My Top 10 personal freaky moments from film
not just a list of "freaky" movies - but scenes that for one reason or another, I either have to look away for just a moment (or check over my shoulder) or moments from film that I have always been just a little haunted by - for better or worse...
1. Stand by Me (86) Rob Reiner
When they finally find the dead kid's body "Ray Brower" in the bushes by the railroad tracks. I'll never forget the eyes of the body, how one of his Chuck's was blown off his foot and the looks on their faces when they are face-to-face with the treasure of their quest.
2. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (85) Tim Burton
Large Marge (Alice Nunn): "On this very night, ten years ago, along this very stretch of road in a dense fog just like this. I saw the worst accident I ever seen. There was this sound, like a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building... And when they pulled the driver's body from the twisted, burning wreck. It looked like this..." How something this genuinely creepy could come from a film like this, I will never know - but it did.
3. 2010: The Year We Make Contact (84) Peter Hyams
When Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider) is aboard the reawakened Discovery and he turns to look over his shoulder and sees Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) for the first time. If you've never seen 2001 or (the infinitely better) 2010, you'll probably have no idea what I'm talking about. But, if you have - you may still get a chill just thinking about it.
4. The Exorcist III (90) William Peter Blatty
My sentimental favorite of Warner's hit-or-miss Exorcist franchise. A truly freaky movie (and a damn good one too) - but by far, the freakiest scene is easy: the nun in the hospital corridor. Hands down. Try getting that one out of your head for the rest of your life.
5. The Witches of Eastwick (87) George Miller
Veronica Cartwright as "Felicia Alden" in the "cherry pits" scene. I was probably 11 or 12 when I first saw this film. I couldn't watch that scene all the way through then, and I still can't watch it now. Can't eat whole cherries either.
6. The Unknown (27) Tod Browning
When Alonzo the Armless, a circus knife-thrower who painfully bounds his arms behind his back (the immortal Lon Chaney in this, one of his greatest films) finally has both his arms amputated to be with Nanon (Joan Crawford) the one he loves, because she fears 'men's arms' - and the final scene when he is about to reveal his love for her as she then tells him she's gotten over her fear and is about to marry Malabar the Mighty, the Circus Strongman. Words cannot descibe the layers of this scene, the true horror of the moment and the brilliance of Chaney's reaction. All he can do is laugh, and all they can do, is join in.
7. JFK (91) Oliver Stone
It may sound funny listing this here, but Stone's masterpiece, JFK, is actually a really creepy movie. Not just the events (or the 'interpretation' of events) but the way the film is brilliantly shot and edited, along with the use of sound and music - the scene where Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) meets with the mysterious "X" (an uncredited and genius Donald Sutherland) on the mall in Washington D.C. is so amazingly paced, written and concieved, that I can feel my heart literally stop beating in my chest whenever I see it. I have talked about this scene before on this blog - but what can I say: the 'truth' can really be scary.
8. The Ugly (97) Scott Reynolds
The Ugly is a relatively unknown and widely unseen horror film from New Zealand. Simon is a confessed serial killer who spent the last five years in a mental hospital because of his unbalanced mental state. Dr. Karen Shoemaker wants to get through to him and starts visiting him in the hospital, and his previous life comes to us in flashbacks. That's just the beginning of this tremendous little psychological shocker from NZ. The scene when Simon is confronted in a room by the actual mutilated corpses of his own victims (dozens of bodies hauntingly made-up with the most ultra-realistic blackened blood these eyes have ever seen) is beyond freaky. It's freak-tastic. And un-freaking-forgettable.
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark (81) Steven Spielberg
At the end when the nazi's, led by Ronald Lacey as "Major Toht" and Paul Freeman as "Dr. Rene Belloq" finally unleash the contents of the Ark of the Covenant. Jones tells Marion to close her eyes as everyone else who looks upon the wrath of God is annihilated. It's great because the bad guys finally get theirs. It's freaky because it all seemed so real.
10. Lady in White (88) Frank LaLoggia
I know there's a fine line between 'freaky' and 'scary' - but this film was both. Not just one or two scenes, but the whole movie. I dare you to watch it alone and then turn the lights off before you get into bed.
not just a list of "freaky" movies - but scenes that for one reason or another, I either have to look away for just a moment (or check over my shoulder) or moments from film that I have always been just a little haunted by - for better or worse...
