Scariest Movies You've Ever Seen?

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

John Carpenter's The Thing has definitely scared me more than any other movie. The idea of a monsters that could consume me and then assume my identity and use it to do the same to my family and friends terrifies me far more than any kaiju/zombie/vampire etc. The concept is terrifying enough, and the fantastic, disturbingly grotesque creature effects definitely add to the terror. I also think the Antarctic setting is perfect; horror movies work best in isolated environments, and Antarctica is the most isolated place on Earth. Finally, something that sets The Thing apart from many inferior horror movies, I actually care about the characters. Though not heavily developed, I find them relatable enough (especially MacReady) and I want to see them make it out of this thing (pun intended) alive, even though it becomes increasingly obvious that isn't going to happen. These aren't some stock dumbass teenagers out drinking and fucking in the woods, they're a group of believable guys who are smart and capable of enough to fight back against their attacker, and still don't have a chance in hell. Also, Childs is definitely the Thing at the end and MacReady definitely handed him a bottle of gasoline.

A close second is The Descent. Along with The Thing, it's one of the only movies that's truly spooked me in my teenage/adult life. Being stranded in a cave is about the most terrifying thing I can imagine, and as such this movie gives me the creeps even before the monsters show up. When the monsters do show up, the terror goes through the roof. I usually hate jump scares, but I think that jump scare where the first Crawler shows up on the night-vision camera was done perfectly, and is one of the best I've ever seen, rivaled only by the floating head in Jaws. While the concept of The Descent doesn't freak me out quite as much as The Thing, I think the movie itself builds up just as much terror and suspense. Once again, in addition to the effectively creepy monsters and the perilous, isolated setting, I think the fact that I actually care about the characters helps a lot. As in The Thing, the characters receive just enough development to form a believable dynamic and seem like real people who I don't want to die; tough luck for me.

On a final note, I think it's interesting that the two horror movies I find the scariest both have a single-gender cast; all-male in The Thing, all-female in The Descent. I can't put a finger on why, but I think this elevates the horror for me. I would say it's because most horror movies with mixed gender casts fall back on the trope of horny teens going out in the woods to have sex and getting slaughtered, but there are great horror movies where this isn't the case (Alien, for example), and none of them scare me nearly as much as these two films do.

[gottatalktothefake]

I agree with you on The Thing, It's the only movie that I've actually been scared of after watching it.

[Jetty_Jags]

Jacobs ladder

I’ve watched some horror movies, but most I don’t find really scary, this was the only film to give me this feeling, which is interesting due to the minimalist amount of scares compared to other films.

My honorable mention is the vvitch which I didn’t find scary but is the only movie I felt like I probably shouldn’t be watching.

[Godzilloci]

Movies don't scare me, not even morally corrupt movies, or movies with immoral scenes, but I found Anna and Elsa both creepy and disgusting throughout the entirety of both Frozen movies. I think all human characters in the Frozen films are designed in very off-putting ways, somehow looking less like exaggerated people and more like alien-mannequins that were manufactured to look perfect, clean, and pretty, yet end up feeling completely unnatural because of it. It doesn't help that the way they're animated, especially in Frozen 2, is trying to make them look too humanly expressive. Anna and Elsa's mouths or jaws in particular make a lot of fairly realistic movements when they talk and express themselves, but their soulless eyes and even more soulless dialogue doesn't suit those movements. It's like imagining an anime character in the real world, with realistic skin and clothing textures and realistic movements, but on a completely unnatural body that speaks in a way only anime characters would speak.

I never had this problem with other Disney films, so maybe the people behind Frozen had specific visions which I find less charming or beautiful and more eerily lifeless. I take only one glance at the heroes of Frozen and can say "Yup, these characters were designed to be dolls first, people second."

Show me a movie which depicts realistic shots of cannibalism, rape, or genocide, and I can handle it fairly well even if it is an ugly spectacle. But somehow Frozen characters have this unique visual style which feels artificial to the point of physical queasiness when I concentrate too long on their features. Jasmine from the Aladdin movie is at least animated like a fluid cartoon character, rather than as a plastic model pretending and fooling itself into thinking it's human. Anna and Elsa in particular look like skeletal ghouls whose eyes are actually wide mouths, and this in itself wouldn't be a problem to me if that's what their actual roles were, but Disney, and its fans, seriously think they are beautiful, relatable human beings.

It probably doesn't help that the plot of Frozen 2 is mostly about Elsa discovering her real self, even though from beginning to end she looks and behaves like the fakest thing in the movie (well, next to the over-simplified Sami-like people she interacts with, who are clearly trying to appeal to woke culture).

