Scariest movie from the past 20 years?

[Eric Campos]

A poll over at Movies.com asked visitors which of the following four films from the past 20 years was the scariest - "The Ring," "Silence of the Lambs," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Blair Witch Project."
"The Ring" won in the poll. Surely there's been something scarier than that since 1983. Or hasn't there?

[Pete Vonder Haar]

"Yentl."

Thread closed.

[ny_pitbull]

the movie that had dan akroyd and rosie odonell as some under cover cops at a club med type sex resort.

Rosie odonell in a leather bustier was enough to scare my sperm back upstream like spawning salmon.

[Furious D]

:eek:
The big problem with polling people about movies, especially horror films is that the average moviegoer who's not smart enough to get out of answering somebody's stupid survey only has the attention span of a gnat on crack and the long term memory of a goldfish with a head injury.

Another problem is the absolute dearth of decent horror movies during the 80's & 90's. It's starting to shift around, but I remember how the golden age of low budget horror of the 70's & very early 80's faded into the sequel crazy mishmash that we're still recovering from today.

Studios almost killed the genre with overextended franchises that forgot that a scary movie was supposed to be unpredictable! Wes Craven's Scream really doesn't count, because it was more of a satire of the genre than a real horror film.

Nowadays the only real horror comes from the Disney Studios as they try to force feed the world's children a diet of mass produced, committee conceived pap. Now that's scary!
:eek:

[El Duderino Diablo]

Originally posted by Eric Campos
"The Ring" won in the poll. Surely there's been something scarier than that since 1983. Or hasn't there?

Well, the Japanese original, Ringu, was better and scarier (not that I scare. Ever. Really.).
Since then I'd have to say that Korea's A Tale of Two Sisters is the scareist movie I've seen recently.

EDIT: A Tale of Two Sisters website (http://www.twosisters.co.kr/)
EDIT part deux:
An objective revue (http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/moviemania/reviews/0,3946,205677,00.html)

[Ricky Retardo]

IF I had to chose between what was listed, I'd probably have to go with the original Nightmare. The last scene where Hope Lange gets pulled thru the peephole flipped my wig. That was THE LAST Wes Craven film of any real value (although many will point to The Serpent and The Rainbow). But casting my mind to it, I don't come up with anything better (Day of The Dead wasn't actually "scary"). However, I have heard good things about Dario Argento's Opera (although, alas I've not yet seen it), so you might have to look to Europe for your answer.

[Gorillaboss]

Originally posted by ny_pitbull
The movie that had dan akroyd and rosie odonell as some under cover cops at a club med type sex resort...Rosie O'Donell in a leather bustier was enough to scare my sperm back upstream like spawning salmon.



God damn you to hell, Mr. Pitbull.

I had completely forgotten about Exit to Eden. I saw it on the big screen, so Rosie's leather-clad goodies were 80 feet tall. However, through the wonders of therapy and medication, I had finally found My Happy Place, where I was able to forgive, to forget, and to heal.

God damn you to hell.

[Reverend Ned]

These films made my skin crawl, and to this day still do.

Happiness
Bad Lieutenant
Salo (made in 1975, I know)
Man Bites Dog
Sick
Paradise Lost (both original and sequel)
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover
Nekromantic 1 & 2

[cooke]

Schramm by Buttgereit was good, especially the shock ending.

Ringu was fantastic and scary.

Audition was moving and scary.

Or do all scary movies in polls have to be american (ie the country with no name, the USA) so they can't really think of any really scary films, only disney, remakes, and sequels for ever...? or should they look to the fantastic american underground or the huge independent movie scene?

though some majors have made good movies.

but subtitles are a chore in the english speaking world...

[The Baron]

I hate to say this, but I don't think a REALLY scary horror film has been made in the last 20 years. "Ringu" came very close, but it still didn't give me the willies the way Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath" or the Robert Wise film "The Haunting" did.

It's only my opinion, but I think the real masters of horror are either dead, or just not biting into the genre the way they once did. Throwing more "Hollywood Red" up on the screen seems to be the modern filmmakers technique, rather than building tension and giving us a truly scary story. It's a sad state of affairs.

Perhaps it's time to put away the CGI and the Kayro syrup blood, and start writing better stories. To date, there have been a limited number of movie monsters, and the studios seem to be afraid to mine new areas. The only hope, as far as I can see, lies with the Indies, and that only if writers, directors and producers will begin concerning themselves with their imaginations... instead of filling seats.

[Carl]

The Pan-Asian film industry has take the horror genre to the next level.

Has anyone seen and enjoyed "Audition"?

[gatz]

Hollywood is rarely capable of doing what it takes to frighten an audience. Stars aren't willing to sacrifice their characters., marketing can't keep any secrets and audiences just don't LOOK for movies.

