Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. - Page 3

Harvey · August 1 2009, 11:47 PM

Alien has been parodied, too, though. And I think most people still take it seriously.

Neroon · August 2 2009, 12:21 PM

mredom wrote:

I think that one of the things that plays into whether you find movies like "Excorcist" or "Omen" frightening, is if you believe in the powers depicted in the movie. I find both movies utterly terrifying, but primarily because I believe in the existence of demons, and the potential existence of an "anti-christ" If those things aren't real to you, they really won't frighten you much in a movie.

Emher wrote:

I'm not religious, I think that does it.

Harvey wrote:

I am also a nonbeliever, so perhaps there is some merit to the point. I'd have to think of other examples of religious-based horror and whether they scared me or not...

I was about to say something to the same effect. The fact that I a believer is why I was outright frightened by "The Exorcist". The belief added to the air of possibility, which is what scares me more than anything else. Not that a film such as "Alien" isn't likewise effective, just not as much.

Emher · August 2 2009, 03:06 PM

Demons don't frighten me. Fellow humans have true evil in them enough.

Sephiroth · August 2 2009, 06:00 PM

actualy, the scariest few minutes in cinema history is the boat scene from Willy Wonka

Goliath · August 2 2009, 10:16 PM

Neroon wrote:

mredom wrote:

I think that one of the things that plays into whether you find movies like "Excorcist" or "Omen" frightening, is if you believe in the powers depicted in the movie. I find both movies utterly terrifying, but primarily because I believe in the existence of demons, and the potential existence of an "anti-christ" If those things aren't real to you, they really won't frighten you much in a movie.

Emher wrote:

I'm not religious, I think that does it.

Harvey wrote:

I am also a nonbeliever, so perhaps there is some merit to the point. I'd have to think of other examples of religious-based horror and whether they scared me or not...

I was about to say something to the same effect. The fact that I a believer is why I was outright frightened by "The Exorcist". The belief added to the air of possibility, which is what scares me more than anything else. Not that a film such as "Alien" isn't likewise effective, just not as much.

Interesting.

I really like both The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, though more as dramas than as horror films. The Omen is pretty good, too.

But I really disliked The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Not because it was religious propaganda--The Exorcist is conservative-religious propaganda to its core, but it's a brilliant film.

What I disliked about The Exorcism of Emily Rose is that, first, it just wasn't a very good movie, and second, I thought it was dishonest propaganda.

It pretended to be "fair and balanced," but it wasn't.

The Exorcist, by contrast, makes no hypocritical pretence of giving the liberal-secular view a "fair hearing." Its intent was to scare people back to church.

I don't care for that message--but then, I don't care for the message of Triumph of the Will, either. And I have a copy of that movie in my DVD collection as well.

Amasov · August 2 2009, 11:18 PM

Another film I found a bit frightening was the 1974 Larry Cohen movie, It's Alive. The plot revolves around a couple who are expecting a new baby. When the baby is born, it turns out to be a hideously fanged mutant with claws that kills when frightened.

As ridiculous as the story sounds, the film manages to be very creepy and suspenseful. I think that's mostly due to us never really getting see what the infant looks like. We are only given glimpses of its bulbous head and fangs. On top of that, the sounds that it makes when someone encounters it are just plain disturbing.

zakkrusz · August 3 2009, 12:50 AM

Well, if you want to creep the hell out of me it has to be something with clowns or insects.

Holoaddict · August 3 2009, 03:31 PM

zakkrusz wrote:

Well, if you want to creep the hell out of me it has to be something with clowns or insects.

Here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olal23PecUc

Amasov · August 3 2009, 08:40 PM

Just watched Sorry, Wrong Number.

GREAT movie!

Aragorn · August 3 2009, 09:25 PM

zakkrusz wrote:

Well, if you want to creep the hell out of me it has to be something with clowns or insects.

I'd suggest something that has both, but that might be a spoiler. Plus the insect part was more of a big joke than anything that could be taken seriously.

zakkrusz · August 3 2009, 11:44 PM

Aragorn wrote:

zakkrusz wrote:

Well, if you want to creep the hell out of me it has to be something with clowns or insects.

I'd suggest something that has both, but that might be a spoiler. Plus the insect part was more of a big joke than anything that could be taken seriously.

If you're thinking of the mini series adaption of

Goliath · August 4 2009, 03:02 AM

Amasov wrote:

Just watched Sorry, Wrong Number.

GREAT movie!

