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I get freaked out when there are humanoid things moving faster or more chaotically than humanly possible. Like, there is no hope of escape if you can't outrun/hide the bastard. I read this book once that was meant to be an honest discussion of aliens existing among us, and the guy went and sat in a cave, in the dark, all night (NO THANKS), and tried to commune with the aliens. He said he finally saw one, and it moved incredibly fast - not in a cute way, but would zip up next to/stare at him, and it was small...and that night I dreamed that one was staring at me while I slept. NO THANKS again. I picked the Grudge genre just because all of the monsters move in that wierd way.
I have the exact same phobia. Freaky moving patterns and freaky swiftness. That and freaky sounds I guess...Your dream sounds terrifying to me.
the poll only lets me pick one, so i can't decide. :(
I know, dammit. I tried to go back and edit the poll, but it doesn't seem to let me edit it that way. I KNOW there is a version where it lets you pick many options. Pick your worst and then tell me what others in the comments?
I hate horror flicks b/c I'm both scared and startled by everything, so I just picked the concept that was scariest to me (mass murderers), even tho I get pretty freaked out by all the categories you listed, except for the crazy animals. And maybe ppl going mad -- depends how it's presented.
Sorry, I'm a baby and thus no help.
Sorry, I'm a baby and thus no help.
Nothing to apologize for, I respect people who openly admit what triggers them, even if it's just a little!
I clicked "Freaky (Asian) females" because the poll only allows me to choose one, and people moving in wrong ways freaks me more than these others. On the other hand, I haven't watched any of the example movies; going by what horror movies I've most enjoyed watching, I'd rate "Ghosts and haunted houses" highest.
I'm angry because I can't edit the poll (at least anyway I know of), so that you can pick more than one option. I know there is such an option, but it doesn't seem to be possible to edit it once you've posted the poll. Freaky moving patterns and hauntings/ghosts would be my top picks as well!
I was only allowed to pick one, so I will mention my choices:
Zombie movies - I love to watch them, but tend to act a little spooked by little noises after dark after watching them. Not always - - the House of the Dead movie on SciFi, for example, was just too awful to spook me.
Evil, undead children. It took me a year to finish the novel 'Pet Cemetary' because I could see what was coming and was too chicken to continue. :p
Films like "The Grudge" first becasue of the freaky, unnatural way the ghosts moved, but because of the unrelenting nature of the dead - - everyone has to die, no matter how peripheral their connection to the house.
Finally, while I'm not usually strongly affected by characters going mad, I will say that the first truly horrific moment for me when watching the first 'Saw' movie was when Cary Elwes' character lost it and began cutting of his foot; it wasn't the act itself, which was off camera, but his pain and horror and determination was a very powerful mix of emotion I couldn't help but respond to.
Zombie movies - I love to watch them, but tend to act a little spooked by little noises after dark after watching them. Not always - - the House of the Dead movie on SciFi, for example, was just too awful to spook me.
Evil, undead children. It took me a year to finish the novel 'Pet Cemetary' because I could see what was coming and was too chicken to continue. :p
Films like "The Grudge" first becasue of the freaky, unnatural way the ghosts moved, but because of the unrelenting nature of the dead - - everyone has to die, no matter how peripheral their connection to the house.
Finally, while I'm not usually strongly affected by characters going mad, I will say that the first truly horrific moment for me when watching the first 'Saw' movie was when Cary Elwes' character lost it and began cutting of his foot; it wasn't the act itself, which was off camera, but his pain and horror and determination was a very powerful mix of emotion I couldn't help but respond to.
Great answers! I get a bit disturbed by horror children too, I admit, not as much as freaky moving patterns and the unrelenting issue you mentioned though. For some reason I don't get that scared by murderers and don't enjoy watching them, but I do love myself some zombies!
Hi, why is there no ALL OF THE ABOVE option??
I am so, so easily scared. REally, it's pathetic. But at the same time I really LOVE horror films (not to include slasher flicks or torture porn). I have a really wild imagination and have a tendency to not be able to sleep for a long time after watching some horror flicks (i still can't watch The Exorcist without going sleepless).
The things that scare me most are hauntings or people who are possessed--including toys, mostly because ghosts are just so darned hard to get rid of and they defy logic. But those also end up being my favorites, like The Shining or Poltergeist.
