red rum

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I love horror movies.  Not gross slasher flicks, but truly scary, edge of your seat, can't put your toes off the bed at night, things that go bump and make you scream kind of movies.  Usually Ali and I watch scary movies together.  We snuggle on the couch, turn off all the lights, burn some candles and proceed towards terror.  Tonight, Ali's gone so I've convinced Bob to watch some with me.  I can't wait to be scared.

The first time I ever remember being really, really scared by a story was January of 1991.  I was sleeping on a friend's floor in Portland, Oregon.  I was there all by myself, in a strange place, reading The Shining by Stephen King.  There is a scene in the book, which both movies omit, when the topiary comes to life and it's absolutely terrifying.  Even Salem's Lot, which is pretty scary, didn't affect me like The Shining.  Needless to say the movie, the original with Jack Nicholson, is one of my favorites when I want to be scared.  Even though I know the story, the unraveling of the Jack's sanity combined with the snow and a mother trying to protect her child gets me every time.

Other movies have scared me.  My sister and I went to see The Blair Witch Project when it first came out.  It was an early show on a weekday and we were practically the only ones in the theatre.  I didn't realize it had scared me until the next time I went camping out in a birch forest.  Fake or not, the scene at the end where they're in an abandoned house, hearing noises and screams and you can't see anything but the wall where the camera was pointed when it dropped ....scary.


We have a pretty good scary movie collection... The Fog, Night of the Living Dead, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Halloween - we've seen 'em all.  This year I decided we need some new screams.  I did a pretty comprehensive search, crossed referenced several internet "top 10 scary movie lists" and found some cheap dvd's on the 'net.  Tonight we have new choices for movies I've never seen.  Here are the contenders for tonight's scare-fest:

The Amityville Horror - a supposedly true story of a house that terrorized a family in Amityville, New York.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - a "thrilling, disturbing classic science fiction/alien film"
The Mist  - according to RottenTomatoes.com  "The Mist divides those who want cheap escapist thrills from those who like their horror with real heart, brains, and courage."
The Ring - which one reviewer describes as a "suspenseful, downbeat exercise in cerebral terror"


Whatever Bob and I don't watch tonight, I'll watch with Ali next weekend. Halloween weekend.  It's kinda fun that last night was a full moon; for some reason that sort of adds to the mood.  The Halloween decorations also help - cobwebs and spiders in the corner and big red glowing eyes in the doorway remind us to be careful... it could be in the house.


Comments

Missy said…
Hope you got the original Invasion. It seems kinda hokey but when it's over you will not look at your family and friends the same for a few days. :) (course, that's usual for you)
October 23, 2010 at 4:19 PM
AshM. said…
"The Mist" was mostly aggravating at the end when I saw it. "A Haunting in Connecticut" is one movie that truly terrifies me. The old "Amityville Horror" doesn't get too much to me and the new "Amityville Horror" only scares me at a couple parts but I still watch it for a thrill. I love psychological thrillers.
November 10, 2010 at 8:24 PM
Melanie said…
I'll have to watch A Haunting in Ct, Ashley. I haven't seen the new Amityville - but maybe I'll have to break down and watch it.
December 4, 2010 at 3:47 PM
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