Saving private Ryan at ten years old.
Not exactly a movie, but a cartoon series.
It was that episode of Power Puff Girls where they went to a dystopic future and everything was a hellscape dominated by Him. That episode made me think about my mortality and future regrets.
A hokey 80s movie called “The Guardian”. Its not scary at all but there was a tree with a face on it, and it hit me at the right age and scared the bejesus out of me for some reason. I don’t think I understood the plot at the time, just scary tree face.
Threads, not a good movie for 5 year olds.
Jurassic Park 3 when I was 9 for a friend’s birthday. I had nightmares about dinosaurs for weeks. I’m not really haunted by it any more but the scene where the skeleton in the parachute swings out of the tree is seared into my brain.
The Mangler. It’s a B horror movie and some of the graphics, which I won’t spoil, were more than my 7 year old brain could reconcile.
Sleepers. I was raised watching horror and other movies which I probably should not have (early favorites included A Nightmare on Elm Street and Robocop), but the only one which was too much was seeing Sleepers when I was ten or eleven. Too realistic, I guess.
The trailer for Aliens was my introduction to the notion that maybe monsters could get through locked doors!
As an adult, it’s one of my all-time favourites.
The Naked Lunch. I was probably 10 years old? I didn’t understand any of the plot, I was weirded the fuck out and the giant bugs made me sick to my stomach.
Terminator 2. I saw it when I was 6 or 7 when it came out on vhs. I didn’t want to watch kids movies ever again after that. It was fucking awesome. As far as scarring me, none, people in my elementary school were watching Faces of Death.
2 Movies really.
- Bette Davis in the Nanny. I haven’t liked the bath since.
- Death Wish. Wasn’t suitable for an adolescent. I’m still traumatized by the home invasion / rape scene. Hey, that was Hope Lange from the Ghost & Mrs Muir!
Creep Show, the segment with the Antarctic wolf creature scared the shit outta me. It still creeps me out to this day for some reason.
E. T.
I don’t care that it was rated P. G., they killed my friend and I was just as sad as Elliot. The tubes and the quarantine were absolutely terrifying to me as a child and even seeing clips nowadays gives sends a shiver down my spine. Just sadness and fear.
For me it was The Amytiville Horror (1979). I still can’t look out of a window at night and not think of seeing eyes. I didn’t see the film until I was about 11, so mid 80s.
The ring, when I was 11. I was scared for years
In scrolled so far to find this and fuck yeah that messed me up, was way too young and my sister terrorized me with it
I saw it around the same age and can still remember seeing that dead girl’s swirly face in the closet. Overall I didn’t think it was too scary overall but that scene has always stuck with me. I was exposed to a lot of this type of stuff as a kid with siblings 8-10 years older than me and can remember watching Tales from the Crypt several years before this, so horror has never really frightened me apart from the first 85% of Hereditary.
