- THE SHINING (1980)
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" That's just one of the freaky elements to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece inspired by the Stephen King story. How 'bout the freaky twin girls in the hallway? Or the scene with Jack and the bathroom attendant? How 'bout little Danny and his finger-bodied alto-ego Tony. YIKES!! Nevermind Shelly Duvall being butt-ugly altogether - that image alone is horrifying. This shit is just freaky... even the scene with Danny riding the Big Wheel on and off the rugs down the hall is chilling!! The image of a frozen Jack Torrance (left) is the perfect image to end this chilling tale of how isolation can truly corrupt your soul.
- SE7EN (1996)
Seriously... how fuckin' great is Kevin Spacey as the villian in this flick. Man is he creepy. This film has one of the best suspence-filled endings. With Brad Pitt gut-wrenchingly screaming at Spacey "What's in the box?!", we don't actually ever see what IS in the box - but eventually find out it's Brad's wife's head. And it's a jolt to your gut when you figure it out. Just a kick ass mind-bender. Nevermind that burnt to the bones dude on the bed earlier in the movie that comes to life - YIKES!!!
- JAWS (1975)
Right out of the gate this Spielberg masterpiece chills your inner soul. It begins with two drunk asses skinny dippin' on the beach and one unlucky chick (left) who becomes a shark's midnight snack when she drifts off shore a little too far. Being born & raised on Long Island Sound, this scene struck a nerve of fear that seemed all the more possible to actually happen. And it was a great way to keep the audience on the edge of their seat thoughout the movie. And don't forget the legendary John Williams' deep and eery score. Damn straight you'll need a bigger boat!!
- CASINO (1995)
I don't even think this movie as that great. I mean, it is a Scorcese film - so it can't be a bad film. But with it's 70's guitar soundtrack, voice over animation and DeNiro/Pesci dynamic at the forefront - it was a little too like Goodfellas (only in Vegas this time) to be an original classic. And once again, Joe Pesci plays the loud-mouthed cowboy gangsta that gets his own in the end. This time both elements with a little more umph!! As the hard-ass enforcer, this time he does some skull squeazing with a vice-grip until eyeballs almost pop. And as the one who gets what's coming to him in the end, this time he's forced to watch his brother get beat to a bloody pulp with baseball bats, then thrown in a ditch to be buried alive. Seeing him get thrown in the ditch with his sibling in the end is not only a eery way to put the "final nail in the coffin" but it completes one of the most horrifying murder scenes ever.
- THE EXORCIST (1973)
This might possibly be the creepiest movie ever made. I mean, just look at Linda Blair's Regan (left). That chick is fuckin' whack!! In today's world where the Saw franchise has gored-up the mainstream horror-flicks to a new all-time high, it's easy to forget how timid Hollywood was to not only violence, but the strong anti-religous tone this movie had back in 1973. Ya gotta remember that back then there was no Texas Chainsaw Massacre yet ... or Jaws... or The Shining... or Stephen King... or Freddy, Michael & Jason. Years before it's time as far as pushing the envelope, the world was definitely not ready for bed levitations, 360* head turns and green vomit. And even now, some 30+ years later - it's still pretty fuckin' creepy to watch.
- THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
Don't let the endless supply of lame sequels and prequels make you think this original from '91 won't freak you right the hell out. Anthony Hopkins is brilliantly frightening as Hannibal Lecter... and don't sleep on that whack-job transvestite Buffalo Bill character: "Put the fuckin' lotion in the basket!" So brilliantly made - it was one of only 5 movies to win a clean sweep at the Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.
- THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
The Russian Roulette scene with Christopher Walken and Robert DeNiro is so intense. A perfect depiction of how soldier's minds are fragile and fearless all at once when there fighting for there lives against the enemy. This movie, actually this scene in particular, single handily scared me out of joining the military. Too intense a potential for a laid back cat like myself. God bless the soldiers who protect dudes like me!!
- SCARFACE (1983)
This whole movie is pretty fucked up - and we all know the powerful closing scene of Tony Montana still talkin' shit while getting blasted with bullet holes by a swarm of enemies... but earlier in the movie there's that damn shower scene that's just down right disturbing. You never see the chainsaw go through skin - just blood splattering and Tony being forced to watch his cohorts dismemberment. But what freaked me out was the survival mode Tony projected. You couldn't really feel bad for him having to watch his boy die, as you knew from his stare that he was really more concerned for himself - and at his core, that was Tony Montana's problem all along. Classic example of less gore visually is more disturbing to watch.
- THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)
The key to this movie freaking you out is to be lucky enough to have seen it when it first came out - before all the internet stories, bad sequels and was-it-real hysteria. And luckily I was one who did see it that early and was definitely freaked the hell out. The low-budget production and documentary style lend to it's creepiness - and although the characters and jittery camerawork can't get annoying - the ending is still chilling... and makes you lock the door twice before you go to bed after watching it.
- RESEVOIR DOGS (1992)
Michael Madsen (playing Vincent Vega (the same name for John Travolta's character in Quentin Tarantino's next film - Pulp Fiction) plays one cop-hating gangsta in this cult-classic. With a cop tied to a chair and gagged, Madsen proceeds to slice off his hostage's ear and then hold it up to his own mouth to ask "Can you hear me... hello?". All while dancing to Stealer's Wheels' "Stuck in the Middle with You" and that priceless shit-eatin' grin. The remorseless satisfication in his cockiness despite his ultimate fate a few seasons later makes for a pretty disturbing character portrayal. One of the first great Tarantino film scenes.
posted by Sid at 7:01 PM
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