What 5 films in the last 10 years have scared you and why

[deadpunk]

George C Scott... huh. I stand corrected. I'm glad other people remember that one. Just thinking about that wet ball bouncing down the stairs makes me want to wet myself...

[MoonSylver]

George C Scott... huh. I stand corrected. I'm glad other people remember that one. Just thinking about that wet ball bouncing down the stairs makes me want to wet myself... The Changeling F'ing rocks. One of my favorite ghost movies. I've thought about this one for awhile. I've thought about horror in general for a good long while. I've come to the conclusion I've become pretty desensitized & jaded...I have a hard time remembering the last time a movie "scared" me (& I wish there WAS one that just scared me silly!), but I do have some that gave me the creeps, a sense of dread, or the willies, which I think is the best I can hope for... 1. Blair Witch - a lot of others already hit the high points. I thought they did a great job with keeping it real, subtly weaving in the mythology & backstory & the end just blew me away. 2. The Ring - again, another one that just did creepy well to me & wove the back story where you had to fill in the blanks yourself a bit. 3. The Grudge - One thing that I think works well in the kind of genre of Japanese horror on a DIFFERENT level than in Japan is that it is drawing on a mythology & tropes that are familiar to the Japanese, but to westerners that are totally unfamiliar with them it comes across as slightly alien & weird due to differences in cultural context & mindset. 4. Session 9 - Just a slow build, creepy atmosphere, lets you make up your own mind on what's really going on & another ending that blew me away. 5. The Others - Another creepy ghost story, slow build, mystery unravels, & killer ending. (If we were doing more than 5 then Stir of Echoes, The Sixth Sense, maybe The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Gothika in parts...)

[shootemindehead]

In the last 10 years? Nothing has scared me. That's because 'Day of the Dead' ruined horror for me. In saying that, I did and do enjoy the 'Saw' films. I don't know why people get all highbrow about them. I think they're quite well written and pretty inventive. Enough is enough though. I enjoyed 'REC' too and 'The Hills Have Eyes' was a pleasant surprise. Pity about the bloody awful sequel. Mulholland Drive   The scariest moment I've seen in a film in a long while though was that fecker behind the resturant in 'Mulholland Dr.'. That was a well handled scare scene. Pity it was just a lad with shit all over his face.

[Danny]

In saying that, I did and do enjoy the 'Saw' films. I don't know why people get all highbrow about them. I think they're quite well written and pretty inventive. Enough is enough though. heres all i say about saw "i cannot in good conscience call film art when i pay to see a flick which pays for a guy to make his living by thinking up ways to torture people on screen for the sake of it"

[MoonSylver]

In saying that, I did and do enjoy the 'Saw' films. I don't know why people get all highbrow about them. I think they're quite well written and pretty inventive. Enough is enough though. I've only seen the 1st one, & loved it. Didn't bother with the sequels as I was afraid they would be sub par & I dug the first one so much. I didn't find it to be scary, but it did blow me away. I've heard the subsequent ones get more gruesome, but I didn't find the original to be deserving of the "torture porn" label I've heard tossed about. I enjoyed 'REC' too I forgot to work [REC] in there somewhere on my list. It really did get creepy & edge of the seat tense. I should add Dead Set to that list too...

[MinionZombie]

heres all i say about saw "i cannot in good conscience call film art when i pay to see a flick which pays for a guy to make his living by thinking up ways to torture people on screen for the sake of it" Yeah, cos you'd never watch a movie with people getting their throats ripped out by zombies, legs yanked off, heads caved in and so on... As for the "art" comment ... all I can muster is - I've only seen the 1st one, & loved it. Didn't bother with the sequels as I was afraid they would be sub par & I dug the first one so much. I didn't find it to be scary, but it did blow me away. I've heard the subsequent ones get more gruesome, but I didn't find the original to be deserving of the "torture porn" label I've heard tossed about. The first is the best and is a stand-out film that gets drowned by the ever-diminishing sequels. Saw II was adapated from a script that wasn't even Saw, so that explains why it doesn't feel right, but it has some moments in terms of the overall story and as a horror movie that make it just about worthwhile. Saw III is the best of the sequels, I say, but it is certainly the beginning of the needlessly over-the-top grossness (bone twister, and rotted pig slurry drowner, being the two that are just too gross). The story also began to get a bit convoluted here, but it was just holding on to some sanity, and the way it wraps up makes sense - and they should have left it there. Sadly, they didn't. Saw IV is pish, and this is where it gets really fucking stupid and you think "how on earth could Saw have a plan this intricate, elaborate and foreseeing?". The excuse in continuing with "an apprentice" is also fucking lame. Saw V is similar to IV in terms of pishness. More nonsense in every respect, and the series has thoroughly become a victim of its own cliches and set pieces. Saw VI will no doubt be exactly the same. ... In summary - Saw I, II and III is where it's at for the series - beyond that, it's crap with only mere moments of interest. As for the whole "torture porn" argument, I don't buy it at all, and seems particularly snobby coming from horror fans in general. Sure, you're totally entitled to not like it, but bemoaning "teh pe0plz R gettin hurtz!" just strikes me as hypocritical considering the horror genre in general. Saw I was a really good film, and the first two sequels round out a nice little trilogy story arc. Beyond that, the films are simply not good movies. They're dull, predictable, trapped within their own cliches, and are so nonsensically convoluted you've got FUCK ALL IDEA what's going on ... plus the characters are all so utterly stupid. They all know about Jigsaw and how the games work, but they refuse to play by Jigsaw's rules - if they did that, they'd actually fucking survive!

