The Scary Movie Rankings thread

[Sculpt]

Say, Gigan, just curious, how would rank these films in most scariest?

REC
The Descent
Martyrs
Inside

(V, I haven't seen the FORTY-FIRST SET films in entirety.)

[CaraBloodyCara]

Onibaba - 3

Haven't seen the others. :(

[Giganticface]

Originally Posted by knife_fight

EDIT: Just want to say that Inside should have been named Intense, because it was a non-stop cringe fest for me. I would rate it a 4, but a 5 for me would be considered "unwatchable".

I agree. I actually did something crazy and showed this movie to my parents. They seemed to handle it okay, but I felt kinda bad afterwards.

Just a head's up about Martyrs... You might find that one unwatchable, and there would be no shame whatsoever in feeling that way. I imagine at least half the horror-watching community would agree, and near 100% of the rest of the movie-watching community. It's an experiment in discomfort. An utterly brilliant film IMO, but many will find it hard to evaluate, either because it's too disturbing, or because the disturbing nature will affect the viewer's ability to evaluate it on its merits, or because it will be dismissed outright with some oversimplified categorization.

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Say, Gigan, just curious, how would rank these films in most scariest?

REC
The Descent
Martyrs
Inside

Wow, that's a tough one. "Scariest" depends on a lot of factors, and it changes day to day, and with each passing mood. If I were to try to define "scary," it would be some combination of 1) gives me that goosebumps feeling while watching it, and 2) makes me think twice when walking down a dark hallway afterwards. By that definition, I would rank them:

REC
The Descent
Inside
Martyrs

The reason being, REC and The Descent have those ghoulish, mysterious things hiding in the corners, which is creepy, and you're expecting something to jump out at you. Last night, I watched the Lucky McKee episode of Masters of Horror, "Sick Girl," where a woman basically starts turning into a bug, and tentacles and stuff start coming out of her mouth and ears. It made the hairs on my skin stand up.

However, one thing I often (but not always) look for in horror films these days (and exploitation, dark dramas, disturbing crime thrillers & documentaries) is not so much that creepy scary feeling, but the feeling of being generally "affected." So basically, 1) did the movie make me uncomfortable watching it, and 2) did it leave me unnerved for some time afterwards. By this definition, I would rank them:

Martyrs
Inside
The Descent
REC

This is not so much a measure of violence, but really anything that could screw me up in the head when watching it, which I consider a successful experience (within certain boundaries, of course).

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by Giganticface

I agree. I actually did something crazy and showed this movie to my parents. They seemed to handle it okay, but I felt kinda bad afterwards.

Just a quick followup.. You mentioned you showed it to your folks. What'd they think of it?

I been reading some reviews of it, they seem pretty polarize, between saying, at the conclusion of the film, it's nihilistic or " one leaves the theatre more enamoured with humanity than ever". I don't take any pleasure watching 'torture' in any form, but as a horror fan, it's not the issue. I'd certainly consider it if it was meaningful, but not if it's ultimately nihilistic.

[fortunato]

Kwaidan: 3
Onibaba: 4
Kuroneko: 3

Three of the finest horror films Japan has ever produced, which is really saying something.

[Giganticface]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Just a quick followup.. You mentioned you showed it to your folks. What'd they think of it?

I been reading some reviews of it, they seem pretty polarize, between saying, at the conclusion of the film, it's nihilistic or " one leaves the theatre more enamoured with humanity than ever". I don't take any pleasure watching 'torture' in any form, but as a horror fan, it's not the issue. I'd certainly consider it if it was meaningful, but not if it's ultimately nihilistic.

I assume you're asking about Inside because that's the one I showed my parents. However, it sounds like you're describing Martyrs.

So... Inside...

My parents didn't have a lot of words to say afterwards. My dad tried to make a joke, but neither parent was particularly chatty, which leads me to believe they just wanted to move on and forget about it.

Based on your comment about torture, I'm not sure that you'd like this film. It doesn't actually really have any torture in it, but let's just say that the level of physical and psychological stress that the main character endures is way up there. The movie most certainly has meaning, but that depends on the individual's interpretation. One conclusion that can be drawn is somewhere near the the opposite of nihilism, as long as you can either empathize with the antagonist, or draw broader conclusions from her actions. Her value of life is so overwhelming that she is willing to destroy anyone in her path. I don't want to say any more than that though.

If... you're asking about Martyrs...

Martyrs, I imagine would be even more polarizing. Inside, is essentially a slasher, but one that bastardizes the formula (as the French are currently doing). Martyrs, on the other hand, takes elements from a variety of horror subgenres, but the end result is a whole new beast. IMO there's not another movie like it. This one does include torture, and a lazy analysis would be to dismiss it because of that. Also, unlike, say, Saw, where perhaps some of the fun is watching the various ways people get trapped and killed, there's no pleasure whatsoever to be had in the torturous scenes in Martyrs. Instead, it's an exhausting experience for the viewer. The theme explored is whether or not one can experience a level of pain beyond what you could possibly imagine, to the point where the only means of existence is to embrace the pain and rise to a new level of existence. Forcing the viewer to endure this is essentially a parallel experiment on the viewer. I won't spoil the ending, but it's intentionally vague, and a variety of conclusions could be drawn from it. This, and the difficult subject matter and imagery are sure to result in some pretty polarizing opinions. Based on your comment about torture though, I would not recommend watching it.

[Sculpt]

Got ya. Ya, I was talking about Maryrs. Sorry, I misread the post. I see your folks saw Inside. But I was curious about both, so I'm glad you elaborated. I certainly find purpose in trials, and definitely in suffering, so I must check out Martyrs. Thanks!

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by fortunato

Kwaidan: 3
Onibaba: 4
Kuroneko: 3

Three of the finest horror films Japan has ever produced, which is really saying something.

Fortunato comes through! I've only saw some of one, heard of Kwaidan, but not Kuroneko. You think Kwaidan and Kuroneko are good films?

[_____V_____]

Anyone else?

[Kandarian Demon]

Haven't seen any of them.