What is the scariest movie ever made?

[Deacfreak07]

Blood, but not gore for the sake of gore like modern horror films. Seems like modern horror films are torture porn or shock flicks.

That's simply not true. The Paranormal Activity franchise has none of that. There were films in the 60's-80's that were riddled in blood and gore.

I am only willing to concede that zombie films have spiraled into gore filled shock fests.

 

[EatLeadCommie]

I'm not sure I agree with this. While not a bloody mess, the Exorcist used special effects for plenty of shock value. Rosemary's Baby was not understated. The Omen, as you mentioned was quite "gory". Jaws had tons of blood.

Special effects are easier now and tend to be used as a crutch for stories, but on the whole, horror films were probably more gory in the 1980's. The J-Horror influence has used gore more effectively than traditional American slasher flicks.

Jaws did have a lot of blood...and even a lost limb...but it was still PG. The token slasher flick really came about with the Friday The 13th flicks, Halloween sequels, Nightmares, and tons of other bad non-sequel movies in the 80s, so yeah, that is pretty much when that genre took off. Stuff just got nastier and nastier and became scary in terms of BOO scary and shit jumping out at you or grossing you out, but not scary scary like the ones mentioned. I guess maybe they became more about physicality than mentality. The good scary shit gets in your head and stays in there.

You're right about the Paranormal Activity movies. I mean, they're all kind of overplayed at this point, but if you've never seen one before, they're a pretty good ghost story (except the theater ending to the first one...the alternate ending on DVD is actually better).

 

[Deacfreak07]

Jaws did have a lot of blood...and even a lost limb...but it was still PG. The token slasher flick really came about with the Friday The 13th flicks, Halloween sequels, Nightmares, and tons of other bad non-sequel movies in the 80s, so yeah, that is pretty much when that genre took off. Stuff just got nastier and nastier and became scary in terms of BOO scary and shit jumping out at you or grossing you out, but not scary scary like the ones mentioned. I guess maybe they became more about physicality than mentality. The good scary shit gets in your head and stays in there.

You're right about the Paranormal Activity movies. I mean, they're all kind of overplayed at this point, but if you've never seen one before, they're a pretty good ghost story (except the theater ending to the first one...the alternate ending on DVD is actually better).

There were some gory flicks in the 1970s that make the films you listed look PG. For example, The Wizard of Gore (1970) and Last House on the Left (1972). Gore and shock value have been a part of horror for a long time.

 

[bym051d]

That's simply not true. The Paranormal Activity franchise has none of that. There were films in the 60's-80's that were riddled in blood and gore.

I am only willing to concede that zombie films have spiraled into gore filled shock fests.

Paranormal Activity type films seem more the exception that the rule these days.

Back to the topic, not the scariest, but my favorite scary movie might be Drag Me to Hell.

 

[Deacfreak07]

Paranormal Activity type films seem more the exception that the rule these days.

Back to the topic, not the scariest, but my favorite scary movie might be Drag Me to Hell.

Name some examples that you see as the norm of modern horror? Films today are no more gory than they ever have been. That's just a lazy criticism.

 

[EatLeadCommie]

There were some gory flicks in the 1970s that make the films you listed look PG. For example, The Wizard of Gore (1970) and Last House on the Left (1972). Gore and shock value have been a part of horror for a long time.

Yes, and shit like Suspiria and I Spit On Your Grave... Italian and drive-in schlock, basically. There was some other ridiculous movie that I can't think of the name of right now from the 70s that was excessive as well... it was about some theater production where they actually killed people onstage, but I don't think the audience knew. One scene included somebody getting her brains sucked out via straw. At the end, some guy gets his cock cut off and eaten in a hotdog bun. That stuff was really not widespread and mainstream until the 80s, I guess is my point.

 

[bym051d]

Name some examples that you see as the norm of modern horror? Films today are no more gory than they ever have been. That's just a lazy criticism.

Saw, Hostel, Final Destination and Human Centipede are the first that come to mind.

The first common super gore common movies I remember were Elm Street movies. Other movies had a scene or two, but not constant shock.

 

[EatLeadCommie]

^^ Bloodsucking Freaks was the name of the movie.

 

[Deacfreak07]

Saw, Hostel, Final Destination and Human Centipede are the first that come to mind.

The first common super gore common movies I remember were Elm Street movies. Other movies had a scene or two, but not constant shock.

I would argue that Hostel and definitely Human Centipede are out of the mainstream.

 

[bym051d]

I would argue that Hostel and definitely Human Centipede are out of the mainstream.

Centipede, yes. Hostel, nah.

Seems like there are more Saw and Final Destination than Friday the 13th, Elm Street and Halloween combined. But probably because those sequels were spaced out more.

 

[Deacfreak07]

Centipede, yes. Hostel, nah.

Seems like there are more Saw and Final Destination than Friday the 13th, Elm Street and Halloween combined. But probably because those sequels were spaced out more.

