This second part of my favorite scary movie moments series has sure taken a long time. As you know from previous posts, I’ve been very down lately. I’ve been trying to pick myself up though, and write when I can. Just because it isn’t published on here yet doesn’t mean I’m not writing anytime I get a dose of hitch in my giddy-up. I am. I might slowly but surely be coming back! As always, let me hear you! None of this means anything without you folks! This edition features a demon attached to a child, a psycho stalker with a knack for the telephone, a serial killer, and a vengeful British ghost. Hope you like the GIFS, but be gentle – it was my first time! 
Insidious (2011)
We all know that some people were bigger fans of Insidious than others. And while there were flaws in the film, there were quite a few startling, and unique scenes. Some were just plain brilliant, and the entire movie is visually innovative and appealing. It’s strange for me to say, knowing that this film was made by the people who created Saw (not scary – gory – but not scary), and Paranormal Activity (lame beyond lame, even refund-worthy). Not to mention, Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are two incredibly sexy human specimens. Here are my favorites moments!
1. Gettin’ Down to Tiny Tim
Not only is it incredibly horrifying to have a turn-of-the-century dead ghost child dancing terribly in your house, he’s also groovin’ to Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”, which is creepy in itself. Not that I’m not now addicted to that song, and classify it as one of my many guilty pleasures, but mixing the two together, especially in broad daylight, creates one scene none of us are likely to forget.
2. Creepy Demon in the Room
Anytime there is some kind of demonic creature, or any creature for that matter lurking in the shadows, especially one with elongated arms, pointy fingers, and what looks to be perhaps cloven hooves, it creeps me out. Obviously, it’s because it’s unexpected – it’s the jump factor – but you gotta admit, that creep standing there is enough to make you check your own room before jumping into bed!
3. Creepy Demon in the Room Again
Okay, so this scene is up for much debate, as some found it totally scary, and others simply saw a bad Darth Maul rip-off, but as before, the jump factor is present. While talking to his mother (a very nicely aging Barbara Hershey) and his wife about the weird goings-on, this cosmetically-pleasing, red-faced punk appears behind Josh, opening its mouth and revealing his, well, sort-of-razor-sharp teeth. As usual, the creature is only on-screen momentarily, and quickly disappears as Josh’s mother shrieks in horror and jumps up from her chair.
The Woman in Black (2012)
I did have serious misgivings going into this film, because most horror flicks these days, well, bite the big one. But I was pleasantly surprised! It’s nice to see Daniel Radcliffe in something else (HP is not my cup of tea, if you’ll forgive the British reference), but he is actually pretty sexy in this movie. Oh, he can act, too! Of course. 
As is usually the case, once we find out the motive behind the ghost’s vengeful haunting, it’s not so scary. But the build-up is the most important aspect, and this movie has it…..in spades!
1. The Marsh….Itself!
Does this really need any explaining? The setting of the movie itself is enough to scare someone, without even adding the ghost element to the mix. Just look at it! If you have to go through that, and that, and that, to get to that, it’s a bad idea. Just say no.
2. Bad Rocking Chair
This house is full of secrets, and of course, the usual creaky floors, awkward silences, and startling BANGS just as you put some delicious popcorn in your mouth (trust me, I know). But rocking chairs that move by themselves (or not….) have always given me the willies. There’s something about them, but I’ve never been able to put my finger on it. Not to mention, this chair rocks backwards unexpectedly far, which sort of looks like fun! Not so fun when we get a glimpse of the horrid witchy bitch causing the ruckus, and Harry Potter is none the wiser.
