Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?
I was a little late seeing this. It was 2005 or 2006. I was working at a Hollywood Video and i was working alone. It was slow and there was nobody in the store either. We had one of those little TV's with the VCR built in and so i decided to watch in the middle of the day.

Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
Oh of course. I had heard a lot about it especially how good it was so my expectations were pretty high.

How was the viewing experience?
Despite watching it on a tiny tv, in the middle of the day while keeping an eye out for customers and my boss of course, i still loved it and it has stayed one of my favorite horror movies to this day. I still hold that the scene where you first see Leatherface is one of the scariest moments of any horror movie.

How many times have you rewatched it since?
A few times. It's not a movie i can watch over and over again and frankly i don't want it to. The horror movies i love the most i tend to not watch that much so i can contain that special feeling every time i watch it.

Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
I own a container of dirt from where the movie was filmed.

1) The mid 80's. I was 9 or so. It was my Dad's VHS.

2) I did from my Dad and Uncle. They warned me it was "brutal" and I might be too young to watch it. I had already seen Halloween, F13, and NOES ...so we popped it in.

3) It blew my mind. The macabre atmosphere and the insanity was a lot for a 9 year old kid.

4) Too many to count.

5) It's the film that left me wondering... "Does it get any crazier then this?"

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?

I first watched it one school holidays, think I was about 13 or 14. Watched it on VHS when it turned up one day at the video store. I'd been wanting to see it for years! This is the tape right here:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...Christ/tcm.jpg

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

Out of all the horror films I'd read and heard about this one had the biggest reputation. Heard it was extreme and it was all TRUE and actually happened! I remember seeing clips of it on Summer School and I had been on the hunt for it ever since.

3 - How was the viewing experience?

It was a bit underwhelming as the film's reputation/title had lead me to believe the film would be a shocking wall to wall gorefest. A lot of what makes the film so effective was lost on the teenage version of me. I still dug it a lot and thought it was a great film especially how it looked and the style of it in general. I had just built up something different in my mind. It had quite an impact on me changing my taste in film giving me a love for gritty realism.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

Countless times and it just gets better every time I watch it (after discussing it here I'm going to watch it again tonight!). It's the quintessential horror classic for me and IMO one of the greatest flicks to come out of the US. It's so good I own three different copies :D

The shower scene in Psycho gets talked about a lot but Kirk's death is a lot more unsettling. I get goosebumps when Leatherface slides that door shut. Amazing scene.



5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

I remember lots of the other kids lied and said they had seen it haha which I found out wasn't true once I'd seen it myself.

Haha that's awesome. I wish I could've seen it the same way. Would've been a whole different experience seeing it when it came out. It's just got such a folklore behind it now it's impossible to go into it with a clean slate. It would be great if they restored a print and this hit the theatres again.

When I was at uni one of my housemates had it on vhs I remember us all being excited (this would have been 2000)about it. We had some spacecakes, smoking and bucket bonging weed while it was on so we were all pretty fucked and completely hynotized by how intense it was. Surprisingly none of us got the giggles but all throroughly enjoyed it.

That VHS cover art looks killer! Wish we had one of those around these parts.

Anyone else remember their first encounter with Leatherface?

Do you remember when you first watched it? VHS or DVD?
I honestly can't remember the first time I watched it, whether it was in the theater or on VHS.

Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
I remember seeing the trailers for it on TV and thinking it looked pretty good.

How was the viewing experience?
Can't remember

How many times have you rewatched it since?
A few times.

Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
Can't think of any.

Couple of years back, on dvd.

As usually plenty of recs from almost every top horror film list online.

Truly one of a kind. Got a 'real' 70's found footage vibe on it. Watched it alone in a middle of the night. Totally blew me away.

Not much...2 or 3 times.

