I recorded a programme on UK TV this weekend about the technicalities of scares in movies. In the first five minutes I watched John Carpenter and John Landis talking about the things they believe scare people in movies.
Since it’s Halloween I thought it a good idea to ask you what you find scary in the movies? I don’t mean the film itself, but what actual techniques and physical things scare you? Here’s a few from my list that I thought of…
Creepy kids
Not seeing what should be seen – hidden faces, action off camera
Seeing something the character can’t
…and similar to that one, seeing something before it happens
Thick forests at night
Noises off camera
There’s a few, are some of these the ones that scare you the most? Is there anything else? What are the vehicles and devices that scare you?
Update:
Here’s an excellent quote from John Landis during the Channel 4 show exploring the scariness of movies (the show was pretty poor)…
What really scares me? People. People really scare me because people kill people. I don’t know one person killed by a vampire or a werewolf or Godzilla. I really don’t. People scare the shit out of me.
As a child, around 1985 The Fog creep’d me out.
But in recent time, i think the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was pretty scary. That scene where he haunts them to a small house, the guy hides in a closset and the girl hides between walls.
My god, awsome scene, he finds them and the big fella put his foot on the girl, holds her down like an animal while he prepares to chop up the poor boy (bottoms up)..
Very nice indeed.
The fear of dolls, mannequins, and ventriliquest’s dummies is called “automatonophobia”. (Ever see Dead Of Night?)
When I was a kid I got frightened by someone on the other side of a darkened window. To this day movies with scenes of faces behind glass (eg. Carnival Of Souls, The Innocents) usually freak me out pretty soundly.
I’ve noticed that very tight camera framing which blocks out the character’s peripheral vision always gets the nerves jangling. You know that there’s something just offscreen about to pounce.
“White Chicks”.
Not women. Not Men. I don’t know. Freaky. Kinda in Ragner country. Scary.
bathroom scenes
chainsaws
faces that have no inside, like no eyes and mouth, just darkness
closets
underneath beds
When tension is built slowly over time rather than constantly in your face.
Zombies! They freak me out!
Corn Fields
Rooms where the lights won’t turn on
and pictures that watch you.
tom cruise and katie holmes
lindsay lohan driving
Gigli and Battlefield Earth
Calm people in violent situations… lecter, doe, etc…
And harrassing phone calls from within the home as I’m trying to babysit. Thank gawd for *69!
And harrassing phone calls from within the home as I’m trying to babysit.
Corn fields. And children. Corn fields and children.
creepy kids and dolls(Chucky). Almost nothing else. Not the forest, not the creepy music(except that annoying children’s song), not monsters, not gore. Just a small psychotic kid. Oh, and I am never playing that children’s song to my kids. Ever. It might turn them into creepy things :)