Ten Most Poignant Moments in Horror History Meme

I’ve been tagged by Matt (emeraldcite)to list the Ten Most Poignant Moments in Horror History. What a great meme!

1. Psycho—1960, I watched this movie at the Brookside Drive-In Theatre with my mom when I was eight years old. She hates horror and gore and read a book, holding a flashlight, while I watched the movie with wide eyes. It scared the heck out of me back then. For years, all I could remember was the scene of the skeleton in the rocking chair and I couldn’t remember the title of the movie. Several years later when I watched it again, I realized this was the movie title I’d been trying to remember. It wasn’t as scary the second time around.

2. Thinner—1984, The book was much better than the movie. The scenes of the movie weren’t all that disturbing, but the aspect of the curse Gypsy Tadzu Lempke placed on Billy Halleck and the type of revenge he used to avenge his wife’s death was. Halleck, after all, did so badly want to lose weight. Be careful what you wish for is a good moral for this movie.

3. Pet Sematary—1989, You all know I’m a huge Stephen King fan. I can’t say that one particular scene stands out, but the concept of bringing someone back from the dead and the uncertain results of what might be lacking in their return…now that is frightening. The tag line for this movie is quite true… Sometimes dead is better.

4.Boogeyman—2005, Though this movie wasn’t all that scary, the scene that stood out the most to me was when the father was jerked into the closet. The sliding in and out from one door to a different dimension in time was a bit strange.

5. Saw—2004, This movie had a lot of twists and turns. The Jigsaw serial killer hand picked the victims he kidnapped and the psychological torture he put them through was chilling in itself. Two scenes in this movie stood out more prominently than others: the man who tried to force himself through the barbed wire and the girl who did make it out alive who had a jaw-ripping mask locked on her head. Watching the terror each of these people went through was bone-chilling.

6. Intensity 1 and 2—Maybe this is cheating, Matt. These are not horror, but psychological thrillers tend to have a few of their own scary moments. These movies based on the book by Dean Koontz portray their title. They are intense from beginning to end. Chyna Shepard got a bit more than she’d bargained for when visiting her friend's home during Thanksgiving. Memories from her own past haunt her as she attempts to rescue a 15-year-old girl named Ariel from a completely insane serial killer Edgler Vess. Again, not horror, but they are excellent edge-of-the-seat movies with wonderful plot twists.

7. Texas Chainsaw Massacre—1974, I watched both versions of this movie. The remake was even better than the first. Every scene when a meat hook stabbed through the skin and bones made me cringe. The scariest part of the movie is that it is based on a true story. Oh the horror of knowing that there are people in this world who are capable of performing these dreadful deeds.

8. Wrong Turn—This 2003 movie where six people find themselves trapped in the woods of West Virginia is quite haunting and gory. The thought of being hunted down by disfigured cannibalistic mountain men is enough to make you not want to venture onto unfamiliar country roads.

9. Stir of Echoes—1999, Kevin Bacon plays a great part in this film. The scene that still gives me the creeps is the girl’s fingernail breaking off when she’s clawing at the floor during her brutal rape. Not the most horrible of horror films, but that scene made me “feel” the pain.


10.The Last House on the Left—1972, This movie ranks #1 for being the most grotesque, disgusting, and powerful. The chilling and brutal rape/murders scenes make you feel like you're there. One of those movies where you pull the blanket over your face and peek out, wanting to, but not wanting to see the next scene.