Halloween 1-5 all came out within a decade (3 films later 95-02 plus the recent reboot)
Friday the 13th had 8 films in a decade (2.5 and reboot since the 90's)
Nightmare on Elm St. had 7 films in a decade (1.5 recently)

Saw has had 7 films since 2004
Final Destination has had 5 films in 11 years.

 

[bym051d]

Halloween 1-5 all came out within a decade (3 films later 95-02 plus the recent reboot)
Friday the 13th had 8 films in a decade (2.5 and reboot since the 90's)
Nightmare on Elm St. had 7 films in a decade (1.5 recently)

Saw has had 7 films since 2004
Final Destination has had 5 films in 11 years.

I said seems. Thanks for looking it up though.

I bet the reason it seems so is because between 5 and 35, my advertising demographic changed and today's movies are advertised more.

 

[KickballDeac]

I just watched Psycho with somebody who had no idea about its twist. Her reaction was as good as the movie itself.

 

[tigerswood]

Wolf Creek is pretty freaking terrifying (and based on a true story IIRC?).

Will give a shout out to the original The Hills Have Eyes. Weird, but that one got me pretty good.

The worst by far for me are movies that have a lot of quick cuts where something jumps out at you on the screen, or shows up all of a sudden out of the blue. A loud noise usually accompanies this as well. Not cool.

 

[OliveGardenDeac]

 

[Strickland33]

There were some gory flicks in the 1970s that make the films you listed look PG. For example, The Wizard of Gore (1970) and Last House on the Left (1972). Gore and shock value have been a part of horror for a long time.

For sure, and horror flicks like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while nowhere near as explicitly gory as movies these days arguably pack the same punch.

A lot of horror movies these days that have a rep for being over-the-top are more disturbing because they're twisted than because they're gory. Martyrs comes to mind. It's tough to take movies like Saw seriously, IMO, for the same reasons that it's tough to take the Nightmare on Elm Street (minus #1 and New Nightmare) and Friday the 13th flicks seriously. The gore is campy and, by design, you see the endings coming from a mile away. BTW, I hated the Saw movies because the moralizing - he could be coming for all of us soddomites AT ANY TIME! - was REALLY boring. It sucked in Friday the 13th and it sucks now.

It might not be right to label something like Alien/s a horror movie, but they earn their jumps by building up an atmosphere that intentionally throws you off kilter. That's why I loved The Descent, Session 9, Event Horizon, The Shining etc. Halloween and Scream, too, which is kind of rare for slasher flicks. Two of the few over-the-top movies that I'd add to the list are Evil Dead and Cabin Fever. They're actually scary, IMO, in addition to being campy as all hell.

 

[WakeFanatic]

The worst by far for me are movies that have a lot of quick cuts where something jumps out at you on the screen, or shows up all of a sudden out of the blue. A loud noise usually accompanies this as well. Not cool.

They are called jump scares, and they are cheap. James Wan is a master of this (The Conjuring seemed to be one jump scare after another, no real craftsmanship at all, and not even homage, just blatant ripping off of other, better horror films. The camerawork was nice though. *end rant against The Conjuring*

It's why I give Paranormal Activity props, it uses screen space and movement to generate scares.

And horror movies have not gotten gorier/more violent. The violence may have become more widely accepted, but even then I would argue that it's not the same level of violence. Compare the original Last House on the Left to the remake. The original was a nasty, morally and politically charged bit of horror. The remake may be more violent (bloody), but the violence is less shocking and has no point. Hell, most mainstream horror flicks these days want you to cheer on the violence. Maybe I'm arguing against myself here. Idk.

Asian horror cinema is a completely different ball game. Just look at stuff like Suicide Club and Visitor Q. French horror is probably the most violent of modern horror (and ironically could also be argued to be the most interesting). I don't know if you could find three more violent films than High Tension, Inside or Martyrs. They are all excellent though. Fascinating topic. Sorry for the long post. I like horror movies.


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[WakeFanatic]

Also, the Evil Dead remake sucked some serious ass. Like I wasn't expecting much, and it managed to underperform those expectations. A real bummer. You're Next is the best horror film of this year. I doubt many saw it, but it was great, def worth a look from fans of the genre. Maniac is a close second. But see the original before you see this one. Alright, I've said too much. Goodnight.


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[myDeaconmyhand]

There's definitely a desensitization factor in watching horror films. If you rarely watch them you're more likely to be entertained by the milder ones. The old horror films that rely on shadows and creaking doors are boring to me. I still don't like torture porn movies though, most of it is exploitative garbage.

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

Also, the Evil Dead remake sucked some serious ass. Like I wasn't expecting much, and it managed to underperform those expectations. A real bummer. You're Next is the best horror film of this year. I doubt many saw it, but it was great, def worth a look from fans of the genre. Maniac is a close second. But see the original before you see this one. Alright, I've said too much. Goodnight.


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The Conjuring was the best in my opinion. Maniac was good, but the single POV format removes too much of the suspense.