Discussion Post: Favorite Scary Movies

Discussion Post
Have I ever mentioned that I love a good scary movie?



For parents who were pretty strict in every other sense, my parents were fairly lax when it came to my TV and movie tendencies growing up. One of the first movies I can remember seeing in the theater was a film called Witness. For those who don't know the film, it features a fairly gruesome scene where a young Amish boy witnesses a man getting his throat slit (if I'm even remembering it correctly--I was pretty young) in the bathroom of a train station. This was terrifying to me, but it also gave me a thrill that I still seek out to this day. Throughout my childhood I watched horror films that were way too mature for me. By the time I reached junior high, I was already slightly obsessed with Freddy Kruger and thought Pinhead was the neatest looking dude around. Growing up with these films, it takes A LOT to scare me. I'm not one to cower behind my hands or cling to my husband (who, quite unfortunately, isn't even close to enamored with the horror genre as I am). No way! I say bring on your monsters, your loud noises, and your spooky music. Here are some of my favorites:

A Nightmare on Elm Street

There is something truly terrifying about a monster who haunts our dreams. We are never as vulnerable as we are when we are sleeping--and there is no getting around it--we all need sleep to survive. What makes Freddy and the franchise so awesome is that off-putting, almost slap-stick humor that just barely takes the edge off on who, in my opinion, is the scariest monster there is. 

Scream

What makes Scream so brilliant is that for a movie that is making fun of scary of scary movies, it is truly down-right scary in its own right. I clearly remember leaving the theater after watching this gem truly impressed with how absolutely meta the whole enterprise  is. Again, it's the humor, the winking at the audience, that raises this film (and its sequels) above the usual horror fare. 

Saw

This film is a little gorier than what I usually prefer, but that twist ending--which I won't spoil here--is AMAZING. I watched the first couple of sequels, but nothing they did could top the pure ingenious of that first film. Completely different than anything else at the time. 

The Cabin in the Woods

This film is pure genius. Period. 

Silence of the Lambs

This is another film I can clearly remember seeing in the theater. This is kind of a funny story. My sister and I had driven to Denver for some reason or another--I want to say she needed a dress for a school dance, but I have no idea if that is true--when we decided we would go see this R rated film. I was definitely not old enough to see an R rated film, but she must have been if my parents let her drive us the two hours it took to get to the city. She had grabbed my hand when we entered the already pitch black theater, and like the asshole I was as a teen, I shook her off. Pissed, she stormed up the row and sat down. Because it was dark, I couldn't see where she went and also just sat down. So that is how, at the tender age of, I want to say 14, I watched one of the scariest movies ever alone in a dark theater. That night vision goggle scene at the end? Nightmares for months. I have to admit that I do love Hannibal Lector, though. 

The Conjuring

While the ending got a little TOO crazy/unbelievable, I was pleasantly surprised by how genuinely scary this movie was. 

The Shining

Jack Nicholson. The isolation. Those twins. Everything about this classic film is amazing. 

Those are just a few of my favorites. What's your favorite scary movie? Sound off below! 

Happy Halloween!!!