[Beast Blood]

I categorically refuse to watch The Shining again mostly because of the dang bear dog piggy guy.

[GodzillavsJason]

Black Christmas (1974).

Love the film to bits, but Jesus Christ, do I always dread watching it. "Billy" is really the scariest slasher to me. The voice, his mannerisms and that goddamn eye! Creeps me the hell out. Then, just the general atmosphere the film gives out, with us knowing he's in the sorority house, but none of the characters know about it till the very end.

Definitely a film I like to watch every Christmas. Just a shame the two remakes never got what made the original so great and horrifying.

[CrimsonBloodX]

The first Insidious scared the hell out of me when I first watched. I actually screamed at the scene when the guy was taking pictures and those ghost women suddenly appeared.

Sinister is really damn scary as well.

[Beast Blood]

Sinister is really damn scary as well.

Ah, yes. Weird, creepy music coupled with insidious kill tapes of families being murdered in horrible ways by one of their own. My favorite.

-sarcasm alert blares-

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Inland Empire
Not really a horror movie in the straightforward sense but it is scary in the surreal way. It's nigh incomprehensible in the traditional sense and it's the only time a movie has seriously made me scream and even cover my eyes and hide.

Prince of Darkness
When I first re-watched it shortly after my spiritual awakening it got to me. The whole idea that evil is slowly, but surely and perhaps inevitably becoming the dominant force of the universe was deeply frightening. Trapped in a run down church facing Satan and the one thing even worse than him.

Maniac (original)
The mannequin scene.

Antichrist
It stuck with me for awhile, I can still remember it clearly. A very dark look at the dynamic between men and women and by the end of it you're questioning everything you see in it.

[Gigantis]

The Grudge. Man, i always hate those creepy groaning noises Kayako makes, they send chills down my spine..

[o.supreme]

Poltergeist- saw this movie probably around the age of 10 a few years after its initial release. It was probably on cable, but scared me more back then than anything in the slasher horror genre.

Also a weird low budget alien film from the early 80's called "Strange Invaders"- There's a scene where a kid is literally shriveled up into a ball of energy. The practical effects on that scared me to no end, probably saw that when I was 7 or 8.

Also while not a movie. This sequence from Sesame Street was nightmare fuel for quite a few toddlers in the late 70's early 80's

[Spuro]

The Japanese horror film Kairo (2001), also known as Pulse in the West.

Fuck Kairo.

Fuck. That. Shit.

I've never seen a movie that made my heart just drop into my stomach like that before. A sheer, physical, visceral reaction to what was happening onscreen. No gore, no jump scares, just... pure fucking nightmarish horror.

[shadowgigan]

Movies don't really scare me these days. When I was a kid, Halloween and The Ring really freaked me out. I would also say there are parts of Noroi: The Curse that got me.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Prince of Darkness
Inland Empire
Maniac (original)
Antichrist

In that order.

[fl00fmuffin]

Perhaps not as well-known as his other works, but William Castle's The Night Walker (1964) definitely made a chilling impression. The suspense is largely from not fully knowing what's going on, what's real, and what isn't, just like the characters, which helps to sympathize with them leading up to the twist ending. Vic Mizzy's score also enhances the mood, despite being a more "serious" film than what he's primarily known for.

[Anguirus]

From the last ten years:
Mama, knowing there was a spirit playing with kids that the parents didn't know about always freaked me out.
Us, especially due to the music and twist.
The Visit had a couple really scary scenes with the grandmother, easily my favorite M. Night film since Signs (which is a movie that really freaks me out).
The Invisible Man, knowing that the abusive boyfriend might be in the same room as the main character at any time really creeps me out.
The Night House, I was likewise always scared that whatever was after the main character was in her room at any given time.
Various Paranormal Activities, in particular: 3, The Marked Ones, 5, and Next of Kin. I always am on edge watching the movies' characters through the camera, unknowing when the ghost/demon will attack.
Annabelle Creation scared me quite a bit, dolls usually do.

[Voyager]

Come and See (1985): The horrors war and the holocaust told through the eyes of a teenage boy.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Kong: King of Atlantis. A true milestone in the horror genre.

[GigaBowserG]

Lake Mungo (2008) lives rent free in my head to this day. The mockumentary style makes it very effectively unsettling throughout, and helps it stand out from the crowd.

[kaijufanforever]

The Blob remake. I had the joy of seeing that as a child.

I used to be scared of the Tremors franchise cause I had a nightmare about them, and when I woke up, I saw the nightmare play out on one of the pictures of my wall for a few seconds