IT (2017)

Director: 

Andy Muschietti (Mama)

Starring: 

Bill Skarsgard (Atomic Blonde, Divergent: Allegiant, Hemlock Grove)

Jaeden Liberher (Midnight Special, Aloha, The Book of Henry)

Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, Supernatural, The 100)

Genre: 

Supernatural / Horror

Plot:
After recent cases of disappearing local kids in the town of Derry, Maine, IT follows a group of kids dubbed "The Losers' Club" in the summer of 1989 and their discovery and scary encounters of a shape-shifting other-worldly entity, known to return every 27 years and prey on a child's personal fears.

Opinion:
I only watched the original TV miniseries of Stephen King's IT recently in preparation for this release, and whilst there were a few creepy visuals here and there, the film seemed to rely on amazing performances by Tim Curry playing the titular dancing clown and the main group of kids whom he terrorises.  Perhaps TV budgeting or censorship got in the way of fully realising the gruesome extents of Stephen King's novel, but when I saw the 2017 film's record-breaking trailer and a more manic and sinister Pennywise, I was immediately curious.

Like many in the audience, when I sat in my seat to watch the film, I was eagerly awaiting how the director Muschietti and the film's writers handled the initial disappearance of the main character's brother to kick off the emotional heart of the film.  

Would it be duplicated? Would it be tamer? Would it be more intense?  

I could tell straight away that we were dealing with a more mature and sinister version of the story.  

The film carries the intensity throughout, but in a relatable and therefore more terrifying way.  The now-mundane things that would unnerve you as a kid (an odd-looking painting, a dark and dingy basement, the inherent changes of puberty) become realised and threatening in ways you haven't felt since childhood, and the film manages to tap into that shared dread of isolation and the unknown that we all feared once, especially when we still didn't understand the world.

Despite the film delivering scares seemingly without stop at some points, where the film really soars is developing the friendship between the members of "The Losers Club".  The Club members are all united in being outcasts from society and the film effectively touches upon issues such as race relations, school bullying and domestic abuse, showing how uniting through adversity and fear can conquer any adversary.

And speaking about The Losers Club, true commendation has to go to the casting department. The only actor I knew of was Finn Wolfhard from Netflix's Stranger Things, and so was familiar with his acting potential, but I'd say that this has helped elevate true talent that will be in several films down the line.  Special mentions to Jack Dylan Grazer as the hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak and Sophia Lilis who steals the film as the only female member of the Losers Club, Beverly Marsh. Both manage to give nuanced and ranged performances at such a young age that I'm sure they'll be around for a while.   

And what would be a review of this film without talking about Bill Skarsgard as the titular dancing clown?

This was probably the most worrying part of the film before watching it.  Having to follow and potentially improve on Tim Curry's performance from the original is definitely a hard task, especially since IT is revered as an iconic 'Movie Monster' and part of many people's childhood nightmares.  

However Skarsgard does a very effective job in creating unease and portraying a creature revelling in it's torturous methods.  His gangling 6'2" stance, sinister stare and ability to move one eye independently from the other just gives him an unearthly appearance, but then you add a voice that shifts in pitch mid-sentence, maniacal laughter and teeth more suitable on a Great White shark, and you've got immediate nightmare fuel.

Whilst he might not reach the iconic status as Tim Curry, this intepretation harks back to other movie monsters such as John Carpenter's The Thing, Guillermo del Toro's The Devil's Backbone, and even the director's previous horror Mama.  Regardless of what you find scary, this film will creep you out.

Rating - 8/10

Sweet Dreams :)

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Alien: Covenant

Director: 

Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator)

Starring: 

Katherine Waterson (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Inherent Vice, Steve Jobs)

Billy Crudup (Watchmen, Spotlight, Almost Famous)

Michael Fassbender (Macbeth, Shame, Assassin's Creed)

Genre: 

Science-Fiction / Horror / Thriller

Opinion:

Let me start by saying: I liked Prometheus. 

It is not an opinion that is shared by many people, but I did.  I didn’t watch Prometheus expecting a film in the same mould as Alien or Aliens, but one that further explained and established the beginnings of an existing franchise.

You know… what a prequel is meant to do.

