Scary movies aren't scary any more

[jpgray]

I just watched "The Descent" which a friend recommended as "supremely scary," and I didn't feel a thing. Not even the jump scares got me because they can't help but be telegraphed by music or camera moves... Dammit! I want to be scared again! The last film that gave me a fright was Dawn of the Dead way back when I was about sixteen. Will I never feel cinematic fear again? :cry:

[XNASA]

1. I'd venture to guess you've never seen.........

SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2!!!!!



You'll poop your pants. Much like the actors.

[jpgray]

2. Tell your son for me that his cinematic tastes need to mature a bit

[XNASA]

7. Neither of my boys....

...would be caught dead watching SB 2. They're much more refined than their ol' Pop. Which is good for them...not so good for me. :cry:

[mikeytherat]

9. Best review EVER of SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2

http://mrcranky.com/movies/superbabiesbabygeniuses2.html

mikey_the_rat

[Phillycat]

3. I don't watch scary movies (I get nightmares) but I heard the Saw

movies were terrifying. :shrug:

[jpgray]

10. I miss even the nightmares

one of my earliest memories is staying awake all night after seeing the witch in Snow White. Good times. My sense of fear is still well-developed in general, though. When my little dish-washing sponge fell and skittered across my bare feet to produce a sensation not unlike cold mouse paws, I jumped, shrieked, and nearly wet myself. Naturally my dinner companions that night have called me "pissy-shriek" since. :P

[skypilot]

45. The "Saw" movies are AWFUL

I got a free pass to the first one and HATED it. I guessed what the big "surprise" was going to be right from the beginning of the movie. I rented the second SAW flick on DVD out of boredom and it was the typical sucky sequel. I have no intention of seeing the third one.

[YDogg]

48. yeah. I heard the same thing about the Saw movies

I'm not a big horror fan. Enough real horror in the world.

[YDogg]

49. yeah. I heard the same thing about the Saw movies

I'm not a big horror fan. Enough real horror in the world.

[YDogg]

51. yeah. I heard the same thing about the Saw movies

I'm not a big horror fan. Enough real horror in the world.

[YDogg]

52. yeah. I heard the same thing about the Saw movies

I'm not a big horror fan. Enough real horror in the world.

[YDogg]

53. wow. that's one way to boost my post count. my bad

[stuntcat]

4. I've been let down too

lately.
The new Omen was kinda creepy but I've been to a few big horror movies the last couple years that were a waste.
Watching the old ones at home is scarier than seeing the new ones in the theater lately.
I won't give up though!

[AlCzervik]

5. i've been watching Japenese horror movies lately, "Infection" was scary and disgusting

also the original version of "Dark water" was also kind of scary.

[jpgray]

6. I've been plumbing those depths myself. Audition was very good!

[AlCzervik]

8. i haven't seen that one yet, i look forward to it.

[jpgray]

11. Keep your eye on the whisky/brandy jug if you do!

And pay attention to the girl's "references" at the beginning.

[ghostsofgiants]

36. Miike's films are good.

Gozu is one of my favourites. It's part Yakuza comedy, part surrealist horror, haha. Also, Miike's segment "Box" for the Three Extremes film was outstanding. Not overly scary, but eerie and haunting.

[CactusJock]

38. yeah asian cinema has got creepiest horror right now

I saw audition on TV without knowing anything about it. its weird cos compared to a hollywood horror the first half is really slow and then by the end it was just one of the most disturbing and uncomfortable films I'd ever sat through.

On a side note, i checked it on imdb after i saw it, and there was practically no info on the film other than the director's name and lead actors, nothing on the plot, and a single entry in the user comments - it was some evil BASTARD who described the film as an asian version of Tootsie and recommended it to anyone looking for good family viewing.

[BarenakedLady]

12. I used to love scary movies

The cheesier the better. My girlfriend and I used to rent really horrible ones back in the day and laugh our asses off. Those weren't even romotely scary. I remember going to see Friday 13th (one of them) when I was about 12/13. I had nightmares for weeks. The only other movies that scared me were Salem's Lot and It. And it was only because the baddies were things of nightmares (visually). Pennywise is the scariest thing ever.

None of the new ones scare me at all. I do an excellent impression of the dead girls in The Ring and The Grudge though. LoL.