1. Stand by Me (86) Rob Reiner
When they finally find the dead kid's body "Ray Brower" in the bushes by the railroad tracks. I'll never forget the eyes of the body, how one of his Chuck's was blown off his foot and the looks on their faces when they are face-to-face with the treasure of their quest.
2. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (85) Tim Burton
Large Marge (Alice Nunn): "On this very night, ten years ago, along this very stretch of road in a dense fog just like this. I saw the worst accident I ever seen. There was this sound, like a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building... And when they pulled the driver's body from the twisted, burning wreck. It looked like this..." How something this genuinely creepy could come from a film like this, I will never know - but it did.
3. 2010: The Year We Make Contact (84) Peter Hyams
When Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider) is aboard the reawakened Discovery and he turns to look over his shoulder and sees Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) for the first time. If you've never seen 2001 or (the infinitely better) 2010, you'll probably have no idea what I'm talking about. But, if you have - you may still get a chill just thinking about it.
4. The Exorcist III (90) William Peter Blatty
My sentimental favorite of Warner's hit-or-miss Exorcist franchise. A truly freaky movie (and a damn good one too) - but by far, the freakiest scene is easy: the nun in the hospital corridor. Hands down. Try getting that one out of your head for the rest of your life.
5. The Witches of Eastwick (87) George Miller
Veronica Cartwright as "Felicia Alden" in the "cherry pits" scene. I was probably 11 or 12 when I first saw this film. I couldn't watch that scene all the way through then, and I still can't watch it now. Can't eat whole cherries either.
6. The Unknown (27) Tod Browning
When Alonzo the Armless, a circus knife-thrower who painfully bounds his arms behind his back (the immortal Lon Chaney in this, one of his greatest films) finally has both his arms amputated to be with Nanon (Joan Crawford) the one he loves, because she fears 'men's arms' - and the final scene when he is about to reveal his love for her as she then tells him she's gotten over her fear and is about to marry Malabar the Mighty, the Circus Strongman. Words cannot descibe the layers of this scene, the true horror of the moment and the brilliance of Chaney's reaction. All he can do is laugh, and all they can do, is join in.
7. JFK (91) Oliver Stone
It may sound funny listing this here, but Stone's masterpiece, JFK, is actually a really creepy movie. Not just the events (or the 'interpretation' of events) but the way the film is brilliantly shot and edited, along with the use of sound and music - the scene where Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) meets with the mysterious "X" (an uncredited and genius Donald Sutherland) on the mall in Washington D.C. is so amazingly paced, written and concieved, that I can feel my heart literally stop beating in my chest whenever I see it. I have talked about this scene before on this blog - but what can I say: the 'truth' can really be scary.
8. The Ugly (97) Scott Reynolds
The Ugly is a relatively unknown and widely unseen horror film from New Zealand. Simon is a confessed serial killer who spent the last five years in a mental hospital because of his unbalanced mental state. Dr. Karen Shoemaker wants to get through to him and starts visiting him in the hospital, and his previous life comes to us in flashbacks. That's just the beginning of this tremendous little psychological shocker from NZ. The scene when Simon is confronted in a room by the actual mutilated corpses of his own victims (dozens of bodies hauntingly made-up with the most ultra-realistic blackened blood these eyes have ever seen) is beyond freaky. It's freak-tastic. And un-freaking-forgettable.
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark (81) Steven Spielberg
At the end when the nazi's, led by Ronald Lacey as "Major Toht" and Paul Freeman as "Dr. Rene Belloq" finally unleash the contents of the Ark of the Covenant. Jones tells Marion to close her eyes as everyone else who looks upon the wrath of God is annihilated. It's great because the bad guys finally get theirs. It's freaky because it all seemed so real.
10. Lady in White (88) Frank LaLoggia
I know there's a fine line between 'freaky' and 'scary' - but this film was both. Not just one or two scenes, but the whole movie. I dare you to watch it alone and then turn the lights off before you get into bed.