I also think that mass murder movies that are based on true stories--especially ones where the victims are chosen arbitrarily, or basically tortured (i.e. hung up on meat hooks)--super scary.
I think my favorites are scary movies that end happily though, like Amityville Horror and Poltergeist, because they make me hopeful that I could survive something terrible like that. ha ha
I am so, so easily scared. REally, it's pathetic. But at the same time I really LOVE horror films (not to include slasher flicks or torture porn). I have a really wild imagination and have a tendency to not be able to sleep for a long time after watching some horror flicks (i still can't watch The Exorcist without going sleepless).
The things that scare me most are hauntings or people who are possessed--including toys, mostly because ghosts are just so darned hard to get rid of and they defy logic. But those also end up being my favorites, like The Shining or Poltergeist.
I also think that mass murder movies that are based on true stories--especially ones where the victims are chosen arbitrarily, or basically tortured (i.e. hung up on meat hooks)--super scary.
I think my favorites are scary movies that end happily though, like Amityville Horror and Poltergeist, because they make me hopeful that I could survive something terrible like that. ha ha
oh and i LOOOOVE zombies, but they always scare me too.
my thing is based on truth. if there is a possibility of it happening, or (worse) if it has happened.
I'm not scared of fantasy stuff. I have never understood the fear of children in movies.
but things like Red Dragon, or about serial killers like Ed Gein, or Ted Bundy? eeeeeeee!
I'm not scared of fantasy stuff. I have never understood the fear of children in movies.
but things like Red Dragon, or about serial killers like Ed Gein, or Ted Bundy? eeeeeeee!
I love to hear what triggers people! For some reason my triggers seem a bit the opposite of yours, which fascinates me.
they way i think about ghosts is like casper
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flightviolation.livejournal.com
- 2009-04-03 21:14 (UTC) - Expandit can be any of the above really... depending on how it's staged. the anticipation, intense music, and sudden-expected-movement.
So, every genre could scare you if it's done in a good way?
I didn't fill out the poll because I couldn't decide. I don't watch horror movies too often, even though it's a genre that I like (zombie movies and monster movies are a definite favorite).
One of the things that ALWAYS gets me is when something innocuous jumps out (for example, a lot of horror movies use that old standard of having the characters frightened by a cat that leaps out from somewhere unexpected) -- even when I've seen a movie more than once and know that moment is coming, it still makes me jump in my seat!
One of the things that ALWAYS gets me is when something innocuous jumps out (for example, a lot of horror movies use that old standard of having the characters frightened by a cat that leaps out from somewhere unexpected) -- even when I've seen a movie more than once and know that moment is coming, it still makes me jump in my seat!
oh, the jumpy things get to me too! (in so far that I get surprised and jump), but I don't necessarily get triggered by them after the initial surprise, if there is a creepy visual or a creepy sound accompanying it however, it will stay with me...
(I know, it sucks that I couldn't edit the poll, it was meant to have the ability of multiple choices)
(I know, it sucks that I couldn't edit the poll, it was meant to have the ability of multiple choices)
I'm not gonna tell you what that doll seems capable of biting off. It's like the essence of evil!
can't watch ANY of them because they NEVER leave my head. I'm still traumatized from watching From Beyond the Grave in junior high.
Had to scroll really quickly past the photos :)
Had to scroll really quickly past the photos :)
Aaaw, sorry for putting it out there, honey! Some of us love our chills...
1. Evil kids, toys, clowns
2. Freaky woman and Haunted houses/Ghosts in equal measure
3. Mass murderers etc
I think it is the supernatural bit of it that gets me, like "they can't be killed unless you do this special thing which you might not know how to do anyway". Brrr.
2. Freaky woman and Haunted houses/Ghosts in equal measure
3. Mass murderers etc
I think it is the supernatural bit of it that gets me, like "they can't be killed unless you do this special thing which you might not know how to do anyway". Brrr.
Yes! it's definitely a defy-all-logic thing for me too, and the comfort zone being violated.