After looking for it years finally found an original dvd on a store. But probably showing my huge interest for it, they didn't sell the original copy as they had only one. They told me to give them some time (days) to make couple of pirated dvd copies of it by copying it into the blank dvds. I gave them a week & requested them make a good copy for me. When I went back next week to buy & collect it from the store I found the dvd with a wrong cover. As they didn't know much about it, they used a poor photocopy cover of the remake for the dvd disc & the box. To make sure I requested them to play for me on their player. The funny thing happened when the dvd started to play...before appearing the dvd/disc options like play, scene selection, special features etc. there is the scene of Sally tied up in a chair & the camera is moving back & forth on her bloody face and she was screaming like hell. The scene & the sound instantly grabbed the attention from everyone who were inside & just outside the store at that time. Believe me...for a moment they all thought it's something very original. Slowly one after another started to ask about the movie with a jaw-dropping expression in their face. The seller at the store was freaked out too as he never checked even the original dvd until then. Only one exception was me...there was one big smile on my face with tons of satisfaction like conquering something very desirable after a long search & time.

1. Oh yes. I rented from one of the small video shops in town, over one night at a friend's house. My parent's wouldn't have let me watch it, so that always made it even more exciting. This was VHS of course, and it blew us away. I even remember realizing back then that there wasn't much blood, that Hooper implied much more than he showed, and that made it even more terrifying. Also, just the chance of it all, that these kids could be anybody anywhere, scared me too.

2. Yes, at the time, I'd buy Fangoria issues whenever I actually saved some allowance money. Of course, I'd read about it plenty in there.

3. Like I said, we were blown away. That year for Hallowe'en, my friend and I argued who would dress up as Leatherface. He ended up doing it. Asshole.

4. Countless times. It's absolutely one of my favorite horror films ever.

5. Yes:

That is amazing. Man, I wish I had one of those.

Quite an experience.

Moving on...

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS or DVD?

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

3 - How was the viewing experience?

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

I know I'm going to get a ration of shit for this, but.....I've never seen it.

Same goes for me.

Well, now I don't feel so embarrassed admitting that I didn't see it until this past decade. It's very good and faithful to Shirley Jackson's novel.

1. I think I first saw it on TV when I was a kid. I was always looking for scary movies to watch, and I'm sure I caught it then.

2. Not that I remember.

3. I definitely thought it was very cool as a kid. I loved anything to do with haunted houses. Getting older, I've been able to appreciate just how restrained and totally creepy it is.

4. Not sure, a handful. I actually haven't seen it in years. I might have to give it a spin some night soon.

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS or DVD? - I remember catching it on tv (TCM) about 10 years ago.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it? - Nope.

3 - How was the viewing experience? - It was pretty creepy actually, even tho most of the scares consisted of sounds only. I still prefer the remake tho, especially because you actually get some answers to the mystery in the end.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since? - Only once.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share? - Yea, i didn't have a cat back then.. fart!

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS or DVD?

= on youtube!

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

= Yeah, particularly on HDC.

3 - How was the viewing experience?

= Though saw it on youtube where the uploader divided the film into several parts (probably 8 to 10) but still it was a great viewing. Robert Wise's direction, characterization, the mood & the background scores totally blew me away. Very much effectively creepy and delivers one of the finest definitions of Horror.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

= Only 2.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

= Not only the best Haunted house movies ever made, it's also in general one of the TOP BEST HORROR FILMS of all time, IMO. If I ever complete my ultimate list of All time great horror films, it'll stand either on no. 1 or 2 spot.

I watched this fairly recently. Like a year or so ago. I remember it was good and the ending was freaky. A nice old school horror movie. I wanted to watch it again to get a better feel for it but it expired. It's definitely better than the remake which I watched about 30mins. I think it's still on demand somewhere. I'm going to watch it again.

Anyone else wishes to share their first scary memories of The Haunting?

Goodness I saw The Haunting when I was very young-too young I think so after the remake came out (and I avoided it due to dreadful reviews) I watched it again and enjoyed it but found it more fun than scary-though for some reason I seemed to enjoy The House On Haunted Hill (it was shown straight after the haunting on tv as a horror double bill they used to show on friday nights) a lot more-I think I need to see it again and give it a fresh perspective. So I'll do that.

Lukewarm response to The Haunting so far. We will get to it later, if we can.

Moving on...

I am reminded of a certain (very) popular cult classic that people have forgotten in recent times.

Let's revisit the first memories of us sitting down to watch


1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS or DVD?

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

3 - How was the viewing experience?

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

Dawn of the Dead:
1. I first saw this on VHS in the mid 80's.

2. I had seen stills and read a bit about it in a horror movie book that I had.

3. A bit lukewarm the first time I saw it.

4. I have seen it probably 6-8 times since that first viewing.

5. It was the first of the Romero "dead" movies that I had seen, and probably the first modern zombie film I had seen. I think prior to this, I had only seen older zombie films like "I Walked With A Zombie".

I think I wasn't so impressed on my first viewing because I was used to (and expecting) a film more like these older films - something more plot-driven. However, on subsequent viewings I have come to really like this film, and it is my favourite "modern" zombie film, and probably my favourite zombie film.

Unfortunately I'm not sure when I first saw it-it's lost in my pre-teen friday night horror viewing but I do remember seeing it in my teens then I saw it again recently. So I've seen it three times-I would say my second viewing must have had the most impact on me-It was the scale of the zombie outbreak and the epic scope of the direction and production. I wouldn't have been able to comment about the film like that at the time but having seen it recently it still affected me in the same way and in no way seemed of it's time-to me it's still relevant today. I think being introduced to this level of gore at such a young age has helped desentisize me in more recent years also cementing my fan appreciate for horror. It's one of those horror films that you could show to action film fans and they would enjoy it to.

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS or DVD?
None of those. I watched it on Youtube (I no longer do this, what with the poor visual quality and the fact I now pay for copyrighted material to stay within the law. Silly of me to take such measures so strongly, I know).

This would've been about 4 years ago and it was one of the first horror films I saw.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
I was certainly aware of it. It's a very famous film and the fact was not too long after the remake and Shawn Of The Dead, it's one of those titles that even virtually all non-horror-fans know.


3 - How was the viewing experience?
Pretty good and I was pretty absorbed by it. As this was one of the first horror films I saw, I remember being blown away by the gore (particularly the sequence where the biker gets his guts ripped out).

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?
I couldn't really count. I'm not good at keeping track of all that and it probably ranks as one of the films I've seen most over and over again. Seen it on the internet, on TV, DVD and Blu-Ray.


5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
I highly reccomend the Blu Ray released by Arrow in the UK (I don't know if Arrow distributes outside the UK, but I don't think so) I got a copy for a good price (£17, which was actually cheaper than the Arrow DVD version which had the same stuff) and you get the Blu Ray cut of the film, two other DVD versions (the director's cut and the Argento cut) plus a lot of special features.

Anyone else remember their first memories of watching the mighty Dawn of the Dead?

1. I rented it at the same mom-and-pop video store that introduced me to so many low-budget, gory classics. I was probably 13 or so.

2. I had read about it in issues of Fangoria. Some of my friends had heard about it, too, and we'd all talk about how awesome it must be.

3. It was great. I watched it with some friends who had heard of it. We all were completely into it.

4. Not sure. Probably at least 10.

5. It's one of those horror films I have that nostalgic connection to. It reminds me of being young, rabidly going through as many horror movies I could find, sometimes borrowing my parents' camcorder and making my own horror movies with friends. I personally don't like it as much as Night or Day, but it's still definitely special.

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS or DVD?

I first caught it on VHS. This fucker right here...

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...hrist/dawn.jpg

...a friend of mine hired it and loaned me the tape and said I just had to see it.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

I had heard nothing really before watching it. Don't think it was even mentioned in a lot of the issues of Fangoria I had at the time. It had slipped under my radar and I went into this one fairly blind aside from my friend telling me it had some great gore.

3 - How was the viewing experience?

It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It had all the gore and graphic violence that other horror flicks I'd watched at the time promised but never delivered. I found the story and characters really captivating. Loved the tense claustrophobic atmosphere too. I was pretty blown away and it still remains one of my favourite films.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

Countless times and three different versions.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

Like fortunato mentioned it's a film that holds a lot of nostalgia for me. Brings me back to younger care free times (like a lot of the movies in this thread have/will continue to do) and experiencing the classics for the first time.

Man, another awesome box. Which version is that?

I've only seen the remake. This and a bunch of movies in the series are on my watch list.

Anyone else?

It's the uncut "Romero" version. Think it was one of the few uncut PAL releases before the DVDs came out.

Moving on...

Do you remember your first induction into the world of


1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS, DVD?

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?

3 - How was the viewing experience?

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?

LOL, you're going back too far for me to remember. I know I loved it the first time I saw it. That's about all I remember. :p

I first saw it as a teenager, but that would have been about 25 years after it was released so there were no surprises. I still enjoyed it a great deal.

My father saw it in the theater (I guess he would have been 19 or 20 at the time), and said he was gripping the arm of the theater seat so hard he got bursitis in his shoulder.

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS, DVD?
Honestly i can't remember

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
I already knew the ending before i watched it.

3 - How was the viewing experience?
Despite knowing everything about it, the feel of the movie and the sudden way the music would play still got me.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?
2 or 3

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
Everyone talks about the shower scene but for me the scariest part is when the guy is looking around in the house and all of a sudden the music plays and Mrs. Bates runs up and kills him.

1. It was a looong time ago, VHS obviously.

2. I was really young, so no one would have told me much about it.

3. I don't really remember specifically the first time watching it, but I do remember being freaked out by the ending.

4. A lot, not sure exactly.

5. I got to see the 2009 restoration on the big screen, which was just amazing.

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS, DVD?
First time I remember watching it was in my late teens/ early twenties, on TV... Its possible I saw it at a much younger age, but I dont have clear memories of it.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
I knew about the movie and had a decent understanding of Hitchcock and what he had done, but wouldnt call myself a fan, at that time.

3 - How was the viewing experience?
Loved it... The mid-plot twist is beautiful and its the first time I had seen anything like that happen in a movie. Since then I've always loved movies that try to break the rules and/or play with the audiance in some way.

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?
Not many, maybe 3.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
My favourite scene is where Norman is being quizzed by the detective about Marions whereabouts. Quality piece of acting from Anthony Perkins.

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS, DVD?

Film class as an undergrad. Definitely VHS but in an auditorium classroom.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
We'd been told it was "the most influential american film of all time" and of course I'd heard of the shower scene and knew the ending.


3 - How was the viewing experience?
Awesome. We were riveted. And that wasn't the case for most of the 'really important' older films (I remember someone in front of me snoring loudly through citizen kane. But Psycho had everyone on the edge of their seat because other than the shower scene and the end none of us knew what else was going to happen.


4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?
at least 100

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
Not really. I've introduced some of my friends to it and find that if they watch through the first 10 minutes or so they get hooked. but if they keep getting up for beer or whatever during the first part then I know it just isn't going to gel with them

1 - Do you remember when you first watched it? Theater, VHS, DVD?
Okay...well I got it on DVD when I was about 17 and hadn't seen it before. What I'd expected was basically a horror film from the start and what turned out to be at first a pretty mediocre and colour-by-number thriller (by Hitchcock standards) and never actually made it to Norman and all that. (I was a lot less patient with my films back then). I knew stuff was in there, just couldn't be bothered to wait and was completely thrown off by the different tact the film took at the begining.

I now realise that Hitchcock intended the opposite since he was considered a director of thrillers rather than horror and he wanted people to be shocked when he killed off the "star" some fourty minutes into the film.


I saw the whole thing start-to-finish just a little over a year ago. I was studying music at university and one of the classes was Music In Film where we studied some of the works of Bernard Hermann. There's a facility at the university called The Void which is a lecture hall/screening room (imagine an average screening room for an inependent cinema with fold-out desks) and one of the films we watched was Psycho and I liked it when it was pulled together. Anthony Perkins (especially in the film's epilogue) provides one of my all-time favourite acting performances.

2 - Did you get any feedback (from friends or media) prior to watching it?
Well everyone knows the shower scene and I knew about things like Norman Bates and the Ed Gein connection, but it was sort of like loose pieces from a jogsaw puzzle if you see what I mean. I just didn't quite know how they were put together.


3 - How was the viewing experience?
I mentioned above. Boring when I tried to watch it the first few times (tbh, I'm still not that thrilled about it now) but it's all worth it once Anthony Perkins turns up. Controversially though, I still prefer The Birds which I consider Hitchcock's only "true" horror film (Psycho and his often overlooked penultimate film Frenzy both have elements of horror but I sort of still consider them both thillers...although the line is blurred with Psycho.)

4 - How many times have you rewatched it since?
I've seen the whole thing 3 times.

5 - Any memories associated with it, that you wish to share?
I think I've said all I needed to.

Same here no idea how young I was but I must have been very young. I only have a vague memory of talking about it in the school playground the next day.