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"I Do Believe In Spooks": BeastieGirl's Top Ten Scariest Movies EverOct 05 '06 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Everyone has a different version of scary and horror doesn't always mean the same thing. Here's my version! I’m sure that this list will differ from those of a younger generation, where scary has an entirely new meaning these days, what with terrorists abound and more and more twisted minds out there (and that’s in real life!!). I’m not so impressed by the continuing saga of Freddy Kruger or Jason, but more frightened of those stories that make you think and ponder the happenings after the credits are done running. Happy Halloween and enjoy! 10. Halloween This movie has one of the all time scary scenarios- a teenage babysitter gets attacked by a crazy psycho! What could make young girls more scared of being the one responsible on a dark night? A little on the cheesy, standard horror flick level, Halloween suspends our imagination a bit, but still reels us in with gory delight. A classic scary story that still entertains more than 20 years later. 9. Storm of the Century Originally made for television in two parts, Storm of the Century is a Stephen King creation- centered around a small town in Maine, where a winter "Nor’easter" threatens to completely isolate this seemingly peaceful town. When a very creepy stranger comes to town, things go from pretty bad to unimaginably horrible. A good one to watch on a winter night, if you feel like getting really spooked (especially if you live in Maine!!). 8. Dead Again My sister and I saw this movie together many years ago and it has always struck me as being really, really scary- even though I doubt if most would consider this in a pick for scary movies- so here’s my line of thinking. Although probably unlikely to happen in “real life”, Dead Again focuses on an amnesiac woman (Emma Thompson) and the police officer (Kenneth Brannagh) who found her. As they try to unravel her past, strange coincidences begin to happen and shocking truths are revealed. I’ll classify this choice as the “dramor” (drama/horror) movie of my picks. 7. It Another Stephen King movie made for television; it is one of those movies you just don’t want to watch alone. As a group of young friends grow up in Maine, they encounter an evil something- what they refer to as “It”. Eventually they grow up, move away, lose touch and try their best to forget about some of the horrors of their pasts. But we all know the past is inescapable (especially in scary movies) and as fate would have it, they are brought back together again, as though they are called upon to fight this evil. King is brilliant in the way that he makes fear of the unknown the scariest fear of all. 6. The Exorcist Whenever I asked my dad what the scariest movie he ever saw was, he responds immediately, and without hesitation, “The Exorcist”. This movie was the reason my parents banned any use of Ouija boards in our house. Bear in mind that this movie was filmed in 1975 and without question, the special effects have certainly improved vastly since then. Regardless, the premise of a young girl becoming possessed by a demon by supposedly playing an innocent board game has scared plenty. I guarantee, if you are over 30, this movie will still scare you, and if you are under 30, The Exorcist is a good idea of what scared your parents back in the day. Upon the movie’s release, it was rated “X”- that’s how scary (or controversial, depending on how you look at it) The Exorcist was in its day. 5. Misery Raise your hand if you remember anything Kathy Bates was in before Misery. Okay. Now raise your hand if you remember anything she was in after. I see our class has learned at least one thing from this Stephen King based movie. Misery also stared James Caan, which you may not remember since Kathy Bates was so dominant in her role as a kidnapping, crazy psycho lady who is obsessed with her favorite author, that many don’t even remember anything else about the movie. Misery is not so much a horror film as a nightmare of a story! It’s one of those “keep coming back at you” type movies that keeps you on the edge of your seat without the doubts poorly done movies do- you know, when you sit there and think “yeah, right”, even though at some points in the movie, you probably should think that. 4. The Empire Strikes Back Ok, so I doubt that most people would consider the Empire Strikes Back to be one of the top ten scariest movies of all time, but I’ll tell you what. It scared the (pardon my French) cr*p out of me as a kid and to me, there is nothing scarier than hearing the sound of Darth Vader breathing. Focusing a great deal on said character, the second movie (later on to be the 5th movie) in the Star Wars series is the most dark of all, just as the title suggests. The Empire Strikes Back is of the science fiction genre but has a very general audience appeal. Masterfully done by George Lucas, the effects are great, despite being released more than 25 years ago. The phrase “I am your father” is forever credited to this film. 3. The Village The fourth film by M. Night Shyamalan has received mixed reviews, but I loved it. Seemingly set in the Puritan days (think Pilgrims), a small village is threatened by the outside world in a way that is unimaginable. Townsfolk are scared by the possibility of unknown creatures that have given everyone reason to set up watch towers along the perimeter of the town, but of course, as in all of M.Night’s films, everything is not as it seems and there are some interesting truths eventually revealed. Fear of the unknown is exploited here- and it makes for a scary and reflective movie all at the same time. 2. The Others I still can’t watch this movie at night. Nicole Kidman plays a war widow trying to keep her children safe during World War II. Everything around the house is eerily foggy and isolated. Then along comes a group of house/groundskeepers to help out the widow and her two children. The children have a rare disease that prevents them from being exposed to sunlight, making everything even more dark and isolated. When the children start to experience ghostly sightings and apparently out of body experiences, things start to get really scary. Even the servants seem to be hiding something, making for an all out cover-your-face-with-the-blankets-type movie! 1. The Shining I can’t think of anything scarier than being stranded at a huge resort in the middle of winter with no one around but an insane Jack Nicholson. Top it off by haunting the hotel and you won’t see me hanging around. Of course, it’s based on a Stephen King novel of the same moniker, so you can expect a dark and twisted tale and it’s directed by Stanley Kubrick, so you can expect an even more twisted film. While there are no monsters or anything like a traditional horror flick, The Shining doesn’t back down from being the hands down, scariest movie I have ever seen- one that leaves a creepy feeling behind much longer after the movie is over. This is a timeless movie- just because Shelly Duval wears clothes that are obviously from 1980, when the movie was released, there are no major special effects that could/should be updated. In fact, there was an updated TV movie-version several years ago and it just could not top the original version- I don’t think it can be duplicated. There’s my list. Certainly, some of these movies are probably not always classified as horror flicks, but they all inspire fear and that jumping feeling in my stomach when I watch them. If you’re feeling in the mood for a good fright, check these out! The links to these reviews are from other reviewers here on Epinions who I thought wrote great reviews on these movies, so please, give them a hand and check them out!  |
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