OK, so I travel a lot. I flew to San Francisco today and the film choice was crap. But – the one item of hope was American Werewolf in London was in the film library (BA).

I remember seeing this when it first came out – I must’ve been 13 – and it scared the living daylights out of me.

BA rate all of their films and this one was classed as a comedy! FFS. It wasn’t at all cut or edited so I really failed to see how it is a comedy. I get the black comedy edging to it. But for my money it still stands as a good quality horror flick.

Whilst I get the idea that ‘horror’ has moved on – for me it’s just got more gruesome – certainly not more horrifying.

So come on, name the films that made you fill yer pants in their day, but are now considered – lame(?).

salem’s lot the movie 😀 [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIbJ2rQ59ZE[/video]

See – I get that. Salems Lot was scary – but would now be laughed at.

I guess the ultimate in this area is The Exorcist. It is pretty lame if look at todays gore fests – but it’s still a good scary yarn.

I’ll add the original Omen film to the list. Thats a proper scary film.

American Werewolf in London was written and directed by John Landis of Trading Places, Animal House and Blues Brother fame. It was always meant and classed as a comedy horror. Fantastic film.

I’ll second the Omen, saw it by accident when I was 7 and it gave me the fear right into my teens

Somewhere along the way the majority of horror film makers (with the exception of some Japanese & Korean directors & Guillermo del Toro being notable exceptions) forgot about scaring people & thought gore was scary.

Doubt it’s still on iplayer but Mark Gatiss’ History of Horror was pretty good viewing.

Bugs Life;

bought as a treat for my then 18 month year old. He had nightmares for weeks.

“It was the hassgropper again, Daddy!”

BA rate all of their films and this one (American Werewolf in London) was classed as a comedy!

That did scare me when I was younger. I must have been about 13 too and probably wasn’t meant to be watching it as I’m pretty sure it was 18 rated. But it was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, in fact I seem to remember the back of the video box saying it was a comedy.

Beetlejuice

American Werewolf still sends a chill when I’m alone in a tube station at night.

Saw it when I was about 9. My parents were watching it and I managed to sneak downstairs and watch some through the doorway before they noticed. Once they noticed they said if I really wanted to watch it I could, think most of it was from behind a cushion, but the tube part really stands out. I was fine with the gore and actual wolf parts, just the chasing bit freaked me the **** out

Most old horrors don’t stand up anymore however my 10 year old regrets his decision to sit on the stairs and watch The Thing after I told him to go up to bed recently.

I would put American Werewolf down as a comedy too. Was never really scared by that one.

Scariest films for me with the Exorcist and Evil Dead. Evil Dead gave me nightmares for a while.

Oh, and the original Amityville Horror.

She’s got an invisible friend who’s like a big massive bear? GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!!

i should have added dario argento’s demons film.i saw that when i was 12 and it scared the **** outta me 😯 still a good film mind you 😉

to be honest.. there are kids tv programmes now that have way more peril and horror than some of the 80s movies.. and some of the themes are more disturbing than more modern horror..
which pisses me off a bit.. are our kids really that much more brutalised by life..?
why..?

but.. if you missed the comedy and thought at any point that American Werewolf was a good horror then you were a mummy’s boy.. 😉

The Devil Rides Out scared the bejeesus out of me when I was young. I don’t think it would add 1bpm to my heart rate now.

Gore isn’t scary. Supernatural is.

I saw the Exorcist when I was 10 and it gave me nightmares for weeks. I didn’t see it again until I was in my early 40s and I thought it was more of a thriller than a horror.

The Omen still puts a bat up my nightdress, especially the bit with the dogs in the grave yard.

You realise any scary movie ever invented pales into insignificance against British Government information films don’t you?

All I have to do is type ‘Running on a beach’ and any reader over the age of 38 will cringe and lift their feet off the ground. If I type ‘Swimming in a Quarry’ the same people will look over their shoulder for the grim reaper.

I still cannot run on a beach.

Good call!

Protect and Survive! When you hear the air attack warning…” ARGHHHHHH!!!

Only film that’s actually scared me (to the point of bad dreams) is ‘Don’t look now’ – for me scariness is linked to ‘believability’ and films like AWiL might make you jump a few times but scared, can’t say see it myself……

There was a tv show (either late 80s / early 90s) called Chimera…it was about this half monkey half human….scared the absolute crap out of me as a kid and frankly is still the monster that is chasing me during solo night rides in the woods

Saw a few clips of it recently and it didnt seem so bad now 😀

samuri i just googled running on a beach.believe me it wasn’t scary in the slightest (think baywatch 😉

+1 for American Werewolf

Has anyone mentioned than it was Rik Mayall’s first appearence on film? he was one of the yokels in the “Yorkshire” pub….that was filmed in Wales.

Don’t forget Brian Glover: “THAT’S ENOOOOOOOOFF!”

For me, it did have some proper scares, especially the dream sequences. Great soundtrack too.

It’s really all about Jenny Agutter though, who occupies a special place in the heart of nearly all men of my generation.

IT

Still can’t watch it now.

Scariest films for me with the Exorcist and Evil Dead. Evil Dead gave me nightmares for a while.

The Exorcist scared me witless (and at the time we were watching every single horror film available including all the gore ones like Zombie Flesh Eaters). Evil Dead didn’t scare me but it had a dreadful effect on my mate – I had to walk him home and, because his dad was away and he was home alone, I had to sit with him in his bedroom until he went to sleep then walk the 2 miles back home at midnight.

We were about 17 at the time 😀

American Werewolf, Blues Brothers and Trading Places are al in my Top 10 all time fave films. (Mmmmm – Jenny Agutter and Jamie Lee Curtis Norkage).

The pub was The Slaughtered Lamb. Mayall and Brian Glover were in there. Fantastic scene.

my 16 year old watched Alien and said it was rubbish, not frightening, and you could tell it was a man in a costume

The pub was The Slaughtered Lamb. Mayall and Brian Glover were in there. Fantastic scene.

Remember the Alamo!

And what was that Nicole Kidman film about ghosts? The Classification Board admitted they got it wrong giving it a 12 rating (it disturbed me).

And the ‘I See Dead People’ one when the kid is sat in his den and the girl appears (shudders).

I have definitely got worse about watching horror/scary films compared to 25 years ago.

Samuri I know exactly what you mean, I still can’t cross a railway line without worrying about getting my football boots stuck!

This little shit (not the bear, Raggity)…

Bloody terrified me as a child.

And what was that Nicole Kidman film about ghosts?

The Others

The girl in the confirmation dress scared the crap out of me! I was 36 at the time!

The PIF about railway trespass showed a sign that threatened a fine of £25 for offenders!

The others is my kind of film, I love the supernatural stuff, gore isn’t scary!

Looking forward to the film version of ‘The woman in black’!

Mr. Noseybonk.

Terrifying then, equally terrifying now.

Swimming in a quarry

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1964to1979/filmpage_lonely.htm

Good thread, for me its the exoricist too. It scared me when i first saw it, i was about 12, its laughable now and i find it slow paced.

Rosemarys baby was scary too, but no is more like a sunday night drama.

A big +1 for the AwiLondon, I recently got 5:1 fitted and made the girlfiend watch it (who’s too young to have caught it the first time round). The scene out the moors scared her pretty well. Especially with the howling coming from behind us!!

Another for me was Poltergiest. That clown scared the bejeezuz out of me!