Of all the horror movies I’ve ever seen, few have actually made me nervous. Even fewer than that have scared me. Thus, I thought I might create a list or two, focusing on those moments in certain films, and how and why they managed to scare me when so many others did not. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list, nor is it composed of movies based on their true quality or popularity level. Some scared me all the way through, and some, just in certain instances.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
Okay, I’ll admit it. This movie creeped me out, in a big way. In the best fucking way possible. Now, don’t get me wrong, not the whole movie. I wasn’t sitting there like some punk. But this movie is absolutely chilling. I am being 100% honest here. The feeling, the atmosphere, the story, the tapes, the possibility that it could happen, and probably has happened? Just think about it here for a minute – a serial killer, young enough to be unassuming, yet old enough to not get caught, who has no preference in his victim selection, and who rids them of all dignity, humility, and self-esteem before brutally killing them, on camera no less? Come on, now! It’s fucking amazingly twisted. Yeah, yeah, the acting on the part of the regular folks wasn’t the best, but the acting of Ben Messmer (The Water Street Butcher), and the victims, particularly sympathetic Stacy Chbosky (Cheryl Dempsey) is utterly astounding. I want to feel uncomfortable when watching a horror film, I love that feeling, I thrive on that feeling, and this movie does it for me. I definitely don’t think it gets enough credit, mainly because hardly anyone has seen it because it doesn’t exist except on the internet, and because people are leery of the “found footage” subgenre of horror. I get it, and I hear you. But, this movie is a shining example, to me, of how a horror film should be made. It is horrifying, which is the goal of a horror movie, hence the name. The entire movie you’re pretty much on pins and needles because the normal scenes are so quiet, and then when they cut to footage of the tapes, it’s very loud, and there is usually a woman screaming in terror. This makes it very unnerving, and you can never get fully comfortable in your own skin throughout. This makes it a very effective film, indeed. The most nerve-wracking and fucked up moments?
1) The Creepy All-Fours Walk
Here’s a taste of the scene that gives me chills. It still gets me no matter how many times I see it. The Butcher wears a white, emotionless mask on the back of his head, creating an illusion, when really he is walking on all-fours, and wearing a creepy Comeddia dell’arte mask on his face as he moves closer to the camera. He then kills his terrified victim, up close and personal. I literally pull my legs into my chest when I see this. I cannot explain it. But it scares the fuck out of me. I admit it without shame. If this doesn’t scare you, there might be something wrong with you.
2) Cheryl’s Mom Confronted
Soon after teen and main victim Cheryl Dempsey is abducted, The Butcher confronts her mother, telling her, “if there’s anything I can do…..”. As she realizes who he might be, he simply giggles eerily and walks away. There is something about this that absolutely kills me. Maybe it’s the gall of the killer to confront his victim’s own mother because he is confident that he will never be caught, or the trauma this further causes the mother, but something about it goes through me, and fills me with sadness.
3) Cheryl’s Depressing Interview
Towards the end, Cheryl is rescued and returned home. She seems to have aged thirty years and is depressed beyond measure. She has been conditioned by the killer to respond only to him, with whatever he wanted her to say. Thus, she keeps telling the cameramen, “I don’t know what you want me to say….” This broke my heart, because people are really that broken by experiences they’ve had, and though this movie is fake, shit like this does happen. It is also revealed that her left hand has been removed. She refers to her Master, that he will come to get her, and that he didn’t mean to leave her behind. Most chilling, she thinks he really loves her. At the end of the short interview, words appear onscreen, informing us that she killed herself two weeks ago the taping. After this, a news reporter comes on, talking about how her body was stolen from the cemetery where she was recently buried. Scary. I don’t care what anyone says, this movie GETS to me. Which is really the point, yes?
The Strangers (2008)
Well, if it hasn’t been made obvious by now, the scariest movies to me are those that could actually happen. Home invasion, serial killers, torture and torment? Yeah, right up my alley. So, of course, The Strangers will always appear positively in any list of mine. I was so pleasantly surprised by this movie, and I could hardly believe it was Bryan Bertino’s directorial debut. The fact that it is loosely based on a few real life incidents (the Manson murders, The Keddie Cabin Murders) makes it all the more horrifying. A young, innocent, likeable couple terrorized in their own home (well, vacation home), by three psychopaths throughout the course of an entire night is horrifying to think about. The whole movie is creepy, for sure, but here are my top scenes.
1) Kristen Terrorized
From the moment James leaves to get more cigarettes, Kristen is tormented by the strangers, slowly at first, rapping on the door every so often, pretending to still be looking for Tamara, and then loud, malicious pounding. Kristen’s cigarettes and the fireplace have caused the alarm to go off, and she removes it, leaving it on the floor as the door is hit once again. She calls James to tell him to hurry, and goes back in the living room. The smoke alarm is now sitting on the cushion of the chair she used to stand on. They’ve been in the house, and even stolen her phone and thrown it in the fireplace. Eventually, the front door opens slightly, and Kristen sees a woman in a pin-up girl mask staring back at her. We weren’t quite expecting that, which is what makes it so startling. The whole scene builds up so much that once we catch a glimpse of one of the tormentors, we practically jump out of our seats. Well, I did. Amazing.