3. Dead Boy Returns
More creepy sequences in the house of doom, Harry Potter watches as the little dead boy rises from his mucky grave in the marsh, and books it to the front door. Well, he doesn’t book it, ghosts always walk, yet somehow get to where they’re going incredibly fast. So does Jason Voorhees. And Michael Myers. But I digress. The little dog who has been sent to keep our hero company begins barking at the door, as the knob begins to rattle. Dogs are smarter than people, how many times must I say this?! Upon opening the door, no one is there, but in the distance there appears several more young dead children, looking horribly soaked from the rain. Or just from being dead. The little boy pulls a jump scene, covered in mud, with his mouth open, a few short scenes later. So does the Woman in Black, several times. Why do scary characters always have to have their mouths open? I’m unclear on this.
When a Stranger Calls (1979)
This often-quoted, frequently criticized gem from 1979 is part cheesy detective story, part psychologically horrifying thriller. The latter is the reason for its mention on my list. The opening sequence is a classic, even if most of us could totally do without the rest of the movie! The “Babysitter and the Man Upstairs” urban legend comes to life!
1.Opening Sequence
Ahh, the classic opening sequence, which still stands the test of time today, is absolutely terrifying. First of all, the phone ringing constantly is just plain annoying. Not helping matters is when the caller is taunting, tormenting, harassing, and scaring the receiver half to death, after having killed the two children upstairs sleeping in the babysitter’s care. Carol Kane delivers an Earth-shattering performance, and really portrays fear well. The calls are coming from upstairs (somehow, I’ve yet to figure this out), and Jill is saved only because the operator was able to trace the call, and warn her to leave the house, just as killer Curt Duncan emerges from the shadows. Phones are creepy, don’t you agree?!
2. Psycho Stalks Another
When the killer escapes his confinement in an insane asylum, he approaches a woman at a bar. I mention this scene because, as a woman, well, even just as a human, I know the apprehension and fear of being around someone who is not all ‘there’ in the head’. We have gut instincts for a reason, and this woman, Tracy, followed hers by pacifying the creep when he follows her home, lets himself into her house, and sits down on her couch for a spell. She convinces him to come back another time, which grants her a temporary reprieve from his wily charms. That was not a compliment. Later, he comes back to kill her, but is finally stopped by the detective who has been hunting him since his escape. Whew, that was a close one!
Zodiac (2007)
A David Fincher masterpiece, Zodiac is one of my favorite movies. It’s one of those few near-perfections in life, and the psychological thrills have definitely been burned into my mind. Chasing a killer that to this day has never been apprehended is scary to begin with, but the way it consumes cartoonist Robert Graysmith’s life is inspiring, mind-numbing, and depressing all at the same time.
1. Lake Berryessa Terror
I have referenced this scene before in other posts, but when Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell are tormented and stabbed at the lake, it goes through me like few other things have. Cecelia’s screams are enough to give anyone the chills, as she watches her date being stabbed in the back repeatedly, dreading her own turn at the hands of the Zodiac Killer. Utterly horrifying, because it isn’t demons, or ghosts, or any other supernatural being, it’s a human doing this to another human, on purpose, and enjoying it.
2. Arthur Leigh Allen’s Interview
After incriminating tips from a former friend lead Inspectors Toschi, Armstrong, and Sgt. Mulanax from San Francisco and Vallejo to pay Arthur Leigh Allen a visit, we get a wonderfully crafted and chilling scene, which, if one did not know any better, would absolutely convince us that he was the Zodiac. Though DNA “cleared” him decades after the murders and his own death, I myself am still convinced he was involved somehow. Too many coincidences. Anyway, John Carroll Lynch portrays pedophile creepster Allen with quiet but menacing calmness, even proclaiming, in a deeper voice, “I’m not the Zodiac, and if I was, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.” Shudder.
