The Shining Rated Scariest Movie Ever

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HollyGolightly

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Sep 6, 2013
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Heart of the South
Exorcist for sure - a friend of mine and I stayed up on a school night and snuck downstairs to watch this - we were about 10, and she had to see a therapist before she could sleep alone again. My mom didn't give in to the fear though - she just told me to look at the inside of my eyelids and I'd eventually fall asleep. Oh how I long for the parenting style of the 70s.
 

HollyGolightly

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Sep 6, 2013
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Heart of the South
Yes, 10 - it sort of set the bar for what's really scary to me for sure! Of course, it was on late night network TV in 1979 (or maybe 80) - so it was edited big time. There were lots of missing parts, but still scary as the underworld. I remember the scene where she crawls down the stairs in a backbend freaked me way out.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
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I wonder if the heart-rate monitor measured when people laughed? He has his father's eyes. Or in The Shining (my intro to Stephen King) when the camera pans down to what Jack has been typing...does your heart beat faster when you laugh? There's that scene (a pic of Here's, Johnny!...or whatever it was Jack says when he's at the door) and my friend and I laughed, as did most if not all of the audience. So maybe they did take into account when people laughed?
 

Out of Order

Sign of the Times
Feb 9, 2011
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New Hampster
I didn't know that. Wasn't it the Exorcist that had that low hum the entire time it played on tv....even during the commercials?

I wasn't aware of the hum, probably couldn't hear it with all the screaming I was doing........

I believe that The Exorcist was one of the first to use subliminal images in film......the demon's face!
 

The Nameless

M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
Jul 10, 2011
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The Darkside of the Moon (England really)
The only horror film I remember being scared of is Poltergeist, and that was probably because I was a kid when I watched it. The scaryness of the exorcist is/was way too over hyped. When I first saw the 'spider walk' down the stairs, I nearly p*ssed myself laughing. When I freeze framed the demon face I was like "it's just a man with white face paint". The creepiest part of the exorcist for me is seeing Damien's Mum sitting up in the middle of her bed, don't know why, just creepy that bit.

The most effective horror films use music and ambient noise best, and I think The Entity probably gets my vote because of this. That is also probably why the shining is at the top - so much creepy ambient noise in that too.
 

ZombieDrama

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Sep 21, 2013
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Indianapolis
That's an interesting study. I have to say between those two though The Exorcist wins for me. Still have a hard time watching it alone.
There was an immense amount of people who found their way (or way back to) church after seeing that movie. It's 'loosely' based on an alleged true story, which for me anyway adds to the spookiness of it. Problem with the spider walk for me (which was played by a contortionist) is that I had no idea it was coming because as it was mentioned it's not in the original cut, I was sitting on the floor right in front of the TV and pretty much flew across the floor. >_>
FlakeNoir, I love The original Omen. =D Burnt Offerings still gives me the chills too. When I was a kid (like around 8 or so) I saw It's Alive with my mom and her friend. I left in the middle and waited in the lobby until it was over. =P I slept on my top bunk for a year after that because I was convinced that little baby was gonna have me for dinner lol Even though now I think it's the dorkiest movie ever. =P