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The Spooky Movie thread was so popular, we extended it for a second update.
Reader John reminded us of a movie that could have been voted Movie Of the Year by the American Bathtub Association!
Come on kids! Who can forget the classic movie that kept us away from showers? The freaky Alfred Hitchcock film – Psycho.
Boy, those violins!
And Sue adds her vote for a Golden Oldie and a scary remake of a horror classic.
Carrie and recent version of The Body Snatchers
Boy they don’t make trailers like that anymore.
Check the comments for the newest suggestions from Loretta, Sharona21, and Annerys. All great picks for a post-Halloween gorefest. And feel free to add your own late entries!
TOP TERRORFESTS
As might be expected, the classics were the most popular with three flicks contending for the top spot – The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Night of the Living Dead.
The Exorcist…When I got home, I had to walk up to the sixth floor of my tenement apartment. As I ascended the stairs, I got increasingly scared, expecting something to jump out at me.
J. Anthony
Night of the Living Dead…still at the top of my list.
-Ray
GET OUT
Another popular pick was Get Out by Jordan Peele favored by Ellen and Loretta C.
If anyone wants to learn more about Loretta’s horror short stories, take a look at the profile Senior Planet did of her a while ago. Check it out here.
And kudos to Frederick who kindly included the trailer.
thanks Fred!-David B.
Here’s the remade trailer.
The Haunting
Reader Gerry Veede along with Suzanne Z. and Corinne casts a vote for another classic…
The Haunting is wonderfully scary because you never see who/what is watching them & causing the things to happen. I used to show it in my “Classic Horror Film Class”
-Gerry V
There were a couple of underappreciated classics- David B suggested the (original) Wicker Man with a series of shocks that builds to a truly terrifying climax that he summed up in one word.
When it comes to scarefests, Reader Peggy has a confession to make.
When I was young I saw Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Triffids, both in black and white … made me sleep under the bed for weeks!
The most interesting candidate is from Harry R.
Pet Semetary is one I didn’t finish and won’t.
I feel ya, Harry, I got nightmares from the book.
There are literally dozens of ideas for a Halloween spookathon so take a spin through the comments and add your own!
ORIGINAL COLUMN BELOW:
When I was a kid, I stopped sleeping on my stomach because of a movie called “The Tingler.” The idea of a creepy, big insect type thing that could attack my spine weirded me out for years.
Hey, I was 4!
I also slept with a scarf around my neck for years because of Dracula.
Spooky Halloween Thrills
Happily, when I grew up, I appreciated the entertainment – and especially escapist – value of a scary movie.
Romance, crime, and other genres are OK, but not really escapist to me. I’ve had romances and I’ve been a crime victim (and could be again if I’m not lucky).
However, I know for sure I will never be stuck inside a demonic spaceship (Event Horizon), or trapped in an Arctic outpost with a shape-shifting monster (The Thing), or on a planet facing an implacable, seemingly invulnerable monster…who likes me (The Alien franchise), or on a marine salvage mission into the unknown (Ghost Ship).
The all-time winners
To me the very scariest movies are the supernatural ones that could, somehow, be real. The Exorcist is the all time winner in this category – along with the American version of The Ring, which I think is the scariest movie of all time. I will not see it again. (I moved my TV out of my bedroom for a while after I watched it.)
One horror movie I will happily see again (despite the slash and gash aspects, which I don’t enjoy), is Cabin in the Woods. It’s a clever, well-made scarefest that takes on all the horror movie tropes with style and wit.
Your Turn
But that’s me. How about you? What are your fave scary movies – the ones you’ll see again and again? Or the ones where once was enough? Share your picks in the comments!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.
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