A few weeks ago, EW.com posted their choices for the 20 Scariest Movies of All Time. Using just their picks here are my top five:
5. CARRIE (1976): I saw this at a midnight showing during it’s initial theatrical release. I thought that Carrie [Sissy Spacek] was creepy, but her mom [Piper Laurie] was terrifying. And I’m man enough to admit that the ending made me jump out of my seat.
4. JAWS (1975): I went with the family and saw Jaws in a sold out theater. Everything about this movie worked: the cast, the direction, the story, the music and the mechanical shark that appeared, oh so, real. And I’m man enough to admit that at one point I jumped so high in my seat that I thought I was going to go over the back. [Hey, I’m starting to see a pattern about me jumping during scary movies…]
3. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968): I first saw NOTLD on a small tv using a VHS machine. [Yes, I’m that old.] I’d already seen “Dawn of the Dead” in a theater, but found NOTLD to be much scarier. It was easy to see how this classic spawned a new genre of zombie movies.
2. 28 DAYS LATER (2003): I saw this during it’s initial theatrical release with my oldest son. There are so many great scares… the priest banging on the door and then coming down the hall; the church full of what appear to be dead bodies, and then one turns his head; being chased up the stairwell; the car getting a flat tire in the tunnel and so many more. Just writing about the movie makes me want to watch it again!
1. THE EXORCIST (1973): Although I did get to see The Exorcist in a theater, it wasn’t until it was re-released in 1979. I went with my future wife and best buddy. Without a doubt, this is the creepiest/scariest movie I’ve ever seen. A lot of people talk up the gross/shocking scenes with the vomit spewing, cursing possessed child. To me, the scariest stuff were the subtler scenes: grandma walking up the steps and then turning and walking back down, the marks appearing on the child with no explanation, and so on. This is the one movie that stayed with me long after I saw it… and continued to creep me out.