And what I got was a well-told and interesting science-fiction film that theorised about who potentially created life on Earth, and what would happen if you managed to royally piss them off.

It had everything I expected; tension, scares, body horror.  Even the added bonus of idiotic people who should not be sent into space, since they can't figure out how to avoid a rolling spaceship going in one direction.  But most intriguingly Prometheus was about ideas.  More than just "Who created us?", the film discussed free will and morality and whether the lack of these could have a corrupting influence.  It touched upon whether religion is a manufactured construct or a necessary comfort, and these aren’t topics you find in most modern sci-fi/horror films.

But unfortunately the film wasn’t warmly embraced among the Alien die-hards and it will forever be remembered as an honest attempt that failed.

Skip to six years later and Ridley Scott has got another shot.

Set a few years after Prometheus, a spaceship intent on completing a colonising mission comes across a radio signal from a seemingly habitable, but unknown, world.  Curious to it’s origin, the crew make the decision to investigate… and things go as well as you'd expect.

To go into further detail will spoil too much of the story, but if you have seen an Alien film before, you will probably see the signposts for where the film is heading.  However, the audience’s familiarity with the stereotypes of the Alien franchise is where Ridley Scott tries to make the best use out of his prequel; by showing the audience how the later and much more acclaimed films were set in motion; showing you how the dominoes were set-up before we saw them fall over.

Although it seems that Scott has bowed to pressure from the audiences, and tried to have his Prometheus cake and eat it with Alien knives and forks… if that makes sense.  

He wants to carry on telling the story he started in Prometheus, further developing the origins of the Engineers and theorise about ideas of our creation, but to keep the audience from complaining, he’s made some dumb people run around dark, steam-filled corridors whilst being chased by a slick, black, death creature.  And the film suffers because of it.

The crew of the Covenant are never given any back-story apart from Character X is married to Character Y, since all of these people are couples and most of them are going to lose their partner to a slick, black, death creature.  Billy Crudup and Katherine Waterston are given centre stage, but potentially interesting plot points are never fully developed and as with Prometheus, Michael Fassbender steals the show.  Crudup is a proven talent and Waterston is an interesting up-and-comer so it’s a shame that they aren’t given much with which to work.  

There ain’t no Ellen Ripley for the audience to root for, that’s for damn sure.

Whilst the locations are gorgeous and rich in detail (it might as well be H.R. Giger's homeworld), and the direction never falters, Alien: Covenant follows the trend of films with huge potential not being able to fully embrace their director’s vision, for fear of alienating too much of the audience and losing box office in the process.

Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla. Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four / Fan4stic.  Even Ghost in the Shell from earlier this year. 

They don’t want to leave the audience bored, or scratching their heads in confusion and telling their friends not to watch the film because of it.  It’s the nature of the industry currently, and I don’t blame Scott for bowing to this pressure.  I just hope that Scott doesn’t do the same with Blade Runner 2049 later this year.

Rating – 5/10 - It's worth a watch, just don't expect much.

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My Top 25 Scary Movie Moments: 10 - 1

It's that special day of the year again...

The day that hipsters dress as an abusive Batman villain, women aim to make cats sexy and I ignore my doorbell at all costs.

Instead, I close the curtains, break out the Blu-Rays and try and scare myself silly.  And these are the best way to make my spine tingle, my blood freeze and my goose bump.

10) Pontypool – Ken Reports In

Set-Up: Grant Massey is a radio DJ in the cold town of Pontypool, Canada.  Over the course of his early-morning radio show, Grant starts receiving reports of violence beginning to erupt in the town from their 'Roaming Reporter' Ken Loanee.  But Ken gets in a bit of trouble...

(Watch 29:30-36:00)

Why I Was Freaked:  If there's one thing that scares me more than what you see, it's what you don't see.  The entire genius behind Pontypool is that the whole film takes place within this radio station, and the terror is simply reported from the outside until it's too late.  Reports of people eating each other and tearing themselves apart are much more intense when you use your own imagination.

It brings a whole new terror to the idea of these ordinary people who can't come to terms with the reports they are hearing.  How long would you deny the idea of zombies before too much information overwhelms you and breaks you down to believe such an impossibility?