[shootemindehead]

heres all i say about saw "i cannot in good conscience call film art when i pay to see a flick which pays for a guy to make his living by thinking up ways to torture people on screen for the sake of it" Hmmm...that could apply to most horror films. They usually consist of some form of torturous experience for the characters involved. Besides, no offence, but I find it somewhat absurd that anybody on a forum dedicated to the 'Living Dead' movies of G. Romero could object to a series like 'Saw'. In Romero's movies, in 'Day of the Dead', people undergo the most horrific of torturous experiences.

[shootemindehead]

I forgot to work [REC] in there somewhere on my list. It really did get creepy & edge of the seat tense. I should add Dead Set to that list too... Wasn't too pushed on 'Dead Set'. But the ending of 'Rec' was some of the best scenes I've seen in a horror flick for a long time.

[Danny]

Hmmm...that could apply to most horror films. They usually consist of some form of torturous experience for the characters involved. Besides, no offence, but I find it somewhat absurd that anybody on a forum dedicated to the 'Living Dead' movies of G. Romero could object to a series like 'Saw'. In Romero's movies, in 'Day of the Dead', people undergo the most horrific of torturous experiences. true, but in a romero film its part of a high tension point, like when the bunkers finally broken into at the end of day, with saw its a constant, and by the 6th installment not one person is going in expecting plot, there going in to see people be tortured and mutilated in various self harming, nihilistic situations. And its not a big 'rag on saw' thing with me, i get it, i can see the macabre draw for people, but ive seen the first two saw's and the 5th and im pretty sure ive seen all im going to see besides more murder. When survival comes out i wont be watching it to see people die, i dont go to watch any horror film to see people die- just look at one of my top 5, the blair witch project, no one dies on screen in that and its chilling. I watch horror films for the draw most do, to be scared in an environment where theres no actual danger. and for me saw isnt scary, its gore to the point of eye rolling absurdity. But like i said,thats just me and i can see how people still dig it. I would just rather use my cash to help fund something new and interesting than pay the "saw guy" money to just make films that arent about social commentary, dont have subtext or provote thought. But are just two hours of people put in cruel situations they cannot escape and being hurt. For me thats not entertaining, i dont want to see that, i dont care about that. its why i dont, personally, want to see any more saw films.

[shootemindehead]

But, there's more to 'Saw' than just the gorey set pieces. There is actually a meandering story throughout (even if it has become somewhat convoluted by IV and V). In addition, the main attraction for most people to a zombie movie isn't the plot...it's the gore. I think you're correct though, in that 'Saw' has run its course, but to be honest, the old 'Living Dead' apocalyse hasn't much new to offer either TBH. Also, I think that 'The Blair Witch Project' ws one of the biggest hot air baloons in cinema history. Brian the dog sums it up perfectly... "They're in the woods. The camera keeps moving around. I guess they're looking for some witch, I don't know, I wasn't listening. Nothing's happening...nothing's happening...nothing's happening...something about a map. Nothing's happening...it's over. A lot of people in the audience look pissed."

[bassman]

In addition, the main attraction for most people to a zombie movie isn't the plot...it's the gore. I'd have to disagree with you there. If you think about the average movie-goer and zombie movies, they usually root for or against the characters and then in turn the gore is rated as related to their connection. People cheer if the "bad guy" is gutted, they sigh or scream if a "good guy" is taken down, etc. And that of course is all related to the plot. Tricky special effects are a bit of an added bonus, though.

[slickwilly13]

I think that 'The Blair Witch Project' ws one of the biggest hot air baloons in cinema history. Brian the dog sums it up perfectly... "They're in the woods. The camera keeps moving around. I guess they're looking for some witch, I don't know, I wasn't listening. Nothing's happening...nothing's happening...nothing's happening...something about a map. Nothing's happening...it's over. A lot of people in the audience look pissed." That's how I feel. Anyone on this forum with their drunk and/or stoned friends could have made that movie. Why the fuck would anyone end a movie with some jackass w/ his nose in the corner like some kid who got in trouble? Because the Blair Witch told him? Fuck that.

[Danny]

That's how I feel. Anyone on this forum with their drunk and/or stoned friends could have made that movie. Why the fuck would anyone end a movie with some jackass w/ his nose in the corner like some kid who got in trouble? Because the Blair Witch told him? Fuck that. because thats what the killer who lived there made his victims do, one stood in the corner whilst he killed the other kid. Doesnt prove a solid ending really, but there is set up for it in the townsfolk interviews and the documentary.

[MoonSylver]

Wasn't too pushed on 'Dead Set'. Mmmm...eh...to each their own. I found the last 1/2 hour of it to be particularly gripping, edge-of-the-seat, what's gonna happen next tense.

[MinionZombie]

Mmmm...eh...to each their own. I found the last 1/2 hour of it to be particularly gripping, edge-of-the-seat, what's gonna happen next tense. *high five* When it all goes horribly wrong I was utterly gripped to the edge of my seat, my heart in my mouth, and it was just so perfectly pulled off, that ending. Brilliant way to go out with a big ass, blood-geisering, thrilling and even thoughtful bang.