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Isn't it weird that the all-time most popular horror movies...aren't actually scary?

Cybersai

Banned
Jan 8, 2018
11,631
Over the last week I decided to binge watch the most popular and iconic horror movies that everyone knows:

Halloween
Nightmare on Elm Street
Poltergeist
Evil Dead 1 and 2
Carrie
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Exorcist
Scream 1 and 2
All the Romero, Day of the Living Dead Movies/Dawn of the Living Dead, etc

The thing is...none of them were actually scary. Sure, they all had their moments of unsettling scenes or disturbing moments you were supposed to find off-putting, but none of it really phased me.

I was especially disappointed with "The Exorcist." I had never seen that movie will recently, and for years I heard it was, "The scariest horror movie ever made." I watch it and outside of maybe that spider-walk scene, it was just a girl possessed by a demon strapped down to her bed for the entire movie. The whole movie was slow as well, and the demon possessed girl came across as more comedic than scary, especially one of her lines to the main guy, "You're a mother-fucking cock-sucker" which actually made me burst out laughing with the "demon voice" they used and given this movie is from 1973. I mean this was the movie that I read had audiences fainting in the movie theaters in the 70's...

I mean I'm well aware many of these movies were, "products of their time" since all of them are from the 70's and 80's, and I know back then there was nothing like them so they felt shocking to audiences, but they feel so tame nowadays. To me one of the scariest movies was, "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis because I saw the movie for the first time when I was 12 and it scared the shit out of me, and I still don't like the ghosts in the movie to this day. But everything else, eh?
 
Prophet Steve

Prophet Steve

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,177
Truly scary movies, unsurprisingly, scare people off. The audience for them is just smaller. But I think the "product of their time" also plays a big part, and I do think different types of horror have very different types of effects on people. For me for example The Sixth Sense was never even remotely scary.
 
Lord Fagan

Lord Fagan

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,367
Take that whole, "because I was 12 and it scared the shit out of me," logic and apply it to, oh, every movie on that list and perhaps you'll come to an interesting conclusion, OP.
 
OP
OP

Cybersai

Banned
Jan 8, 2018
11,631
Lord Fagan said:
Take that whole, "because I was 12 and it scared the shit out of me," logic and apply it to, oh, every movie on that list and perhaps you'll come to an interesting conclusion, OP.
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Difference is I still find, "The Sixth Sense" scary today, despite that I know the plot and where the story goes, and am an adult. The ghosts in the movie were scary as hell.
 
Duxxy3

Duxxy3

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,783
USA
What's scary for some people isn't scary for everybody. My brother can't even play The Last of Us because it's too scary for him. He's 40.
 
Praxis

Praxis

Sausage Tycoon
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,249
UK
Cybersai said:
Difference is I still find, "The Sixth Sense" scary today, despite that I know the plot and where the story goes, and am an adult. The ghosts in the movie were scary as hell.
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That's because it left a mark on you when you watched it first.

I get the same with ET, the river scene freaked me out when I was a kid and even now when I watch it I can feel a sort of after taste of my original fear.
 
EJS

EJS

The Fallen
The Fallen
Oct 31, 2017
9,196
All of those movies were considered scary at the time. We've become desensitized and the market has become saturated. All of these movies were especially fresh, at the time. Besides, Halloween stands up incredibly well for being 40 years old.
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
Horror isn't about being scared, funnily enough.

Hack directors don't seem to understand that. They believe that throwing in some jump scares makes the movie, when really it's the atmosphere that really sells the movie.
 
hjort

hjort

Member
Nov 9, 2017
4,096
axOgIXP.gif


As you yourself say, the movies were products of their time, and nobody had seen anything like them back then. For a young person who's not familiar with horror they'll probably still be able to provide some good scares. John Carpenter's The Thing was and still is one of the all time greats, IMO. But also, horror is like sex and comedy or whatever; not everything appeals to everyone equally.
 
Tfritz

Tfritz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,302
I think it's interesting that a lot of recent modern movies that get hailed as being The Scariest Movie Ever basically revolve around family strife and children actually dying. I wonder if it's a reflection of movie reviewers being adults with children, or if it's just these movies are different enough from horror movies of old where it was primarily teens in their thirties getting cut up.
 
OP
OP

Cybersai

Banned
Jan 8, 2018
11,631
Forgot about "The Thing," I absolutely LOVE the movie but don't really find it scary either, it feels more like Alien to be honest.
 
Praxis

Praxis

Sausage Tycoon
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,249
UK
Namorange said:
All of those movies were considered scary at the time. We've become desensitized and the market has become saturated. All of these movies were especially fresh, at the time. Besides, Halloween stands up incredibly well for being 40 years old.
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As does half that list, Texas Chainsaw and The Exorcist especially.
 
