The Strangers for me.

When the original Bryan Bertino movie came out in 2008 with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman it was one of the best horror films I had ever seen. Probably still the best for me. It balanced tension with "jump scares" really well and the creepiness at the end with the "because you were home" left chills down my spine for weeks. Paranormal spooks me sometimes, but over the top horror rarely does. This was a legitimate fear (home invasion, torture). This is the only film that actually frightened me. The quiet, wide shot of the masked man walking into frame in the background while Liv Tyler smokes a cigarette completely unaware was brilliant.

The four movies that followed were so far in quality from the original it's unreal. I just finished "Chapter 3" and it sucked so much I'm actually annoyed it shares the same title as the original. These were all misses to me and honestly felt like lazy writing; they pretty much coasted off the original film in plot points but sometimes down to actual details.

The last film was extra ****ty because they identify the killers, a choice I think was wrong - the unknown always leaves people curious and talking/thinking and adds to the creepy factor. I would guess they have no plans for future films which is probably a blessing.

That's my review. Not terribly in depth, but if you've watched the original I'd suggest not bothering with the sequels.

What are some other horror films on that creepy level that left you a bit "shook"?

Single scariest scene in my life. I was 12 or 13 and slept in the floor of my parents room it freaked me out so much. I woke my mom and made her get out of bed and finish the movie with me.

I grew up above a funeral home. I wasn't scared of ghosts, zombies, monsters, etc. I was scared of a maniac sneaking into the funeral home and waiting in the shadows of the stairs by my bedroom door. I had to walk by that open stairwell to get to my bedroom. The stairs led down to the office. No door to the stairs, just 6 down, turn left, 3 down turn left, 6 more down. At night you could barely see the first landing. Anyone could be lurking on it and you wouldn't see them if you'd just walked out of a lit room and your eyes hadn't adjusted. There wasn't an alarm so it would be nothing for someone to break into one of the many windows or doors around the building.

Half the doors weren't even locked much of the time. People were scared to break into a funeral home.

Oh yeah. The funeral home had multiple phone lines, no caller ID, and a phone in every single room other than the restrooms. Funeral homes get calls 24/7, we had no answering service, so when the line rings, a phone is always a few feet away.

Quote:

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Jill, this is Sergeant Sacker. Listen to me... we've traced the call, it's coming from inside the house. Now a squad car's coming over there right now, just get out of that house!

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American Beauty is super creepy when you realize how accurately they nail the emptiness of mundane suburban life.

Talk about a skin crawler.

Recent films that disturbed me: Hereditary and The Conjuring

Childhood trauma 1: The Exorcist (I was in 1st grade at a sleepover)

Childhood trauma 2: Pet Sementary (sister in the attic scene)

The creepiest ones in recent memory for me are Hereditary and Bring Her Back. Both of them are crazy, but awesome in their own way. Both of them also made me want to scream "what the hell is going on!?!?!?" at different times while watching. Also in both of them kids play prominent roles which I think ramps the creepy factor up a notch or two rather than if only adults are involved. The Witch approaches in on that territory but didn't quite get there for me like Hereditary and Bring Her Back.

Jaws

The Exorcist

Joy Ride w/Paul Walker and Steve Zahn

Weapons didn't scare me that much but it's the best movie I have seen in the last 2 years.

The Shining.

The Exorcist. Saw it opening weekend in Dallas with no clue as to what it was about and it scared the sh#t out of me. All I could think of was "don't go up those stairs!!"

The one that sticks out in my mind was Event Horizon. It freaked my ass out.

Now, having said that, I watched it only one time when it came out on home video in the late 90s. It's very possible that it didn't hold up and I might laugh at it now but I'm not willing to give it another viewing to find out.

That one had some visuals in it that I don't ever want to see again. May not hold up 30 years later, but I also don't want to watch it again.

Concept-wise, 8MM freaked me out. Had no idea snuff films were real or whatever that movie went into...really disgusting concept to put into a mainstream flick.

AggieArchitect04 said:

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The Strangers for me.

When the original Bryan Bertino movie came out in 2008 with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman it was one of the best horror films I had ever seen. Probably still the best for me. It balanced tension with "jump scares" really well and the creepiness at the end with the "because you were home" left chills down my spine for weeks. Paranormal spooks me sometimes, but over the top horror rarely does. This was a legitimate fear (home invasion, torture). This is the only film that actually frightened me. The quiet, wide shot of the masked man walking into frame in the background while Liv Tyler smokes a cigarette completely unaware was brilliant.

The four movies that followed were so far in quality from the original it's unreal. I just finished "Chapter 3" and it sucked so much I'm actually annoyed it shares the same title as the original. These were all misses to me and honestly felt like lazy writing; they pretty much coasted off the original film in plot points but sometimes down to actual details.

The last film was extra ****ty because they identify the killers, a choice I think was wrong - the unknown always leaves people curious and talking/thinking and adds to the creepy factor. I would guess they have no plans for future films which is probably a blessing.

That's my review. Not terribly in depth, but if you've watched the original I'd suggest not bothering with the sequels.

What are some other horror films on that creepy level that left you a bit "shook"?

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I feel the exact same way about the original Strangers, so thank you for saving me from watching the new ones (Although I did also see Prey at Night)

The Exorcism of Emily Rose came out when I was a senior in college, and I remember it messing with my brain for several nights. I kept waking up panicked at around the same time.

I've never touched that movie again and couldn't even tell you what it's about, but something about it was deeply unsettling.