shiue@h-sc1.UUCP (steve shiue) (10/24/85)
Okay gang. How about a list of the movies we find the most frightening, terrifying, etc? Please don't put down any entries that simply revolted you by being gory, disgusting, etc. (because if you did, John Waters' "Pink Flamingoes" would head all lists). Without making any great effort to rack my brain for titles, I'll toss off a few titles that come immediately to mind. 1. "Wait Until Dark", starring Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman being terrorized by hoods looking for a doll filled with heroin. Alan Arkin as the chief hood creates one of the most evil screen personas ever. 2. "The Thing". I refer to the one filmed around 1982, directed by John Carpenter (of "Halloween" and "Escape from New York" fame) and starring Kurt Russell (you know - the guy who used to star in all those Disney movies like "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes"). 3. "The Evil Dead". I believe that this starred and was filmed by Michigan State University (correct me if I'm wrong) students, including the director Sam Raimi. A little blurb at the end of the film touts it as "The ultimate experience in grueling horror", and they kid you not - this one is not for the faint-hearted. Attentive film-goers will note a little salute to this film in Wes Craven's recent "Nightmare on Elm St." Any information on other films that Sam Raimi might have made would be greatly appreciated. 4. "Don't be Afraid of the Dark". I was surprised at how scary this made-for-TV movie (circa mid '70's, I believe) was. It concerned these vicious, tiny gnome-like creatures that lived in the basement or under the fireplace of the house that the hapless heroin inherited. Saw it too long ago to be able to tell if it is in the same league as the 3 entries above. One film that has a reputation as being terrifying is "Night of the Hunter", starring Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters (Mitchum plays an evil priest who has the words "love" and "hate" tatooed on either hand), but I only have this on the words of friends and Stephen King (in his fantastic book, Danse Macabre). So how about it? Suggestions? Entries? -Steve Shiue "Ah, they're dead - they're all messed up." -Sherriff in "Night of the Living Dead"
mbate@ada-uts.UUCP (10/24/85)
Night of the Hunter, made in the mid-50s, was the only film that Charles Laughton ever directed. It was GREAT. Brooding atmosphere, great camera work. Too bad Laughton never directed another film. BTW, Mitchum (in perhaps the best performance of his career) played a murdering minister, not a priest. Back in those days, Hollywood would never portray a priest that way.
lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (10/24/85)
How about -
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The ultimate and it's not even particularly gory, just implied.
2. Halloween
It may have been responsible for tons of bad slasher films,
but it was well done and is one of the only horror movies that
had a large segment in daytime that was still scary.
3. The Exorcist
4. Carrie
5. Rosemary's Baby
Sorry - but I Love horror films and am always on the lookout for a good
one (I hate films that resort to the "jump out" stuff - like cats jumping
on garbage cans.) I rented "The Evil Dead" with VERY high expectations
and laughed throughout - it was too ludicrous.
Laura Cliffordellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (10/27/85)
PSYCHO II Even though the critics panned it, I thought it was *amazingly* frightening, and very much in the Hitchcock tradition. I went to see it with a friend who works in special effects, and while he was getting excited about the camera angles, I was getting terrified. In fact, as I glanced away from the screen for the umpteenth time, I found welcome distraction in watching the couple next to me -- over the course of the movie, the girl slowly moved out of her seat and into her boyfriend's lap. It was a good movie! -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?" "I read it in a book," said Alice. - - - - - - - - - - - - - tektronix!reed!ellen
msl5864@ritcv.UUCP (Michael S. Leibow) (10/27/85)
In article <1584@bbncca.ARPA> lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) writes: >How about - >...... >...... >5. Rosemary's Baby > >Sorry - but I Love horror films and am always on the lookout for a good >one (I hate films that resort to the "jump out" stuff - like cats jumping >on garbage cans.) I rented "The Evil Dead" with VERY high expectations >and laughed throughout - it was too ludicrous. > >Laura Clifford I agree. Rosemaries baby was an excellent movie. It wasn't anywhere near as ludicrous as "The Evil Dead." I must admit, I was laughing throughout "The Evil Dead." also. Michael S. Leibow
aurenz@uiucuxc.CSO.UIUC.EDU (10/28/85)
It's a bit strange that I am posting a response about horror movies, because I don't usually watch them or care for them. Some reasons are 1) I don't really crave the experience of being scared, 2) I don't find most alleged "horror" films horrifying - most are just, as others mentioned, poor films which simply go for shocks and gore. One, though, deserves mention - CAT PEOPLE (starring Nastassia Kinski). There is little actual "gore," but the *tension* in many scenes is merciless. It has interesting characters that you can get involved with, that you care about. The premise is bizarre, but it has a plot that is meaningful APART from the terrorizing aspects. It contrasts Kinski's character (sorry, can't remember names) with that of her brother. Both live under the same "curse". The brother is a slave to his fate but Kinski is able to conquer it through her love for the curator. Great storytelling, and genuinely frightening. S. Aurenz
vsh@pixel.UUCP (vsh) (10/28/85)
Psycho -- I second everybody else's vote for this classic.
