Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I ask because, every once in awhile, when I'm feeling foolishly brave (and exceptionally stupid), I watch a film with a bunch of tarantulas terrorizing people, like Kingdom of the Spiders (one of the most horrifying movies ever produced, IMO). I do this as a sort of personal dare and also in the hope that, by watching films like these, I can help alleviate my rampant tarantula-phobia.

Now, I don't have traditional arachnophobia. Scorpions don't bother me and neither do any other arachnid. Even little spiders and pholcids don't faze me in the least and I'll sometimes play with them if they crawl onto me (I obviously stay the hell away from black widows and brown recluses). However, when a spider's "torso" gets to be of a certain size, it creeps me out, like wolf spiders. And tarantulas put the combined fear of God and Satan in me. I even can't stand to be around dead ones in display cases.

I also have acrophobia, but that's almost impossible to convey on a TV screen.

Anyone else do anything similar or am I bonkers?

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

It doesn't work that way for me. What ever phobias I may have I remain unfazed unless they are right in front of me in real life.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Giant squid or other sea creatures.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I used to have an intense fear of flying, yet I would watch Fearless before any trip.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Used to be afraid of those 'blank' pitch-black spaces. Some of the Asian horror flicks use that a lot. Actually, the eventual silly, repetitive nature of those movies is probably something that helped me get over it.

I was a bit afraid of a spider. It was a brown recluse. It was big and hairy and I didn't really want to have to kill it. It felt like stepping on a hampster or something. Lots of bones crushing and whatnot. Pretty gross. There's been plenty of movies on spiders.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

....I don't have a phobias....sooo no.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Not really a phobia, but I was petrified of Godzilla (the original) as kid and once in a while I'll get a sick feeling when I watch - not because I am afraid now, but because it reminds me of being that scared kid. Zillagod!

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I have a fear of heights. I absolutely will NOT watch the opening scene in "Cliffhanger" ever again.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Yeah, that one is pretty rough if you have a fear of heights. There's also the tragic scene at the beginning of Vertical Limit. I also recently watched an EXCELLENT German mountaineering movie called North Face which made me a little dizzy in parts.

I went on a trip to Mt. Rainier last year and, while unforgettable, completely drove home just how much acrophobia I really have. I genuinely don't understand how people can climb peaks like K2 and Everest.

Regarding fear of flying (aerophobia), I used to suffer from it quite a bit, but now it's more of a devil's choice between it or driving long distances, in which case flying wins out every time. That said, I try to stay away from those Seconds from Disaster sort of documentaries that deal with aircraft accidents. I realize that, statistically speaking, it's the safest form of travel, but when a 7x7 or Airbus takes a nosedive, your goose is cooked, whereas even in a bad car wreck you have a (slim) chance of survival.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

It's not a phobia but after I saw Point Break, I wanted to skydive. I was fine going in the plane and the actual freefalling. It's that inbetween moment where you're literally stepping off the plane and falling that scared the shit out of me. I skydive all the time now...but no matter what that loss of control of your environment scares the shit out of me for those 2 secs. Greatest fear ever. I love it. Thanks, Point Break.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I'm slightly claustrophobic, so I had a feeling of dread during the first half of The Descent. Once the other characters showed up, that feeling went away.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Same with me. I have a fear of being buried alive, so I skip all scenes of that nature.

I also have nightmares about zombies a lot, but I watch most zombie flicks that come out.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I'm freaked out by elevators. So I've never seen, nor wish to see the Dutch film 'De Lift'.

Great tagline though..."Take the stairs, take the stairs, for god's sake please take the stairs" :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087622/

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I was terrified of aliens as a kid, but any film or show with them would guarantee a viewing by me. "Fire in the Sky" and many an "Unsolved Mysteries" episode kept me up at night.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Same here; that crap would scare me to the point that just hearing the Unsolved Mysteries theme would get me all paranoid. Like I remember watching all the tv special stuff, like that fake alien abduction movie on UPN, The Tommyknockers, or the CBS movie "Intruders."

If I see a film dealing with heights, I can get a feeling in my feet as if I'm falling.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

The thought of cannibalism makes me physically ill. I literally break into a cold sweat and feel faint. (I love zombie movies though, go figure.)

When people find this out, the first question they ask every single time is, "Have you seen that movie 'Alive'?"

No, I have not. Why would I?

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I'm scared of rabbits, and have been told to avoid Donnie Darko and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (!?)

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I once invited Groucho over under the pretense of watching the newest Rob Schneider movie (he can't get enough of him, for some reason), but instead I put in Night of the Lepus. When he was released from the institution a few months later, he vowed that he would never come to my place again. :(

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I might come over if you show my favorite movie of all time, Roger and Me.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I have become somewhat claustrophobic (and have no idea why) as I have gotten older. I had no problems as a teenager or in my twenties, thirties or forties, and it didn't really hit me until I was in my fifties.

I no longer watch any of those Nat Geo type of documentaries about cave exploration where people have to squish their way through tight spots. Got to turn the channel.

I suppose my claustrophobia has also contributed to my dislike of flying, which has also increased as I have gotten older, but I didn't think about it until just recently.

However, my dislike of flying is actually due to sinus issues that cause intense pain due to cabin air pressure changes. And I've tried every treatment available without consistent relief. Sometimes something would work, sometimes not. I would never know until I was in the air... when it would be too late. The last time I flew I had such intense stabbing needles of pain in my head, neck and shoulders, I was honestly surprised I wasn't bleeding from my ears. And I won't mention the hearing issues which would last for hours after landing.

I decided it was time to stop flying.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

I have a fear of insects and that bug scene from Temple of Doom makes me absolutely freak. The snakes and rats in the other films don't bother me a bit, but the bugs....yikes! The ants in the new Indy movie don't bother me either. It just proves that real beats CGI any day.

I went to Costa Rica and they've got big bugs everywhere there. By the end of the trip I actually had relaxed my fear quit a bit. We went to a butterfly farm (which sounds nice), but really it had all kinds of bugs and spiders. I had to stifle every reflex in my body to keep myself from running out of that place in terror.

I have a mild fear of heights, but nothing that causes me to freeze or anything, but no film captures dizying heights better than Miyazaki's animated feature Castle in the Sky (or Laputa). The precipitous falls and dangling from heights in that film make me tingle with anxiety. Really an amazing film. Does anyone else get that reaction from the film?

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

That's usually a sign that you were abducted by aliens at one point, but the memory of it has been suppressed. Paging Whitley Streiber!

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

A lot of folks on this board have a phobia about Megan Fox. The only way to cure it, guys, is to watch more Megan Fox movies!

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

Megan Fox and pokemon movies...no offense but...you've got a very odd taste for those two.

Re: Have a phobia? Watch movies centered around that phobia?
 

If Megan Fox were in a Pokemon movie the friction in his pants would burn down three states.