The Asian horror auteurs are definately keeping the genre fresh. They are willing to go places that American filmmakers business plans won't allow. Watching "Ringu" "The Isle" and "Audition" for me was like the first time I picked up Clive Barker's "Books of Blood." My only disapointment comes from not being able to appreciate the films in their native language. Dubbing rarely works but reading just adds a distance to the proceedings.

That said add "Funny Games" and "Cronos" to the list.

[CarjackFairy]

Originally posted by Reverend Ned
These films made my skin crawl, and to this day still do.

Happiness
Bad Lieutenant
Salo (made in 1975, I know)
Man Bites Dog
Sick
Paradise Lost (both original and sequel)
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover
Nekromantic 1 & 2


Man Bites Dog is one of the best dark comidies I've seen.

I think that horror is the hardest genre to make a decent movie. I think the reason that film makers target horror movies to teenagers is that by your mid to late twenties you've dealt with or have seen alot worse then what get shown in movies.

I think in the last 20 years the scariest events have happened in real life. And the one thing that scares me the most that has happened in rl is

"Armin Meiwes - The Homosexual Internet Sex Cannibal" (http://www.4law.co.il/cann1c.htm)

[Rick]

'Hellraiser' was pretty damn creepy. Re-Animator was maybe more stylish than scary, but still an excellent horror movie. Se7en was unsettling and ultimately scary.

[Pete Vonder Haar]

"Audition" was indeed creepy.

I finally got the Super Mondo Splenderiferous Edition of "The Wicker Man." Still nicely ominous.

Saw "May," liked it better when it was called "Pieces."

Enjoyed "Ringu." Thought "Battle Royale" was better.

Not a big Tood Solondz fan.

And when you get right down to it, Mr. Fairy is right: real life puts anything the movie industry can come up with to shame.

[stedrazed]

How about LOST HIGHWAY? MULLHOLLAND DR. scares the shit out of me too. Also, AUDITION is very, very creepy, as is MAY. Just thought I'd see if David Lynch scares anyone else out of their minds, though.

[Jeremy Knox]

You guys are big wusses :D The scariest movie I've seen in twenty years was THE EYE. Amazing and scary film.

A good runner up for creepy/scary is Communion (1989) the supposedly "true" alien abduction story.

In both cases it's simple to see what's scary. The unknown.

JK13

PS: I didn't mean it ;) You guys aren't wusses. Those were good picks!

[El Duderino Diablo]

I absolutely terrified a friend of mine showing her the scene in Communion where Walken stares intently at his bedroom dresser until an alien pokes it's head out from behind it. Very effective scene. I think it gave her nightmares for a month or two.

[HottyMo]

Salem's Lot has to be one of the best scary movies out there. That scene where the kid is scraping the glass? That's pure terror, friend.....

[Kuato]

Salo -is scarry yet grattifying then scarry then sexy..then disturbing
the only movie that has honestly scared me through out my life whenever i watch it is Jacob's Ladder
its splendid

[Philo Bedo]

The home video sequence from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

The Shining still gets me late at nite with lights out and the 5.1 on.

Clean Shaven

[Resident Alien]

Originally posted by CarjackFairy I think in the last 20 years the scariest events have happened in real life. And the one thing that scares me the most that has happened in rl is

"Armin Meiwes - The Homosexual Internet Sex Cannibal" (http://www.4law.co.il/cann1c.htm) [/B]

Haha, I had read an article to my English class last year about Armin Miewes. I had people booing and hissing, but once I got to the part where it talked about how he ate the guys penis... well, I was dodging books.:D . Geez, some people have no sense of humor...;)

[Ellen M.]

Originally posted by Pete Vonder Haar
"Yentl."

Thread closed.

Yep, I've gotta agree with Pete on this one... Babs in Orthodox Jewish drag AND singing... Scary shit!

"Papa, can you hear me?"...
Ellen

[Phil Hall]

If it was the past 30 years, I would say the Lucille Ball version of "Mame" (a joke stolen from my pal Dennis Dermody at Paper Magazine).

[urbanoutlaw]

I've been reading Film Threat since the print version ages back, as well as the website regularly, but this is my first posting. As a film geek (self-described and also tagged as such by friends), I enjoy nearly all genres, and horror is no exception. Three films I can think of offhand that have unnerved me over the past ten-plus years have been "Angel Heart," "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" (crime/horror-realism?), and, as cliched as it might seem, "The Blair Witch Project."

But nothing moreso than a book - "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski - has severely affected my state of mind. Definitely not pre-bedtime reading.

-Craig

[Certex]

Cannibal Campout: shot-on-video classic from 1988.

"It's a small small small small small small small small small small little world ain't it guys?" = crap CC psycho.

G.