Scariest Experiences
These are the movies that scared me the most.
List activity
328 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
7 titles
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.This is the movie that, to quote Seth Grahame-Smith, "everyone wishes they'd thought of first". It's shot on a shoestring budget with unknown actors using their real names, and filmed in a way that makes the whole experience feel unnaturally real.
These are not stupid teenagers partying in the woods being stalked by a silent slasher in a mask. This is a filmmaking group doing a project on a local urban legend, the Blair Witch, and spending the weekend camping out in the woods looking for a cabin where the witch supposedly lived.
But by the end of the first day, the group isn't as concerned with the Blair Witch, because they're lost. There is no "I'm sure we'll find our way back", there is "skrew this project, I'm getting the hell outta here". But after a couple more days, the group is still hopelessly lost. Worse, there's someone else in the woods. The Blair Witch? Are you still on about that? Be serious! It doesn't matter whether it's the Blair Witch or Santa Claus, someone else is in the woods, and is following them. And they've already been trying to get out of these woods for most of the movie, there isn't much more that they can do.
Part of what makes the movie so effective is that the kids in the movie act the way we would. They are not braving some journey looking for the truth behind some urban legend, they were doing a documentary and got lost. All they want to do is get out of this alive. To hell with their project. To hell with being brave. They do not want to be here, but something almost supernatural is stopping them from leaving. If that happened to you, your first impulse would be to freak the *beep* out. - DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.In my opinion, the best horror movie of the 21st Century. Works in a style similar to the Paranormal Activity movies, but with an actual attention to cinematograophy, script, and some beautiful production values (particularly in the opening shots). The technical qualities of this movie are incredible, and beautiful to look at, especially given what we're used to seeing in horror movies. No shakicam, no handheld, everything is in brilliant focus.
Even passed the technical aspects, there is actual setup and a very interesting and surprisingly creative story behind what many would see as either a simple haunted house movie or a demonic child movie. It is both, and it is neither. It has as much in common with Poltergeist as it does with Paranormal Activity. It all revolves around a rather neat premise.
As far as scare quality goes, this was the first horror movie that I couldn't finish from fear. Heck, forget finish, I had to stop watching after half an hour. I'd seen Paranormal Activity 3 only a week or so before, which was dumb but full of sudden shock scares (SSS). Then I was faced with this film, which was everything Paranormal Activity isn't, and I couldn't handle it. I could not handle the tension, literally, I could not watch any more after the first 30 minutes. I still haven't finished the movie.
But for those 30 minutes I saw, I loved the movie. Scary and well-done, that is hard to come by these days. Some movies accomplish one, but never has a movie managed both so well in my movie-watching experience. - DirectorTod WilliamsStarsKatie FeatherstonMicah SloatMolly EphraimAfter experiencing what they think are a series of "break-ins", a family sets up security cameras around their home, only to realize that the events unfolding before them are more sinister than they seem.The first Paranormal Activity was okay. I saw it in my room, and followed it along without much worry. A few scenes spooked me, but it wasn't too intense until the last scene, which caused me to lose sleep.
Paranormal Activity 2, I saw in theaters, and I think that made a lot of the difference. I have never been so happy for a movie to end, from fear. It scared me start to finish. Maybe the invisible entity was just more aggressive to start with in this film, but it got intense fast. The climax-ending was terrifying and yet exhilarating once my heart started beating normally again. In terms of writing and plot and characters, it is a cliche-fest. But the way it all plays out makes you forget that, and you even start thinking, "okay, what did they do in other horror movies when something like this came along?". Of all the Paranormal Activity movies, this is my favorite. 1 was okay, 3 was just dumb and exploitation, but 2 got it right. Why couldn't they have left it at that?
Not looking forward to Paranormal Activity 4. - DirectorJaume Collet-SerraStarsVera FarmigaPeter SarsgaardIsabelle FuhrmanA husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears."There's something wrong with Esther"...Bullsh*t; she makes Damien look like sweet baby Jesus. I saw this movie on HBO out of curiosity, it had looked at least decent from the trailers, and I'd heard some good things (although admittedly not much, not many people I knew saw it), so I gave it a shot. I now have yet another thing to keep me up at night.
Orphan is the story of a family adopting a Russian orphan girl from a local orphanage. Bad things happen. That's really all I need to say. Everything else, I'll let you see for yourself.
The main hook to this movie is Esther, brought to life amazingly by Isabelle Fuhrman, who will be keeping me up at night for quite I while. Heck, I twitched every time I saw her in The Hunger Games.
