Well, it’s October again and Halloween coming up, and that can only mean one thing: Tis the season for scary movies! Being a movie fanatic, and one who loves scary movies, I couldn’t help but put make a couple scary movies lists. Up first, I’ve got my top-10 scariest movies.
If you don’t like my list or you disagree with my choices … well, bummer. Make your own list. Jerk-face.
10. Deliverance (R, 1972)
I haven’t traveled much, but this movie has made me realize thatI should put Georgia on my states-never-to-go-to list. To make a long story short, this movie is a classic piece of American cinema. It’s manly, touching (perhaps a little too much so at times) and it gives you every reason you’ll ever need to prefer staying inside to exploring the outdoors.
If you don’t know what this movie is about, don’t let anyone ruin it for you. If you do … well, then you know why it makes my list.
*Shivers*
9. “The Haunting” (G, 1963)
How scary can a G-rated movie be, you may wonder? I asked myself the same question the Saturday night my dad brought this movie home from the video store. I even laughed at him for suggesting it was remotely scary. Then, two hours later, I didn’t want to go upstairs alone.
I consider this the definitive haunted house movie. It doesn’t rely on cheap tricks or gore (obviously, given the G rating), but rather it goes straight for the uncanny. It’s absolutely creepy, and it sticks with you long after watching. An absolute classic.
8. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (R, 1974)
To be perfectly honest, I only saw this movie once, but it scared the crap out of me. I was in my late teens when I saw it too, so I can’t really attribute how much it scared me to any sort of childhood trauma.
Just like Jaws makes you not want to go in the water, this movie makes you not want to go to Texas. If you haven’t seen it or aren’t familiar with it, the title really tells you everything you need to know. This one’s a screamer from start to finish. It’s gory, shocking, disturbing and downright horrifying.
7. “Quarantine” (R, 2008)
Jennifer Carpenter takes the lead in this shaky-camera, night-vision, popcorn horror flick. In the
movie, a reporter goes on a ride-along with a crew of firefighters. They get a strange call taking them to a creepy apartment building where they are subsequently locked in side.
From here, the movie goes absolutely insane, boasting horrifying sights around every corner. If the fun house at the fair were a movie, it would be “Quarantine.”
6. “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” (PG-13, 2005)
Many critics didn’t care for this movie, but I really found this movie quite scary. I consider it somewhat of an updated version of “The Exorcist.” Jennifer Carpenter is back again here, and she does a fantastic job of portraying a possessed girl who otherwise looks harmless. This one stayed with me after watching it. There’s not much else I cansay. It’s just damn creepy.
5. “The Exorcist” (R, 1973)
The definitive possession movie, “The Exorcist,” is an immortal classic (pun intended, so you'd better freaking laugh). In some instances, the old effects even make the movie scarier. Linda Blair knocks her role dead (or undead?), and unlike some horror movies, this one has very solid plot (probably because it’s based on a book). I’d be surprised to not find this one on a scariest movies list.
4. “The Shining” (R, 1980)
Stanley Kubrick is a freak of nature. The man has made some of the finest films ever made, but I think he’s got a screw or two loose in his head. As usual, Kubrick uses unique, unsettling filming methods to scare audiences.
From beginning to end, you’ll follow Jack Nicholson’s character as he descends into madness. Of course, all this in addition to the totally unsettling atmosphere of an abandoned, haunted hotel. I could go on forever about how much I love this movie, but I’ll spare you because I know you have better things to do than listen to me blab.
3. “The Blair Witch Project” (R, 1999)
Yeah, I know ; a lot of people hated this movie. However, I really enjoyed it. The raw filming style really makes you feel like you’re there, and the setting is eerie beyond belief. The three lost filmmakers are at the mercy of the woods, and the creature within them.
The key to this movie is you have to buy into the plot. The scares aren’t happening to you, but rather to the people on screen. It’s a vicarious scare. If you buy into it, you’re in for a real treat.
2. “Session 9” (R, 2001)
Just as “The Haunting” is the ultimate haunted house movie, “Session 9” is the ultimate haunted hospital movie. (Okay, there may not be too many haunted hospital movies, but you get the point.) This is easily the least-known movie on the list.
In the film, an asbestos removal team cleans out an abandoned mental hospital. As the project progresses, the terrifying history of the hospital reveals itself, and a member of the team vanishes inside the facility.
This is a brilliant, white-knuckle thriller that leave you scrambling to put the pieces together.
1. “The Sixth Sense” (PG-13, 1999)
Drum roll please! Sitting high atop my list is, in my opinion, not only the scariest, but also one of the most clever horror movies in the history of cinema. It’s also M. Night Shyamalan’s only good movie. This film has startling moments in addition to an incredibly creepy plot, and Bruce Willis nails his role as a psychiatrist trying to help a boy with a terrifying gift. If you’ve ever been afraid of ghosts, this one will hit that fear home, guaranteed.
See this one before somebody spoils the ending. Regardless, even if you know how it ends, that doesn’t make it any less scary.
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