2) Mike is Stalked
Earlier in the night, James had called his friend to come pick him up, as he and Kristen were fighting. He finally arrives, after most of the terror has taken place. He enters the house, which is eerily quiet, except for the Merle Haggard record, “Mama Tried” playing over and over. As he walks through the house, confused and nervous, the masked male stranger appears behind him, stalking him with an ax. We’re sure he is going to be hacked to death brutally, but in a fucked up turn of events, James shoots him in the head, not realizing it is his friend. This scene is where everything pretty much goes to hell. We know the victims are probably not going to survive, and even if they did, they just killed their best friend and would be messed up for life. Fear can make us do horrible, unintentional things, and this scene proves that.
3) “Because you were home”
After the night of terror is over, the sun rises, as Kristen and James are bound and tied to two chairs in the living room. The strangers stand over them, just staring. Kristen asks, “Why are you doing this to us?”, to which the blonde stranger replies, “Because you were home”. This is so beyond creepy. They were just out looking for people to terrorize, and they just happened to be home. The strangers are a trio of sociopaths, who get their kicks tormenting and torturing helpless people in their homes. They thrive on the fear it causes, and once their fun is over, they must do away with them. James is stabbed slowly several times with a butcher knife, and then the same happens to Kristen. James is dead once the two little religious boys arrive to solicit Jesus materials, but Kristen is still alive, and screams out in terror as one little boy reaches out to her. I was just so, so impressed with this film.
The Ring (2002)
The Ring is one of those films I’ll never tire of. Yeah, I know it’s ten years old now (Jesus!), but it still freaked me out when I saw it, so it is deserving of my loyalty and love. Even at 14 I was a hardcore movie freak, and cynic, but I was pleasantly surprised by this gem. I really don’t care what anyone says. Gore Verbinski did a tremendous job on this film. Not one line of dialogue, one speck of lighting, nor one aspect of storyline is out-of-place. To me, that means a hell of a lot, not to mention, it features one of the creepiest kids ever in horror.
1) The Tale of Katie and the Tape
The beginning of the film opens with two teen girls, staying in on a rainy night, talking. The subject of urban legends comes up, and Becca mentions to Katie the mysterious tape that “kills you when you watch it”, seven days after receiving the threatening post-view phone call. Katie believes she’s seen the tape, and fakes Becca out by pretending to choke. After some shenanigans, the phone rings, scaring the girls to death. It’s Katie’s mom, and they answer it downstairs. Becca departs so they can talk, but after speaking to her mom begins to experience some strange things. The television comes on The Static Channel by itself, twice, she sees a blurry movement in the screen, and the refrigerator opens by itself. Okay, not too creepy when you type it, but the film makes it pretty eery. After going upstairs, she steps in a mysterious puddle outside her door. Upon opening the door, she witnesses the t.v. on a strange blueish-grey screenshot of a well in a forest, which prompts her to scream and contort her face unattractively as the screen cuts to black. Later on, at her funeral, her mother says she saw her face, and the scene quickly cuts to Katie curled up in her closet – twisted, contorted, and discolored. Look, it’s fuckin’ creepy, okay? Just admit it! Even the guy friend I was with seeing this for the first time ten years ago practically hit the ceiling! Me? I was startled, but I held my own, unlike him.
2) The Tape Itself
Do I really have to describe this one? The tape itself isn’t really scary, but it sure is strange, and the creepiest part is before we know the whole story, we’re sitting there, thinking, “What a bunch of random fucked up shit!” And it is, it really is. And the lighting and coloring of this videotape makes it even more odd and discomforting.
3) Samara’s Return
So, if you tell me that when Samara came up out of the well, and came through the television set, you didn’t get rattled, you’re either lying, or dead. Perhaps both. Of course, it’s not too big a deal now that we’ve all seen it a thousand times, but the first few times, particularly the first, it was fucking amazing. This evil little bitch will not be stopped, and she has to go and kill sweet Noah. Typical, the good guy dies, I call BULLSHIT. But still, it proves she is unrelenting, and innately evil. Not even Rachel’s compassion and discovery of her water-logged body will faze her. I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley, because my charming ways would apparently not work on her. This scene is a classic already, and still gets my stomach in knots when I see it. A few male friends even told me they turned their sets around when they got home from the movie when they first saw it. Bold of them to admit, but can you blame them? It was unsettling, and shows that there usually is no happy ending in horror films.
MORE TO COME! 
