Event Horizon. Nuh uh. Mmmm, nope. Nah.
I saw that as an adult and it fucked with me.
I watched that one when I was like 15 and it was the first horror movie that ever legitimately scared me lol
I came here just to say this but wasn’t expecting to see it at the top of the thread, I’d seen scary movies before but holy hell this one chilled me to my core and even as an adult I still squinted when I watched it
It’s a seriously disturbing movie. What made it worse for me is that I didn’t even know it was horror. I’m big on sci fi, and that’s what I thought it was. I was lulled in by the story but it gave nightmares…
I think that’s what got me too, I was expecting sci-fi and whilst I technically got it, I also got traumatised in the process lol. Credit where it’s due, it’s a fantastic movie because of the horrors I never imagined possible, but I watched it once more as an adult and that’s enough for me
I was like 16 or 17 when it came out. It was by far the scariest movie I had ever seen at the time, and a few years after.
You don’t need eyes to see!
I’ve been meaning to rewatch Watership Down for the last twenty years but have still not managed to deal with the trauma from forty years ago.
Fuck that movie, fuck the book. Just everything about it is traumatizing.
It’s funny how stories of actual refugees hit callused emotions but some damn bunnies hit the spot every time.
i wonder how much of the Empathy for Cute Animals but Not Humans effect is due to not many people having bad experiences with cute animals but plenty of bad experiences with humans
I, however, have the unique privilege of having had a sister who owned a deranged rabbit that she let roam the house. I once woke up from a nap to it biting me hard enough to draw blood. That thing was a furry asshole.
What little unrepressed memories of Watership Down I have seem to corroborate that rabbits are surprisingly violent…
“The Thing” (1982)
I first saw this movie at the age of 13, in a very dark and creepy unfinished basement. It was terrifying.
Even after all these years, this movie still holds up very well to modern standards and stands out as one of the best sci-fi horror movies of all time. I just watched it again in October (my designated horror movie month) and it still never fails to make me uncomfortable and on edge while watching.
That one got under my skin. The original was creepy, but the 1982 version made me want to run screaming into the hills.
I’m using “scare” a little loosely here, but I was waaaay to young to have seen clips of Alien when I did. It really fucked up to the point that I wasn’t able to sleep in pitch black into my adulthood. Nowadays, Alien is one of my favorite movies, specifically because it’s so scary, but I avoided horror movies like the plague at least up until high school
I can certainly watch that movie no problem now, and I wouldn’t say it scares me in the same way it did when I was little, but I wouldn’t love it as a horror movie if it wasn’t still one of the most frightening pieces of cinema
Alien might be the scariest movie of all time, IMO, so this makes perfect sense to me.
Alien was actually my first movie, although I was too young to remember. But I remember Aliens. That movie scared the shit out of me. I slept with the lights on for a long time. I still don’t like those movies.
Same here. At a family get together my older sister and the other older kids decided they wanted to watch Aliens.
I was all, “yeah, that’s cool. I’m cool. I’ll totally stay in here too.”
That movie scared. The. Shit. Out of 9 year old me.
The Mummy.
Conversation with my mom recently when the new movie came out:
Mom: Something something the old one was better, we should watch that one
Me: hell no I will never willingly watch that damned movie
Mom: What? But we used to watch it all the time! I thought you loved it!
Me: You loved it, I was 4 and the scarab scene traumatized me
The librarian ghost in Ghostbusters is still pretty creepy, you guys.
I’m very tired and thought you said “libertarian ghost”. Lol. Jesus Christ on a motorbike that would be awkward…
Dooooo youuuu have a moment to talk about the ghost-andard?
“ghost-andard”?
Sounds like “gold standard,” best libertarian-ghost pun I could come up with, without too much effort.
Lol, not bad, not bad. I’m just stupid. xD
The Fly… fuck.
Mother of God … I saw that in a theater in Oakland, Calf., when I lived there.
There was a scene that revealed that the female character has been impregnated by the fly.
Right at that moment, some guy in the back yelled out, “Bitch gonna have a thousand babies!”
It took about five minutes for the laughter to die down.
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I watched the old movie from the 50s, it was playing on tv during an afternoon on a weekday, I was homesick. That was in the mood 80s. It scared me a lot, and I never watched the remake with Jeff Goldblum because of this.
oh me too!!! The only movie that ever scared me, and I used to watch friday 13 and Elm street at 10. But I think I was too young for the fly.
That arm wrestling scene scared the hell out of me. I was way too young for it.
Wrath of Kahn,
It was the first movie my mom dropped me off at at about 12nyears old. I’m sure she was grateful she didn’t have to go.
