’ve seen aliens, ring, and the shining.
bodysnatchers seemed to have a few votes so i might give that one a chance some other weekend.
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### Author:  [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/18 "2010-03-26T22:06:04Z")
The original (1963) **The Haunting**.
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### Author:  [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/19 "2010-03-26T22:37:17Z")
Ditto _The Haunting_ and _The Ring_. The former scared me to death as a child. I watched the latter at my son’s insistence, even though I have pooh-poohed the entire contemporary horror genre as being all about gore and not much about storytelling.
I was pleasantly (?) surprised by _The Ring._ It is really creepy and suspenseful.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-movie/533893/20 "2010-03-26T23:52:23Z")
The original Candyman is pretty scary, along the same lines as IT - sort of a Saturday afternoon movie. The Vanishing is good, but a little slow. Dawn of the Dead (the remake) is good and scary. 28 Days Later is also frightening and good. Same for Session 9, which in its building of suspense reminds me a bit of The Shining. The Haunting (1963) is one of my all-time favorite movies.
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