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Jaws, Poltergeist and The Birds…. which films have scared and scarred you for life?

November 12th 2006 22:42
I’m still scared of Jaws. Yes, I can admit that. I’m scared of going in deep water at the beach. When I go in water past my shoulders it is hard to enjoy the exciting and freeing feeling of swimming because that brooding music always seems to infiltrate its way into my mind. And it doesn’t go. And if I see a dark shadow, well then I have to try and swim out immediately, but of course my legs are paralysed as I’m so scared and I just stay in the same place screaming that there is a black shadow following. As yet, that shadow has never caught me, but still I’m armed and ready just in case. No wonder I don’t go to the beach often these days, it’s too exhausting.


The Birds. Thanks Alfred Hitchcock. Whenever a bird swoops close to my head and nearly hits me I scream like a two-year-old child. Not very becoming for a woman of 34. I’m petrified in case there is crowd of them behind me, waiting for me to let my guard down and they’ll swoop and surround me.


And Poltergeist. Maybe I’m just a wimp, but I still can’t look under my bed at night in case a clown pops up first. Luckily I have always been able to watch the television without worrying that a force may come into my lounge room that way instead of the front door like other polite visitors.

I know there are other films that have scared, but I don’t want to say too many as I’m really making myself look soft.
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Comments
54 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Cibbuano

November 12th 2006 22:57


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Jaws had me scared of sharks for years. Then I swam with some sharks and realized 'you guys are alright'.

Comment by Tracy

November 12th 2006 23:03


Movies and Life
Hi Cib, gosh, that's great that worked for you. I went snorkelling in the barrier reef and saw some reef sharks, apparently they are safe. But I wasn't taking any chances in case one had skipped breakfast and thought my leg was a good meal. So I went back on the boat....it much safer up there

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 00:44


Horrorphile
Well, bingo! snap!
I wasn't allowed to see Jaws as a boy, I had to wait til I was older. My fear of sharks was compounded. I still have a morbid fascination with them. And a fear of dark ocena water. Yikes.
Poltergiest scared me shitless as a boy. That clown at the end of the bed! God damn!
Halloween's boogeyman premise is still a show-stopper.
And Dallas in the air vent shafts in Alien and the others watching the alien moving closer on the little computer is still an all time nut-cruncher!

Comment by Anonymous

November 13th 2006 01:40
I have a healthy respect for deep water due to Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg. Not only has that movie saved me from the jaws of Great White Sharks but if I stay in shallow water there's less chance of me being taken out by an undercurrent.
Fanks JAWS!!! Not only a great movie, but a safeguard againt frivolous adventurism.

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 01:52


Horrorphile
and you know how dangerous frivolous adventurism can be!

Comment by JohnDoe

November 13th 2006 02:38


Film & TV on DVD
I grew up on Newport Beach in Sydney and Jaws was a film that still to this day has scarred me psychologically. Interesting that Peter Benchley felt terrible about the paranoia he created and worked till the day he died trying to understand and save these awe inspiring predators.

Poltergeist, thats another big tick as a kid, it did a number on me for sure.

The Birds I enjoy but it never really rolled over into my real life fears.

As a curious lad The Wicker Man still comes back to bite me in the ass sometimes.

The winner for me though has to be Watership Down, it is the horror film that has left the biggest mark on my inner psyche. Saw it once as a kid and there are images and ideas that I will never shake. If the song "Bright Eyes" comes on the radio when Im, driving I have to pull over and recompose myself.
The thing that frightens me the most about this film the truth in it.

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 03:48


Movies and Life
Hi Bryn

I forgot about Halloween, that was another one that stayed with me...

Tracy

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 03:50


Movies and Life
Yes, we can't have frivolous adventurism...

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 03:56


Horrorphile
Of course, of course ... Halloweeen ... In my top 5 all time fave horrors .. As much as the new flicks try and emulate them, they just don't make 'em like they used to!

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 04:02


Movies and Life
I just looked up the Halloween Wiki and just the picture scared me.....

Comment by DuskDevi

November 13th 2006 04:06


Rugby World Cup 2007
Hello Tracy...

'Jaws'...man...not good, especially because I water-ski! It's not the shark, it's the bloody music... quite happily skim across the surface until da-num, da-num, dun dun dun dun dun....just creeps into my mind and I yell at whoever's driving the boat to go faster...my husband is the only one who knows what's really going on...everyone else thinks I'm a speedfreak.
I confess. I'm a freakin' coward!!!

