So since it is the Halloween season, I present to you my top 7 (couldn't think of 10 and couldn't narrow it down to 5) movies that scared me and kept me up at night (in no particular order.)
1. Drag Me to Hell - This is kind of more campy scary, but oh so delightful. It is the story of a nice girl who works in a bank and one day, as she tries to be more assertive and tough to get a promotion, denies a loan to a nice old lady who turns out to be a messed up gypsy who curses her. It's gory and hokey and has lots of jump out of your skin type scares.
2. Wait Until Dark - I guess this is more of a mystery than a horror movie. All I know is that I watched in in high school in the room above my friends garage and there were several moments where we screamed really loud. It's an oldy, but a classic. Audrey Hepburn is a blind woman who is terrorized by a criminal who thinks there is a doll stuffed with Heroin hidden in her house. The last 20 min are unreal.
3. The Ring - Even doing a Google Image search for that picture freaked me out. This movie is about a woman investigating a video tape (remember those?) that if you watch it, you die within seven days. This movie messed me up. I was scared of it for about the next 6 months. I remember seeing this with my wife (it must have been while we were still dating and she was trying to woo me) and at one point in the movie she turned to me and said "You need to calm down." This movie was full of creepy, twisted imagery that sticks with you. Spooktastic.
4. Night Of The Living Dead - This is the original zombie movie before zombie were cool and hip. I saw it in black and white one Halloween night after coming home from trick or treating. My older brother was watching it in the basement and I don't think my parents knew I was watching it with him (I was probably about 9.) I remember becoming physically ill I was so scared. That scene where the little girl comes to life and (spoiler alert) kills her mother with a garden spade. Too much.
5. Insidious - This movie came out a few years ago and I think was pretty overlooked but it was great. It is the story of a family who moves into a house which they quickly discover is haunted. So they move to another house, which is also haunted. Maybe it's not the house that's haunted! Did you ever think of that?? This is a great one if you are anti-gore, because it's not zombies-eating-your-flesh kind of horror. It's more who's-that-spooky-man-standing-outside-your-window kinda scary. I watched this with my sister while she was helping me pack my house to move from Portland back to Utah and at one point I remember turning to her and saying "This is a movie about a family in a house full of moving boxes and we are sitting IN A HOUSE FULL OF MOVING BOXES!" It's a blast.
6. The Others - Dang, I loved this movie. Moody and creepy and beautiful. It's about a woman who is looking for someone to take care of her kids who can't go out in the sun because of an allergy. Then spooky stuff happens. Then I wet my pants. This is definitely one I would watch with my kids when they are a little older.
7. Rosemary's Baby - If you haven't seen this classic, go watch it. A woman in a NYC apartment becomes pregnant and then starts to suspect her baby is the son of Satan. I know it sounds charming but it is creepy and unsettling and fantastic. Plus, Mia Farrow is a gift. And it has Ruth Gordon (You know, Maude from Harold and Maude! You love her!!)
So there you have it. I am sure I have left something out. Remind me in the comments what I missed, or tell me what your favorite scary movies are. I need a reason to stay up late (and then not be able to sleep after.)
