Help, I cant be scared!

[Unshakable]

I have been looking everywhere and have watched the top 10 of every scariest horror movie list I can find but I find myself unable to be scared by any of them. I know some of you are going to say The Exorcist, and Psycho but don't bother those were the first I tried.

The site that recommended The Exorcist as the scariest movie of all time said, and I quote: "Scene to watch with the lights on: All of it. No no no, trust us. Watch it at mid-day, with the blinds open and the lights on. And then get used to the fact that you may never, ever sleep again." - http://movies.ign.com/articles/662/662450p5.html I got excited and thought, "alright, lets just try watching it with the lights off in the middle of the night and see how long it will take me to sleep again." well I must say I was extremely disappointed, can anyone tell me when the scary parts were supposed to be, I was worried at first that I was watching the wrong movie or maybe a shortened version but after searching I couldn't find anything other than the copy I rented. In the end I found that The Exorcist was about as scary as a walk down a rural street at night, a little creepy but nothing to write home about.

Psycho I couldn't even finish the first time through, not because it was too scary, but because the quality was bad enough to actually cause a migraine halfway through and after going back I couldn't find any scenes that would be close to giving me a chill. I understand that the quality is because Hitchcock edited the movie himself and so many people see him as being some sort of movie genius but honestly the whole movie just seemed cheap and sloppy.

The closest I got to a good scare would be from the Paranormal Activity Movies, I am a very superstitious person and they all really spoke to me on that level. Plus I loved the documentary feel of the movies.

Please, I have gotten so desperate I have even tried going to foreign films where the dialogue is in choppy "English" or near accurate subtitles. I miss that feeling you get as a kid when you thought you just saw the Boogeyman hiding under your bed and I know that getting that extreme may be impossible but anything would be nice at this point.

I am only looking for educated opinions, observations, and recommendations I want to stress this because of so many people on the internet failing to grasp the concepts of conversational etiquette.

Oh, and feel free to critique me any of these points, with the obvious exception of the educated posts bit, I would love a good back and forth gab.

[fortunato]

I tend to find posts like this irritating, but I'll bite.

Try Inland Empire.

[cheebacheeba]

You don't like Psycho on the grounds of how cheap it looked, yet didn't even give a movie with a pretty cool plot a go...though you like Paranormal Activity.
And you're asking for educated opinions?
Right.

Here's mine then.
If you're an adult, in order to enjoy a horror film - look for those high in tension or atmosphere, and/or those that have a human element so it's not so much the visual horror or killings and splatter that you're scared by, but the confrontation of something you find difficult or scary to deal with.
Also be willing to suspend disbelief if it's something more over the top.

I might suggest "The Mist" and "A Serbian Film" but those have more elements of sci-fi and thriller to them.
Event Horizon and Phantoms were a couple more of the supernatural/sci-fi type horrors that I've enjoyed.
Visually fucked up? Uzumaki.
Brutal? Haute Tension, Wrong Turn and Creep (that was quite atmospheric too)
I saw one called "The Ruins" lately that had a rather fucked up idea behind it.
Films like "The Signal" and "Carriers" I found interesting and chilling for different reasons.
Though really tastes are subjective, you might hate them and call me just another of the uneducated masses.

[Elvis_Christ]

yo

Y DUN U WAUTCH STREET TRASH ULE SHAT YUR PUNTS BEKAZE UTZ FREUKY AZ FUK

[wizard of gore]

i simply cant get scared by anything either,im just way too brave

[Unshakable]

You don't like Psycho on the grounds of how cheap it looked, yet didn't even give a movie with a pretty cool plot a go...though you like Paranormal Activity.
And you're asking for educated opinions?
Right.

Here's mine then.
If you're an adult, in order to enjoy a horror film - look for those high in tension or atmosphere, and/or those that have a human element so it's not so much the visual horror or killings and splatter that you're scared by, but the confrontation of something you find difficult or scary to deal with.
Also be willing to suspend disbelief if it's something more over the top.

