18 Den Of Geek writers confess to the film that gave them the chills.
That is, though, until a scary movie comes along.
We asked our writers to confess to the film that gave them the chills.
By that point, Argentos movies where the object of cult adoration.
Its grotesque, but the real horror arrives from the realisation that the child was playing.
They never take pleasure in their actions, or show remorse.
They just do, as children just do.
They want the adults dead and this is motivation enough.
Pretty boy David Soul works the perturbed (and frequently constipated) angle as writer Ben Mears.
For me, this would be the definitive trip to Creepsville.
Marathon ManGlen Chapman
Im generally quite a jumpy person.
This year moments inDrag Me To HellandPandorumhave almost seen me jump out of my seat.
One example that springs to mind, perhaps an obvious one, is the dental torture scene inMarathon Man.
The way Szell calmly repeats the question, Is it safe?
whilst using a number of dental instruments to inflict pain to a baffled and terrified Babe is incredibly scary.
Its reported that originally the scene was longer and was shortened following preview audiences feeling sick.
The ExorcistNick Smith
Every family should have a dodgy uncle who corrupts his nieces and nephews.
So the only way to watch it in the comfort of my own living room was via pirate videotape.
Another factor made my viewing experience far more unnerving.
It was the tape itself.
Third generation at least, it was a grainy, crackling ghost of the original.
I had to strain to see what was going on in the darkest scenes.
I barely heard the whispered or grunted voices of Regan speaking in tongues.
My grungy tape added to this documentary feel.
The audience was scared shitless, their disquiet palpable.
But it wasnt the same for me.
Event HorizonSimon Brew
I dont come out of the next 200 words very well at all.
But just once,Event Horizonreally got under my skin.
Im a great believer in mood and circumstance affecting your thoughts on a given film.
The latter was crucial, as what struck me aboutEvent Horizonwas the surround sound mix was just outstanding.
And I found that it wasnt the visuals on screen that were making my skin crawl.
It was the outstanding, and surprisingly subtle, use of sound.
Nothing more, and nothing less, than that.
I lapped up the firstHellraiserand idolised the scary fantasticHouse.
Not a single goosebump, though.
Still, theres not just one film that scares me but a whole series.
And when I tell you why, youll probably laugh.
Other monsters stay up on screen.
Dracula, the Wolf Man, Jason, Pinhead… theyre trapped in stories and celluloid.
Thats why I am shit scared ofA Nightmare On Elm Street.
If you dont buy that, let me ask you something.
Have you ever dreamt about Freddy?
Its an odd experience both psychologically and philosophically.
Sure, hes a not real.
You know that logically and rationally.
But in the throes of REM can you be ever be certain?
I mean, entering peoples dreams and messing with their heads is what Freddy does.
Could those finger blades tear more than a metaphysical hole in you?
Is your bed getting ready to swallow you whole, trapping you in the dreamworld forever?
Then you havent dreamt about Freddy Krueger yet, have you?
Its only a matter of time.
And theyre certainly not showing any signs that they are slooowing.
), all spluttered out to the backdrop of some drug-addled 60s kaleidoscope, make this sequence genuinely disturbing.
To make this film was a characteristically brave move.
The film gives neither.
Lynchs movie is constructed from the abstract, dark weirdness, the uncomfortable dream imagery of the series.
Ultimately, I think this is why I still find the film so disturbing.
Its a prequel that doesnt act like a prequel.
All the characters, including Laura Palmer, become aware of their future.
The film depicts the incestuous corruption of Laura Palmer as she consciously walks towards her fate.
Jacobs LadderGaye Birch
I was almost immune to horror films by the time I could read.
It wasnt the characters that turned demonic without warning or the horrors of war that got me.
It was this: shaky people.
Lots of films have copied the phenomenon since, so it must scare many more than me.
It gets to me every time.
And it still scared me.
The Dark CrystalJoe Martin
The Dark Crystalitself isnt very scary.
Its a truly horrifying scene of unrestrained brutality.
People can laugh at me if they want, but I dont care.
Tim Curry as Pennywise really is brilliant in a role that still gives me the creeps now.
Realism is key, albeit realism peppered with the macabre.
There are two haunting, disturbing scenes in particular guaranteed to stay with you.
AuditionJulian Whitley
In terms of sheer visceral thrills, cinema doesnt come much more shocking than Takashi MiikesAudition.
For the first half of the film, you wouldnt necessarily realise you were watching a horror.
At the behest of his son, Aoyama holds a number of surreptitious auditions for a new partner.
One things for sure: one viewing, and you will long to be single!
Roman Polanski did it with naked witches).
Few things have upset me as much as the sinister forest sprite that offers ominous prophecies through the fog.
Personally, the kind of horror film that really sticks with me is the psychological breed.
The kind of film that leaves more to your imagination than anything else.
Its fair to say thatCloverfieldis not without its faults.
