WARNING: This post contains spoilers!
This weekend I read many lists of scary movies on websites and blogs (like this one: boston.com's top 50 scary movies), and now that I have a blog, I can add my own.
Before I get to my list, first a word about films that do not scare me.
Slasher films just don't cut it for me (pun intended); I mean, how many times do we have to watch directors try to outgross each other to see who can make the goriest film? Besides, real news stories about atrocities humans inflict on one another are far more scary than any Saw film. (OK -- I'll admit that little swirly-cheeked dude is creepy -- check out "Honorable Mention" below.)
Giant spiders, sharks and other abnormally mutated animals don't frighten me. I'm one of those crazy people who think spiders are cute. And aliens don't scare me either. I would welcome being beamed up by visitors from another planet because the one we live on has become totally unhinged, and I'm optimistic enough to believe that any alien landing on Earth would come in peace.
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I won't keep you in suspense any longer -- here is my Top 5 scariest movies countdown:
NUMBER 5:
THE SHINING
When it comes to horror, what could be more frightening than watching your generic, happy-go-lucky Dad slip slowly into the dark side? Jack Nicholson's over-the-top portrayal of Jack Torrance is bloodcurdling; he has so mastered his craft that his facial expressions alone instill more terror than any special effects technician could ever dream up.
In the hands of Stanley Kubrick's skillful direction, a little boy riding his Big Wheels takes on the menacing appearance of an innocent child entering the abyss of hell.
And what is up with those twins? Sure, they look innocent enough, but would you want to run into them in some dark, empty hotel lobby? What makes this movie so chilling is that if a normal family like the Torrence's could be taken over by some unknown evil entity, then it could happen to any of us.
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Poor Rosemary Woodhouse. All she wanted was a normal life with her actor husband and a baby. What she got was an asshole for a spouse, a coven of witches, and the spawn of Satan.
Say what you will about Roman Polanski; he is one hell of a director. The tension he creates in this film builds agonizingly as we learn that Rosemary's husband, Guy, has sold his soul to the devil with the help of their neighbors in their deliciously gothic Manhattan apartment.
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What woman could not identify with poor Rosemary as she scrambles around with her swollen belly, desparately trying to save her unborn child from the clutches of the Castevet's and their fellow witches. For me, one of the most terrifying scenes in the film is when Rosemary is in the phone booth and we think finally -- she will be saved. But then we see a man has followed her and is standing ominously outside the booth. Now we know that Rosemary is doomed.
The terror in this film doesn't come from special effects; these characters seem real; it's what we don't see that scares us. And in the end, the bond of motherhood prevails. Yes, we mothers love our children unconditionally, even if they do have the eyes of a goat.
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OK, so technically Psycho is a slasher film. But it was the first. And the best.
Alfred Hitchcock was a genius. In the infamous shower scene, he was able to totally freak out his audience without buckets of blood or grisly, gaping wounds. Sure, there was some blood, but that's not what is so scary about this scene. The true horror is watching Janet Leigh's life slowly ebb out of her as she helplessly tears down the shower curtain to escape her fate, with perverse violins playing an eerie wee-wee-wee-wee in the background:
The end of this scene, where we see an extreme close-up of Leigh's blood swirling down the drain, which turns into a close-up of Leigh's eye, is brilliant.
Anthony Perkins' as Norman Bates is one of the scariest characters in the history of film. Perkins' understated portrayal of the murderer is chilling, and in the final scene, his twisted smile brings the creep level to new heights as the voiceover says, "Why, she [Norman's mother -- his alter-ego], wouldn't even harm a fly."
Thanks, Hitch. Because of you I still can't take a shower without locking every door in the house.
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NUMBER 2:
Our 19-year-old daughter Marcy called me last Friday to tell me she was going on her first camping trip with some college friends. She goes to George Mason University in Virginia which is a very rural setting a few miles outside of Washington, D.C.
Me: So, you're first camping trip. You must be excited!
Marcy: Yeah, but I think I made a mistake Mom. I watched The Blair Witch Project last night and I don't think that was a good idea.
Me: Don't worry Sweetie -- you'll be fine. It's only a movie.
I resisted the urge to call her on Saturday, but on Sunday evening I caved in.
Me: So how was it?
Marcy: Oh-my-God, Mom! Our campground was in Maryland and you wouldn't belive it -- when Leah, our driver, told us we were almost there, I looked out the window. Then, I saw the sign:
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I resisted the urge to call her on Saturday, but on Sunday evening I caved in.
Me: So how was it?
Marcy: Oh-my-God, Mom! Our campground was in Maryland and you wouldn't belive it -- when Leah, our driver, told us we were almost there, I looked out the window. Then, I saw the sign:
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Yeah, THAT Burkittsville -- home of the Blair Witch.
This film is so well made that I completely fell for the hype that surrounded its debut. I mean look at it -- it's a documentary for crying out loud -- of course it's real.
The premise of this film is simple: three average college students working on a documentary. They go camping in the woods -- you know, those places that city people like Marcy and I fear more than the streets of Roxbury. They become hopelessly lost. Things go bump in the night. They wake up to witchy twigs hanging from branches. In the end, the only things that survive are the videos they made, and the footage is used to make this documentary.
Many factors contribute to the realism of this film. It was filmed in video and in real time. The directors rationed the actors' food and left them in the dark about what was going to happen next; as a result, the fear the actors exhibit is real, and therefore totally believable.
Marcy taught me a couple of things this weekend: (1) she's not a helpless little girl any more and, (2) she's got balls the size of watermelons.
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NUMBER 1:
There are so many hair-raising images in this film, it's hard to know where to begin. So let's just get right to the images of sweet little Regan MacNeil in full-tilt possessed mode.
William Friedkin eases the audience into this freak show by first showing some furniture moving around Regan's room on its own. But then stranger things begin to happen to Regan . . .
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Holy shit! She's levitating! |
Oh my God -- what's happened to her face?? And WTF is that green stuff coming out of her mouth??
Sweet Jesus, her head is spinning! Mommy! Mommy!
Yes, there were special effects in The Exorcist, but you have to remember -- the film was released in 1973 and trust me, there was nothing even close to this on film at the time. People ran screaming out of theaters when it was first shown. These images will be seared on my brain forever.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Any film with clowns or dummies in it scares the shit outta me. Period.
*****
All of my top 5 scary films have common denominators: they achieve their frightening goals through the mastery of their directors and the brilliance of the actors who portray unfortunate characters with whom we can all identify. In The Exorcist, where special effects were used to enhance the storyline of a young girl possessed by Satan, it is the storyline, incredible acting, and direction of the film that made people run out of theaters. Unlike horror films today where the special effects are the storyline, these five directors knew how to tell a scary story by slowly building tension and leading their audience to a psychological free fall of horror.
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