Aiustis

Aiustis

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,322
Cybertronic Purgatory
Saw the Exorcist when I was 8...it was booring
lol Sixth Sense was not scary to me as a kid.
Blair Witch was scary; I lived out in the middle of nowhere when that came out

I think all the horror movies that terrified me were older movies e.g.
Carnival of Souls
Nosferatu

Edit:
The Page Master and Fern Gully scared me
 
TheGreatDirector

TheGreatDirector

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,041
Times change. People freaked out at the Phantom of the Opera reveal scene and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde transformation way back in the black and white movie era. What was scary in peoples minds back then isn't always scary to our minds today. Who's to say the classic jump scares of horror movies now would really scare anyone back then? It's all relative.
 
Quzar

Quzar

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
1,166
Some of the horror movies you listed are renowned for their themes or creating of genres. Halloween is about death and the idea that you have no idea what happens in your neighbors homes. Exorcist is the stepping stone to Heriditary. Night of the living dead was one of the most progressive movies of its time and still has a pretty shocking ending. Most of the other stuff is comedy or schlock.
 
Siggy-P

Siggy-P

Avenger
Mar 18, 2018
11,865
They're all time popular because they have more interesting aspects to them in terms of story, monster design, character arcs and so forth.

Scariness, while important, only carries so far, especially as something becomes less scary as time goes on.

That's why the Xenomorph is so popular. Because once the fear wears off it's still an incredibly interesting and engaging creature to have in a film.
 
Rangerx

Rangerx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,506
Dangleberry
Cybersai said:
Difference is I still find, "The Sixth Sense" scary today, despite that I know the plot and where the story goes, and am an adult. The ghosts in the movie were scary as hell.
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That proves his point. I saw The Sixth Sense for the first time a year ago and didn't find it scary at all. I didn't realize people viewed it as a horror. Texas chainsaw and A nightmare on Elm Street can still make me feel pretty unsettled. Go watch the Borderlands, on your own. That film is pretty scary.
 

Deleted member 23212

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
11,225
To be honest, I don't really find any horror movies scary anymore. I mainly watch them now for the atmosphere.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Siggy-P said:
They're all time popular because they have more interesting aspects to them in terms of story, monster design, character arcs and so forth.

Scariness, while important, only carries so far, especially as something becomes less scary as time goes on.

That's why the Xenomorph is so popular. Because once the fear wears off it's still an incredibly interesting and engaging creature to have in a film.
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Yep
 
CoyoteSpitfire

CoyoteSpitfire

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,202
Scariness is subjective, a product of when it was made, and tends to fade over time. The most surprising part about this thread is that someone found the Sixth Sense scary. But, I'm not really one to talk. The American remakes of Pulse and The Grudge left marks on me for years. To each their own. As an avid horror fan, I don't watch them to get scared because that basically never happens. It's all about atmosphere and subject matter for me.
 
Praxis

Praxis

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Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,249
UK
Watch the film Possession (1981) op, may not scare you, but you'll definitely feel something. One of the most overlooked horrors out there.
 
Violence Jack

Violence Jack

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Oct 25, 2017
41,871
In my experience, horror movies really stop being scary once you've hit age 18, and the good ones you start finding disturbing nuances to them as you get older.
 
Jombie

Jombie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,392
Tell that to those who saw them in theaters when they first came out. Of course it's not scary to you; horror is culturally relative and speaks to the audience from the era in which it's made. I can assure you, films like Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw and The Exorcist scared the shit out of plenty of people. There's a reason people still talk fervently about those films today.
 
nded

nded

Member
Nov 14, 2017
10,588
I dunno, The Thing still creeps me out. Then again, that movie was panned during its time for being too gross.
 
SweetVermouth

SweetVermouth

Banned
Mar 5, 2018
4,272
These movies are way scarier if you watch them alone at night with the TV being the only light source. I'd actually say that the latter is a requirement for horror movies. Then again: How scary they're also depends on how you approach watching such a movie. Trying to feel the athmosphere and forgetting you are watching on a TV and instead are more like an observer within the movie makes them a lot scarier.

Out of the OPs list (Romero ones excluded) I was scared of Evil Dead 1 the most.
 
Zeron

Zeron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
402
Iowa
It's just a movie. I can empathize with the characters fears and struggles but I'm not gonna be personally scared. That's just strange to me.
 
ElephantShell

ElephantShell

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Oct 25, 2017
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Texas Chainsaw and The Exorcist are absolutely scary to this day, to me at least and I've seen a lot.

The rest (excluding Scream maybe) are considered classics and gained their reputation because they were terrifying when they came out but we've all been so desensitized that they don't really do it for us anymore.

I also don't think a horror movie necessarily has to deeply frighten you to be considered a great horror movie. Nightmare on Elm Street is my favourite movie of all time and I don't find it scary, really. A lot of the movies in the OP are actually among my favourites. I enjoy them for other reasons.
 
jelly

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
A lot of the beats have been repeated to death so you're not going in fresh and probably seen it all before.

