Movies that freaked you out as a kid...

[nvmbrsdoom5]

After commenting in the thread about drive-in movies, it made me start thinking about movies I had seen as a young kid that really freaked me out or scared me. I'm sure quite a few of us have experiences where we watched some scary movie at a young age that really made an impact. I can think of a few...

"The Exorcist"- Though I didn't see this in it's entirety until I was about 9 years old, it still scared the daylights out of me. I had nightmares for a long time after seeing it, and not to sound like a wuss, but it still creeps me out. I think it's a testament to what an amazingly well done film it is. I'm a big fan of it now, and I love the book (which I find to be even creepier).

"Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"- I saw the Seventies remake of this at the Drive-In as a young kid, when it was part of a double feature for another movie I'd intended to see. Why my parents thought it'd be ok for me to watch this, I have no clue LOL I was only like 5 or 6 and really didn't understand it, which just made it that much more freaky to me.

Those are just a couple of examples that spring to mind right now. Does anyone have similar experiences as these?

[JPkempo]

The 70's remake of "invasion of the body snatchers". That is the only one I can think of, I thought of it as soon as I read your title with out reading the rest of your post.

Just saw the newest remake of the film, not scary and happy happy joy joy, preachy ending. It sucked.

[mitchedwards]

After commenting in the thread about drive-in movies, it made me start thinking about movies I had seen as a young kid that really freaked me out or scared me. I'm sure quite a few of us have experiences where we watched some scary movie at a young age that really made an impact. I can think of a few...

"The Exorcist"- Though I didn't see this in it's entirety until I was about 9 years old, it still scared the daylights out of me. I had nightmares for a long time after seeing it, and not to sound like a wuss, but it still creeps me out. I think it's a testament to what an amazingly well done film it is. I'm a big fan of it now, and I love the book (which I find to be even creepier).

"Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"- I saw the Seventies remake of this at the Drive-In as a young kid, when it was part of a double feature for another movie I'd intended to see. Why my parents thought it'd be ok for me to watch this, I have no clue LOL I was only like 5 or 6 and really didn't understand it, which just made it that much more freaky to me.

Those are just a couple of examples that spring to mind right now. Does anyone have similar experiences as these?

Never saw the movie, but the trailer for scanners, where the guys head exploded always freaked me out.

[Zemo]

The Shining and Midnight Express for me.

[toys2cool]

The Exorcist definitely,but it cracked me up as well though and the Omen

[toysrus]

movies

the end of " Dont be afraid of the dark "

[grayhank]

At a really young age the Childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang always scared me. I saw Jaws around age 11 and had nightmares for weeks. I still won't go swimming in the ocean. The very low budget "The Legend of Bogey Creek" also freaked me out. Anyone remember that one? It was one of the first movies about Bigfoot. I think there was even a sequel to it which starred Dawn Wells (Maryann of Gilligan's Island).

[Mikey]

Scanners,
The guy's head blowing up.
I wasn't a kid at the time, but I still thought it was really shocking.....

[mego73]

"The Exorcist" as well as the TV ads for "It's Alive", "The Shining" "Alien" and "Magic" freaked me out.

I love those TV ads for horror movies that have a lot of vague views and don't show you too much "The Shining" and "Alien" had those and so did the Exorcist

YouTube - The Exorcist - TV Spot: The Movie You've Been Waiting For

[theantiquetiger]

Salom's Lot - when the kid came floating up to window

[HardyGirl]

Oh man, the commercial for Magic was enough to flip me out!

I didn't see The Exorcist as a child (didn't have that pleasure until my teenage years), but I did see its second cousin Beyond The Door. (I didn't admit I was scared b/c this was the first movie I watched on that brand new thing called CABLE!) Also William Castle's The Bug. Oh man! I couldn't put a phone up to my ear for months w/o checking it for those dreaded fire bugs first! Now that I'm an adult, I taped it off teh Sci-Fi channel. Guess I'm a glutten for punishment!

[nvmbrsdoom5]

Yeah, y'know I agree with you guys about those tv commercial spots. Some of those could really give you the creeps. They'd be spooky and just vague enough to make you go, "What the heck was that about? Not sure I wanna know!" haha I had forgotten about the commercials for "Magic", good call.

"Salems Lot"- Yep, that's another one that really stuck with me as a kid. Saw that one pretty young, probably when about 7 years old. I think because it featured young kids being killed and turned into vampires, it particularly shocked me. But it is now a favorite of mine, and yet another one where I really love the novel as well.

I just watched that link to the Youtube Exorcist commercial.....still makes my heart race. Why does that movie bother me so much?? Man I'm a wimp hahaha!

[mego73]

You also had to know as of 1979, I'd never seen an R rated movie (first R-rated movie I ever saw was The Jerk in the theater and later Alien on Cable)

And the horrors beyond imagination that must of been in R rated horror movies, so much so they must keep them from kids it made my imagination go wild. Every R-Rated movie must of not only had stomach turning buckets of gore but sights so frightening you will end up in a straight jacket.

Just like any R-Rated sexy movie that came out had me imagining stuff better suited to XXX (in a kids way, of course. meaning that people in R rated movies must be naked most of the time and playing Doctor)

In the 80's when our house got cable and I got to see more R-Rated movies, most certainly didn't live up to my hype

[Vortigern99]

"The Exorcist"- Though I didn't see this in it's entirety until I was about 9 years old, it still scared the daylights out of me. I had nightmares for a long time after seeing it, and not to sound like a wuss, but it still creeps me out. I think it's a testament to what an amazingly well done film it is. I'm a big fan of it now, and I love the book (which I find to be even creepier).

That's me almost exactly. I saw it on CBS (edited, natch) when I was 9 or 10; it flipped my brain like a hamburger. I had nightmares and difficulty sleeping and being in the dark for YEARS. I read the novel when I was 11 as a kind of balm or a trial by fire. Today I love the film, but it still freaks my beans out so badly I had to politely ask Toys2Cool to take those scary demon faces off his signature. (Which, God love him, he did.)

Salom's Lot - when the kid came floating up to window

... and scratches on the glass with his little vampire fingernails! Hey-zeus Mirimba, that freaked me out of my mind when I was 8 years old.

... "It's Alive", "The Shining" "Alien" and "Magic" freaked me out...

All of the above for me too. Just thinking about the little monster-babies from It's Alive would send me into a quivering mass of jelly beneath the covers. As to Magic, I had a mannequin puppet like that and I had to cover him up at night or his livid, grinning face would terrify me. Good Lord, I was a messed up little worry wart.

[nvmbrsdoom5]

Hahaha, man, it's so good knowing I wasn't the only one here who would shudder at those faces in Toys2Cool's sig! I'd always read the post and then brisky scroll the page so that I couldn't see it That's too funny.

Another movie that really freaked me out as a kid, in a slightly different sort of way, was the made-for-TV film, "The Day After". I was actually assigned to watch that by a teacher when it first aired, at which point I was probably around 12. That movie just terrified me, and I had nuclear war nightmares for quite a while after seeing it.