When I was a kid, I stopped sleeping on my stomach because of a movie called “The Tingler.” The idea of a creepy, big insect type thing that could attack my spine weirded me out for years.
Hey, I was 4!
I also slept with a scarf around my neck for years because of Dracula.
Spooky Halloween Thrills
Happily, when I grew up, I appreciated the entertainment – and especially escapist – value of a scary movie.
Romance, crime, and other genres are OK, but not really escapist to me. I’ve had romances and I’ve been a crime victim (and could be again if I’m not lucky).
However, I know for sure I will never be stuck inside a demonic spaceship (Event Horizon), or trapped in an Arctic outpost with a shape-shifting monster (The Thing), or on a planet facing an implacable, seemingly invulnerable monster…who likes me (The Alien franchise), or on a marine salvage mission into the unknown (Ghost Ship).
The all-time winners
To me the very scariest movies are the supernatural ones that could, somehow, be real. The Exorcist is the all time winner in this category – along with the American version of The Ring, which I think is the scariest movie of all time. I will not see it again. (I moved my TV out of my bedroom for a while after I watched it.)
One horror movie I will happily see again (despite the slash and gash aspects, which I don’t enjoy), is Cabin in the Woods. It’s a clever, well-made scarefest that takes on all the horror movie tropes with style and wit.
Your Turn
But that’s me. How about you? What are your fave scary movies – the ones you’ll see again and again? Or the ones where once was enough? Share your picks in the comments!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.