I was not ready for the earworms. Still gives me the heebie-jeebies.
When I read the thread title, that’s what I instantly thought of. I was about the same age and it was about the same situation, and I had the same reaction. And still do.
Ayy me too
The TOS Trek movies had some weird moments like that.
The transporter accident in the first movie is another weird tone mismatch
Gah! The worm scene is the WORST.
Who framed Roger Rabbit. I’ll never forget the dipping scene.
Yeah that was traumatic. Even if it’s a little cartoon creature…watching a life snuffed out like nothing is scary. Watching someone kill a live mouse or rabbit on screen would be fucked up too.
the shoes deserved better
He only killed the one, so the shoe’s partner will be alone…forever.
Office Space. I could handle horror movies but that one instilled a fear of losing my life to the grind. I pretty much set up my whole career to avoid it. On the other hand, I’m in a pretty good place because of it. So I guess thanks, Mike Judge
What career did you choose?
Programmer likely
Animator. And I was freelance for most of that time, so didn’t have much to do with office bullshit and felt I’m control of my destiny. I switched gears to software engineering, and now I’m fully remote (since well before covid) and work mostly on things I like, and make my own schedule.
Corporate Accounts Payable Nina speaking, just a moment! Corporate Accounts Payable Nina speaking, just a moment! Corporate Accounts Payable Nina speaking, just a moment! Corporate Accounts Payable Nina speaking, just a moment!
Not me. My best friend growing up.
Child’s Play came out when we were around 5. My friends parents rented it and planned on watching it after putting him to bed even though he wanted to see the movie (and of course theu told him he was too little). They started watching it and his dad noticed my friend had snuck back down and was watching the TV from the stairs.
Well his parents decided to act like they didn’t notice and left him there to watch the whole movie.
The next day while my friend was at school his parents went out, bought a my buddy doll, and left it sitting up on his bed waiting for him. He had nightmares a good while after that one. Lol
Not scared, but Bridge to Terabithia scarred me for life.
The book similarly scarred us all when we read it in school
That’s the first book I ever encountered with an ending that made me angry.
Surprised nobody mentioned Jaws. My parents decided that it was ok for a four year old to watch.
I am still terrified of the sea.
Funny I had not seen the movie but went on the Jaws ride at Universal studios and freaked the fuck out as a child. It was the 80’s and I guess my parents didn’t realize it was too scary.
Same here. I was twice your age (8) when I saw it. Still don’t like being out of my depth in the sea - even the deep end of swimming pools gives me a bit of a shiver…
Poltergeist.
It’s only been very recently that I’ve been able to watch that movie and then sleep with the lights off. It just hit at that right time when I was in middle school that it cemented in my mind for life.
I feel like the practical effects still hold up, and the acting definitely holds up from the entire family. Just seeing a mom that freaked out onscreen messed with me as a child.
Also, anyone who watches that now needs to understand the social and cultural context of the 70s and 80s. We had this new technology that could allow recording and sharing of video, but it was slow and low resolution. There was nothing like ubiquitous cell phone cameras of today. So there was this constant sense that maybe mysterious things were happening just beyond your ability to see and document them. Like having bad glasses in a foggy room.
The advent of cell phone cameras really washed away that sense, and made the world feel much more concrete and exposed. But back then, there was still a sense that something like Poltergeist might really be out there happening.
Poltergeist is a masterpiece of horror because of how well it’s filmed, acted, and how good the special effects are.
It’s one of my favorites and it still holds up as being scarier than 90% of what comes out these days.
Saw it in the theater the night before 5th grade started. Jesus. Didn’t sleep (for 2-weeks!), didn’t eat the crappy cafeteria food, passed out in the 105° heat with no classroom AC. Yeah, I remember Poltergeist.
Watched it not long ago, and so much hold up like you said. That scene where she turns around and the kitchen stairs are stacked perfectly. Fuck. Me. Got goosebumps typing that.
This was gonna be my answer. Watched it as a kid when my parents weren’t around. Finally got up the courage watch it as an adult. Yep, holds up really well.
I had a nightmare about that damn tree. Which made the Family Guy parody many years late somewhat cathartic. “You shall not pass!”
The first movie I ever saw was Popeye, in 1980, with Robin Williams. I cried my little eyes out. It’s not a scary movie, but I was expecting a cartoon, and seeing it with live actors freaked me right the fuck out.
I’m sure it wouldn’t scare me now, but I haven’t watched it since.
Sort of a similar thing with The 'Burbs with Tom Hanks 9 years later. Probably wouldn’t scare me, but nah.
Such a great, quirky movie. I’m sorry you had that experience with it. It’s one of my favorite Robin Williams movies.