I can't watch horror movies. IF I have a thorough understanding of what's going to happen (e.g. somebody telling me exactly what happens, reading the full synopsis on Wikipedia, etc.), and IF I watch it on a small TV instead of a big screen, and IF I am not alone, and IF the person has seen it before and can narrate when Bad Things are going to happen, and IF that person can reassure me that Bad Things are not imminent when the moviemakers do a fake-out with musical cues, etc., and IF we can pause it multiple times to discuss and nibble on something in a different room, then I am somewhat able to watch certain horror movies, once in a blue moon.
I remember when I was 20 and at UGA, and my then-boyfriend convinced me that I had surely outgrown this silliness, and of course I'd be fine going to see Resident Evil 2 in the movie theater.
So I went and couldn't sleep at ALL that night or the next, and I slept badly the next several weeks.
More recently, I was sitting next to the Cornwallian as he watched Some Movie on TV. I happily piddled away on the computer, uninterested. But there was a commotion on the television -- so I looked up and saw a grotesque convenience store murder scene -- and I panicked and ran to the other end of the house and curled up on our bed.
The Cornwallian tried to make some comment about how I was "making a fuss" or something. UM, NO. It's just that I have a few mental blips, and one of them is that large chunks of my brain react to things I see on TV as if they were really in front of me. No matter how frequently I (or others...) tell myself logically that this particular thing isn't happening, it's hard to really FEEL like my eyes are lying.
I remember when I was 20 and at UGA, and my then-boyfriend convinced me that I had surely outgrown this silliness, and of course I'd be fine going to see Resident Evil 2 in the movie theater.
So I went and couldn't sleep at ALL that night or the next, and I slept badly the next several weeks.
More recently, I was sitting next to the Cornwallian as he watched Some Movie on TV. I happily piddled away on the computer, uninterested. But there was a commotion on the television -- so I looked up and saw a grotesque convenience store murder scene -- and I panicked and ran to the other end of the house and curled up on our bed.
The Cornwallian tried to make some comment about how I was "making a fuss" or something. UM, NO. It's just that I have a few mental blips, and one of them is that large chunks of my brain react to things I see on TV as if they were really in front of me. No matter how frequently I (or others...) tell myself logically that this particular thing isn't happening, it's hard to really FEEL like my eyes are lying.
There is no such thing as "Making a fuss" we're all different. I live with a guy who hates horror movies and gets startled easily from the surprise effects and hates that too, I respect that - even though it sucks, because I literally have no one to watch horror flicks with at home!
ugh..it doesn't help that she's kinda hot either...
One of the few things that ever manages to creep me out is scenes of bodily infestation. I don't like the idea of living beings infiltrating my biology for their own nefarious purposes.
For a while there I wondered if you meant bodily possession by evil creatures or disgusting parasites bad for your health, but i guess both things are pretty disconcerting.
Dead Ringers, hands down. I think if I were female, it might be 10 times creepier. I can't tell you so much why I find it creepy (other than just describing it). I guess it fits into your "Mad" category, but mad in general doesn't creep me out. Go figure.
...Made even creepier by the fact that the majority of the events it chronicles actually happened.
I had the bad fortune of growing up with an elder sister who loved horror movies, but the good fortune of having her to tell me about them and intellectualize them before I saw them. Long before "Scary movie" came along, I knew the golden rule that "Nothing's dead until you've shot it through the head" (except for in vampire and werewolf movies, which require silver bullets and stakes through the heart).
The scariest movies for me are the ones with haunted houses because I have had weird things happpen to me in some houses in RL and the idea of a house that actually tells you to "GET OUT" is so totally freaky (and why didn't they just pack up and leave right then and there???)
As a kid, Poltergeist gave me the worst scare because it was shot in my home town. The exterior of the house was a house on a classmate's street and the interior was the inside of my sister's best friend's house, so the environment was overly familiar. Unfortunately I was also permitted to go see the movie by my own-freakin'-self at the age of 10 which probably scarred me for life. I barely slept in my own bedroom again in the house we were living in at the time, because of the tree outside my window.
On a lighter note, some of the local high-school kids managed to steal stuff off the set, so that corpses in coffins were popping up all over the local high school for awhile.
But you know what really scares me? Real-life cruel, sadistic people. Sometimes I just have to take a break from the news and tell my husband that our kids are never walking home alone. EVER.
The scariest movies for me are the ones with haunted houses because I have had weird things happpen to me in some houses in RL and the idea of a house that actually tells you to "GET OUT" is so totally freaky (and why didn't they just pack up and leave right then and there???)
