Okay, so I like horror movies. I really like them mainly because I know that they aren’t real and because I have yet to be scared by one since I was a little kid and saw a part from Stephen King’s "Rose Red". Since then it’s been hard for me to find one that really scares me; one that makes my skin crawl for more than a two-minute scene and makes it hard to fall asleep. So I have made it my goal this summer to watch every horror movie that I can get my hands on to find one that does the trick. To start out, I asked a Facebook group for suggestions of movies that really scared people, after compiling a list of all of the movies that scared my fellow group members I started to go through and watch said scary movies and review each.
As you'll see while reading I use a scale to rate each movie and jump scene, this scale only goes up to five. A one on the movie scale is "not scary at all/made me fall asleep", a two is "not scary at all", a three is "had some decent material on the creepy side" a four is "very creepy material and good scares", and a five is "scary as heck". This scale is the same for the jump scenes from "falling asleep not scary" to "scary as heck".
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
1. "Sinister"– 2012
It had some decent jump scenes but not enough to really scare.
Scare Scale:3
Basic summary: The main character, Ellison Oswald, is a “true crime” author who goes and researches and writes about crimes that really happened. While trying to write his next bestseller, he moves his family in order to live where the inspiration for his most recent book, the murder of a family of four and a kidnapping, took place. However, what he doesn’t tell his family is that he moved them into the house where the family was killed. Like in any good horror movie, he makes some not so smart decisions, such as opening the box he found in the attic and watching the movies filmed on super 8 film that he found in the box. As if his watching these creepy home movies isn’t bad enough, these home movies are actually videos of five, that’s right five, separate murder/missing person cases. He, like any good horror movie character, decides that he must solve these crimes and starts looking into them, this includes printing out images of the creepy pale faced mystery man (who slightly resembles a member from Insane Clown Posse) who shows up in several of them. Real smart. The reason that I give this movie a 3 out of 5 is because it has a few decent jump scenes, but beside that it’s not that scary.
So here are the jump scenes:
Jump Scene: “fall through the floor”. I give this scene about a three. It’s not that surprising; you’re expecting something to happen when he hears a noise and goes up into the attic again. However, Ellison falling through the floor after spotting a snake is probably not what was expected.
Jump scene: “Mr. Boogie outside”. I give a four because they do pull this one off extremely well, and the background music helps to make this part creepy. I mean come on, how creepy is it to be looking at a picture and then look out of the window and see some dude standing outside of your house staring at you?!
Jump scene: “mowing the lawn”. I give this one a 5 out of 5! It really kind of comes out of nowhere and catches you off guard, it’s also kind of gruesomely surprising. It makes me cringe because it’s so bad, and I have a pretty strong stomach.
Jump scene: “dead Stephanie”. Another 5 out of 5! She literally just comes out of nowhere, and at first I totally thought it was his daughter with her rotting face peeking over his shoulder. They do try to keep up with the scary dead kids, though, by showing all of the dead kids appearing in various places behind him; however, after Stephanie peeks her little head with her pretty "Matilda"-looking red ribbon over his shoulder, the rest are kind of dull. They don’t jump out and surprise you the way that Stephanie’s appearance does, and they kind of get redundant after a while.
Jump scene: “movie time with Mr. Boogie”. I give it a 4 out of 5. While it is kind of scary because of the sudden increase in sound and change in music, you’re kind of expecting something to jump out when Ellison peeks his head up into the attic (where he heard noises coming from and like all good horror movie characters he must go and investigate that dang noise) and sees all of the dead kids chilling and watching the home videos of their families being brutally murdered.
I do give the filmmakers points for the distorted voices playing over the audio as Ellison burns the super 8 film and scares his wife half to death by yelling at her to get the kids out of the house. I also give them points because the first time viewing this film I definitely thought it was going to be another Amityville Horror where the father figure goes nuts and tries to kill everyone, so I was pleasantly surprised that it had the plot twist that it did. I also give the little boy playing the son, Trevor, points for being the creepiest sleepwalking kid to be in a horror movie, including his creepy contortionist act when he’s inside a moving box. I also give them props for introducing me to the legend of “Bughuul” who is described in the movie as a “Pagan deity” but online is rather hard to find. If the legend from the movie is correct, it’s no wonder it’s hard to find anything about him. So, it seems like a trip to the library is in order this summer to find out more about this legend.
I say if jump scenes get you and you enjoy a paranormal horror film mixed with a murder mystery thriller, this movie is definitely for you!
2. "The Conjuring" - 2013
This movie has good jump scenes and a great story. Bonus points for being based on a true story.
Scare Scale: 4
I remember watching my newsfeed blow up back when this movie first came out. It seemed like everyone I went to high school with was absolutely terrified by this movie, so I did what any rational person would do. I closed my door, turned off the lights, climbed into my bed and streamed the movie on my laptop. Needless to say, I was not all that scared with this one but more so than with "Sinister."
Basic summary: A family moves into a new house, and there are strange happenings, such as a weird smell like rotting meat, the doors banging open all night long, one of the daughters sleepwalking, the mom bruising like a banana, and creepy clapping hands that do not belong to any of the daughters. So the parents bring in a couple (literally) of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren. After some digging and a few sleepovers, Ed and Lorraine are able to prove that the house is in need of an exorcism because there's a witch who killed herself and cursed the entire land (No biggie, though). What scared me the most about this film is when they show the face of the demon that is haunting the land/house/family. Good job make-up department! So here are the jump scenes from this film that really stood out to me.
Jump scene: "doll in the closet". This scene received a 1 on the scare scale. The film begins by introducing us to the Warrens and that starts with their case involving Annabelle, a haunted doll. (Yes, the movie "Annabelle" is also one that will be reviewed, so don't worry.) This first jump scene is a flashback from the two nursing students who have the doll Annabelle and have already found a very creepy note from her asking if they missed her when they were gone. Needless to say, the loud *thump* from the closet in the hallway that causes the girls to scream is precisely what is expected, which is why I gave this jump scene a 1 out of 5. Not surprising at all.
Jump scene: "Music box mirror". This one got a 1 as well is another one of those scenes where the filmmakers set you up to try and scare you. While yes, the filmmakers don't give you what you expect to see, which is a dead little kid reflected in the mirror, they do have the youngest daughter April startle the mom. After the creepy music the music box plays, you're more or less expecting for something to jump out at her.
Jump scene: "close the door". I have to admit this one was hard to rate so I give it a 3 out of 5. What makes this scene is actually the daughter Christine's scream, rather than the door slamming shut. This scene left me curious to know just what it was that Christine saw standing behind her door. Call me crazy, but I really want to know what it was.
Jump scene: "it's raining pictures". This one also got a 3 out of 5 because any scene in which there is a sudden loud noise is sure to make anybody jump. However, this scene did seem too fake because if a whole bunch of pictures fell and glass shattered and there was that loud of a crash, at least one of the daughters would have woken up, yet the daughters all continue to sleep peacefully as the mother continues to investigate.
Jump scene: "locked in". I had to give this one a measly 1 out of 5 because it just seemed so silly to me. Honestly, you hear someone in your basement/see the door open, and your first reaction is to yell that you're locking them in? It's your own fault you were pushed down the stairs...
Jump scene: "hide and clap". This is one of the higher ranked scenes with a 3 out of 5 because there's a bunch of creepy children's voices whispering. It could have received a higher score if they had not chosen to use the part with the hands clapping next to the mom's head in almost all of the trailers.
I do have to give the filmmakers some points because they did take a true story and did such a good job with the film. I also give them points for giving the viewers hope as everything seems to go back to normal. It seems like the Warrens were able to chase whatever it was out of the house, and then *bam* the filmmakers let all hell break loose. Watching the two mothers Caroline and Lorraine both worry about their daughters as the demon/witch/ghost slowly takes hold of the one mother is brilliant. I loved seeing that it was not just the one family that was being "haunted," and I really enjoyed the last scene in the house and watching the mother Caroline fight off the demon/witch/ghost to protect her daughters. But I do wish they would have done more in explaining Lorraine's gift and why her husband Ed is so overly protective. They need to make a movie telling that story.
So these sadly were the only two movies that I had the time to watch since asking my group the question on Facebook. I plan to watch the rest of their suggestions soon. Also, I do post updates while I'm watching the films with the hashtag #SearchForAScaryMovie. So if you want spoilers on the second part of my search, I'm all over it. Enjoy these lovely horror movies, and remember, sleep well.