Stephen McHattie is brilliant as the gruff and brash Massey, and his terrified performance simply mirrors our own bewilderment and incredulity at what we're hearing coming from the relative safety of Ken's grain silo.

Too relatable.  Fuck you, McHattie.

9) Ghostbusters – Who Brought The Dog?

Set-Up: Lovable nerd Louis Tully is hosting a dinner party to woo his neighbour Dana.  Little does he know that there is something waiting in his bedroom...

Why I Was Freaked: God if Childhood Mike didn't have a fear of dogs before he watched Ghostbusters, he most certainly would have done afterwards.

Yeah, the effects may have gotten worse over time, with the stop-motion becoming a bit ropey but damn, those roaring sound effects, the red eyes, sharp teeth, breaking down the door and just looking like a real-life monster.  

It only gets worse later on in the film, with the Hell Hounds chasing down Louis and Dana through restaurants and all the way back to the finale.  This is a comedy, by the way.

Ridiculous.  Fuck you, Hell Hound.

8) James and the Giant Peach – The Rhino

Set-Up: James is orphaned when both of his parents are killed by a rampaging rhino escapes from the local zoo.  He goes to live with his horrible Aunties and escapes on a giant peach.  But whilst in the clouds, he meets a familiar face...

Why I Was Freaked: How fucked up is that rhino?  

Seriously, it's Monstro in the sky with electric powers!  

I HATED this rhino.  He's a parent killer, with terrifying glowing eyes, teeth no rhino should ever have and, yeah, lightning emanating from his giant protruding horn.

Child Mike became incredibly fearful of rhinos, and was wary for around a fortnight, thinking that there were rhinos around every corner of north-west England.

Irrational.  Fuck you, Rhino.  (P.S. I'm not afraid of you anymore, either)

7) Se7en – Sloth

Set-Up: Someone is killing people based on the Seven Deadly Sins.  Two victims have been found, 'Gluttony' and 'Greed'.  But Detectives Mills and Somerset have received a clue and are following up on where they think the killer lives...

Why I Was Freaked: Jesus, I never expected Victor to be alive.  The torture and life that Victor has survived and lived through is probably even more scary than the jump-scare itself.

The scene is so incredibly built up by director David Fincher and the killer is revealed to be willing to go to such incredible lengths to enact his plans, the payoff is chilling.

And Victor waited until Dr Cox was as close as possible before breathing his breath.  Dick move.

Unexpected.  Fuck you, Victor.

6) Watership Down – The Warren's Destruction

Set-Up: When trying to escape the destruction of their home, eight rabbits stumble upon Captain Holly.  Holly recounts what happened to her previous warren...

Why I Was Freaked: Isn't this just lovely?  

So you have elements of being buried alive, drowning, claustrophobia, lacerations, impalement and even some holocaust imagery and referencing Hell.

This is a U-rated film.

Fuck you Watership Down.  You made my sister afraid of rabbits. 

5) The Wicker Man – The First Glance

Set-Up: Sgt Howie has been brought to an isolated island to search for a missing girl, Rowan.  Upon being fooled by the rest of the island, the Sergeant is brought to meet the most popular man on Summerisle...

Why I Was Freaked:  I know it's only a short clip, but that one line gave me so many chills. It's the lack of spectacle or grandeur to this that makes it so chilling.  No music.  Just silence and a single drum beat.  And a lot of people wanting this one innocent man to die.

But after the build up and the bait and switch that the whole audience experiences, we are there with Howie.  We don't know what to expect, but we don't think that this entire island will be willing to commit such a heinous act.

Chilling.  Fuck you, Summerisle.

4) The Birds – Waiting Outside The School

Set-Up: Birds have been randomly attacking the residents of Bodega Bay. But the visiting Melanie Daniels has a few questions to ask of local school-teacher Annie Hayworth.  Melanie waits patiently outside the school for the lesson to finish...

Why I Was Freaked: So.  Many.  Birds.

Hitchcock is truly a master of suspense and this scene really epitomises that opinion.  He always wanted the audience to know more about the situation than the characters, therefore creating the ultimate tense situation.  You just want to scream at Melanie to turn around and get inside, before it's too late.

The unpredictability of the birds is what makes The Birds such a great film to experience.  The attacks truly can come anytime and anywhere, and these crows appear truly menacing and binding their time.