As a kid, Poltergeist gave me the worst scare because it was shot in my home town. The exterior of the house was a house on a classmate's street and the interior was the inside of my sister's best friend's house, so the environment was overly familiar. Unfortunately I was also permitted to go see the movie by my own-freakin'-self at the age of 10 which probably scarred me for life. I barely slept in my own bedroom again in the house we were living in at the time, because of the tree outside my window.
On a lighter note, some of the local high-school kids managed to steal stuff off the set, so that corpses in coffins were popping up all over the local high school for awhile.
But you know what really scares me? Real-life cruel, sadistic people. Sometimes I just have to take a break from the news and tell my husband that our kids are never walking home alone. EVER.
I think that having kids may change most people a little bit, in so far that suddenly you may become extra sensitive to the existence of actual real life creeps and sadists on a whole different level than if you're only worried about yourself and other adults in your life.
Awesome facts about Poltergeist, in spite of your youth trauma with it, I'm a little envious about the movie corpse-props at your high school!
Awesome facts about Poltergeist, in spite of your youth trauma with it, I'm a little envious about the movie corpse-props at your high school!
I went with zombies, but ghosts and evil kids are right up there, too. Although I love pretty much any horror movie...
hah, I know you're a horror lover. Did you ever see the Ruins? I know we talked about the book and I was wondering if the movie was anything worth while.
OMG, that's fantastic! I can't believe haven't heard about it before!!
Yeah I think that somewhere along the line I lost the ability to really be scared by almost anything intentionally set up for that purpose.
Aphex Twin has some pretty shockingly creepy videos, but I really only have love for The Exorcist, The Omen, The Shining, Mr. Sardonicus, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and a few eps of Night Gallery.
Aphex Twin has some pretty shockingly creepy videos, but I really only have love for The Exorcist, The Omen, The Shining, Mr. Sardonicus, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and a few eps of Night Gallery.
Those videos are great! Well..the third was mostly crazy, haha, but the first two ones are LOVE. I just wish the Rubber Johnny alien would crawl around, all fast and insectlike instead of dancing, then he would truly stay in my head in a bad way!
Ringu had me on edge for days afterwards, but
now, the freaky Asian girl with hair in her
face thing is so overdone.
Dead Birds is, for some reason, set in the
Civil War period, so that gave it bonus
points with me.
Dagon is a pretty decent H.P. Lovecraft based
movie.
Dog Soldiers, if you haven't seen it, is a
very fun werewolf movie.
I just watched Cthulhu, and it pretty much
sucked and was a less good remake of Dagon.
ETA: The Changeling is a pretty good, older,
haunted house story.
now, the freaky Asian girl with hair in her
face thing is so overdone.
Dead Birds is, for some reason, set in the
Civil War period, so that gave it bonus
points with me.
Dagon is a pretty decent H.P. Lovecraft based
movie.
Dog Soldiers, if you haven't seen it, is a
very fun werewolf movie.
I just watched Cthulhu, and it pretty much
sucked and was a less good remake of Dagon.
ETA: The Changeling is a pretty good, older,
haunted house story.
Edited 2009-04-04 16:47 (UTC)
And surely you've seen Ravenous, right?
The Resurrected is cheesy 80s, but still
fairly faithful to the H. P. Lovecraft
story on which it's based.
The Resurrected is cheesy 80s, but still
fairly faithful to the H. P. Lovecraft
story on which it's based.
I must be one of "those" guys, can't really think of anything specific in movies which scares me. Several scenes from various David Lynch films & tv shows have creeped me out, but it's not about specific types of scary things, but the way he manipulates dread like a painter manipulates colour.
Sounds to me like you're more unsettled with the well executed bizarre storyline than classical horror then, thanks for humoring me! Maybe a well executed movie about madness from within, with bizarre details would do the trick for you then.
Hm... "I'm not really into horror" :-)
BUT, that's because I think they generally are bad. Some I like, but not because they are scary. And some freak me out, scares me pantless. I'll confess to that. I guess, in a way, it's when kids are threatened; but that's probably just my hormones since I've got kids myself.
To me, it's not so much about things, as about settings. Psychological horror movies where the suspense is as much in your mind as on screen freaks me out the most. I loved the Ring (japanese version) and the Orphanage. Also, the Others with Nicole Kidman is underrated, but maybe it doesn't count as a horror movie.
