What MOVIE MONSTER has FRIGHTENED you the most?
August 1st 2008 03:51
Poltergeist (1982) has the dubious honour of being the first movie that really scared me. It also features a “monster” which gave me nightmares; the clown doll with the big smile which scurries under young Robbie’s bed during a particularly nasty storm, and then comes up behind him and pulls him down under the bed, its facial expression twisted into a terrifying, maniacal grin. I was about twelve-years-old, and that nightmarish scene is etched like a scar in my mind.
My parents didn’t allow me to see Jaws (1975) when it was first released. In fact from memory I didn’t get round to watching it until I was well into my teens, and by that time, despite my pathological fear of (and morbid fascination with) sharks - especially the great white – I wasn’t really that frightened of ol’ Bruce. The movie, especially the first half, is brilliantly made, and is definitely very tense, but when the shark is in full view it’s simply not convincing enough to be genuinely scary.
Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th (1980) series is not nearly as scary. However, like Michael Myers he doesn’t talk, and, like Myers his face is hidden behind a mask. But then Jason doesn’t have a fucking scary score shadowing his every move!
Freddy Krueger was very creepy in the first A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), a novel new boogeyman. But very quickly he became a cartoon parody of himself. Each sequel further destroyed his palpable menace and as fright machine he became more of a grotesque jack-in-the-box, rather than a piss-in-your-pants dream demon.
I’ll finish up by going underground. What lies beneath in The Descent (2006) has to rank as arguably the scariest in many years. You want monsters? Watch The Descent by yourself, late at night, with the lights turned down low. I guarantee you’ll be a jittering wreck by the end.
I'd be screaming too ...
Here's a little teaser for all you brave clowns out there:
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Comment by Anonymous
I was only 5 in 1973 and wouldn't actually see the movie until well over a decade and a half later, but that didn't stop me from being bombarded with images of her possessed face on the cover of tabloid magazines everywhere. Think National Enquirer and you'd be right. So, night after night I'd lie awake in bed, staring between the blinds on my windows and dreadfully anticipating her arrival. To do what I had no idea, but she did (and still does) scare me silly. < shudder >
Kemi~
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Alien was cool.
Poltergeist also cool. The big sudden demon head on the gateway to the Twilight Zone made me jump.
Rutger Huer character in bladerunner was chillingly cruel like a 4 year old in an adult body. (Hang on that is what he was.)
Yet going further back.
The electricity monster that burst through the television screen in an Outer Limits episode.
Also any monster that could get through the force field on Lost in Space.
Or any monster where the laser beam bounce off.
Comment by Lola Tahlulah
Lola Tahlulah
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Jaws, Hannibal Lecter, clowns. Clowns will always spook me. So creepy.
Apart from Bruce, and clowns in general, even amiable ones, I don't think any other animal/alien/fictional being ever scared me. It was always the psychopathic serial killers, especially if they were based on real people.
One movie I still can't watch because it freaked me out the first time - The Good Son. Now, Macauley Culkin is terrifying enough as he is - but when he is playing a weird twelve year old sociopath, he just scares the bejesus out of me.
Michaelie
Comment by cassiekins
absolutely terrified me i had nightmares for 3 weeks about it coming to get me.
As a result i HATE clowns they freak me out no end!
i still can't watch it when it's dark even now i'm older!
Also Poltergeist used to scare me! and not surprisingly the clown part! lol
I couldn't even watch the spoof part on Scary Movie when that came out! I had to look away! lol
I'll never be at ease with a clown around
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Lilith, Regan aka Azzuzu is most definitely a monster. And a damn frightening one too! I presume you've seen that original trailer with the strobing black and white images? Sweet Jesus!
Damo, yeah that big white demon in the doorway was wild!
Pennywise. Another damn clown. Jesus.
Micaelie, I've never actually seen The Good Son, but the poster freaked me out enough. The idea of ... ergh!
IT was freakydeakyscarystuff, but I found the novel of The Shining was his scariest. When Jack is locked up in the larder and is trying to coax young Danny to unlock the door and let him out gave me the heebie-jeebies for a long time.
Comment by Jason King
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
There was also this scary movie they played before I saw the Ozzie film Starstruck - it was in Katoomba theatre in something like 1978 or 9 and the film had not arrived at the cinema so they played us this one film while the print was being couriered to the cinema. It scared the crap out of me and had 3 or 4 short stories. One of them was about this evil man who when he whistled some way he burnt things - well his cat ate a white dove so he destroyed his cat and then in another of the shorts a man or a couple get lost and end up in this "hick" back country town of cannibals who all have their teeth sharpened to points - and they ate these people. Probably would be rated R now but back then - I don't think there were such things as ratings so showing a 7yr old bloodfests was AOK. I wish I knew the name of that film - it still scares me and when my cat gets up to mischief I emulate the whistle to no effect. LOL
Comment by Andrea Grosscurth
The descent which i watched with my mum in the dark - i thought was nasty but no so much scary maybe because i was alot older when i watched it and already loved horror films!
The ring - the only part that REALLY scared me was the ending where the girl is crawling out of the tv. now that was horrible!
Have to say i have never seen any friday the 13th films
Comment by Jason King
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
The clown under the bed in Poltergoost scared the crap out of me. In fact, clowns in general are creepy little bastards.
The carpet in The Shining was scary.
Comment by Jason King
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
The movie The Descent has no connection to the novel, aside from being underground, and having primitive relatives of man in it. It's actually a pretty damned good movie, surprisingly, with some moments I found to be genuinely tense and creepy- which I don't find much.
SO - BOO that - I still recommend the book - it's quite scary!!
Nice article by the way - sorry I kept rambling about the book. LOL
Comment by Nick 6
Films Rock
Ever since I've watched that movie, whenever I see long white sheets on the closeline the hairs on my body jump out.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Rodney Southern
The Splatterpage - Horror Movie Reviews
For me, hands down, it was the Phantom Killer from the town that dreaded sundown. The white hood over his head with only the hollow eyes? That was to much for my ten year old brain. I wrote about it on my blog.
Freaking scary stuff.
Loved this!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile