Non-horror movies scarier than most horror movies?
 

I've heard a few people say that they don't like horror movies because they're not scary. And for the most part, I can agree. At the very least, 75% of my horror collection consists of films that didn't scare me, per se, but amused me, intrigued me, or at the very least kept my brain stuff entertained. But I don't think it's necessary to delve into this genre in order to scare yourself. And here are some movies which aren't widely considered horror that scared me.
Blue Velvet - Dennis Hopper stole the show in this one. With his drug-induced sadism and barely repressed mommy issues, this guy is more likely to show up in my nightmares than Freddy Krueger.
Shutter Island - Crazy people be scary. But the idea of going crazy, or being mentally ill for a long time without knowing it, is ultimately more unsettling.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I went into this expecting some awesome popcorn entertainment, and what I ended up getting was an awesome emotional experience. It is a deeply disturbing tale when you think about it, a chronicle of mankind's unraveling that may be closer to the truth than we know.
As a child, I was terrified of Gnorga from A Troll in Central Park. It was one of the first movies I actually sat down to watch, and to me the thought of being turned to stone was about the worst thing imaginable.
Also, I find Bane from The Dark Knight Rises to be one of the most intimidating characters in the history of cinema. If I had been in Batman's position as I heard that voice say "Not as serious as yours," I would have most likely defecated all over the inside of my bat armor. Pretty much every line he uttered sent chills through my body when I saw this in the theater. Even the ones I couldn't understand.

Only thing I can think of are movies like Brokedown Palace and Return to Paradise... I'm pretty sure I'll be framed and arrested in a foreign country one day.

Threads

Plague Dogs

Fucked me up way more than any horror stuff..

I'm with Despare on this one. I casn't remember the name, but I saw some film about a guy busted in Turkey and thrown in prison there and it scared the shit out of me.

Midnight Express (1978)

"Is it safe?"

Great movie. That one scared me too.


I'm not sure "scared" is the right word, but maybe it is: Bad Lieutenant.

Also, Threads (which I saw recently) and a The Morning After (when I was a kid).

(Edit)
The Day After.. not The Morning After

Isn't that Marathon Man? (or Gremlins 2 :-)

Oh yeah, you're right -- Marathon Man! I guess add that to the list of non-horror films that scared me. But yeah, Midnight Express, that film is messed up too.

Both Marathon Man and Midnight Express are seriously disturbing.

Requiem for a Dream is one of mine. The sequence at the end is just like having a nightmare that you can't wake up from. Should be shown to kids as part of an anti-drug curriculum.

No Country For Old Men. Anton Chigurh was a hell of a lot scarier than most horror film antagonists. Most horror movie villains are too cartoonish or implausible to be scary, but Anton.. It's scary to think about crossing paths with a guy like that.

Not a movie, but Twin Peaks. On the few occasions that Twin Peaks wanted to be scary, it had no trouble doing so. There are moments of dread in which show that surpass that of most horror films. Bob is terrifying. One of my all time favorite TV shows.

No doubt. Totally agree... and awesome film.

You could make a case this is a horror film, but I didn't consider it to be one when I saw it: Edmond (2005). I thought it was really impactful and seriously messed up at times.

I've seen a few episodes of MSNBC's documentary Lockup that pretty much gave me nightmares.

Edmond is amazing.

Lockup and, honestly, all other prison documentaries tend to scare the crap out of me. Even prison stories. I used to work with a guy who went to prison...heard some things that I'll take with me until I'm dead.

War stories kind of hit me where it hurts too.

Indeed, war can be scary. Full Metal Jacket was a disturbing film for me, because of Sgt. Pile's transformation and the little twist at the end involving the sniper.

I agree with Midnight Express!

Mysterious Skin (2004)

What's that about?

Agreed,stunning movie

Mysterious Skin (2004) is a devastating yet beautiful film that delicately explores the difficult, painful and frequently sensationalized issue of childhood trauma and abuse. The film heightens its haunting theme of lost innocence with such a raw & realistic approach that some may find almost too agonizing to experience. Gordon-Levitt's performance is nothing short of brilliant.

The film already made its deserved place in HDC's official list of Top films of 2000s.

Thanks! Looks interesting.

One that comes to mind is "Pusher". The movie has an American remake, but I've only watched the Danish version, and it really disturbed me... the way the guy was never safe anywhere, and everyone were just so cold and merciless. It was brutal!