Haven't looked at birds the same since.

Tense.  Fuck you, birds.

3) Signs – The Birthday Party

Set-Up: There have been reports of UFOs appearing all around the Earth, but no encounters with the aliens themselves.  Merrill Hess is hiding in the closet, before a news report appears on the TV...

Why I Was Freaked: I'm not sure what made this so scary for me; either the fact that I'm really not good with aliens, and there goes one just sauntering casually across the TV screen, or the cinema auditorium I was sat in was suddenly filled with high pitched screams all around me.

Regardless, the fact that I'm not a big fan of aliens just made this all the worse.  This was back when Shyamalan was good at his job.  He was fresh off of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, and his take on an alien invasion of Earth was done in a very personal and muted way.  So much so that when shit gets real, I really lost my shit.

Earth-shattering.  Fuck you, Shyamalan.

2) The Fourth Kind – Jaw on the Floor

Set-Up: Taking place over several days in Alaska, Dr Abbey Tyler tries hypnosis to contact the extraterrestrial threats that she thinks have taken her daughter.  Milla Jovovich portrays Dr Tyler, whilst also featuring the home video footage and audio...

Why I Was Freaked: So when I first watched The Fourth Kind, it was presented as a film with Hollywood actors portraying real life people, with the accompanying real footage there for verification.  This made this scene incredibly horrifying for me, as again, I'm not good with aliens.

However with audible testimony of an unknown voice announcing itself as God.  I was shitting myself.

It's not real though.  Of course it's not.  It's all fake.  But you couldn't have told me that at the time.  All I knew was fear.  They Fargo'd me.

Jaw-dropping.  Fuck you, Jovovich.

1) Jurassic Park – Raptors In The Kitchen

Set-Up: Dinosaurs are back.  And they're roaming around an amusement park, stalking the visitors.  Some especially deadly dinos, velociraptors, chase a couple of kids into a kitchen...

Why I Was Freaked: OK, so here it is.  The scene I couldn't watch until I was 14 years old.

I was not ready for this as a 6 year old lad, sitting down with my family and ending up with my face buried into a pillow, and not seeing how the kids escaped until I was a freaking teenager!

So much tension, the bait-and-switch, the unknown and sinister enemy that cannot be reasoned with or over-powered.  And I was the same age or even younger than Tim when I watched this, so I instantly put myself into their shoes, and never trusted a kitchen that large again.

It was and still is one of my favourite films of all time, so for my fear to stop me watching it for so long ... well I believe you can see why this scene is at the top of my list.  Never has one scene made so much of an impact on me.

Fuck you Spielberg.  And thank you at the same time.  It's a complicated feeling.

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And that's it for my Halloween countdown.  Thank you for reading it and hope you have a spooky Halloween!

Have you got any moments that stand out in your mind?  Anything that scarred you and I didn't list?
Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to share this article if you like it!

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

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My Top 25 Scary Movie Moments: 20 - 11

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

So, the original plan was to release these lists in batches of five, all leading up to Halloween and the grand finale!

However, I moved flats! (HOORAY!) 

But unfortunately I now have no Internet (BOO!)

And I'm currently writing this using Coffee Shop Wi-Fi! (Oh?)

But enough about my reasons, let's get on with what freaked me out when I was a wee one.

20) Dumbo – Pink Elephants

Set-Up: The titular elephant gets a bit too tipsy... and starts seeing Demon Pachyderms...

Why I Was Freaked:  Imagine something like this being in a Pixar film, or on early morning CBBC. OFCOM would be losing their shit!  

Everything had been going pretty normally until this sequence.  Not happy, by any means, since Dumbo is still as fun for a child as burying their pet fish (RIP Stuart The Fish), but nothing psychedelic had occurred so far.  

And then a warbling brass section start tormenting my dreams, with elephants suggestively dancing with lightning bolts and ultimately these black-eyed monsters teach me not to dare try alcohol for a good few decades.

Way too trippy.  Fuck you, Walt.

19) Session 9 – "Hello... Gordon"

Set-Up: Four asbestos removers begin working in an abandoned insane asylum.  But not everything left when the building shut down...