[jpgray]

13. I saw "It" when I was eight or so, with my brother

We both gave each other reports of not being able to sleep from our little bunk beds. :D

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

14. Did you see "The Grudge" or "The Ring"? I thought both of those were pretty damn scary.

[jpgray]

15. I've seen the original Japanese Ringu or whatever

Suitably creepy, but nothing. Nothing! :cry:

[sanityraines]

16. I saw both...

The Ring only creeped me out when she climbed out of the T.V. but I think that had to do more with the special effects. I'm wierd that way. Movies don't really scare me so much as certain scenes. Like M. Night Shyamalan's "Sixth Sense" creeped me out when the girl in Haley's tent barfed. Or the lady in the original "Shining" movie stepped out of the shower and turned into that hag-thing. I think those were the only three movies that have given me nightmares so far. I really enjoy Zombie movies though...the whole idea behind them just kinda creeps me out.

I was highly disappointed in The Grudge.

[Little Wing]

30. The Grudge was just damn annoying

I want to slap that noise right outta that girls mouth.

[Little Wing]

17. I watched "The Descent" recently

the opening climbing scenes were more unnerving than the 'creatures' who ended up being quite cliched.

I've also been on the hunt for something truly scary, don't bother with the Hostel/Wolf Creek options, they're pretty much crap. Saw isn't supposed to be scary, just make you sick.

Let us know if you find something

[jpgray]

26. That was my feeling as well. All the jump-scares became risible after a while

[Frank Cannon]

18. Today's "scary" movies, are just gross, not scary

I'm sorry, but "disgusting" doesn't translate into "scary" for me. If I want to watch "disgusting", I'll catch a Jackass movie. At least they're somewhat funny and entertaining.

Today's horror film writers have long forgotten what scary is. They need to rewatch the original "The Haunting", the little-known "The Changeling", or any of those classic "ABC Movie of the Week"s from the 1970s like "Duel", "Bad Ronald", or "Trilogy of Terror". Those movies provide genuine chills and scares and they don't have anything gross or disgusting in them.

I watched the original "Saw" movie and wasn't scared in the least. It was just plain nauseating. I can't believe they've carried that idea through two additional movies. I also saw the previews for "The Descent" and saw that it was more of the same. I couldn't care less.

[jpgray]

19. One old classic I liked a lot was "Carnival of Souls"

But I've never seen the original "Haunting"--I'll have to look into it.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Carnival of Souls is great!

[Frank Cannon]

23. Ah, "Carnival of Souls", that's another great one.

And once again, not another gory or gross moment in it. Just genuine scariness.

By all means, check out "The Haunting". Also try to find "The Changeling" with George C. Scott. That's another classic.

[jpgray]

25. I will! I also need to get the original "Thing," as the Carpenter version is good

I also like the short story. Carpenter's feels more like a creature/action film, but it's quite effective as horror.

[Frank Cannon]

44. The original "The Thing" is great, too

The cool thing about the John D. Carpenter version is that it kept the creeps and atmosphere of the original movie while only adding some blood and gore for modern audiences. The disgusting stuff wasn't substituted for that which was genuinely scary from the original film.

I love John D. Carpenter's version, but the scariest moments in the film for me don't really involve that much gore. For instance, the scene where the scientists discover the alien's half-constructed spaceship in the dug-out "basement" is truly bizarre and frightening to me, as well as the "blood test" scene. I've seen that movie at least a half a dozen times and the blood test scene has me on the verge of panic every time. The suspense is almost unbearable.

The original film did it well, too. One of the scariest moments in that film is where the scientists discover the spaceship and spread out around what they think is its perimeter. That scene really exploits the fear of the unknown, which is really what we all fear most of all.

[raccoon]

29. Yes! I found BLAIR WITCH PROJECT much scarier than

films with gallons of blood and gore.

Filmmakers these days just figure they can outdo the last movie in grossness, and that'll do it. WRong!

[noonwitch]

39. I agree, slasher movies, with buckets of blood, are not really scary

Not the way "The Shining" or some classics are. Even the first "Halloween" movie was pretty scary.

