Saturday's Silly Survey: Scary Movies

When I told my sister of my plans to study my Halloween evening away, she told me that she might carve some pumpkins and watch a scary movie. It's good that she has friends who will watch scary movies with her because there is no way in tarnation that I would ever watch anything remotely frightening with her.

Ever.

Even if she begged me. Even if someone else begged me. Don't ask me to watch a scary movie with you because I'll refuse.

I suspect most American children have a higher tolerance for scary movies than I do. I'm okay with that. Because honestly, being scared is not even remotely entertaining for me. Those people who come out of movie theatres after seeing The Ring, remarking about how scared there were and Oh Boy! Wasn't that Fun? I am not one of those people.

My scary movie repertoire consists of Pet Cemetery and Scream, the latter movie I was tricked into seeing by my brother-in-law who insisted that it wasn't scary, it was funny. Ho haw hee hee. I hated him a little bit after that movie.  Even high-intensity movies like What Lies Beneath are too much for me. We rented that one time, and I sat in the dining room and had Jason narrate the movie for me from the living room. "So what's happening now?" She's chasing him. "What now?" They're in the water. "It's too scary!" Not really. Quite possibly I ruined that movie experience for him.

I watched Pet Cemetery in junior high, and I admit it was my saving grace all through my high school years whenever I was at a party and someone said, "Let's watch a scary movie!" My choices were to go home early (very uncool) or suggest Pet Cemetery (thereby keeping my coolness). I can confirm that after the fourth viewing it's not so scary anymore. Of course, that was years and years ago so probably if I had to see it again it would give me nightmares.

But perhaps you are a fan of the scary movie. Yes? No? Let your silent screams be heard in today's poll.

I will say that I don't count old Alfred Hitchcock films like The Birds or Vertigo as scary films because I don't think those movies are legitimately frightening. But that's probably because black and white movies have no emotional effect on me whatsoever.

Comments

[goslyn]

Ah, but have you seen Psycho? Spooky, I tell you.

I am not generally a fan of scary movies, but I did really like the 6th Sense, although it haunts me to this day.

I prefer action, comedy or lovely romantic comedy. Love the happy endings.

[ginger]

ya, I'm right there with you. My imagination is FAR too overactive and vivid. Can't stand 'em!!!!

[Devon]

I adamantly refuse to watch horror flicks too. My one exception is M. Night Shamayalan's movies, which don't even really count as horror movies, although that's how they're advertised. I loved The Village. It's a love story wrapped in a scary costume. And his movies end happily, more or less--which is key--and are thoughtful and, like, totally deep, dude.

It can be annoying watching them in the theater, though. Invariably I end up sitting in front of a group of college boys and their girlfriends, who came thinking it would be a slasher flick like Saw or something and spend the entire two hours making loud comments about how dumb it is. We hatesss them, precioussss.

[Rachelle]

I don't do scary movies either. At all. I have vivid memories of being in the 7th or 8th grade at a slumber party with girlfriends. We were sleeping out in a camper trailer and I screamed my way through Disney's Tom & Huck. Pathetic.

[Margaret]

In general I stay away from scary movies, but I'm OK with them. It's just that I find most of them pretty stupid. I do enjoy suspenseful movies though.

[Jen @ The Short Years]

I don't know what "The Ghost Whisperer" is, but I doubt I'd be able to watch it. I'm not sure I've ever watched anything that counted as an actual horror movie, but anything even slightly scary or overly-intense that I've watched ("Arachnophobia," "The Bone Collecter" and this one with Kevin Bacon that I can't remember the name of) have given me nightmares. And I hate having nightmares, so I never willingly watch something like that.

[Donnelle]

I voted on the last option, because on the whole that totally describes me, I HATE scarry anything. I've never seen any of the movies mentioed in your blog. The one exeption is the Ghost Whisperer, it is one of my favs, but that is the absolute limit of what I can handle.