The most terrifying films we've ever experienced

Quote: FrankScoblete

I loved "Jaws," and "Poltergeist" and a host of others. Those I can watch over again. Not "Exorcist."

At least you didn't suffer the fate of one of the guys in my college dormitory. The roommate of the guy we pulled the prank on knew he had got pretty spooked from the seeing "The Exorcist", and he asked a couple of other guys (Including me) to assist him in scaring him.

When he was asleep later that night, one guy got under his bed, while my job was to hold the door closed from the outside so he couldn't escape, His roommate sat at their study desk with just the small study desk light on and staring straight ahead and started moaning. Then the guy under the bed started levitating the end of his bed and was causing the end legs to bang on the floor.. We had also put a heavy layer of tape over the main light switch so he wouldn't be able to find it or turn it on.

Based on his reaction, I'd say it worked pretty well. In fact we stopped sooner than we planned -- I think just 'cause we felt guilty freaking him out so bad.

Exorcist has a subliminal message of a skull and if you saw it consciously, you were supposed to not be as scared as if you didn't.

The producers did get sued. A patron fainted and broke his jaw on the seat in front of him and said it was the subliminal imagery that made him faint.

Quote: Pacomartin

The producers did get sued. A patron fainted and broke his jaw on the seat in front of him and said it was the subliminal imagery that made him faint.

Scared me quite a bit seeing that thing as it is on the page as I scrolled down quickly!

I voted for 28 Days Later, which I highly recommend. Contagion seems out of place on that list, "scary" is not an adjective I would use to describe that movie.

Quote: Pacomartin

In the broadest sense it is much more frightening movie if you can identify with the character. It was impossible to go into the ocean after seeing jaws without thinking about the opening sequence.

Even as a youngster watching Friday the Thirteenth, I've never really gotten scared of movies. There were only two exceptions, and they were both pretty intense.

One was from an old flick. Was it "Tales From the Crypt" or "Creepshow", the one that would run a few short movies back to back? Well, the one where a bunch of kids skipped out and went swimming at a pond, and it had one of those floating docks, and there was some blob thing in the water that ended up eating them all? I tell ya, I'm at and in ponds all the time. Snakes, leeches, snapping turtles, that don't phase me a bit. But even at 32, if I'm at a pond with one of those floating docks... let's just say I don't go to ponds with floating docks =)

The other, sad as it sounds, was Blair Witch. I and my friends went to the midnight showing, got all baked in the car before hand. I camp a lot, walk in the woods at night a lot, and some of the stuff, like you said, I could very much relate to. But even that was a "fun creepy", if you know what I mean. I was having a good time for 99.9% of it, until it ended in that basement, when he turned and saw that person in the corner... Christ, I'm getting chills just typing it... and then the camera went black? Well, guess what? I took my friends home that night, drove straight to Allegany State Park where my family was camping, and got to my cabin at about 3a. Freaked out doesn't begin to tell the tale. I didn't fall asleep until well after the sun had risen.

I suppose they do this stuff all the time now, but in the college union theater, I swear the whole audience reacted.

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

Quote: rxwine

I suppose they do this stuff all the time now, but in the college union theater, I swear the whole audience reacted.

The original movie that uses a shock ending is always fondly remembered. These plot device are very easy to copy, but instead of scaring you, all it does is remind you of the first time you saw it.

Five good ones before Carrie.

Psycho (1960)

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Diabolique (1964)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The Wicker Man (1973)

Quote: Pacomartin

Interesting fact is that there are only 22 films in history that are believed to have sold over 80 million tickets at the box office (domestically). Only one of them has an R rating. The other 21 are either family films or historical dramas. I was too young to see it when it first came out, but I've read that people were horrified, but they couldn't stop talking about it.

202,044,600 Gone with the Wind (historical drama)
178,119,600 Star Wars
142,415,400 The Sound of Music (historical drama)
141,854,300 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
135,474,500 Titanic (historical drama)
131,000,000 The Ten Commandments (historical drama)
128,078,800 Jaws
124,135,500 Doctor Zhivago (historical drama)
110,599,200 The Exorcist
109,000,000 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
99,917,300 101 Dalmatians
98,180,600 The Empire Strikes Back
98,000,000 Ben-Hur (historical drama)
97,255,300 Avatar
94,059,400 Return of the Jedi
90,312,100 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
89,146,400 The Lion King
89,142,900 The Sting
88,526,800 Raiders of the Lost Ark
87,075,400 Jurassic Park
85,576,700 The Graduate
83,043,500 Fantasia

108,115,100 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 has been added to that list since I posted that statement years ago.

Just listing R rated films, of course The Exorcist comes first, but the recent movie, "It" has joined the top 30.

1. 103,208,600 The Exorcist 1973
2. 78,646,400 The Godfather 1972
3. 67,150,000 Beverly Hills Cop 1984
4. 63,227,500 Blazing Saddles 1974
5. 59,625,500 The Passion of the Christ 2004
6. 55,069,400 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975
7. 53,685,400 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975
8. 53,684,200 M.A.S.H. 1970
9. 51,321,000 National Lampoon's Animal House 1978
10. 48,656,400 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
11. 46,695,900 The Matrix Reloaded 2003
12. 45,747,100 Saving Private Ryan 1998
13. 43,656,900 An Officer and a Gentleman 1982
14. 43,291,700 Rain Man 1988
15. 43,080,000 American Sniper 2014
16. 42,370,500 Rambo: First Blood Part II 1985
17. 42,293,000 Deadpool 2016
18. 42,176,400 Pretty Woman 1990
19. 40,604,700 Saturday Night Fever 1977
20. 39,680,700 Fatal Attraction 1987
21. 39,300,500 Beverly Hills Cop II 1987
22. 38,248,400 The Firm 1993
23. 37,672,700 Air Force One 1997
24. 37,658,000 Stir Crazy 1980
25. 37,558,700 A Star Is Born (1976) 1976
26. 37,478,600 There's Something About Mary 1998
27. 37,165,900 The Hangover 2009
28. 37,091,700 Lethal Weapon 2 1989
29. 36,508,600 It 2017