The Exorcist -- unsettling, to say the least.
--
Steve Harris | {allegra|ihnp4|cbosgd|ima|genrad|amd|harvard}!\
Pixel Systems Inc. | wjh12!pixel!vsh
300 Wildwood Street |
Woburn, MA 01801 | 617-933-7735 x2314knf@druxo.UUCP (FricklasK) (10/29/85)
My nomination was a film from last year who's name I can't remember. It was a low budget film about a man who works as a bartender, starts going out with the bar-owners wife, and the bar owner hires a detective to kill them both. Probably the best thriller I've ever seen. All took place in Texas- the only problem I had with it was trying to understand the accents at the beginning of the film. Best last line I've seen in a thriller. '`'` Ken `'`'
lynng@mako.UUCP (Lynn Gurske) (10/30/85)
How about When a stranger calls. After seeing that one I wouldn't baby sit for any amount of money. ============================================================================== from the office of the mighty SSS KK KK EEEEEEEE !! SS SS KK KK EE !! SS KK KK EE !! SSS KKKK EEEEE !! SS KK KK EE !! SS SS KK KK EE SSS KK KK EEEEEEEE !! Lynn E. Gurske ECS/mfg Tektronix Wilsonville, OREGON 97070 60-640
hofbauer@utcsri.UUCP (John Hofbauer) (10/31/85)
> One, though, deserves mention - CAT PEOPLE (starring Nastassia > Kinski). There is little actual "gore," but the *tension* in This is a remake (more or less) of a 1942 RKO film of the same name. It was the first of a series of minor classics produced by Val Lewton. Lewton, a highly cultured Russian emigre, was saddled by the studio with a miniscule budget, even for those days, and a set of impossible titles such as CAT PEOPLE, CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, etc. Rather than make the expected type of third rate horror movie with people wearing moth-eaten cat costumes, he decided to suggest the transformations and let the audience's imagination fill in the details. The result was a series of highly entertaining and intelligent thrillers. Incidently Lewton gave Robert Wise and Mark Robson their first opportunity to direct with films in this series. The Kirk Douglas character in THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952) is modelled, in part, on Lewton. In one scene he is faced with producing a B picture with moth-eaten costumes. This clearly offends his sense of taste and so he decides to merely suggest the creatures, a la CAT PEOPLE. John Houseman who produced this film was a friend of Lewton's.
flory@zaphod.UUCP (Trevor Flory) (10/31/85)
In article <1033@druxo.UUCP> knf@druxo.UUCP (FricklasK) writes: >My nomination was a film from last year who's name I can't remember. It was >a low budget film about a man who works as a bartender, starts going out >with the bar-owners wife, and the bar owner hires a detective to kill them >both. Probably the best thriller I've ever seen. All took place in Texas- >the only problem I had with it was trying to understand the accents at the >beginning of the film. Best last line I've seen in a thriller. > > '`'` > Ken > `'`' I think this was ``Blood Simple''. -- Trevor K. Flory UUCP: ...!ihnp4{!alberta}!sask!zaphod!flory Develcon Electronics Ltd. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CANADA "... the play is the tragedy, `Man', And its hero the Conqueror Worm." Poe, c.1838
hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman) (11/01/85)
The following are excerpts, rewritten without permission from the October 30th edition of the Portland Oregonian, Robert Lindstrom, author: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What follows is a list of 13 of the spookiest movies available on videocassette. After the candy bowl is empty on Halloween, try one. With the lights off. With the doors locked. BEST STALK-AND-SLASH-FILM Don't people turn on lights when they enter a dark room? Won't people lock their doors anymore? Why do teenage girls go for midnight strolls in their underwear? These were the questions we never bothered to ask while caught up in the fears of director John Carpenters `HALLOWEEN'. ....hundreds of movies tried to cash in on the idea of a brutal killer stalking teenagers on the make. Forget them. The first is still the best. BEST BIG SCARE You've decided the movie is just about over. The popcorn box is empty and on the floor. You've put on your coat. Just then, director Brian de Palma slugs you across the room with one of the biggest shocks in horror films. ...