Why I Was Freaked: There is not a single moment in Session 9 that I left at ease.  From the very beginning of the film, it intends on creeping you out and making you feel threatened, and this scene just sums that up perfectly.

As the removal men work longer and longer hours within the abandoned asylum, they discover that Gordon is hiding some dark secrets, such as the creepy voice calling out to him.

I'd highly recommend seeking out Session 9, it's a film that will freak you out even without you knowing it.  There's just something off about that wheelchair, perfectly positioned in the middle of the hallway.  The image is certainly an iconic one, so much so it even influenced the creators of Silent Hill to include an homage in Silent Hill 3.

Creepy.  Fuck you, Gordon.

18) Pan's Labyrinth – The Pale Man

Set-Up: Ofelia is on her second of three tasks to return her to her Fairy Homeworld.  She has to venture into an unknown world and retrieve a special weapon, but there are a few simple rules, otherwise there will be trouble...

Why I Was Freaked: How fucked up is Guillermo Del Toro's mind?  Seriously.  The guy comes up with the most disturbing and grotesque creations.  Hellboy, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, Pan's Labyrinth; they're all filled with horrible monsters that he calls 'Friends' but I call, "Sweet Jesus, what is that thing?!"

Doug Jones, the ultimate contortionist, dons another suit for del Toro to terrify and mesmerise with dancer-like precision.  Couldn't Ofelia have just resisted that grape?  She would have saved herself so much hassle and scary-ass chases.

Grotesque.  Fuck you, del Toro.  (Not really, you're actually awesome)

17) Paranormal Activity 3 – Bedsheet Ghosts

Set-Up: a babysitter is minding two young girls, not knowing one of them has a ghostly friend, Toby.  Toby just wants to play...

Why I Was Freaked: By Paranormal Activity 3, I thought that they had done the formula to death and didn't expect any decent genuine scares from it, but I actually believe that it is one of the strongest chapters in a series that is steadily getting worse.

However, instead of relying on jump-scares (ignoring the babysitter one, dick move), the directors instead tease the audience with suspense and intrigue, and I for one had to watch through my fingers as I didn't know how they were going to further use these classic horror tropes.

Admittedly it gets worse and less original from there, but for a time, I thought that we'd have something fresh on our hands.

Tense.  Fuck you, Toby.

16) Zodiac – The Basement

Set-Up: Robert Graysmith is investigating the elusive Zodiac Killer.  His latest clues are that 'Zodiac' has a basement, and may have hand-written a movie poster.  Not much to go off, but he visits an ex-cinema employee who may have some information about the poster ...

Why I Was Freaked: I don't think that guy could have been more creepier if he tried.  Poor Jake.

The weird thing with this scene is that it comes virtually out of nowhere.  Nothing else in Zodiac is this tense or terrifying outside of the recreated Zodiac murder scenes.  It's just so unexpected that it is truly a jolt to the system.

Gyllenhaal's doing that thing with his eyes again.  Whether it is Prisoners, Nightcrawler or even Donnie Darko, Jake uses his big ol' blues to the express his terror, anxiety and fear.  (I bet you've not even got a Top Ten Eye Actors, have you? *scoff*)

Fuck you Fincher, and your incredible ability to keep surprising me.

15) An American Werewolf In London – When Mutant Nazis Attack

Set-Up: David has been attacked by a wolf on the Yorkshire Moors.  After recovering in hospital, he finds himself back in America, ready to study...

Why I Was Freaked:  Ah the old 'Dream Within A Dream' trick.  That's how it's done right, Batman vs Superman! 

Again, it's intense horror and violence out of nowhere that messed up my childhood mind!  Oh and Mutant Nazi Monsters gunning down children and kicking Kermit The Frog in the face!  I mean, he did nothing wrong, and still got it in the face.

But then it's the double-whammy of "It Was All A Dream, only for the Mutant Nazi Monsters to strike again!  I can't take any more Gun-Toting Mutant Nazi Monsters, but thankfully I have yet to encounter them in films since.  But still...

Dick move Landis.  Fuck you.

14) An American Tail – The Giant Mouse of Minsk

Set-Up: After suffering terrible attacks from the cats of America, Russian and Irish mice team up and create a wooden mouse, full of fireworks to scare off the cats for good...