Esther is equally convincing as a sweet, caring, thoughtful, surprisingly artistic 9-year old, and as the most terrifying "evil kid" ever put on film. Her only potential competition is Regan (from The Exorcist); but given Regan had an ancient demon possessing her, I think credit should go to Esther, who was completely mortal, but with much more freedom to cause suffering.
Everything about Esther makes you think "there is something disturbingly wrong here", but at the same time, you can never figure it out until the end. But it will bother you all the way up to the ending. That is what really earns this movie a spot on my list.
As for the rest of the movie, it may hit a few cliches here and there, but it's actually pretty well-done. There is good writing and it definitely keeps your attention for the whole time. The characters are fairly well-acted, young and old. Above all, the characters work off each other; or more specifically, Esther figures out exactly how they all tick. - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.Most everything that can be said about this staple of slasher movies has been said. I'll keep my points quick and concise.
This was my first real horror movie. Until then, I'd never watched horror movies mostly because I got really queasy around lots of blood and gore. But I'd been told this movie had almost no blood or gore, and so I gave it a shot.
The rest is history. I loved the film, I loved Michael Myers, I loved the way he hid in the background, I loved Donald Pleasance (R.I.P.), and I loved the music. It scared me, but never enough that I wanted to stop watching (for fear of missing something). As far as the rest of the movies go, here is how I look at them all:
Halloween 2
Alright. A couple characters I liked, but I missed Michael's knife. Plus, a couple scenes seemed a little ridiculous.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
Haven't seen it, don't particularly want to. Bring Michael back!
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Maybe my favorite after the first. I was a little upset that they couldn't come up with something better for Loomis to say than "evil, evil, evil" over and over.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Currently competing with H4 for my second favorite movie in the series. I loved watching them go back to the Myers house, I loved how many different sides we got to see of Michael, and the ending stuck with me even when I found it on TV having seen nothing before it.
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
It's decent. I think they really started to lose their edge when they tried explaining the reasons for Michael Myers being Michael Myers. Still, there are a few scenes I liked, and I loved the return of Tommy Doyle.
Halloween: 20 Years Later
This movie has one thing going for it that keeps it on my personal "good movie" list; they ended the franchise. They gave us an ending that satisfied the story and the fans. Jamie Lee Curtis was back, Michael hunted her in ways that reminded me a lot of the original, and they left no option for another sequel. Michael has always been mortal, potentially superhuman, but mortal nonetheless. This time, they left nothing to chance. Jamie cut his head off and ended it.
Halloween Resurrection
As far as I'm concerned, this movie does not exist. Michael died in H20 and that was it.
Rob Zombie's Halloween
The more I watch it, the more I appreciate it. Has the best multiple-viewings value. Michael may be very different from earlier incantations, but at the same time, he has never been a more exhilarating presence. He is powerful, he is unmerciful, he is no longer The Shape, he is The Force of Nature. However, I HATED the actress playing Laurie.
Rob Zombie's Halloween 2
I may well be the only person who liked this. Laurie's actress improved considerably, we really feel that she has gotten a cruel taste of reality from the first film, and the annoying teenage-girl quality I so despised is gone. Michael has never been seen like this. His mask is torn, he isn't wearing his trademark mechanic body suit, he's truly becoming a new character, and I love it.
Halloween remake 3
No Rob Zombie? I predict it will suck. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA secretary on the run for embezzlement takes refuge at a secluded California motel owned by a repressed man and his overbearing mother.Even more so than Halloween, everything that can be said about this film has been said. The setup is pure Hitchcockian MacGuffin, the story is short but affecting, the acting is high-quality (particularly by Anthony Perkins), and the music is Bernard Herrmann at his most raw and powerful.
I refuse to give away the twist. Note; if you are looking for a modern killer-in-the-wastebasket scarefest, turn away. If you are looking for a good, well-done horror film (the grandaddy of all slashers), observe and enjoy. - DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteA year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.To some, a comedy; to others, a satire that happens to be really frikin' scary. The opening scene, for developing horror movie fans, is one of the most terrifying sequences ever put on film. Smart, smooth, natural, creative, scary as *beep* hell.
One of the best qualities of the Scream movies is always the writing for the killer's identity. Even when the movie itself isn't as good (Scream 3), you NEVER know who the killer turns out to be until they tell you, because they make EVERYONE suspicious. There are red herrings everywhere, and they cover their tracks well. You may suspect the person who turns out to be the killer, but you can never know for sure until they tell you.
Scream
The original. Scariest by far.
Scream 2
Underrated. Probably the second scariest.
Scream 3
Not bad. But the identity of the killer, while unexpected, is unexpected because they have to explain a rather in-depth motivation for it to make sense.
Scream 4
Most. Fun. I. Have. Ever. Had. At. A. Horror. Movie.