'The Phantasm' - cannot even talk about this.

JD...you are just The Man... 'The Wicker Man' classic...oh wow...freaked me out.

'Mission: Impossible 2' - can never recover from the horror of this...
Sorry...couldn't resist.

Yeah 'Poltergeist' as well...that scene where Zelda's...is that her name, the exorcist?...assistant washes his face in the bathroom and it all starts to come off...I swear I was eating a pizza then...scarred me for life.

'The MothMan Prophecies' - read the book first but just after seeing this movie on DVD...I didn't really want to go outside. Just for a few hours.
It might have been Richard Gere's acting.

And I haven't seen this movie. I'm not really into this genre...but the preview of 'Jeepers Creepers 2', when the Jeeping Creep Scarecrow suddenly turns its head...oh. hell.

Tracy, excellent post. If I can't sleep tonight...I know where you write.

DuskDevi






Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 04:21


Movies and Life
Hi John

I'd forgotten that Peter Benchley tried to make amends for people's psychological scars because of the film. I watched some of it again when it was on telly a while ago and while I could see that it was a bit cheesy in terms of special effects compared to today's films, it was still just as frightening. Amazing how such a simple concept in a film was so effecting, I think it has something to do with using a basic human reaction, such as being afraid of sharks and then expanding upon that with haunting music.

I know what you are saying about Watership Down, as a kid that film always made me feel guilty - just like John Lennon's Happy Christmas-War Is Over and The Lord of the Flies book, and cry. It still makes me cry and it doesn't help that it was the song on in the background while my sister was dying, now it's doubly affecting. I won't be seeing that film again unless I have a stiff drink or two beforehand. Not that I'm wishing you any sadness, John but I feel glad that I'm not the only one to be affected by it, I used to think I was mad.

Tracy

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 04:37


Horrorphile
Stephen Speilberg did an amazing job with Jaws, especially the first half when you don't see much of the shark itself. For a 28 year old director, sensational work.
And Dusk Devi ... Phantasm .. what a great film indeed!!

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 04:42


Movies and Life
Hi Bryn

Yes, I hadn't realised that about the first half of Jaws, it shows us suspenseful it is...

Comment by Cibbuano

November 13th 2006 04:44


Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
The American version of The Ring had me terrified of TVs for a while.

I know, I know, the Japanese version is supposed to be 'better', but I think the American version was a fantastic reimagining. That creepy video...

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 04:47


Horrorphile
I agree Cibby, I thought the Jap director did a good job of remaking his own film for the English market, the same of which can NOT be said for the Dutch director who remade his own film The Vanishing ....

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 04:51


Movies and Life
Hello DuskDevi

Thanks for your comments, I hope you sleep well tonight. I hope I do too. I still have that Halloween picture in my head...

It wouldn't be much fun hearing the Jaws music while water-skiing, you are brave.

I haven't seen The Phantasm and I don't think I will now that the everyone is saying how scary it is...

Happy dreams,

Tracy

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 04:53


Movies and Life
Oh yes, The Ring was frightening...it put me off telly for a bit it was so scary...

Comment by JohnDoe

November 13th 2006 05:04


Film & TV on DVD
Thank You Tracy,
Happy to share your pain, my sympathies to you.

Comment by DuskDevi

November 13th 2006 05:22


Rugby World Cup 2007
Hi Tracy...

It's got nothing to do with being brave and everything to do with my frightening the bejingies out of myself and not wanting others to know that my showing-off (wanting the boat to speed up) is actually, my movie scarred fear!
John Williams made the soundtrack of my life...
Saw 'The Phantasm' once. Wish I hadn't.
Thanks Tracy...Happy Dreams right back at ya.

DuskDevi

Comment by Bryn

November 13th 2006 05:26


Horrorphile
I hate being a stickler, but the film is actually simply called Phantasm ... it was also known under the title The Never Dead in some countries ... It is a brilliant meld of sf, fantasy and horror .... a truly nightmarish amalgam.

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 06:04


Movies and Life
Hi John

Thanks for sharing my pain..