I might suggest "The Mist" and "A Serbian Film" but those have more elements of sci-fi and thriller to them.
Event Horizon and Phantoms were a couple more of the supernatural/sci-fi type horrors that I've enjoyed.
Visually fucked up? Uzumaki.
Brutal? Haute Tension, Wrong Turn and Creep (that was quite atmospheric too)
I saw one called "The Ruins" lately that had a rather fucked up idea behind it.
Films like "The Signal" and "Carriers" I found interesting and chilling for different reasons.
Though really tastes are subjective, you might hate them and call me just another of the uneducated masses.
I didn't enjoy Psycho not only because of the terrible quality but also because I thought the movie itself was pretty boring.

And yes, I do like Paranormal activity because as I said I found the supernatural aspects amusing and although it was not scary it was at least able to startle at some points.

Disbelief? Sorry but I don't believe in that.

Lastly you are wrong about me thinking you to be uneducated, even if I hate the movies you recommend your personal opinions about them don't make you uneducated.

[Unshakable]

unless you're female, or a child under 10 years of age, i don't see a reason why you should be scared by any movie.
Okay, the female bit was kind of sexist but ill let that slide.

And I am sure there is a movie somewhere that is at least somewhat scary

[hammerfan]

And I am sure there is a movie somewhere that is at least somewhat scary

Not to me. I've been watching horror movies since I was a wee child. Nothing scares me anymore. You learn to anticipate what's coming.

[_____V_____]

Not your fault, Nathan.

You are going through your 20th year of existence in a period where most of the contemporary horror films pretty much suck, and all the good ones of previous eras have become dated, with cultural and societal atmospheric changes making them look dull and insignificant.

The Exorcist was a big thing for the 70s, even the 80s, like Jaws made people scared of water throughout the same period.

Today, if someone of the present generation (like my nearly 20-year-old nieces) walk up to me and say they don't find The Evil Dead even remotely scary, I don't blame them. They have simply grown up in the wrong era - the era of busy lives, building careers, hard work and studies, competitiveness, etc., ergo no time to sit through a film, which makes them fast-forward through dialogue-based films to the scary parts which eventually lose their effectiveness without the atmosphere built up behind them.

Not everybody can appreciate a good atmospheric horror story today. Books have become a thing of the past. Imaginations have toned down considerably with the brutal realities of life keeping people going, cutting off their day dreams and lazy moments. That "bump" in the dark is no longer scary.

Psycho for today's teenager? Not his cup of tea, by any means.

The only thing which can scare today's teens is the brutality and shocking slaps of real life, nothing else.

[Unshakable]

Not to me. I've been watching horror movies since I was a wee child. Nothing scares me anymore. You learn to anticipate what's coming.
When I was younger everything would scare me, and I mean everything. I was scared by the Batman and Robin movie. I went looking for those thrills for years and now I really miss them. I don't care if it is impossible I'm going to keep searching until I die.

[hammerfan]

When I was younger everything would scare me, and I mean everything. I was scared by the Batman and Robin movie. I went looking for those thrills for years and now I really miss them. I don't care if it is impossible I'm going to keep searching until I die.

I was the same way. Hell, even the "Wizard of Oz" scared the hell out of me (flying monkeys?!).

[Unshakable]

Not your fault, Nathan.

You are going through your 20th year of existence in a period where most of the contemporary horror films pretty much suck, and all the good ones of previous eras have become dated, with cultural and societal atmospheric changes making them look dull and insignificant.

The Exorcist was a big thing for the 70s, even the 80s, like Jaws made people scared of water throughout the same period.

Today, if someone of the present generation (like my nearly 20-year-old nieces) walk up to me and say they don't find The Evil Dead even remotely scary, I don't blame them. They have simply grown up in the wrong era - the era of busy lives, building careers, hard work and studies, competitiveness, etc., ergo no time to sit through a film, which makes them fast-forward through dialogue-based films to the scary parts which eventually lose their effectiveness without the atmosphere built up behind them.

Not everybody can appreciate a good atmospheric horror story today. Books have become a thing of the past. Imaginations have toned down considerably with the brutal realities of life keeping people going, cutting off their day dreams and lazy moments. That "bump" in the dark is no longer scary.

Psycho for today's teenager? Not his cup of tea, by any means.

The only thing which can scare today's teens is the brutality and shocking slaps of real life, nothing else.
You make a good point, I am sure that if I was a teenager back when those movies were made then I wouldn't be in this situation right now.

