What frightens you in Horror films?

[Aggressor and Usurper]

Do you remember the first Alien film?

Do you remember why it was so scary? (it was voted the 2nd scariest of all time)

Because you barely ever saw the Alien. The entire film was buildup, anticipation, uncertainty. You didn't know what it could do, why it was doing it, or what would kill it. And it was perfect.

Aliens managed to do the impossible by combining this with balls to the wall action and still being amazingly scary, and the next two Alien films pissed over this entirely and took out all the fear and suspense.

Incidentally, I am one of those people who believes the current deluge of horror films with jump cuts and metal music are a plague on a once great genre.

OH GOD, THE FACEHUGGERS. D<
You lied, I had nightmares about them last night.
So.
Many.
Nightmares.
For those who don't understand myself an' the Furb are mates and stuff RL and I was at his for the weekend, and I was press-ganged into watching Aliens, despite my irrational fear of facehuggers. ...Yeah. Probably the nastiest thing inventable.
Anyway, I'm no horror buff, but Aliens certainly scared me, and compared to the few modern horror films I've seen, Aliens is a glorious beacon of scary, gooey, facehuggery light in a swamp of mediocrity.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

WHen the horror is built up throughout the movie i.e slow moving you see shadows of evil but have no idea what it's doing what is the purpose behind the action. Lots of suspense of events and actions that keep me guessing throughout the whole film.

 

[Disaster Button]

Do you remember the first Alien film?

Do you remember why it was so scary? (it was voted the 2nd scariest of all time)

Because you barely ever saw the Alien. The entire film was buildup, anticipation, uncertainty. You didn't know what it could do, why it was doing it, or what would kill it. And it was perfect.

Aliens managed to do the impossible by combining this with balls to the wall action and still being amazingly scary, and the next two Alien films pissed over this entirely and took out all the fear and suspense.

Incidentally, I am one of those people who believes the current deluge of horror films with jump cuts and metal music are a plague on a once great genre.

I could not agree more with this post, I tried and it is impossible.

Psychological horror, suspense and atmosphere, optionally coupled with haunting music, is what makes a movie truly scary for me as it allows my mind to fill in any blanks which usually makes things a lot scarier.

All this modern stuff about jumps and gore is no match for the good old days. [/oldmanvoice]

 

[Muffinthraka]

I have never been a horror fan; what I dislike about horror the most is the gore. What scares me are the sudden appearences (usually timed with a musical spike). I purchased FEAR for pc. Played it for long enough to know it works on my pc (it's at the limit of my laptops current specs) and wimped out. A mostly invisible thing ran up to me and I got a split second image of something, freaked me out. Then I had to go into a room, there's a dead body tied to a chair, I know it's going to move, I'm certain of it... aaaaaaarrrrrrrggghhhh!!!!! it moved!!! Quit game hide under the covers.
But more recently I've started to watch horror I wouldn't watch before, I can't stand gore, torture porn or anything like that but I'm happy to watch physchological horror: white noise, white noise the light, flatliners (not really horror), Marble Hornets, Project Zero 1+2 etc.

Edit: Oh yeah also Alien, Aliens, Aliens's, and Aliens'ses, and Event Horizon.

 

[Marine Mike]

Having been thoroughly desensitized to blood, gore, and violence in general I don't get scared watching movies anymore... Last time that actually happened was probably watching Hurt Locker, some of the IED scenes immediately triggered that buzz in your brain and shot of adrenaline but thats just because I've been through very similar situations.

 

[RagnorakTres]

You know those everyday situations the characters find themselves in that just seem that tiniest bit...off somehow? Like everything is perfect, exactly as it should be...but there's a detail somewhere that's off enough to alert our subconscious that manifests itself as a subtle wrongness in our conscious mind.

Yeah. That kind of situational horror is more what scares me than, say monsters or a serial killer. The former are completely out of my control and the latter are at least opposable.

 

[InvisibleSeal]

Since I doubt being shocked by those sudden-things-that-jump-out counts as being actually scared, I can safely say that I don't think any films made recently have scared me. Those gory films seem kinda pointless to me, and a bit disgusting - no where near scary though.

I suppose when I was younger zombie films like 28 days later freaked me out, but they don't anymore.
I suppose the scariest films for me are the ones with atmosphere. I don't go to the cinema in order to get nightmares, so even if they frighten me during the film, I generally have no lasting fear - just a general sense that the film was awesome.

