One creepy little gem that I feel must be mentioned is “the Reflecting Skin.” Kind of a sleeper movie from ten years back, in the same vein as David Lynch’s oeuvre of films. It willl definitely make your skin crawl.
A stupid, badly-made movie that nevertheless will make you lose all hope in the goodness of humanity is “the Last House on the Left”, or I think that’s the title. The plot in summary is about two girls who go to a Rolling Stones concert and hook up with these two guys, expecting to score some weed. The guys turn out to be escaped convicts who then proceed to brutally torture the girls in every way, shape and form imaginable. It’s a misogynistic nightmare, but if you watch it, you will not forget it.
Well, after all the rave reviews, I rented The Vanishing last night. I was…well, disappointed. Perhaps it was the built up expectations but I just didn’t find it particularly creepy or scary.
SPOILERS BELOW - While they showed Raymond (abductor) and his little mental exercises to prepare for taking a girl, they had a sort of hokey, funny music in the background. It was almost…comical. I don’t know - I just didn’t find it a very big buildup. Plus, earlier on the list, someone referred to the movie or the remake and said, “Is that where someone gets buried alive?” - There wasn’t a spoiler warning and so I really wasn’t surprised at the end.
As for Eraserhead…I would say that it is a visually disturbing picture - some things just aren’t nice to look at - but the symbolism is borderline obvious as far as sexuality and virginity, especially when he is at his girlfriend’s place for dinner. Not a terribly clever movie but nonetheless, interesting. Many web pages out there on some different meanings given to the flick.
Tibs
I’m with you Tiburon. The Vanishing just didn’t do it for me.
The creepiest European film of the past few years has to be Funny Games. Do rent that one if you get a chance. I don’t think it will disappoint you.
Mega - That movie would be Warlock, I think Juliam Sands starred in it.
I seconf votes for Poltergeist and House on Haunted Hill (the remake with Geoffrey Rush and Taye Diggs)
My vote goes to Diabolique, a suspenseful 1954 French film. there was a remake made that had Sharon Stone in it. It may be good, I never saw it.
For just plain weirness, not horror, I like The Last Supper.
Creepy? I’ll go for Leprechaun in the Hood. Now that’s creepy.
Bad Seed. Saw it in the mid 60’s. Haven’t been the same since.
If I’d been here back in August, I would have seconded the vote for Poltergeist. Another one that totally creeped me out was the original Evil Dead.
I found Videodrome to be exceedingly creepy…James Woods is creepy all the time, and Debra Harry…yummy creepyness abounds. The idea behind it is nifty, as well. It’s not the creepiest movie ever made, but still disturbing.
Speaking of David C., Crash was just plain weird.
What about Man Bites Dog? That’s a good one. I won’t tell you anything about it except it is filmed as a “documentary”.
Evil Dead…'Nuff said 'bout this.
Finally, I personally found Fire, Walk with Me to be really creepy, but you had better like David Lynch. Don’t even bother if you don’t.
I endorse al lthe enthusiastic posts for The Vanishing and The Wicker Man, the latter probably having the edge in terms of creepy.
Also, if you can get it, try the old b.w classic Night of the Demon (1957, dir. Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews, re-cut for US distribution and aka Curse of the Demon). Might seem a bit cosy and old-fashioned, but somehow it still gets to you.
If you really want to go to the limit, then turn the lights down low… take the phone off the hook… and force yourself to sit all the way through anything intended as a star vehicle for Pia Zadora. But don’t blame me for the nightmares.
I concur with those who say that The Vanishing is peerless among creepy movies.
The Hitcher is suspensful, but I wouldn’t say it was creepy.
I agree that the Japanese film about the witches was more likely Onibaba than Throne of Blood. The witch in throne of blood is a minor part; it seems unlikely that one would remember this above the rest of this great movie.
On the other hand, didn’t Onibaba take place in a field of tall reeds, not a forest?
I have to throw my vote out for house on haunted hill simply because of the first time my girlfriend saw it. Ok it’s pitch dark in my house. I’m talking unbelievably dark. It’s about 12:30 at night so she’s kinda tired and out of it. WHAM someone starts knocking on my door she jumps about 3 feet in the air. The only thing is this would be normal if I lived in a populated area, but I don’t. There isn’t a house for about 1/2 mile in either direction. Needless to say she didn’t want to finish the movie.
Did that one have the scene with Martin Sheen and the hamster? I saw that when I was little and it freaked me out.
The Cell was somewhat creepy, but I’m ashamed to admit the one horror movie that had me the most nervous after leaving the theater was Final Destination.
I never saw a ‘Fight Club-esque’ element to The Hitcher…it would be an interesting interpretation, but there are too many scenes that invalidate it…when I first saw it I thought The Hitcher was trying to make the young guy into a psychotic killer too.
Babe
It’s a pig, but… it TALKS!
I’ll NEVER eat pork again!
Seriously, now.
Peeping Tom
No Way to Treat a Lady
The Lady In White
Phantasm
Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2
Return of the Living Dead
Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond
The Exorcist
The Omen
Jaws
Poltergeist
Last House on the Left
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Cannibal Holocaust
City of the Walking Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Suspiria
Anguish
John Carpenter’s The Fog
The Howling
Strawdogs.
This is a movie about a couple who move to the British coast and are just completely harrassed by the villagers. After my parents saw this they didn’t watch a movie for 6 months. It stars Dustin Hoffman, and he has said that he wished he never took the part. (at least I think it is him, I am not very good at recognising movie actors)
Yeah, it was Dustin.
And Straw Dogs is a Sam Peckimpah classic.
Then riddle me this:
How did the Hitcher know the kid was in that jail? How did the hitcher find the kid at the hotel?
To me, the most plausible explanation is that the kid is the hitcher.
What scenes invalidate that interpretation, in your view?
Badtz, yes, Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane had Sheen and the hamster.
I liked The Cell. Sure, it was thin on plot but I enjoyed the visuals. Especially the scene with the horse.
Anyone know anything about the movie by Rob Zombie, Night of 1000 Corpses, or something like that? I saw a preview for it once, a long time ago, and never heard anything about it after that. It looked strange. (It might be called House of 1000 Corpses, I can’t remember).
Michi
I’ll second that. Ice-T’s acting abilities (or lack thereof) always creep me out.
Now he has a recurring role on Law and Order, SVU.
:::shudder:::