I have been watching horror movies since I was 5. I’m not exaggerating. Before you go judging my parents, I turned out just fine. I’m a children’s librarian :::insert evil laugh::: Up until a few years ago, I had video evidence that my older brother let me stay up to watch Aliens when I was 5 years old and I’m on videotape telling the story and repeatedly calling him a “Son of a B*tch.” So I have had 31 years on this earth watching horror movies and to this day there are still some moments from when I was a kid that will bring on a case of the chills, lots of nightmares and wanting to put a blanket over my head or squeeze a cat.
Warning: there may be some movie spoilers in this post….
- Child’s Play. 1988. 97 minutes. Rated R.
Andy has been trying to tell his mom that his Good Guy doll is alive but she won’t believe him…until now…
2. American Werewolf in London. 1981. 97 minutes. Rated R.
I’ve written about this before in my horror movie special effects post. The music only adds to the pain.
3. Jeepers Creepers. 2001. 90 minutes. Rated R.
This one made me check my back seat for a month. This is the end scene, so SPOILER ALERT.
4. Human Centipede. 2009. 92 minutes. Rated R.
Okay, the other Human Centipede movies were crap (no pun intended) but can we all agree that this one had some merit in the scaring for life category?
5. The Exorcist. 1973. 122 minutes. Rated R.
Let’s all agree that this whole movie scared my parents generation, then they released it at the movies when I was in high school to scar a whole new generation.
6. Pet Cemetery. 1989. 103 minutes. Rated R.
And people wonder why I decided not to have kids…
7. Poltergeist 2. 91 minutes. 1986. Rated PG-13.
So this one is a personal one. I never had to have braces, but I could not unsee this scene.
8. Dolls.1987. 77 minutes. Rated R.
I vote for THIS ENTIRE MOVIE. It made me go into a frenzy and throw all the expensive porcelain dolls my grandmother ever made me into a trash bag in the back of my closet. I’m actually afraid to this day to watch this movie again.
9. The Visit. 2015. 94 minutes. Rated PG-13.
This one is an adult scare for me on getting old. I never heard of sun-downing before! The diaper scene is my favorite, but I feel like one poop scene a post is a good rule to have.
10. You know you were born from the 80s when…
Stay tuned for a much more G-rated version in Part 2 where I review movies that scared me for life as a kid that weren’t meant to, like Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
