This movie has warped my fragile little mind!

I’ve probably said it a thousand times, but I’ll say it again: I LOVE a good scare! Horror movies are probably one of my favorite things in the world (y’know, besides good food, good wine, good spirits, good music and all that jazz). Dunkel and I probably don’t usually go much over a week before watching at least one horror movie, usually more.. We’ll even have marathons on certain evenings, turn off the lights, maybe grab a brew, dig into the pile and find something we’ve either not seen before or haven’t seen in a long time.

In that aspect, I’ll watch just about everything, most of it for shit and giggles.. Coz, let’s face it, most horror movies are pretty ridiculous and, these days quite often warp into off the mill slashers or new age exploitation movies just looking to gross you out (which is a trend I’d wished died in the 70’s).

Every now and then, though, I do run into a memorable experience.. Y’know, the kinda movie that stays hauntingly in your brain for days or weeks and making you feel ever so uncomfortable in the dark or on your own.. A feeling that I for some reason really love.. I guess I’m odd like that.. But I take it as a tribute to the film maker that he’s managed to severely mess with my mind – a place that honestly should be messed up enough to start with, but eh..

As a result, my top list of horror movies is probably a little different from most other people’s.. In some aspects at least.. Well, it does have The Exorcist on there for reasons of the acting, the contrasts and the sheer brooding, terrifying and violent mood of the movie.. But other than that, it’s pretty much a mash-up of various movies I’ve watched through the years that have left some lasting effect on me in one way or the other.

Other than The Exorcist, my list prominently features the very overlooked gem Stir Of Echoes owing mostly to the haunting flash backs, the disturbing imagery and the whole build-up in the movie that more than once leaves you to wondering whether or not you’re about to receive a major scare, and at other times just have you jumping unexpectedly out of  your chair. I’ll offer this fact as to how scary this movie can be to some: I first watched it ten years back during a trip to the states with friends and to this date, I still have the imprint of my friend at the time, Maria’s, nails on my leg from where she clung on to me in sheer terror during one of those unexpected scares.. Now if that’s not a movie to remember, I don’t know what is.

Well, maybe I do.. The Woman In Black is another widely overlooked and grossly underestimated movie. It’s a chilling 20 year old British direct to television movie that has left a lasting impression on pretty much everybody who’s ever seen it – at least that I know of. It’s not that it’s ridiculously scary throughout, but it is exceptionally moody and haunting in it’s own, little way.. And when it does try to surprise you and scare you.. It does so well! It actually is the only movie I’ve ever seen that’s actually caused me to leap out of my seat and SCREAM bloody murder in sheer shock and terror.. Dunkel will testify to this as he heard me.. Even from the other side of the house and through a few walls as he, having seen the movie before, wisely decided to leave the room and “go to the toilet” as the main scare of the movie came up.. Clever boy! I’ll willingly admit that I did have a substantial amount of trouble closing my eyes and going to sleep for days on end after that.. And that’s certainly not like me. Well, admittedly, it is, but that’s owing to insomnia, not horror movies.

I guess an emerging trend here is that I prefer psychological horror over the supernatural and cheap scare counterparts, which is brilliantly exemplified in my till now probably favorite horror movie of all time – The Innocents – a British black and white classic from 1961 which left a lasting impression on me although, ironically I’ve still to watch the end of it, as the copy we watched was messed up in one way or another.. No real matter, though.. As the intro theme in itself is pretty much enough to give anybody the creeps.. And, I shudder to admit, still gives me goosebumps months after first hearing it

Granted, the fact that I walked home late one night from Dunkel’s after watching this and distinctly heard playful, singing kid’s voices coming from the local cemetery probably didn’t help with my perception of the scare factor if this movie. So, yea, looking forward to getting a new copy of this.. And getting scared out of my mind.

But I digress. What I really wanted to mention was that I’ve found a recent addition to my now almost finished top ten of horror movies of all time.. And it’s, quite atypically, very recent (as in not only less than ten years old, but actually less than one year old) AND American. It’s called The Strangers and I like it not only coz it has Liv Tyler in it, but also because it’s pretty much 85 minutes of sheer psychological terror. I mean, screw all supernatural or ghostly aspects. There isn’t any of that in here. It’s just a look into the darker sides of the human mind – fear, evil, coldness.. All that jazz!

It’s basically the kind of movie that does a pretty good job at making you realize that some people are just downright evil and of not making you feel safe anywhere – not even within the comforting four walls of your own living room. It is haunting – but in a very natural and real kinda way.. Which is why I was surprised to see that it had gotten really mixed reviews with the major part being of the bad variety – I found it absolutely brilliant and chilling, if a bit short and one-dimensional.. And I highly recommend it to anybody in need of a good scare and a bit of insecurity. I’ve included the trailer since it was about enough to give me the creeps – so if you’re not really into this thing, you may want to steer clear of this or at least not say I didn’t warn you.

Dunkel probably put it best when he pitched the movie to me: “Dude, you gotta watch this.. I just finished it a few hours ago and I’m still not too comfortable looking over my shoulder” .. And here I am a few weeks later sharing that very same feeling and it’s been like 24 hours since I watched it.. Now if that’s not good filmmaking, I don’t know what is And no, I don’t know why I get a kick out of being scared shitless, it makes about as much sense as me getting a kick out of eating super hot chilies.. It’s just a rush, simple as that.