I mean seriously I love the Shining, and I thought it was scary the first time I saw it, but the scaredy feeling didn't remain: and I personally feel that is the mark of a great horror film (one that scares you psychologically without cheap thrills, and leaves a mark without making you feel awful).

 

[Professor M]

Bad acting. Seriously. That shit's fucked up.


OT: I think it's a lot better when the horror is more psychological. It's the main reason why I preferred Paranormal Activity to Drag Me To Hell

Spoiler: Spoilers for both films ...

In PA, the demon stalks the girl for years and years, since she was a little girl, spending night times moving things around the house, and just standing in her room and watching her sleep. It's intentions are never really made clear.

Whereas in DMTH, the demon practically jumps out from behind a curtain and says "I'm gonna shit you up for three days, and then you're goin to hell *****!"

 

[Proteus214]

Aliens managed to do the impossible by combining this with balls to the wall action and still being amazingly scary, and the next two Alien films pissed over this entirely and took out all the fear and suspense.

Anyway, I'm no horror buff, but Aliens certainly scared me, and compared to the few modern horror films I've seen, Aliens is a glorious beacon of scary, gooey, facehuggery light in a swamp of mediocrity.

I <3 yous guyz.

OT: This is one of the reasons that Alien is one of my favorite films of all time. When you toss a rat in a maze with a hungry cat, you know what's going to happen, it's just a question of when and where. Even before that you need to butter up the audience a bit and let them become friends with the rat.

Dumb metaphors aside, take a character or character(s), make the audience care about them, then place them in a threatening situation. The only modern film that did that for me was Paranormal Activity. I couldn't sleep for two nights after watching that.

 

[Shapoolaman]

Anything psychological, or horror without form. The second the 'monster' becomes real/tangible, it just ceases to scare me. I get more freaked out by the ghostly/supernatural aspects.

Im the complete opposite. If the monster could/does exist, it freaks me out. Not in an "oh my god a psycho is gonna kill that poor teenage girl" but in a "fucking hell! These psychos really exist out there in the world. And here we are glorifying them in Hollywood. Humanity is so messed up!"

Needless to say, I don't support movies like "Saw" 1 through 1,000 or "Scream". A good horror film you ask? John Carpenters "The Thing" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula" by Coppola. Those are great horror movies.

 

[SilverUchiha]

What scares me most about horror movies is that most of the newer ones suck... actually... a lot of horror movies suck. Not trying to diss the genre or anything, but if I come out of a horror movie and I pissed my pants from laughing too hard at the movie rather than out of pure panic and fear... it sorta shows those movies aren't doing what they're supposed to.

 

[Attelia]

Jason movies aren't really scary IMO.
Torture of humans really gets me. Not Hannibal, no. I love Hannibal Lector!
More like Saw. Saw V, for example, has that one scene about the arms, remember?
I suppose I'm just a compassionate human being who can feel sympathy for the personality-lacking characters that Hollywood chugs out with every horror movie.
Except Silence of the Lambs.
Cannibalism is a small sacrifice for someone as cool as Lector!

 

[Koganesaga]

Anything I can't actually see coming which is disgustingly uncommon in today's horror films, though I like getting scared when they finally manage it. Also when the fuck is 28 years later coming out? I wanna see that shit already, or 28 hours later I don't care just show me it I need zombies!

 

[ejb626]

I really don't like horror films, I think that prolonged torture scenes take the cake for me.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

When shit jumps out,
Blood guts and gore doesnt bother me

 

[That's Funny]

Nothing really scare me in horror movies, unless the dialogue and script are piss poor, then I run out screaming.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Some reason things i can't see are more scary. I think its because i let my imagination make the thign worse that what it is. For example, i was watchign Drag me to hell and the goat demon thign was much more scary when you could only see its shadow.

Other films that are scary because you cant see them is The blair witch project (I was very young when first seen it, scared life outta me.. now, now it sucks ARSE). Oh, and paranormal activity, great film!

 

[MEEBO17]

yeah the actual killers are what really get me...idk why

 

[Flamingpenguin]

The movie 'It' freaked me out, I dunno why. Maybe because 'it' was something the kids in the movie couldn't escape, something they had to face.

And what people say about anticipation is true. When you find out what 'it' really is in its tangible form it just suddenly gets so not scary it's laughable.

[God, the end of that movie sucked!]