We watched Friday 13th and were having a great laugh with it, seen it all before but the end got us both good, didn't see it coming at all.

The Evil Dead is kinda hilarious but when he gets chased at the start, that still scares me.

Side thought, is there a bit of a circle jerk going on with so called scary films now, artificial hype because they are really bad but seem to get such good PR.
 
UltimateHigh

UltimateHigh

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,500
I don't actually watch horror films to be "scared", because that shit rarely happens (and I've seen hundreds). Go Figure.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
I watched Alien when I was 10 and it didn't phase me at all, I saw The Ring when I was like 19 and the opening still freaked the fuck out of me. Scariness is partially subjective and partially a product of its time.
 
Rocket Man

Rocket Man

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,509
I watched both the exorcist and sixth sense when I was 9 and the exorcist scared the living fuck out of me...sixth sense not so much.

Now when I watch the exorcist, it's pretty funny, while sixth sense is still not scary at all. I can easily see why these movies were seen as very scary when they first released, there wasn't anything like them back then.
 

Objektivity

Banned
Nov 18, 2017
1,058
Cybersai said:
Over the last week I decided to binge watch the most popular and iconic horror movies that everyone knows:

Halloween
Nightmare on Elm Street
Poltergeist
Evil Dead 1 and 2
Carrie
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Exorcist
Scream 1 and 2
All the Romero, Day of the Living Dead Movies/Dawn of the Living Dead, etc

The thing is...none of them were actually scary. Sure, they all had their moments of unsettling scenes or disturbing moments you were supposed to find off-putting, but none of it really phased me.

I was especially disappointed with "The Exorcist." I had never seen that movie will recently, and for years I heard it was, "The scariest horror movie ever made." I watch it and outside of maybe that spider-walk scene, it was just a girl possessed by a demon strapped down to her bed for the entire movie. The whole movie was slow as well, and the demon possessed girl came across as more comedic than scary, especially one of her lines to the main guy, "You're a mother-fucking cock-sucker" which actually made me burst out laughing with the "demon voice" they used and given this movie is from 1973. I mean this was the movie that I read had audiences fainting in the movie theaters in the 70's...

I mean I'm well aware many of these movies were, "products of their time" since all of them are from the 70's and 80's, and I know back then there was nothing like them so they felt shocking to audiences, but they feel so tame nowadays. To me one of the scariest movies was, "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis because I saw the movie for the first time when I was 12 and it scared the shit out of me, and I still don't like the ghosts in the movie to this day. But everything else, eh?
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OP and the the thread come across as a stealth brag about how not scared op is. Congratulations! I thought only middle school children bragged about not being scared.
 
kurahador

kurahador

Member
Oct 28, 2017
17,576
Most of them were a product of its time. Most of my family find The Exorcist and Evil Dead 1 scary as fuck when watching it on VHS back in the day.
 
SolidSnakeUS

SolidSnakeUS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,618
For people that love The Witch, I get why. I think it's very well shot, the music is amazing and the suspense can be quite good but it is by no means actually scary. Suspenseful in some parts, yes, but horror, no. I don't think so. I don't know if Horror is the right genre for it, but I can't think of another genre to put it in.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,858
You've likely absorbed most of these movies through osmosis and know enough about them without seeing them. All the major scares or moments will be dulled for you by this point. They were scary when they were new. On top of that, those horror moments have been redone to the point where they became tropes.

As for the slasher ones, slashers became parodies of themselves after a number of sequels, so it kinda retroactively kills the suspense of the old ones when you remember that Freddy has a Powerglove.
 
Kevers

Kevers

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
14,578
Syracuse, NY
You saw these movies completely removed from their time periods and the world in which they were released. The Exorcist might not scare you now but at the time people were leaving the theaters because of how scary it was. People thought Psycho was a terrifying movie also and it's pretty laughable to watch now.
 
TheBeardedOne

TheBeardedOne

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
22,189
Derry
What was scary years ago isn't always scary now. We live in a different time, where we've been inundated with and become used to blood, gore, violence, etc. in TV shows and movies. Horror movies like to use jump scares more than cerebral or disturbing scares, outside of the really good ones.

Like Last House on the Left would've been terribly disturbing in the 70s but is tame by today's standards.

The Exorcist is scary at times, especially if you watch it when you're young enough. Same with the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
 
PancakeBurglar

PancakeBurglar

Member
Feb 16, 2018
1,561
I love horror movies but I'm rarely scared anymore, still those movies are great and fun to watch. When it comes to horror I value finding content I enjoy over something that is just scary to scare me, if something has truely terrified me that's just an added bonus.
 
Rassilon

Rassilon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,593
UK
About 100 years ago a train pulling into a station was the scariest thing any audience had seen.

Times change.
 
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