Why I Was Freaked: Good Lord, Don Bluth was responsible for a lot of my scariest film moments when I was a kid, but this really takes the cake.

Just look at it's soulless eyes, it's slow and deliberate movement, the terrifying roar and grotesque head.  This is a creation of the heroes, to scare off the villains; I associated with the villains by the end of it.  

This idea is repeated in A Bug's Life, creating a bird to scare off grasshoppers, but I wasn't traumatised after that; I was entertained.  Not here.  Not with Franken-Mouse.

Ungodly.  Fuck you, Bluth.

13) The Blair Witch Project – The House

Set-Up: Heather and Mike have lost their friend Josh in the woods.  Woods that are supposedly haunted by a local legend, The Blair Witch.  After being tormented by an unseen force for several nights, they discover a house...

Why I Was Freaked: I'm worried that out of context, this ending might seem ill-placed so far up the list. 

However after you've been with Mike and Heather up until this moment, and you know that this has to be the end for them, it's unbearable not knowing what they're going to see.

The original Blair Witch Project was an incredibly subtle film that allowed you to project your imagination onto the screen and imagine what they were running from, and easily changed the horror genre from that point on, but that image of Mike standing in the corner of the room, for no reason and not getting any explanation was terrifying to me.  

Terrifying and annoying.  But mostly terrifying.  Fuck you, Mike.

12) Jacob's Ladder – Welcome To The Hospital

Set-Up: Jacob is a war veteran who wakes up on a stretcher, being wheeled through possibly the worst hospital in the world...

(Warning for those uncomfortable by needles...)

Why I Was Freaked: I'm pretty sure this was the closest thing to depicting a living hell when I was younger.  Possibly still one of my worst nightmares; being trapped in such a hellish place and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

The visuals in this scene alone are worthy of being in anyone's scary moments list, as these really were inspirational, again giving the Silent Hill creative team ideas for their monsters and storylines.

Also, I'm fine with never seeing a needle going into a forehead ever again, thanks.

Scarring.  Fuck you, Jacob.  And your ladder.

11) Pinocchio – Monstro

Set-Up: The little wooden boy has tried to find his father, but ended up being swallowed by the biggest and meanest bastard this side of Bruce the Shark...

Why I Was Freaked: OK, just how scary and intimidating were Disney films back then?  They didn't give a crap about terrifying their audience!  Not to mention that earlier in the film, Pinocchio had visited Pleasure Island and witness young boys physically transform into braying donkeys.  That could have had it's own entry on this list alone.

But no, I've decided to list the crazily-horrible gigantic man-eating monster that comes fully equipped with an incredibly loud orchestra, ready to accompany any movement he makes with high-pitched wails and uncomfortable screeching.  Not to mention how he gets even worse when he's spewing toxic black smoke from his gargantuan mouth.

Sorry I'll stop now, but Jesus, this fish terrified me.

Fuck you Walt, and your ridiculously low threshold for terror.

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And that's part two of my Halloween countdown!

Keep your eyes peeled for the Top Ten coming tomorrow! 

Have you got any moments that stand out in your mind?  Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to share this article if you like it!

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

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My Top 25 Scary Movie Moments: 25 - 21

Bloody hell, 2016 is moving by pretty sharpish isn't it?  It only felt like yesterday that we were ringing in the New Year and saying goodbye to David Bowie and Alan Rickman *sniff*

Now it's October and God knows who we're going to be saying goodbye this month!  Not to sound morbid, but it is Hallowe'en Month after all!  So let's get loads of chocolate, sweets and scary movies to give us thrills to remember all the way to Christmas!

Speaking of which, I thought it would be fun/traumatising to relive some of the scariest moments that I've experienced whilst watching films throughout the years.  You might scoff at some of these moments being included in my list, but these honestly did scare the bejesus out of me when I was a youngster (and some more recently...)

However, let's just get it out of the way early: I wasn't scared to go into the ocean by Jaws, I wasn't convinced to say thirteen Hail Mary's after watching The Exorcist and I found The Shining boring and overrated (until recently), so that is why they will not be featuring on this list...