3. A Visit to Bob Vaughn
After years of indirectly being around the Zodiac investigation at the San Francisco Chronicle where he worked as a cartoonist, Robert Graysmith plays detective, and decides to put an end to the mystery once and for all. He never officially succeeds, as the case remains open, but in one such instance, he happens upon some movie posters that contain handwriting strikingly similar to the Zodiac’s. It turns out the man he goes to speak with about the suspected killer, Rick Marshall, Bob Vaughn, drew the posters himself. This causes Graysmith to automatically suspect him in the crimes, and when he ventures to the basement to find out when his theater played The Most Dangerous Game, Graysmith hears footsteps and creaking from upstairs. He questions several times if anyone else is in the house, and Vaughn (Charles Fleischer) is quietly creepy throughout, adding to our own suspense and tension. We begin to question him ourselves! This scene always freaks me out – it is so wonderfully filmed. It also gives us a different perspective on the murders. Perfectly brilliant and nerve-wracking.
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?
Nancy is now determined to figure out who this dream demon is and the origins of his evil. Marge takes her to a sleep clinic in order to monitor her sleep patterns, and she ends up pulling Freddy’s dirty brown hat out of her subconscious. Marge, taking to the drink yet again, decides to board up the house to protect her daughter, but really to prevent her from leaving. Marge believes a good night’s sleep is the key for everything, but apparently not on Elm Street. Nancy buys a book on booby traps, and knows she must fight back. Her mother tells her how Fred Krueger was a child murderer who was freed on a technicality, and subsequently killed by her and other distraught parents in the neighborhood. Nancy hasn’t slept in nearly a week, when she tries to make a plan with Glen to kill Freddy when she brings him out of her dream. Sadly, Glen falls asleep, and his jerk parents don’t wake him when Nancy frantically calls him on the phone. After station KRGR (you guys caught that, right?) goes off the air, Glen is fast asleep and is pulled into his bed, which acts as some sort of a blender. His blood is thrown all around the room, and his mother enters, screaming. Nancy is now severely upset and even more pissed off and determined to stop this madman. She calls her father, a police officer, and tells him to bust down the door and kill Freddy in exactly 20 minutes. He thinks she’s gone nuts, but oh no, you don’t kill off Johnny Depp and get away with it. She rigs the house, puts her drunken mother to bed, sets her alarm, and falls asleep. After tracking Freddy down, she indeed pulls him out of the dream into the real world, where pain and injury affect him. Nancy eventually sets him on fire, and her father busts down the door. Freddy has made his way up to Marge’s room and kills her, when Nancy’s father puts the fire out. Marge sinks down into the bed, now skeletonized, and disappears. Nancy needs a minute alone, and as Freddy appears, she tells him that she is taking back all the energy she gave him, and he promptly vanishes as he attempts to attack her. Cut to the next day, and Nancy and Marge are fine, and looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Her now un-dead friends pull up to pick Nancy up for school, and as Marge waves goodbye, she is grabbed and pulled through the door’s teeny-tiny window by Freddy. The four friends drive off in a locked car, screaming their heads off, as the little jump-rope girls sing The Freddy Anthem. That was just a dream, the nightmare isn’t over….you can’t fill Freddy that easily.
This movie is, by now a cult classic, the film that really catapulted Wes Craven into the limelight. While being scary, and funny at times, this is a far cry from Last House on the Left, but we get the Krug homage out of Krueger, so Craven definitely never forgot his roots. Launching another film franchise that would go on to terrorize young kids, sell a plethora of merchandise, and even spawn a relatively crappy remake, the original A Nightmare on Elm Street stands alone in a sea of mostly forgettable 80s horror films. The sequels would take a more humorous tone, and make Freddy a bit of a slapstick comedian, no doubt allowing some skeptical viewers to forget that we were watching a sadistic child molesting murderer kill teenagers in their sleep. Some sequels were on par with the original, some less so. Unlike Friday the 13th, you don’t have to go to camp to get killed, simply stay home. You might be able to escape Jason and Michael, if you’re lucky, but you cannot escape Freddy. You have to sleep some time, and he will definitely be waiting…
I’ll start off by saying that this is not a bad movie. Sure, the acting may not be tip-top, but hey, that’s okay. It was 1982. They were trying something new. I think a lot of people write this movie off instantly when they hear it has nothing to do with Michael Myers and his teenage murder fetish, save for the Samhain aspect, but I think that’s completely unfair. Especially when you consider the time period, the idea behind it, and the fact that the Halloween series of today was not the Halloween series of yesteryear. It was supposedly intended to be an anthology series, but once people got a taste of ol’ Michael, they weren’t about to let him go. So when this was released, everyone was disappointed, and still continue to be today. I know, this movie is not that great, definitely not on par with the rest of the series, but like I said, it wasn’t originally intended to be. Considering it was 1988 before Michael Myers returned, it was presumed that he died after the climactic end of Halloween II. Therefore, horror fans can give this one a pass; there’s a reason, an explanation. Unlike the goddamn rage-inducing, piece of shit sham that was Halloween: Resurrection, but don’t get me started.