`CARRIE' is a slick, exciting picture from beginning to end. But watch out for that last drop. BEST BIG-BUDGET GROSS-OUT Stay away from those big macs before watching John Carpenter's 1982 remake of `THE THING' or the only attack you'll have will be in- digestion. ...this thing can turn itself into any shape, sometimes in full, fascinating and disgusting view of the camera. This remake doesn't have the surprises of the 1951 Christian Nyby original, but when the husky dog's head splits apart to reveal it's drooling contents, you'll know you're not in the '50's anymore. MOST OUTRAGEOUS USE OF GORE The performances are crude, and it looks as if the entire budget was around $793.38. But rest assured most of that money was spent on stage blood to make `THE EVIL DEAD' the ultimate in stomach-churning, blood-letting, horrific nonsense. Every human body part that can possibly be punched, bruised, cut, slashed, chopped or shattered gets a workout... ...Both a shocker and a satire, `THE EVIL DEAD' takes the gore film to amusing but gross limits. SCARIEST CREATURE `The Thing' was obnoxious, but the `ALIEN' is obnoxious and indestructible. With incredible visuals designed by H.R. Giger and Ridley Scott's TV-commercial slick direction, `ALIEN' is one of the most frightening horror films of all time. Yes, it does have the look of science fiction, but `ALIEN' is horror all the way. A spaceship crew unknowingly allows aboard an alien being with a genius for survival. ...At any minute this constantly changing being can leap out of the shadows to claim it's victim.... Scriptwriter Dan O'Bannon and pals borrowed heavily from "The Thing' and `It! The Terror From Beyond Space.' Still, though it has been seen before, the formula has never been done with more style or more eye-popping scares. BEST REAL-LIFE HORRORS Man's inhumanity to man is part and parcel of horror cinema, and that inhumanity has seldom seemed more cruel or disturbing than in `THE HONEYMOON KILLERS.' Shot in newsreellike black and white, the film is based on the true crime story of a couple who romantically involve `lonly- hearts' women and kill them for their money. The semi-documentary style and low budget give `THE HONEYMOON KILLERS' a sweaty authenticity that only adds to the outrage of the story. As the killers, Tony Lo Bianco and the incredible Shirley Stoler couldn't be better. Their performances drip sleaze. BEST PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER A young woman, alone in an apartment for a weekend, gradually comes to grips with her sexual terrors and disintegrating sanity. It's mind against man in `REPULSION,' director Roman Polanski's first english language film. ...The beautiful Catherine Deneuve endures the wolf whistles of construction workers. She is repelled by her sister's promiscuity. But social tension turns to abberation and Deneuve can no longer distinguish between real and imagined terrors. ...This is one of the few involving, thought-provoking horror films and was made with a first rate cast and director. Use this to scare the wits out of your intellectual friends. BEST SHOWER SCENE ...-`PSYCHO' has it all. If you haven't seen it recently, you owe yourself another chance to be scared. Just be sure you clean up before you turn on the VCR. You won't want to shower later. WIERDEST IMAGERY Is it a horror film or just a friendly warning how not to live life? `ERASERHEAD' will have viewers shifting and shuddering without being quite sure why. ...bizarre visuals...unsettling situations...A cult film... `ERASERHEAD' may be artsy and incomprehensible, but it also clings to the mind like mold. BEST ZOMBIE CANNIBALS The competition is fierce here. Films such as `I Dismember Mama' and `Please Don't Eat My Mother' are fierce contenders, but George Romero's influential `THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD' takes the award. Corpses are rising from the grave to attack and consume the living. A troop of innocents are trapped in an old house that is surrounded by the shuffling, munching dead ones. In the tradition of great horror, Romero went one step beyond 1960's good taste and made movie history. He also opened a Pandora's Box of terrible gore films. WITTIEST HORROR FILM Vincent Price has devoted a lifetime of broad acting to the horror genre but never more effectivly than in `THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES.' The film tells of a crazed entertainer who returns from near death to murder the doctors who lost his wife on the operating table. And just to show he's a guy with style, he models his revenge on the biblical plagues of Egypt. Set in London during the early 30's, `Dr. Phibes' never stops laughing up it's sleeve, beginning with the gaudy art deco sets and continuing to the incredibly invoved murder scenes. Vincent and a steller cast of british character actors are, well, priceless. GOTHIC HORROR CLASSIC Universal Studio's original `Dracula' and `Frankenstein' have their charm, but `THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN' is a gothic phantasmagoria. Director James