Yeah, that's a classic.

I wonder if the radio play on which it was based is available anywhere?

Broccoli · August 4 2009, 02:52 PM

T'Baio wrote:

Goddamn it...I hope no one ever stages another Shakespeare play! I mean, after the brilliance of Olivier's performances, all these remakes are just talentless bullshit! When will the theater community regain its originality!?!

Win!

Darth_Pazuzu · August 4 2009, 08:45 PM

Camelopard wrote:

I really like both The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, though more as dramas than as horror films. The Omen is pretty good, too.

But I really disliked The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Not because it was religious propaganda--The Exorcist is conservative-religious propaganda to its core, but it's a brilliant film.

What I disliked about The Exorcism of Emily Rose is that, first, it just wasn't a very good movie, and second, I thought it was dishonest propaganda.

It pretended to be "fair and balanced," but it wasn't.

The Exorcist, by contrast, makes no hypocritical pretence of giving the liberal-secular view a "fair hearing." Its intent was to scare people back to church.

I don't care for that message--but then, I don't care for the message of Triumph of the Will, either. And I have a copy of that movie in my DVD collection as well.

Actually, it was very important for author William Peter Blatty that the person who directed the film version of The Exorcist be objective and agnostic on the subject, not necessarily a believer, the better to ensure that the results would be more credible. (BTW, director William Friedkin happens to be Jewish and not a Catholic.) I think that the objectivity that Friedkin brings to the film contributes to the film's disturbing nature.

I honestly didn't get the feeling from The Exorcist that anybody was really trying to "scare people back to church" (although I can certainly imagine that as a side-effect!) In Friedkin's own words, The Exorcist is a story about inexplicable events. And God (or who/whatever) only knows that life is full of them...

Goliath · August 4 2009, 09:30 PM

^That's not what I've read. I can't speak for Friedkin, but Blatty's intentions were clear, and have been fully explored by film historians.

IMO, if Friedkin truly thought he was making a film about "inexplicable events," he was kidding himself.

August 1 2009, 11:47 PM	#31
Harvey Admiral	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. Alien has been parodied, too, though. And I think most people still take it seriously. __________________ "What do you hear, Starbuck?" "Nothing but the rain, sir." "Then grab your gun and bring in the cat."

August 2 2009, 03:06 PM	#33
Emher Admiral Location: Sweden	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. Demons don't frighten me. Fellow humans have true evil in them enough. __________________ "I am who I am. Someone has to be."-Brendan Gleeson as Reynald in Kingdom of Heaven.

August 2 2009, 06:00 PM	#34
Sephiroth Vice Admiral Location: Sephiroth	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. actualy, the scariest few minutes in cinema history is the boat scene from Willy Wonka __________________ ~I Will Never Be A Memory~ (>'_')>---------->Kazap< Hunting Humanity and Pestering Cloud since 1997

August 2 2009, 11:18 PM	#36
Amasov Rear Admiral Location: Boston, MA	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. Another film I found a bit frightening was the 1974 Larry Cohen movie, It's Alive. The plot revolves around a couple who are expecting a new baby. When the baby is born, it turns out to be a hideously fanged mutant with claws that kills when frightened. As ridiculous as the story sounds, the film manages to be very creepy and suspenseful. I think that's mostly due to us never really getting see what the infant looks like. We are only given glimpses of its bulbous head and fangs. On top of that, the sounds that it makes when someone encounters it are just plain disturbing. __________________ YouTube http://www.youtube.com/FomorViceroy

August 3 2009, 12:50 AM	#37
zakkrusz Rear Admiral Location: The Wired	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. Well, if you want to creep the hell out of me it has to be something with clowns or insects. __________________ "Formidable, are the World Delicacy Noodles." Chachamaru-Negima!?

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August 3 2009, 08:40 PM	#39
Amasov Rear Admiral Location: Boston, MA	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. Just watched Sorry, Wrong Number. GREAT movie! __________________ YouTube http://www.youtube.com/FomorViceroy

August 4 2009, 09:30 PM	#45
Goliath Vice Admiral Location: The Fifth Dimension	Re: Just saw the scariest 20 minutes in cinema history. ^That's not what I've read. I can't speak for Friedkin, but Blatty's intentions were clear, and have been fully explored by film historians. IMO, if Friedkin truly thought he was making a film about "inexplicable events," he was kidding himself. __________________ An illusion--with intelligence! A malignant vision, with a will of pure evil!