Released in 1992, this was one of my favorites as a child, and still is. Mikey is an evil little brat who kills anyone who stands in his way. After moving from family to family after killing his own, Mikey manipulates, controls, and destroys everyone in his path. With some pretty gnarly kills, including letting his sister drown after throwing her toy in the pool, to electrocution via bathtub + hair dryer, baseball bat beatings, deranged slingshots, and more, Mikey is definitely up there in the ‘killer kid’ genre.
more on the drama and psychology of the family as a whole. However, the terror that Henry causes is nothing short of horrifying. Macaulay Culkin can play a great psychopath, even as a little kid, and this is a far cry from adorable Kevin McCallister from Home Alone. Cute little Henry has killed many animals (I hate him already), his little brother as an infant, tried to kill his little sister by causing her to fall through ice on a pond, and causes a multiple car pile-up after throwing his creepy ass life-size doll thing off of a bridge during rush hour. Talk about your sociopaths…..I must say, I always cheer at the end.
the game’s menacing host, is portrayed very well by T. Ryder Smith, and while this is, of course, not the best movie ever made, it is a pretty fun ride.
tle devil is just about the understatement of the millenium. This demon seed from The Omen (1976) is the Antichrist, and as such, has to go about killing and hurting as many people as possible why still maintaining a misleading angelic face. Except, of course, when his parents try to take him to church or a zoo. From influencing suicidal nannies to causing numerous “freak accidents”, this kid is about as creepy and evil as you can get.
If you haven’t seen this film, I strongly urge you to do so once it is released on DVD wherever you reside. We Need to Talk About Kevin follows a mother (Tilda Swinton) and the aftermath of a horrendous tragedy. Most of the film, however, is flashbacks to the beginning - the beginning of the tragedy that is Kevin. We see him as a newborn, a toddler, a little boy, and finally, a disturbingly dark, twisted teenager. Another film I love that debates the theory that people can be born bad, as well as nature vs. nurture, this one is psychological and actually features very little violence. If you want to see the development and upbringing of a psychopath, this one’s definitely for you!
Like some of my reviews, I will try not to divulge any major details, as this film is one you must experience on your own, and you cannot really grasp its power unless you do. I must say, and this is definitely the girly girl in me coming out, that Ezra Miller (teenage Kevin) is gorgeous. Not like, “OMG, he’s so hawt”, but he’s just a beautiful specimen. The fact that he can act extremely well only adds to his attractiveness. Probably not since Patrick Bateman has a psychopath really grabbed our attention, and hormones. Okay, that’s enough fawning, because it makes me sound unprofessional, but it is the truth. He is a fabulous young actor and has a bright future. Watching a little kid grow up to be completely apathetic and sociopathic is sheer genius, and I really don’t think any other set of actors could really pull this off. That said, John C. Reilly as Kevin’s dad, and Eva’s husband, is a strange choice, because frankly, it is weird to see Swinton and Reilly’s characters get it on. It’s just awkward. But, that said, I think it adds to the message of the movie. They never really seemed to connect to one another despite being married and the parents of two children. This disconnect adds to the tension of Eva’s suspicions about Kevin being really “off” since birth, as he is pretty close to his father and his dad never sees his bad side. This is usually what happens – one parent gets the shitty side, and the other gets the glowing, perfect child. That part is really scary, because to me, it means that Kevin knows what he’s doing and can manipulate any situation to his advantage. Even when he is a young child, his father always stands up for him, using the typical “boys will be boys” farce of an explanation. Kevin is really fucked up and twisted since birth and it only grows more intense and palpable as he matures into adolescence. Some attribute this to Eva never connecting to her son or feeling that motherly love, or it could be said that he is simply not all right from day one, which contributed to Eva feeling as if she never could fully connect in a maternal way. You could cut the tension with a knife, and you really get the sense that you’re a fly on the wall of this family.
Without giving away too much, many aspects of the film foreshadow the ultimate outcome, and even small things seem to connect by the end of the film. Kevin also injures his little sister, tricks his mom into giving her computer a virus, and even kills his sister’s pet. Though there is nothing really gory in this film, you can feel the emotional side of it, rather than having gore shoved in your face for its own sake. Some movies don’t require it, and this is absolutely one of them. You should check this film out if you’ve not seen it, as it comes highly recommended. It may start a little slow, but give it time and a chance, and it will blow your mind. Fantastic, fantastic film.
Next to the original film, this fourth part of the Children of the Corn series is by far the best. It was released straight-to-video in 1996, which is why I think so many people may have counted it out. Straight-to-dvd does not always mean it is bad. Furthermore, this one stars a younger Naomi Watts in one of her first starring roles. It does not follow along with the original story per se, but it does take place in Nebraska, only this time, in Grand Island. Naomi Watts, Grace, returns home from college to help her mother who is suffering from agoraphobia and terrifying dreams. Her mother knows something is about to go wrong, but her doctor and daughter both think she is just nervous and afraid for no reason. The two other children in the house, James, and Margaret, are also annoyed with her frantic behavior.
Well, Donald and Grace figure out a way to save the day by defeating Josiah and saving the children. At the end, the children are all normal again, and Grace leaves town with Margaret and James in tow. This movie is actually really good, much to many people’s surprise. There are a few jumpy scenes, especially if you get freaked out by cloven hooves on people like I do! The kid, Josiah is kinda creepy and very gory looking, and there are some really neat death scenes. If you want, you should really give it a chance, you may surprise yourself. Of course, it’s a little cheesy, but what isn’t? That doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining, and a bit creepy! Oh yeah, and James, Grace’s little brother, is played by…..
