Horror Films That Actually Scared Me.

What's universal is that we all have something that scares us. Everyone has something that frightens them. That is what we all have in common. Where we contrast is what that specific something is that scares us. Put me within a few feet of a snake, I'd be liable to die of cardiac arrest. Someone else might pick the snake up, the same way I would a puppy or a kitten. That same person might turn white as a ghost and be frozen in fear near a rat, while I would simply avoid it if it were a sewer rat or pick it up and kiss it on the head if it were a pet rat.

Analyzing what scares us and why it scares us is a fascinating study. I often criticize horror films for being startling rather than scary. I hate it when people think that I'm scared because I jump during a part in a film. I'm not scared. I'm startled. I have an automatic response to react anytime something sudden and unexpected happens. I think as a result some people think that I'm trying to play off as one of these tough guys that cannot be scared by films. That there isn't anything out there that can scare me or truly frighten me. I am not one of those types of people. I am the first to admit that there are films that do truly frighten me. There are some films that downright terrify me.

I have rules for whether a movie actually scares me or not. Rule number one, is that the film has to scare me upon a second viewing. I do not and I will not determine whether a film scared me upon the first viewing. I have to know what is about to unfold on the screen, and still have a sense of urgency. If I fear what I already know is going to happen, then I can say that a film scares me.  Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, I'm extremely critical of jump scares. Unless they are well done and well timed, I will usually shoot them down.

There are four films that honestly frighten me. It's fun to discuss these films with others and hear from my friends that they don't find these films scary at all.  Then to have them list off films that they do find scary, that I think aren't even remotely scary.

For example, my friend Nicole found "The Conjuring" to be terrifying. I thought it was an okay movie, but it didn't scare me.  I have other friends who find, "28 Days Later" to be quite frightening. The only thing that scared me about that film when I paused it for a second and saw that there was still an hour left of it.

The anticipation has hopefully built up enough by now, to where you're thinking, "List the damn movies that scare you already!!!"  It's only fair that I quit stalling and finally list them.

Here you go...

Halloween

It is often said that people fear what they don't know or what they don't understand. I've noticed about myself, that I often search for an explanation. Once I realize why something is does or why someone behaves the way that they do, I begin to formulate ideas for solutions. When no explanation is given, I am unable to do that.  Michael Myers is a character that truly frightens me for a multitude of reasons.  He's unstoppable. He's unpredictable. Although it has been speculated, nothing other than guesses have ever been given as to why he does what he does. The way he walks. The music that accompanies him. I actually find him the most frightening when he's off in the distance starring. The scenes that still send a chill down my spine are the ones where he is watching Laurie as she sits in class from across the street by his car. The scene where he stares at her from the clothesline and the scene where he is watching her on the sidewalk and then hides behind a bush. It is important to remember that before the sequels came out, we had no understanding of why he was after Laurie. He was simply an escaped mental patient who set out to kill her. I guess the idea of someone that I don't know, who cannot be stopped and who cannot be reasoned with trying to kill me without reason scares me.

Pet Semetary

I don't care how many times I see this film. I can watch it 10 times in a row and it disturbs the shit out of me every time. Even though I own the film, I rarely watch it. Every time I view it, it stays with me for days. The first time I saw it was back in 2002. My nephew Garrett was two years old at the time. After watching "Pet Semetary" being around him was sort of freaky. I don't know why, but the idea of evil little children, especially children that young doesn't set well with me. I realize that in the story it is not really Gage Creed, and it's a windego demon possessing his body but it is still a killer two year old. My roommate Joel decided to pull this off the shelf the other day and watch it.  I watched it with him and it still had the same effect on me.  Later on that night, I woke up in the middle of the night. My cat, Peanut was walking into the room at the exact moment.  Her eyes glowed like Church's do in the movie. I screamed and quickly turned on the light beside me.  I don't know who was more frightened, me or Peanut.

The Ring

This film doesn't scare me as much as it used to. Matter of fact, I can make it through most of the film without being scared. I've even gotten to a point to where I can laugh and make fun of most of the film. Yet, when that little girl comes crawling out of the well and through the T.V.  I begin to grip the sides of my chair and I check out my exit points. If that little brat is going to come crawling through my TV, I'm getting the hell out of there. I keep on hoping that one of these days I'll be able to watch the film without being freaked out during that part, but it doesn't look promising.

Oculus

 I was beginning to lose faith that a horror film would ever frighten me again. Matter of fact, with all of the horrible, God-awful horror films that I've seen over the past couple of years, I was beginning to lose faith that a good modern day horror film would ever be made again. Then I ran across Oculus and I was extremely impressed. This movie stayed with me and kept my mind occupied for weeks after I saw it.  What was really happening? So many movies try for ambiguous movies and fail because they either give too much or they don't give enough. Oculus gave just the right amount.  To this day, if I think about the film too much, I cannot look into mirrors afterwards.  I'm too freaked out.  I've been wanting to sit down and watch this film again, but I can't do it.  I cannot watch it alone.  I have to have someone with me. It freaks me out way too much for me to be able to sit through it by myself.



Well there you have it.  A list of films that actually scare me.  Now be honest, you may laugh at my selection and wonder how anyone could be frightened by the films I have listed, but there has to be at least one film that you saw that scared you.  If you say that there isn't, only one of two explanations is plausible. A, you don't watch that many horror films or B, there isn't actually a horror film that exist that will scare you because you aren't afraid of anything.

If you're answer is B, may I say....BULLSHIT, you freakin liar!

WHOO!!