And... this will probably make most of you laugh at me, but I find some of the Titanic-related movies very disturbing. Including THAT Titanic movie, which I have to admit is one of my all time favourite movies... there goes my horror fan image! :D But let me explain:

I come from a family of sailors, and have a strong connection to the sea. My grandfather sailed on a ship that was sunk during world war II. I've always been fascinated by the tragic story of the Titanic, and it's always been very easy for me to relate to it. I can't watch those Titanic movies without thinking of what those poor people had to go through, and the people they left behind. Probably even more so because we know so many of the names, faces and personal stories. It's NOT "just a movie". It happened. And I can't watch any of those movies without being disturbed by it... the fear they must have felt, the suffering they had to go through, and the sorrow of their families and friends. So many lives ruined... it's truly frightening.

Yeah, I agree with Des and NE; films that involve being abducted or arrested in a foreign country really do strike a chord -

You all will probably laugh at me, but I found Taken to be horrifying (the idea of a female foreign traveler being abducted like that) - Not a new concept, I know, but for some reason that aspect of that movie in particular really unnerved me (maybe because I've been careless abroad - Almost lost my wallet and ALL of my possessions and had to rely on the kindness of a stranger for help)...

I think I'd say that a lot of the time, these films are more disturbing than outright scary. The issue with horror films is that they bombard us with the threat of death so much that we're all very used to seeing characters die and it's tougher to empathise with the fear they're feeling. We've seen it so much.
The non-horror fears - arrested abroad, unwilling sex trade, repressed memories and for me, the futility of Jolie's situation in Changeling - are all based on living through things arguably worse than death, and often things we think about less than death. We all KNOW we're going to die at some point (though hopefully not through slasher means) whereas who ever considers the possibility that someone might become dangerously obsessed with them ( The Talented Mr. Ripley ) until we're shown it? That's why I think these films unsettle us so much. They're things that COULD easily happen, and ideas we haven't often thought about.

2012 - Scared the crap out of me, had me thinking what if the world just ends like that and I'm sliding into lava or something.


The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas - It was personal for me, My grandfather was in WW2 and because of paper work had to be sent back to America to sign some contract or something and all of his platoon got killed. watching really just started disturbing me.

Hearing "Gravity" out in theaters now in 3-D is supposed to be a fairly unnerving space flick.

The remake of Pusher is British - actually both the remakes are from the UK (there is a 'Bollywood' version too).

A Bollywood version?! :D :D

Anyway, for those of you who don't mind subtitles, there is a new movie out here in Denmark that seems to have been released internationally with subtitles... under the name "The Keeper of Lost Causes". It's a dark crime thriller, not horror, but it's about a woman who has been kidnapped and imprisoned in a pressure chamber for years. The scenes of her in that chamber are pretty disturbing.

I had insomnia for weeks after watching The Fourth Kind. Stop motion animation by the Brothers Quay unsettles me as well. There's something creepy about stop motion animation in general.

The Fourth Kind scared the crap out of me too. I might classify it as horror though.

Came across this article while browsing Chiller over my morning coffee and thought of this thread. Some good choices, some questionable.

http://www.chillertv.com/friday13/13...y-horror-films

An American Crime - The fact it's a true story made it very disturbing, it's scary what some humans are capable of.

Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2. Specifically, John mark Byers, that man is as evil as anything Stephen King could think of, and he is real and walking around out there. A truly scary individual and a real life horror. Not only that but also the Arkansas judicial system. Never let yourself be taken in police custody in Arkansas, no matter what. Arkansas is just horror upon horrors, backwoods murderers, corrupt police, barbaric populace, nothing decent can come from there. I'd rather vacation is Somolia or Chechnya.

Marathon Man is the most recent one I've watched. The scene in Dustin Hoffman's bathroom when the assassins are breaking in, is a master class in suspense.

Also No Country For Old Men. The scene in the hotel room with the air gun and the lock.

I got to check out Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. At first, with the title "Paradise Lost", I was getting it confused with "Lost Horizon" with Ronald Coleman, or that is was somehow tied to the poem by Milton.

It's a documentarians and trial buffs dream film. Get this, per the Roger Ebert film review, "the filmmakers, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, seem to have had complete access to both sides of the trial process, including private family meetings, conferences with lawyers, even sessions in the judge's chambers." It's like, 'what?!' I see the full film is on youtube http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...57752919,d.aWM.

The Act of Killing was the most terrifying film I've maybe ever seen.

I read the premise. Very weird, and possibly unethical. Why was it the most terrifying film you've ever seen?

Do you think John Mark Byers committed the murders and Damien Echols and co are innocent?

Because it made me call into question ideas of what "evil" means.

How do you mean?

for me - tension is probably the greatest source of horror.

and to that end - Bridesmaids was the only film I walked out of the room on because at one point it was so tense I couldn't bear to watch.

Loved the movie but one scene was killing me