Whale packed this masterpiece with sly chuckles and breathtaking expressionistic sets. The creation of the bride remains the best mad laboratory scene ever filmed. Whale combined the towering proportions of the set, eccentricly flashing lab equipment, Boris Karloff's and Colin Clive's compelling performances and composer Franz Waxman's eerie music, into a poetry of horror. See it, cherish it, enjoy it. BEST HORROR FILM Some people have refused to see `THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE' on the basis of the title alone. Yet, Tobe Hooper's first and best movie has relatively little gore. What it does have is incredibly visceral violence, mind-warping situations and a pace that makes roller coasters feel like a rest cure. A visit to grandpa's old house descends into total, illogical horror as a group of young people encounter a family of sickies on the Texas plains. Hooper creates a world where all the pieces are familiar and nothing seems to fit. One nightmare follows another until the viewer loses all contact with rational reality. Whether straight shocker or black comedy, `THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE' steps solidly past the bounds of reason and straight to the scare centers." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Halloween net.people. Hank
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (11/01/85)
>Okay gang. How about a list of the movies we find the most >frightening, terrifying, etc? I really tried to stay out of the bad film listing game, but I suppose being really scary is a virtue. The scariest films would come to people's attention. The one problem is that I haven't been really scared by a film in years. A friend describes when we both saw JAWS for the first time. He describes it as "[He] was scared shitless and Mark was sitting there saying, 'The shark really didn't look realistic in that scene.' I like horror films as a genre because it is interesting to see the techniques used, I even feel a building of tension. But I don't actually get frightened. That may come of having seen too many horror films. Fiction rarely scares me, and if it does, radio horror is much more likely to scare me than film. I am not sure if you want to open this discussion to non-fiction, but the French documentary about concentration camps NIGHT AND FOG, I find pretty frightening. (How pretentious of me to mention it!) As for fiction films that have scared me, my parents claim that when I saw WAR OF THE WORLDS at age 2 it really scared me. I remember being bored by it. Years later, after a period of being willing to hock both my parents for a chance to see the film again, I was surprised at how much of the film I remembered semi-accurately. Still, I don't think that counts as being super-scary. The last film I remember being really scared at was PSYCHO at age 9. Films that I have seen since that have come the closest to really scaring me are NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (some of the scenes still feel very real) and (here comes da' flames) COUNT YORGA: VAMPIRE. The latter is low budget exploitation, but it was also a sharp and interesting contrast to Hammer's vampires. YORGA introduced vampires who were faster, much less sedate, and much more savage. They were much more in the tradition of the real vampire legends. Stoker's cultured vampire was supposed to be a marked contrast to the loathsome creature of the legends. Since then most vampires have been portrayed as cultured gentlepeople. The vampires in the Hammer films would slowly creep up on you looking hungrily at your neck, and perhaps when you weren't looking would slowly take a nip. In YORGA, before you knew there were vampires around they would attack like a pack of wild dogs and start chewing pieces out of you. Two more films to look for in the genre CARNIVAL OF SOULS is a super-low-budget piece that is really, really good. Very eerily filmed. Also look for a film known as either LEMORA or LADY DRACULA. It falls down in the second half, but till then it is really nightmarish. These are both films made on a shoestring that put their higher priced brothers to shame. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
lo@harvard.ARPA (Bert S.F. Lo) (11/02/85)
> My nomination was a film from last year who's name I can't remember. It was > a low budget film about a man who works as a bartender, starts going out > with the bar-owners wife, and the bar owner hires a detective to kill them > both. Probably the best thriller I've ever seen. All took place in Texas- > the only problem I had with it was trying to understand the accents at the > beginning of the film. Best last line I've seen in a thriller. > > '`'` > Ken > `'`' BLOOD SIMPLE.
