thematahara

The last movie that truly scared me, stayed with me for days afterwards was The Blair Witch Project, I was 18 at the time. Since then only The Ring managed to scare me a little bit.

It seems like whenever the topics of scary movies comes along people name off movies like Exorcist, Jaws, Halloween, TCM, Poltergeist, etc. Some say that there just arent any scary movies being made anymore, PG-13, etc. Perhaps it isnt that the movies have gotten worse, but as we get older it just takes way more to scare us. I love the horror genre, and being scared in general. I long for the days of turning on all the lights in the house, making sure no closet doors are left cracked open, having to have every inch of yourself under the covers...... I could name 30+ movies that scared the hell out of me when I was 18 or younger, since then... 2.

So which is it, are we just in a 10+ year drought of shitty horror, or is it just that hard to scare adults?

When you reply, name the last genuinely horrific movie you and how old you were at the time (we're talking really scary, not movies with 1 or 2 good jumps in them)

Blair Witch Project - 18 years old.

RichC2

Never. Grew up knowing movies were movies, and nothing really "got" to me.

The last "tense" movie I saw though was The Descent ('05) and I was 22.

Argentoholic

John Carpenter's Thing and the Evil Dead are still scary to me. The Thing makes my heart pound...it's friggin intense. Evil Dead is just nuts with the atmosphere it creates.

I guess that's really it--atmosphere. It's the only effective thing horror movies can really achieve these days (and unfortunately, don't.)

DeanoBKN

Not really. I'm 21, have seen The Shining 100 times, and every time it's still as scary as the first time I seen it.

The Blair Witch Project and certain parts of the orginial Exorcist also still freak me out, after countless viewings.

calhoun07

If they actually managed to make scary movies these days, I might feel better about answering this question. My problem with modern "scary" movies is that they have an elementary school mindset of what scary actually is. Like when kids would come up behind their friends and startle them in some way then say, "Scared ya!" Uh, no, moron, you just managed to startle them. Any recent scary movies I've watched of late, the few that I give a chance to based on positive word of mouth, failed to be scary. They just edit in loud sounds and quick, jarring images. They managed to startle their audiences quite well, but have they managed to scare people? I call bullshit, and if you are scared by things like the Ring or some of these other new horror movies, particularly those that are rated Pg-13, then elementary school kids sneaking up on you must terrify you to no end.

Holysmoker

I've been hoping for a scary movie in recent years. Nothing has really gotten to me though. However, Jeepers Creepers did manage to give me that uneasy feeling the first time I saw it. It did creep me out a little. I was over 30 when I saw it.

Draven

I'd say The Blair Witch Project too, but I saw it in a packed theater on a Friday night, which definitely helped intensify the experience. And even then it was more "disturbed" than "scared."

I think I was probably 10 or so the last time I was freaked out by a movie. The killer clown doll in Poltergeist, probably....I'm sure that my next-door neighbor having a doll that looked just like it didn't help.

maxfisher

I'm 28 and I still find a handful of movies to be scary. A couple that pop to mind are It, Blair Witch Project and, most recently, Session 9. While there aren't many that actually scare me, it does seem like there have been quite a few lately that managed to managed to ratchet up the suspense while I was watching them. The remakes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, along with House of 1,000 Corpses, High Tension and Hostel all managed to make me pretty tense while I was watching them. I'd say this is quite a bit different, though, than movies that have you freaked out to turn out the lights the night after you watch them.

maingon

Blair Witch Project, Texas Chainsaw massacure, The shining, are still creepy

FantasticVSDoom

The only 2 I can remember are The Exorcist and Poltergeist when I was younger...To this day during thunderstorms I make sure I keep and eye on the trees.

DRG

It's more about mindset than anything. As an adult you become more aware of what's real and what isn't. That doesn't mean you can't be scared, but you have to let yourself be scared. Put yourself in the right mindset and it's still possible. It's sort of like being hypnotized, if you go in trying to resist it it definitely won't happen.

Rypro 525

most recently "a tale of two sisters" from korea (please don't remake this) and i was at my current age of 20. And certain parts of Hostel freaked me out a tad.

AnonomusBob15

I don't get scared by films much, but some are just creepy as hell (The Ring, Children of the Corn, TCM). I'll never jump at anything anymore.

kvrdave

Hostel was pretty darn good, but even that was probably more disturbing that genuinely scary. I guess I don't know that I find too many movies to be really scary, but it is still my favorite genre.

Mr. Cinema

The last movie I thought was scary was The Ring.

I consider these to be scary/disturbing, etc.: The Shining, Halloween, The Exorcist, The Blair Witch Project, The Thing, Night of the Living Dead, Event Horizon, The Haunting (original), Alien, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original), An American Werewolf in London, Salem's Lot

TheNightFlier

I don't think there's an age limit either. Everytime Poltergeist is on that damn clown creeps the hell out of me.

The Bus

United 93 is pretty damn frightening.

boredsilly

Yeah, this is what I'm noticing in movies like Cabin Fever, Hostel, Saw, and High Tension. It's good while watching the movie, but it doesn't stick with you after.

The only movies that will forever scare the living hell out of me are the Nightmare on Elm Street flicks. The movies themselves are typical 80s slasher horror, but I have a very visceral connection to these flicks from when I was younger (under 12). My cousin, who lived in a pretty huge house with creaky floorboards, forced me to watch some of the movies on tape in the den on the ground floor. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and proceeded to cut off all the lights and run up the stairs. This left me stuck in the den too scared to cut the movie off, to scared to leave the den, and my aunt was out so no grown up to help me. So I got to know Freddy real good that night. Yes I was pretty chicken shit back then.

TheAllPurposeNothing

Poltergeist was the last one for me. I can remember seeing it in the theatre the first time. Brought a book with me (Sylvester Stallone's "Paradise Alley," to be exact, which wasn't half bad) to read before the movie started. During the mirror sequence, I actually started to chew the binding of the book to relieve the tension. My brother will never let that story die.

Gotta agree with Argentoholic on this...it all comes down to atmosphere. I'm still haunted by episodes of the original Twilight Zone (still never have finished "the Doll" episode...left the room because it creeped me out so much).

Part of the problem might be that today's horror films are too self-aware. Ever since the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels and "Scream," its has just felt to me that horror filmmakers feel the need to wink at you at every turn. And don't even get me started on the gross-out factor. It may be icky but that does not equal scary. 90% of the 80's slasher films fell prey to this...never scary, just dumb and bloody. Typically its what you don't see that sticks.

riley_dude

Another one that believes it is more about atmosphere then anything. I didnt get scared when I saw movies like the Poltergeist or The Thing or Burnt Offerings but I got involved in the mood of it and it affected me emotionally.

matome

Not too many "scary" movies for me recently either. Some recent standouts are Blair Watch Project, The Ring and the Japanese version of The Grudge (Ju-On)

fujishig

I agree, it's all about suspension of disbelief. As a kid, you're usually not as cynical and can enjoy just taking in a scary movie... as we get older, sometimes we've seen a lot of scary movies so we're desensitized, we know what's "realistic" and not realistic, and we start criticizing the cinematography or whatever of the scary movie instead of just being enveloped by it. I don't think there's an age, as it's probably different for everyone.

Then there are those movies that scared us when we were little that will always scare us, or phobias that we developed when we were younger that will always be there. For instance, Jaws will always be scary to me, and as a result most water-based movies are... of course, I also grew up on an island...

GeorgeP

Agreed. And at a certain age (which seems to get younger and younger every year), reality becomes so scary that many people don't want more scares at the movies.