[VelmaD]

50. and see I didn't find Blair Witch scary at all

I think it's because it seemed a bit too much like something that would have happened to me and my two best guy friends back in high school. Only with us it would have ended much much differently. I would have beaten them both to death with my bare hands over the map thing then buried them in a shallow grave and walked my ass outta the woods.

[raccoon]

56. Different strokes. What scared me about it was you never actually

saw the witch, just heard the voices in the night and saw the results of what the witch had done.

What you described sounds like it would make a kick-butt movie. LOL

[fizzgig]

59. blair witch scared me for one reason

i saw it at the midnight movie and came home to an empty house. all i could think of was the last scene. the psycological shit scares me way more than blood and guts

[dropkickpa]

37. I watched Saw with my brother and his friend

And all I could do was yell out "As you wish!!!!" about ten thousand times. Cary Elwes was re-donkulously bad in that movie. I didn't even really find it gross (blood and guts are not gross to me).

Jacob's Ladder was the last movie to really give me the creeps.

[ghostsofgiants]

20. Inland Empire, David Lynch's new film, is supposed to be scary.

Lynch knows how to do scary. Try watching Lost Highway by yourself in a dark room.

[jpgray]

22. I own the soundtrack to that, but never saw the film

"Eye" by the Smashing Pumpkins(!!) is one of my musical guilty pleasures. :D

[ghostsofgiants]

24. It's a must-see.

Download that ASAP.

[jpgray]

27. I know you to be a big Lynch fan

:P

I try to watch Dune once a year just because it's so ridiculous. :D

[ghostsofgiants]

33. The difference between Dune and Lost Highway is like the difference between...

Good Charlotte and The Clash.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

28. Have you seen the Italian trailer?

Really plays up the scary angle. Only six weeks left to wait for me ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtzSSG8X9e0



(& did you know there's a new DVD of Lynch shorts out next week? I've seen 'Darkened Room' but the rest are new to me: http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000IJ7AJ2/ )

[ghostsofgiants]

31. Yeah, I've seen that. The French trailer is prettuy creepy as well.

I've seen Darkend Room and Out Yonder, but not the others. I really want a dvd release of Rabbits, personally.

[tigereye]

32. go see Pan's Labyrinth....

scary in a different way....

[ghostsofgiants]

34. I really want to see that one, but it isn't playing here.

x(

[tigereye]

35. yeah, it just arrived here

took quite a while - it's ridiculous how long it takes. There will be ads in the NYT and I always think, damn, why should I have to fly to NY to see a really good movie right away?

We wanted to see Curse of the Golden FLower, but we had already missed the showing.

PL was beautiful, scary, heartbreaking, visually arresting. I think you would really like it, Primate.

It's the first time I've ever heard an audience at an art film with subtitles gasp so loudly.(well other than the first time I saw Jules and Jim....;) )

[Poiuyt]

40. I still think the scariest movie ever was the 1963 version of The Haunting

The Changeling with George C. Scott was also pretty good

[jpgray]

42. I keep hearing that. Into the Netflix queue they go!

[reyd reid reed]

41. Film makers seem to have confused

Gross with scary. It's all about the gore now...there isn't any suspense.

So I don't go. I'd *much* rather be creeped out than grossed out.

[jpgray]

43. The best part of "the Descent" was the anticipation scenes leading up to the creatures

After they appeared everything became about 1000% less scary.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

55. That's true.

The filmmakers clearly knew it, I think. That's why everything was so rushed as soon as the monsters showed up.

[Mad_Dem_X]

46. I loved The Descent

It didn't scare the crap out of me, necessarily, but it was pretty creepy, IMO.

[Mad_Dem_X]

47. I loved The Descent

It didn't scare the crap out of me, necessarily, but it was pretty creepy, IMO.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

54. Recommendation.

Try watching a scary movie late at night, when you're sleepy, with all of the lights turned off.

Sounds cliche but it works. In order for horror, and lots of other movies, to work properly, there's got to be suspension of disbelief, and a personal emotional connection to the story. There's to many distractions at home for a lot of people to get into movies. There's much less ambient noise at night, and when you're tired it's easier to suspend disbelief. You're already in a sort of dreamy mood.

At least it works for me.

[izzybeans]

57. It's best to watch them as if you were watching Evil Dead and have a good laugh.

[Broken_Hero]

58. The last one that got me

was Event Horizon....