showard@udenva.UUCP (showard) (11/02/85)
> One, though, deserves mention - CAT PEOPLE (starring Nastassia > Kinski). There is little actual "gore," but the *tension* in > many scenes is merciless. It has interesting characters that > you can get involved with, that you care about. > The premise is bizarre, but it has a plot that is meaningful > APART from the terrorizing aspects. > It contrasts Kinski's character (sorry, can't remember > names) with that of her brother. Both live under the same "curse". > The brother is a slave to his fate but Kinski is able to conquer > it through her love for the curator. > > Great storytelling, and genuinely frightening. > > > S. Aurenz If you thought the remake was tense and suspenseful, you should have seen the original (details escape me, but I'm almost sure it was B&W). In the original, the audience doesn't know (as it does in the remake) whether these people actually turn into cats or not. On the other hand, the original didn't have a Bowie soundtrack. --Mr. Blore, the DJ who would not die --aka Steve Howard, ...udenva!showard
shiva@duts.UUCP (11/02/85)
> My nomination was a film from last year who's name I can't remember. It was > a low budget film about a man who works as a bartender, starts going out > with the bar-owners wife, and the bar owner hires a detective to kill them > both. as- > Ken Blood Simple, a film noir supreme. -- Shiva, Amdahl
stuart@bcsaic.UUCP (stuart gove) (11/02/85)
In article <1033@druxo.UUCP> knf@druxo.UUCP (FricklasK) writes: >My nomination was a film from last year who's name I can't remember. It was >a low budget film about a man who works as a bartender, starts going out >with the bar-owners wife, and the bar owner hires a detective to kill them >both. Probably the best thriller I've ever seen. All took place in Texas- >the only problem I had with it was trying to understand the accents at the >beginning of the film. Best last line I've seen in a thriller. > > '`'` > Ken > `'`' The name of the movie is "Blood Simple" and I think it is an excellent film, primarily for the way that humor was used in such unsettling circumstances. Great soundtrack, too. Stuart Gove Boeing Computer Services "Support the peace movement, or I'll kill you."
daveb@rtech.UUCP (Dave Brower) (11/03/85)
> My nomination was a film from last year who's name I can't remember. It was > a low budget film about a man who works as a bartender, starts going out > with the bar-owners wife, and the bar owner hires a detective to kill them > both. Probably the best thriller I've ever seen. All took place in Texas- > the only problem I had with it was trying to understand the accents at the > beginning of the film. Best last line I've seen in a thriller. 'Blood Simple' The detective (and only name actor) was J. Emmet Walsh, who was also Harrison Ford's boss in 'Blade Runner.' On the -4..4 scale, a +4. -- {amdahl|dual|sun|zehntel}\ | {ucbvax|decvax}!mtxinu---->!rtech!daveb | "Something can always go wrong" ihnp4!{phoenix|amdahl}___/ |
lo@harvard.ARPA (Bert S.F. Lo) (11/03/85)
> If you thought the remake was tense and suspenseful, you should have > seen the original (details escape me, but I'm almost sure it was B&W). In > the original, the audience doesn't know (as it does in the remake) whether > these people actually turn into cats or not. On the other hand, the original > didn't have a Bowie soundtrack. > > --Mr. Blore, the DJ who would not die > --aka Steve Howard, ...udenva!showard Neither did the remake. David Bowie only sings the title song. All the music on the soundtrack was composed by Giorgio Moroder (Midnight Express, Scarface, Electric Dreams, DC Cab, Metropolis 1984, ...) _____________________Bert S.F. Lo (lo@harvard.HARVARD.EDU)_____________________
lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (11/05/85)
I'm pretty sure Bowie also wrote the lyrics to the song, which Moroder wrote the music for. By the by, I seem to recall the original posting claiming that "Cat People" was not gory (the remake) -- what about the scene where the panther rips a guy's arm off?? This was excessively gory.
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (11/06/85)
>If you thought the remake was tense and suspenseful, you >should have seen the original (details escape me, but I'm >almost sure it was B&W). Sure it was. It was one of a string of very good, very atmospheric horror and semi-horror films produced by Val Lewton in the 40's. All were done in black and white. >In the original, the audience >doesn't know (as it does in the remake) whether these people >actually turn into cats or not. Actually, it is established for the audience, one way or the other. I won't say which way, but by the end of the film the audience knows if the legend is true or not. I am Philistine enough to like some remakes over their originals. I would include CAT PEOPLE, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. The last two are productions for Hallmark Hall of Fame. I still haven't decided on THE THING. No question on KING KONG, at least the second half of the man-in-a-suit remake could be burned for all I care. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
msl@bu-cs.UUCP (Melissa Leffler) (11/07/85)
I have been keeping quiet, but I can no longer resist. I think the scariest movie I have ever seen is "THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE," based on a book by Shirley Jackson (I believe this is the author). Granted, I originally saw the movie when I was 12 and alone in the house on a rainy night, but I have seen it three times now, and think that the suspense is terrific. Has anyone else seen this? -- UUCP : ...!harvard!bu-cs!msl ARPA : msl%bu-cs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa BITNET: enl21301@bostonu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When it comes, the Landscape listens - Shadows - hold their breath - When it goes, 'tis like the Distance On the look of Death - excerpt from '66' - Emily Dickinson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~