25) Silent Hill – The Nurses

Set-Up: Rose (Radha Mitchell) is searching for her lost daughter in a demon-possessed town of Silent Hill.  When arriving at the final location, a hospital, Rose travels into the depths, not knowing what is waiting for her...

Why I Was Freaked:  It's usually jump-scares or pure shock that grabs your attention during a horror film these days.  However I cannot stand quiet tension.  The 'hold-your-breath' kind of tension.  It kills me.  So when Rose decides to slowly slink through these godawful grotesques, making painful and orgasmic sounds, I didn't know what to do with myself (not like that...)

Whilst the nurses' appearance is lifted straight from the Silent Hill 2 video game, this was still the first time this iconic video game enemy had appeared on the big screen thanks to the fan service from director Christophe Gans.  With that knowledge, I was screaming at the screen, "Run, bitch, ruuuuunnnn!" whilst the chaos erupted around her.  I still can't breathe during this scene.  

Way too tense.  Fuck you, Gans.

24) Day of the Dead – The Calendar

Set-Up: Taking place after Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, zombies have quite easily taken over the world and the remaining humans now live mainly underground trying to figure out a cure to the zombie virus. Dr. Sarah Bowman wakes up in an underground facility with a calendar on the wall... But something is wrong...

Why I Was Freaked: Well, didn't it freak you out?   One of the earliest jump-scares that I can remember really catching me off guard, as this is pretty much the start of the film. There I was, late at night, surrounded by darkness and a few calendars of my own.  I didn't know what to expect.  Bang! Straight in there with the shivers.  

Terrifying.  Fuck you, Romero.

23) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – The Riverboat

Set-Up: Charlie Bucket has won a chance to visit a famous chocolatier's factory. Half-way through their tour, they come to a nice gentle riverboat and start to ride. But things start getting a bit psychedelic...

Why I Was Freaked: How would this not freak out a little 8 year old like me?  This incredibly friendly, charming and kooky character presents a room full of edible plants and assortments, sings cheery melodies, and then ferries you through a tunnel of nightmares and death! I could never trust a person again! Or see a chicken without thinking that I was going to be shown it's head being taken off! 

Strangely my fragile little brain didn't mind seeing Augustus Gloop get sucked into a pipe, or the obvious forced labour of the Oompa-Loompas, but the ferry ride from Hell accompanied by Gene Wilder's eerie singing? No thank-you, I'd like to get off.

Craziness.  Fuck you, Wilder.  (And rest in peace.)

22) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – The Nazgul Reach Bree

Set-Up: In order to travel a deadly weapon back to where it was created, a quartet of Hobbits take refuge in a town called Bree. However hooded black creatures seeking that same weapon for their master arrive there too... with intent on fucking some shit up.

Why I Was Freaked: If there is one thing that Peter Jackson can do well, it's horror. His eye for an otherworldly terror is fantastic, and even though the world he had created so far was particularly grounded, the introduction of the Nazgul / Ringwraiths was the first moments of anything supernatural or demonic interrupting this pleasant countryside world.

With the Nazgul floating into the Prancing Pony surrounded by dramatic fog, standing over our heroes and stabbing the living fuck out of them, all whilst being intensely quiet and meticulous just made the tension even worse. Oh and when you find out that your heroes are fine, and you should be feeling relief? Don't worry, we'll just throw in some ear-piercing shrieks to scare you some more. 

Horrifying.  Fuck you, Jackson.

21) House on Haunted Hill – The Doctor

Set-Up: Geoffrey Rush has called a lot of people to his mansion to intentionally scare them with scary pranks. But unbeknownst to him, there are ghosts in his mansion ready to fuck shit up and kill in various horrifying ways.

Why I Was Freaked: OK, admittedly it might not hold up to other scary scenes on this list, but personally this was the first time I had seen the technique of speeding up someone shaking their head so it appears like they're doing it really really really really fast, and it freaked me out! 

Also combine that with the security guard's face being HOLLOWED OUT!  A fact that Geoffrey Rush seems almost bored by as well, instead paying attention to a creepy doctor making plans on his wife. 

Fuck you Rush, and your ridiculous nonchalance.

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And that's the first part of my October countdown.  Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of this list over the coming few weeks all leading to Hallowe'en!

Have you got any moments that stand out in your mind?  Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to share this article if you like it!

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

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