Tracy

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 06:05


Movies and Life
Hi DuskDevi

Sounds like you're doing a good job of creating the illusion of being brave...I was convinced.

Byee

Comment by Laura

November 13th 2006 08:44
Hey! i havent watched poltergeist or the birds but then again thats probably a good thing as id probably be too scared to move.. but yeh .. when i was like 8.. i watched Childsplay... and the whole possessed doll concept as a child...omg..s-o scared that my toys would attack me..

Comment by Candice

November 13th 2006 09:41
Oh yes, Jeepers Creepers. I didn't see the second one because the first one scared me so much. My sister and I took our ten years younger cousins to see it. They weren't scared at all while my sister and I were watching the film between splayed fingers. The image of the bit with the eye at the end still makes me break out in a cold sweat.

The other one for me was Fortress. It was about people who are taken hostage and I couldn't look out the window for months (maybe it was even years!!) afterwards.

Comment by theadora

November 13th 2006 09:57


at the boardroom
Ad Magnum Opus
hello Tracy, the two films i was most affected by:

salem's lot...that tapping on the window scene freaked me out as youngster (where the boy returns for his brother).

the excorcist...the whole bloody thing


Comment by Andrea

November 13th 2006 10:44


V8 Supercar Pitstop
Hi Tracy

Definitely the US version of The Ring (haven't seen the Japanese one). Especially since just after I watched it on video the telephone rang ... creepy!

And anything with Vampires - they freak me out.

A.H.

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 13:59


Movies and Life
Hi Laura

Oh yes, I watched Child's Play too. That frightened the be-jesus out of me...

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 14:03


Movies and Life
HI Candice

I didn't see Jeepers Creepers and I probably won't either...as I've got older I've got more scared rather than resiliant....

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 14:05


Movies and Life
Hello Theadora

Oh, I agree with both of the films you mentioned...images of Salem's Lot are in my head now.

Hello Andrea

Yes, The Ring was so scary....aahhh

Tracy

Sweet dreams, everyone!

Comment by The Voices in my Head

November 13th 2006 16:56


The Voices in my Head
It wasn't a movie, it was a television show called, 'Adam'. I watched it with my mom one night when I was sick. I think I was eight. It was a show about John Walsh's son, Adam, who was abducted at a very young age...five maybe? I can't remember. The show terrified me, because I didn't know things happened like that to little kids. It changed my entire life as a kid. I no longer wanted to be alone, I didn't want to play outside...it was horrible. No counseling options in those days, parents just didn't believe in it. But I needed it! I could have done without that show!

Voices~

Comment by Tracy

November 13th 2006 20:54


Movies and Life
Hi Voices

Thanks for your comments. I didn't know anything about John Walsh and his son so I looked him up on Google. What an awful story and that's terrible that it affected you so much. Did your mum know you were so distressed?

I remember watching a film mini-series called Roots with my family and having a similar reaction. The story is based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his African ancestors, Roots followed several generations in the lives of a slave family. The saga began with Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), a West African youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. Kunta received brutal treatment from his white masters and rebelled continually. There was a scene where Kunta Kinte was tortured and had his toes cut off so that he couldn't walk. I felt so awful and guilty that he was being treated in such a cruel way. I can still see the scene in my mind. I don't think I ever told my parents that the series affected me so much. It's quite incredible that sometimes it isn't necessarily the overt films that can cause distress when younger (as JohnDoe was saying about Watership Down).

Tracy

Comment by Judy

November 14th 2006 03:47


Ex-Hostie
Tracy, the recent-ish movie Wolf Creek about backpackers that get tortured and chopped up in a garage belonging to a psychotic murderer was truly frightening. And it was based on a real story. Yikes! Now I can never go into a garage without getting shivers down my spine, goosepimply skin and heart palpitations.

Comment by Bryn

November 14th 2006 03:52


Horrorphile
Wolf Creek is one of the best horrors in years. Period.

Comment by My Lady Me

November 14th 2006 03:57
The exorcist...definitely.

Comment by Tracy

November 14th 2006 04:34


Movies and Life
Hi Judy and Bryn

I've heard that Wolf Creek is exceedingly scary but good. I find those sorts of horror films that are almost real life hard to watch because they could happen. I find it easier to watch films about vampires or supernatural things because they are less likely to happen...hopefully

Tracy

Comment by Judy

November 14th 2006 04:49


Ex-Hostie
Tracy, yeah...hopefully. I thought there were real life vampires?? Anyway, you should watch Wolf Creekand SAW despite their scariness, because they are well made movies.