We meet Dr. Challis, an emergency room doctor who encounters a man, ranting and raving some crazy noise about someone killing everyone. Ya know, the usual. So, naturally, he thinks he’s insane. He is soon killed by a mysterious man who also commits suicide. Challis meets the man’s daughter, Ellie, who never quite rubbed me the right way, especially considering that after enlisting his help investigating what happened to her father, they sleep together. It’s too weird, they just didn’t mesh well together, in my opinion. They travel to a town, Santa Mira, whose claim to fame is the Silver Shamrock mask company, and of whose mask Ellie’s father was clutching that night. They discover dark and sinister plots, constructed by an evil man, Cochran, who plans to use the mask’s popularity to kill every child on Halloween night by way of a device implanted into the masks and activated by that damn television commercial we know all too well by now. The mysterious guards are actually robots, and after seemingly saving the day, Challis discovers Ellie has been turned into one, also. Sadly, he has to kill his mistress-turned-robot, and knowing that the television stations are about to start playing the commercial, he ends up at a gas station and calls all the networks (somehow, he knows all their numbers? Did I miss something?) and tells them to turn off the broadcast. They all listen, except for the last….as we end with Challis yelling into the phone for them to “Turn it off!”
It’s actually not a bad story, but I think for the time, and bad choice of title, it was not that well received. It is more respected today, because we know the reason behind it, and have given it more of a chance, but I think audiences weren’t ready for this back then. To their credit, it was relatively confusing, and not that exciting, so it was hard to follow, especially since a lot of people were probably staring at their screens anticipating a non-existent Michael Myers. But the plot is decent, and the effects are pretty neat, not to mention some gross death scenes with snakes and bugs and other yucky beings. It’s worth watching, but don’t expect our mask-wearing darling in this one! 
The film adaptation in 1968 of Ira Levin’s popular novel, Rosemary’s Baby, is an absolute classic, beloved by horror and nonhorror fans alike. This movie has many horror film aspects, but much of it is also deeply psychological. Polanski is brilliant in bringing this novel to life, giving due respect to the book and accuracy to Levin’s words. The gothic feel of New York also serves the film well.
Strange occurrences continue over the following months, with Rosemary becoming more and more concerned about just how friendly her new neighbors are. They virtually make her go to their doctor friend, who ignores a severe pain she endures for months, and even Guy takes up for them. It’s really just a movie you have to see. To describe it all would not do it justice. Essentially, Rosemary discovers a betrayal of the worst kind, and a supernatural force within her perceived comfort zone of safety and security. You never really know what you are seeing, as that is what Rosemary is experiencing, and it is a completely mind-blowing experience. Revered as a classic among film buffs and film novices alike, I believe Rosemary’s Baby has something for everyone, and it just so well made, you cannot help but become entranced. This movie proves that a film does not have to be “scary” to be scary, and also that what you don’t see is often more terrible than what you do see. Polanski’s use of light, dark, colors, and strange nuances really makes for a unique film, as well as classic shots that really show the personality of the 60s. The scene where Rosemary is waiting outside the Time-Life Center for Hutch is one of my favorites. This movie is highly recommended to any and all.
