[squarejawhero]

Alien is thought generally to be scary as despite the scenario, it portrays believable characters and prizes realism. They're bored, they have relationships... they're normal working joe's. You can empathise with them. Saying it's not scary because of the scenario is your own personal opinion, sure, but you're bypassing why it works for so many people.

I don't personally find The Shining frightening in any way. I also don't like its structure and sudden deflated ending. I do however, prize the performances, visual flourish and masterful direction. I can see why people MIGHT find it scary, but there's hardly any empathy built up with Jack's character - which doesn't work for me, but I'm sure others would see that as part of the films cold atmosphere.

Jaws is scary, like Alien, because the characters are believeable. Spielberg actually stops the action to build them up as real people - including at the climax. Alien uses the same kind of tension-building techniques in the dinner scene - putting people at ease is the best way to create a shock or unnerving feel. The scene on the boat where they compare scars is genius as Spielberg isn't afraid to keep playing on the characters, which makes it even more nerve-wracking as you then care about them and put yourself in their place. Even with Quint, who's essentially a cartoon.

This is why I like a lot of the eastern horrors. They take time to give you normal places, people and situations, something that's lost with one-dimensional characters and a propensity to jump-cut movies to death with sudden shocks in western horrors of late. Normality and empathy is what makes the best horrors, whether it's Jamie-Lee Curtis' character in Halloween or the comfortable working feel of the characters in the initial stages of The Thing. Movies like A Tale of Two Sisters, Audition and Dark Water (original) also riff on the comfortable and juxtaposes it with the abnormal, which makes the horrors just that little bit closer to home

I'm not easily scared by movies, but I don't care if the scenario can really happen or not. If it's scary, it's scary.

[squarejawhero]

Yeah, but you're being scared for a reason. Sudden shocks are easy. It's the buildup and caring for what happens to the protagonists that makes the horrors that stick in your craw.

I guess. I never really saw a horror movie where I cared about the main character. I remember seeing Misery and just feeling bored. Everybody says it's scary because something like that can really happen and the guy is helpless in that bed with that bum leg etc, etc. That doesn't scare me. Don't know why, but I just don't see the appeal of that sort of thing. Crazy people are one of my greatest fears, and Kathy Baits was crazy. No doubt about it. But, you could escape from her. The only reason that writer guy couldn't was because he was crippled. Anyone else could hop out of that window in the bedroom and be home free. No, she wasn't scary because she didn't have a strong presence. Leather Face is scary. Kevin Spacy in Seven is scary. Even Sweetooth from Twisted Metal is scary. They're all ****ing nuts. Not Kathy Baits nuts. More like holyshitcrazycanniblerednecksatanickillerputsguy's wife'sheadinboxkillerclownwho'sheadisonfire crazy.

[squarejawhero]

Many people don't! Hell, I practically had to force my dad to watch Shaun of The Dead, and now he loves it. He hates violence and horror, can't understand its appeal in creating good films.

I know you're a little young, but you are damn mature. You should really check out The Eye, Ju-On: The Grudge and Tale of Two Sisters. Try to get them tomorrow and watch them back to back tomorrow. I'm sure you'll find something you'll like in each one.

The Eye will make you think twice about elevators, The Grudge will make you think twice about stepping into a Japanese house and Sisters will make you question your sanity. Certainly Sisters is what The Others should've been.

Suprised no-one's mentioned The Devils Backbone yet. Del Toro's finest film and although not scary, chilling as hell.

I'll try to do that.

[Dasilva]

Jaws did make me paranoid for a while. Specially when I was on holiday. So I guess Jaws effects you in the long term.

[squarejawhero]

Everyone keeps banging on about the shark looking fake... I think it holds up rather well, especially that first pass near the ship when you get to see its size.

I saw Gremlins 2 earlier. There's another great physical effects horror-comedy. Stan Winston Studios' work on that is utter genius - sure, it takes the Gremlins towards a more muppety approach, but its taste for the absurd and a good dollop of sicko humour and comedy make it worthwhile.

Got to love the Marilyn Gremlin. She loves you...

Mwa...

Mwa...

MMMmmmwaaaa...

[Once A Villain]

That damn shark looks scary even though he's fake. I remember going on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios once, and I was thinking how much I would hate to be the maintenance guy who has to swim under there and work on the mechanical shark. Just seeing that thing underwater would be scary, even though it's perfectly harmless.

As for Alien, I think it's a pretty decent movie. I've just never been scared by it myself.

People say Alien "is classified as Sci-Fi, but it's actually 'gothic horror'". They are wrong. I don't know how you would call it horror. It's reasonably scary (though I've never been crepped out by it), but there's no way it's horror.

And Jaws is scary. I remember seeing that on AMC at two in the morning. I went to the bathroom during a commercial break, and I'm thinking "Shark is coming".

[Dasilva]

The Jaws shark doesnt look fake, even though weknow it is. But the newer jaws movies used real ones. When you saw it underwater or somehting.

[squarejawhero]

RE Alien - Well, it is horror. And it is gothic in its presentation and design, plus its use of light and shadow. It just happens to be in space. The themes itself are horrific - the idea of impregnation, of rape by an alien species, is the overall theme. John Hurts character, Kane, is raped. The birthing sequence is horror - subverting the idea of pregnancy as a wondrous thing and celebrating its visceral, painful and bloody nature. The creature itself doesn't just kill. It plays with its victims in a perverted fashion - the entire thing is about turning the idea of sex on its head. The final crew member killed is basically violated before she dies, her juddering screams and howls a perversion of the orgasm.

The android Ash is a frustrated, sexless creature, who looks on humans in disdain and appreciates the purity of the alien. His frustration stems from him wanting to feel, to understand, as being nearly human he's incomplete. He rolls up the (I think it's porn) magazine and tries to jam it into Sigourney's Ripley - his intentions are quite clear in what he's attempting to replicate in his psychotic state.

The creature itself is a giant penis on legs, for crying out loud, chasing a female character through the rest of the movie down tunnels - it practically spells out its themes.

And yes, all this was purposefully done, and is one of the reasons Ridley Scott and Dan O'Bannon's film, and Gigers Alien, is still celebrated to this day. I think it's a terrific film - masterful production design, great camerawork, cleverly written and occasionally witty dialogue ("Micro changes in air density, my ass.") and one of the best creatures, man-in-suit ending notwithstanding, ever put to celluloid.

Okay, but it's still not that scary.

[squarejawhero]

That's only because your jaded before your time.

Actually, my brother saw it quite young, and thought the same way. But you've also got to put it in its historical perspective - when it came out, there was nothing else like it.

Yeah. I'll buy that.

Speaking of seeing horror movies at a young age, I think the first horror movie I ever saw was Halloween. Looking back on the movie, blech, but I was very young at the time and the fact that it took place in Illinois scared me to death.

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

Suprised no-one's mentioned The Devils Backbone yet.

I did.

[Henke]

I love horror movies and one of my favourite movies of all time is The Shining. It's hard to talk about what movie is the scariest ever. But one of many things that makes The Shining so good IMO is the way everything in the movie is done to (with small subtle gestures) make you slowly understand what is happening (Jack is getting crazy). No matter how many times you see the movie you get psychologically drained every time if you look at it concentrated enough. I haven't seen any movie that can beat that.

[RLacey]

Where's the love for Alone in the Dark?

[squarejawhero]

Originally Posted by Kirk

I did.

Sorry!

[Gknight]

Jaws
The Exorcist
From Dusk til Dawn
The Ring