Comment by Tracy

November 14th 2006 04:54


Movies and Life
Yes, I've heard Wolf Creek is very good, I'll have to watch it with someone though and not do a road trip soon afterwards otherwise I will be too jittery to drive and that wouldn't be much fun.

Comment by Tracy

November 14th 2006 04:57


Movies and Life
PS I'm not convinced about Saw....that looks a bit much I think...

Comment by Bryn

November 15th 2006 02:38


Horrorphile
the Saw films suck.

Comment by Georgie

November 15th 2006 02:40
Jaws for sure.

Haven't seen poltergeist and the birds stopped scaing me
after I was attacked by a friends' budgie (quite a pathetic sight, the most it did was peck at my ears).

yes most sharks are harmless. yes most sharks are small but thinking about them makes you think more about what's in deep water (giant squids, saltwater crocodiles, rays, those man of war jellyfish - I'm amazed I even go near the beach)

Comment by Tracy

November 15th 2006 02:44


Movies and Life
I like your honesty, Bryn.

Comment by Tracy

November 15th 2006 03:00


Movies and Life
Hi Georgie

Hope you've recovered from your budgie injury...

Yes, that's what I think about deep water..how do we know what's down there? I know that makes it even more exciting to some people, but not to me. I don't know or who is in there, there's no ground to put my tootsies on and who knows who's swimming next to me or looking at me.....it's all a bit much really.

Tracy

Comment by Lizard68591

November 15th 2006 04:17


The Blog Formerly Known As Saturday Morning Movie Club
I dont think anyone mentioned the movies that will haunt me for life...

Nightmare On Elm Street
Silence Of The Lambs


And even though they didnt take any real toll on me I think that Stephen King's It atleast deserves an honorable mention...I know a few people who will never feel the same about clowns!!!

Comment by Tracy

November 15th 2006 05:37


Movies and Life
Hi Lizard68591

Yes, those films are pretty unforgettable. I still look up when I'm in a lift thanks to Hannibal Lector.

It is another film that has added to my clown fear....

Comment by Joanne

November 15th 2006 09:15
Hi Tracy,
I can only really agree with the Exorcist. I watched it for the first time when it first came out, and a movie has never affected me so much. Have tried watching it at least 3 times since, and cannot get through it. Anything else is child's play for me. As for Jaws, try reading the book, it gets your heart rate going twice as fast as the movie!

Comment by Tracy

November 15th 2006 09:23


Movies and Life
HI Joanne

I'm the opposite, The Exorcist was definitely scary but it didn't leave lingering affects like Jaws and Poltergoost did...thankfully...

Tracy

Comment by Georgie

November 15th 2006 20:36
got to credit give credit to Silence of the Lambs - again you got the impression that something evil was out there -somewhere.

Comment by Bella

November 16th 2006 14:54


21st Century Moms
Random Thoughts
I saw jaws when I was about 8 years old in an outdoor movie theater on the beach of Malaga, Spain. Talk about trauma.. what were my parents thinking??

Comment by Tracy

November 17th 2006 05:18


Movies and Life
Hi Bella

We have something in common...our shared trauma from Jaws and the fact that our parents let us watch such a scary movie at a young age. I was also about 8 but I didn't have the backdrop of a beach in Malaga. I just realised, did it make it even more scary being by the sea?!

Tracy

Comment by Anonymous

November 17th 2006 21:02
Hi Tracy,

Yes, it was pretty traumatizing, specially when my brother and I were expected to go swimming the next day in the beach!

Bella

Comment by Tracy

November 17th 2006 21:30


Movies and Life
HI Bella

Oh gosh, did you go?!

Tracy

Comment by Bella

November 17th 2006 22:37


21st Century Moms
Random Thoughts
Yes, one of the scariest days of my life! I remember it as if it were yesterday. I could hear the theme song playing in my head and I knew HE was OUT there..

My brother refused to go in and waited more the 2 weeks to test the waters again.

Bella

Comment by Tracy

November 17th 2006 22:40


Movies and Life
Gosh, I don't know how you did it. I bet it wasn't much fun?! Eek...

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