Zombie movies are fun though :-)
BUT, that's because I think they generally are bad. Some I like, but not because they are scary. And some freak me out, scares me pantless. I'll confess to that. I guess, in a way, it's when kids are threatened; but that's probably just my hormones since I've got kids myself.
To me, it's not so much about things, as about settings. Psychological horror movies where the suspense is as much in your mind as on screen freaks me out the most. I loved the Ring (japanese version) and the Orphanage. Also, the Others with Nicole Kidman is underrated, but maybe it doesn't count as a horror movie.
Zombie movies are fun though :-)
I think "The Others" qualify as a ghostie movie, definitely. Like you, I don't scare from that much, many horror flicks either don't entertain me, or entertain me because of other aspects than the fear factor..but I think most people have something that can trigger them, at least a little, even if it isn't "classical horror", so I'm really really pleased with you guys humoring me in this poll and taking the time to explain where you're all coming from!
Horror movies don't scare me. I can eat raw beef while watching SAW. ;) But I'm immensely freaked and grossed out by realistic [i.e. possible in RL, not just really good CGI] depictions of vulnerable people, especially underage females and queer people, being abused. I walked out after some 45 mins of Towelhead, which is - by my standards - far scarier than the goriest psycho horror flick. :/
Interesting! You're a hardcore realist then. Such movies affect me really hard as well, but I get broody, angry, depressed or anxious rather than scared. I try to only watch the best of the best of those movies, because if I'm gonna be affected to the extent that I do, then it better be worth it.
I must be "one of those guys" as well ... I've never found horror movies horrifying or scary. Suspenseful though, if they actually have a plot along with all the special effects ... ;p Probably due to a combination of never being scared of the dark and not even aware of the existence of the whole monster-under-the-bed concept as a kid paired with a very early interest in the howdunnit of special effects, stunts, animation, etc. They're all just pretend, after all.
Real life things, on the other hand, can do it ... nearly two decades of cataloguing materials for law enforcement classes exposed me to a lot of stuff that wasn't the run of the mill bookstore "crime section" reading material (we were buying the kind of thing where you sometimes had to sign a contract with the publisher guaranteeing that only police trainees and instructors would have access). And I had an obligation to sign out and read some of it, as I did with all our subject areas taught at the college, so that greater comprehension would make me better at cataloguing it. Forensics, crime scenes, autopsies ... no problem. But the psychology and reasoning of some of the nastier things that walk around in human skins ... that's disturbing. The one book that did keep me from going to sleep for several nights was a transcription of a series of interview tapes with a man in prison for the murder of a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter (he'd also raped the toddler) ... his "I wanted to know what it was like so I did it" description of this and other murders of hitchhikers he also claimed to have committed were just ... well, made me want to disassemble myself and scrub every cell individually (and it wasn't even WHAT he did, horrifying though that was ... it was his attitude to it all)
Real life things, on the other hand, can do it ... nearly two decades of cataloguing materials for law enforcement classes exposed me to a lot of stuff that wasn't the run of the mill bookstore "crime section" reading material (we were buying the kind of thing where you sometimes had to sign a contract with the publisher guaranteeing that only police trainees and instructors would have access). And I had an obligation to sign out and read some of it, as I did with all our subject areas taught at the college, so that greater comprehension would make me better at cataloguing it. Forensics, crime scenes, autopsies ... no problem. But the psychology and reasoning of some of the nastier things that walk around in human skins ... that's disturbing. The one book that did keep me from going to sleep for several nights was a transcription of a series of interview tapes with a man in prison for the murder of a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter (he'd also raped the toddler) ... his "I wanted to know what it was like so I did it" description of this and other murders of hitchhikers he also claimed to have committed were just ... well, made me want to disassemble myself and scrub every cell individually (and it wasn't even WHAT he did, horrifying though that was ... it was his attitude to it all)
Edited 2009-04-05 14:38 (UTC)
Another hard core realist! I have to admit though, just from your description, I really sensed that what you had to read in the line of duty would have been far far too much insight into that kind of mind than I would have been comfortable with either. I would probably have nightmares for weeks in your shoes..and look upon my fellow humans differently for a while.
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