I can't believe anyone would fast forward through any parts of a movie, especially a horror movie. Without establishing a basic plot understanding and connection with the characters it becomes very difficult to be interested in or scared by a movie. I make sure to sit down and watch every second of a movie, with an exception to Psycho but that was because physical pain prevented me from finishing it the first time through.

[wizard of gore]

Not your fault, Nathan.

You are going through your 20th year of existence in a period where most of the contemporary horror films pretty much suck, and all the good ones of previous eras have become dated, with cultural and societal atmospheric changes making them look dull and insignificant.

The Exorcist was a big thing for the 70s, even the 80s, like Jaws made people scared of water throughout the same period.

Today, if someone of the present generation (like my nearly 20-year-old nieces) walk up to me and say they don't find The Evil Dead even remotely scary, I don't blame them. They have simply grown up in the wrong era - the era of busy lives, building careers, hard work and studies, competitiveness, etc., ergo no time to sit through a film, which makes them fast-forward through dialogue-based films to the scary parts which eventually lose their effectiveness without the atmosphere built up behind them.

Not everybody can appreciate a good atmospheric horror story today. Books have become a thing of the past. Imaginations have toned down considerably with the brutal realities of life keeping people going, cutting off their day dreams and lazy moments. That "bump" in the dark is no longer scary.

Psycho for today's teenager? Not his cup of tea, by any means.

The only thing which can scare today's teens is the brutality and shocking slaps of real life, nothing else.

very true,never thought of it that way

im not sure if you guys have it over there but over here you can get execution movies,its real lif filming of people getting executed in those corrupt countrys,getting hanged /stoned to death and all that.iv never watcheed it coz im not really interested in that vile shit but i imagine its just like a real life torture porn movie

[hammerfan]

very true,never thought of it that way

im not sure if you guys have it over there but over here you can get execution movies,its real lif filming of people getting executed in those corrupt countrys,getting hanged /stoned to death and all that.iv never watcheed it coz im not really interested in that vile shit but i imagine its just like a real life torture porn movie

When I was in the military, I remember renting VHS tapes (at the rental store) of movies called "Faces of Death". That's pretty much what they were, people being executed, animals being killed, etc. Never watched them again, and never will.

[Ferox13]

When I was in the military, I remember renting VHS tapes (at the rental store) of movies called "Faces of Death". That's pretty much what they were, people being executed, animals being killed, etc. Never watched them again, and never will.

Fake executions you mean...

[horrorzack]

Fake executions you mean... Actually some of them were real but as more sequels were made they started faking them.

[Ferox13]

Actually some of them were real but as more sequels were made they started faking them.

Which ones were real?

As far as I remember they showed 2. The Electrocution and the lethal injection, both of these were shot for the Mondo.

[wizard of gore]

if anyone wants to see real ones, you can check out bestgore.com.
just in case...

your a sick bastard,i bet you jerk off to that shit too

[Unshakable]

geez I leave for a few days and the thread falls apart....

Getting back to the original topic I watched all of the movies recommended by CheebaCheeba and they were all pretty good. None of them were scary but most of them were rather amusing and if you know of any more like them, especially like The Mist and Wrong turn, please share.

Its weird but we do have films of live executions here and I have watched a couple but watching a real person die from execution is pretty boring, probably because those people who are being executed deserved it.

[wizard of gore]

geez I leave for a few days and the thread falls apart....

probably because those people who are being executed deserved it.

yeah i think one woman showed a bit of her skin in public

[Unshakable]

yeah i think one woman showed a bit of her skin in public

that's pretty messed up, I didn't see "Faces of death" but the videos I saw didn't have a back story to them

[wizard of gore]

i just made that up was using it as an example, countrys were they let the public stone people to death usually have fuckt laws like that.
the one over heres just called "executions" i think.

[MichaelMyers]

Halloween.

[Bob Gray]

Try taking shrooms before watching a movie, lol (don't really do this, I did it before I watched Altered States, bad idea).

[wizard of gore]

Try taking shrooms before watching a movie, lol (don't really do this, I did it before I watched Altered States, bad idea).

yeah i mentioned that in the last "im just too brave" thread

[Bob Gray]

yeah i mentioned that in the last "im just too brave" thread

heh, it works right? ;)