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Repeated viewings will cause that reaction, because you know what's coming next. But ask anyone who watched it the first time for their reaction, and you will have a fair idea how terrified they were after the movie ended. The common, everyday premise of the film and the whole situation till the end conveys one message only - it could happen to you, and to your little daughter. That's what causes the feeling of sheer terror.
As regards shock value - I ll cite Jaws, TCM, or even Evil Dead. Watch Evil Dead 15-20 times and you won't feel the same effect on your 15th viewing. Yes they have aged (I won't use the word "dated" because it is kind of looking down to such a fantastic classic), but they have aged gracefully. Look at Alien - made in 1979! How it has aged! 31 years and it still grabs you by your guts and delivers some deep sucker punches.
Audiences have become somewhat desensitized and practical now than they were back in the 70s. Too bad, because that's the main reason they have stopped appreciating the classics. The fact that the core audience, the ones the movie studios aim at, are the teens, which doesn't help this cause at all.
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"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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