movies/tv In a horror film/show/video, what truly scares you?

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,202]

The horror genre is a mixed bag of epic proportions. There are tons of styles out there that directors use to portray the genre in their own way, but this is really hit and miss. Sometimes it can be creepy, other times it just seems like a sad attempt at being spooky but it just fails.

 

So with any kind of media like this, movies, TV shows, internet videos, what kind of horror in these actually can scare you? What truly gets to you and makes you go 'Nope.'?

 

For me, one of them is a simple thing and one that a lot of films these days cannot seem to do right, the unknown. Simply put, not knowing what is out there freaks me out. Take for example, the Blair Witch Project. One of the things that really makes me uncomfortable when watching that film is that, the entire time, you know something is out there, stalking the people in the film and at night in some scenes, what is out there could be shrouded just in the darkness unseen, but it is there, yet you don't know what it is. When a movie can do that properly like the Blair Witch Project did, it makes me afraid to look out of my window at night. XD

[Ethan Tran 950]

Paranormal Activity (budget: $15,000!!!)
Paranormal Activity 2 (kitchen scene)

[The Mint Pone 2,294]

I don't mind a film with jump scares even though they can seem cheap they are the scares that really make me visibly get scared XD

I agree though that not revealing the monster or creature in a horror film is perfect because if you don't know what it looks like you end up imprinting what you think it would like like into the film and that makes it truly scary. For me at least. 

[zerox 1,237]

scooby doo on zombie island scared me when I was a kid.

[HighLunarStudios 100]

these scenes from the TV show Supernatural

 

[Merion 783]

I agree though that not revealing the monster or creature in a horror film is perfect because if you don't know what it looks like you end up imprinting what you think it would like like into the film and that makes it truly scary. For me at least.

 

Same for me! I enjoyed the new TV series Stranger Things for the very reason - the monster wasn't truly revealed until the last couple of episodes. The mere glimpses of the monster's silhouette and the way the show characters described it were creepy enough.

[Jokuc 8,174]

@@Ethan Tran, @@zerox, @@HighLunarStudios, No offense, but I don't think you guys understood OPs question.
 

the unknown. Simply put, not knowing what is out there freaks me out. Take for example, the Blair Witch Project. One of the things that really makes me uncomfortable when watching that film is that, the entire time, you know something is out there, stalking the people in the film and at night in some scenes, what is out there could be shrouded just in the darkness unseen, but it is there, yet you don't know what it is.

Except you do kinda know, it's in the title. Anyway, I don't get scared by horror films as I watch them on a regular basis, but I do agree that films where you do not know what the danger is gives some sort of excitement. It's kind of pointless to make this example now as everyone already knows about Jason Voorhees, but when I was little and saw Friday the 13th (1980) for the first time, I had no idea what the killer looked like. The fact that you follow, but do not get to see the face was something that made me very scared as a kid. Regarding The Blair Witch Project, I absolutely understand what you mean but for some reason, this film just didn't catch my interest. I sat there watching some people walking through a forest and eventually I just got so bored I turned it off.

 

Although not really unknown, these films has some elements of that feeling: The Babadook (2014), Intruders (2011), Hide and Seek (2005)

 

Another thing I like a lot is when the main characters are in a position where they are very vulnerable and unable to do something. There are so many films where the MCs are able to run away, fight the danger or whatever. I like stuff where they are unable to get help. I know it's a bit cliché but something like a house in the middle of nowhere, for example.

[HighLunarStudios 100]

@@Ethan Tran, @@zerox, @@HighLunarStudios, No offense, but I don't think you guys understood OPs question.

 

Except you do kinda know, it's in the title. Anyway, I don't get scared by horror films as I watch them on a regular basis, but I do agree that films where you do not know what the danger is gives some sort of excitement. It's kind of pointless to make this example now as everyone already knows about Jason Voorhees, but when I was little and saw Friday the 13th (1980) for the first time, I had no idea what the killer looked like. The fact that you follow, but do not get to see the face was something that made me very scared as a kid. Regarding The Blair Witch Project, I absolutely understand what you mean but for some reason, this film just didn't catch my interest. I sat there watching some people walking through a forest and eventually I just got so bored I turned it off.

 

Although not really unknown, these films has some elements of that feeling: The Babadook (2014), Intruders (2011), Hide and Seek (2005)

 

Another thing I like a lot is when the main characters are in a position where they are very vulnerable and unable to do something. There are so many films where the MCs are able to run away, fight the danger or whatever. I like stuff where they are unable to get help. I know it's a bit cliché but something like a house in the middle of nowhere, for example.

 

I'm joking but those scenes did make me jump

[Dreambiscuit 11,340]

Jump out scenes are really more startling than scary. Psychos with sharp kitchen utensils are more suspense and tension, which are scary in their own way. But what truly frightens me is the weird and the unknown. There's nothing that can scare you more than your own imagination, and most of us can imagine far worse things than what's really out there. The stuff that really unsettles me is weird stuff; the stuff with that certain not-rightness. If it's just a little 'off' it messes with my psyche. Monsters or people that move strangely or with an odd speed or defiance of gravity looks freaky and make me want to be somewhere else. The idea of filming someone walking backwards and then playing it forward makes a weird, off-kilter effect that I can't deal with. There are other examples, but you get the idea. 

[FanOfManyShows 399]

Sudden loud noises paired with images, scary or not. It's Very general when it comes to horror, but it works everytime on me, as long as it isn't to repetitive, if it's the same jumpscare, over, and over, and over again, it'll wear down, it'll still work on me, but not as well.

[StormBlaze 993]

a lot of them only scares me loads when im drunk and with friends, because we're scaring each other kinda thing. 
I remember being terrified of Paranormal Activity 2, again we were drunk and SO into it when youre that drunk lol. The sunbed scene in Final Destination 3 still puts my hair on end, but for genuine fear and I will refuse to watch again are The Hole, I spit on your grave and 28 Days later.

 

I think theres a theme here, its not the actual horror themes that scare me, its the scenes involving rape. 28 Days Later especially because the soldiers are someone you expect to trust but no theyre corrupted to hell. So i think thats what triggers me in these films. not a nice thing all round, but its a reasonable reason to fear scenes in films.

 

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

Any horror movie that get far too close to real life for my tastes and those that are really not horror films and just straight up torture porn on where I draw the line.

 

I also have a horrible fear and aversion of eyeball scenes in films, and tend to research and avoid them if at all possible.

[StormBlaze 993]

lol a lot of people hate the eyeballs XP

i think my gore limit stops with veins and arteries *shivers* and i also find quite disturbing are death or mutilation scenes where its the whole body and the person is still alive screaming. the worst ones I just cant watch are Volcano and Dante's Peak.... BODIES SHOULDNT MELT!!!!  

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

lol a lot of people hate the eyeballs XP

i think my gore limit stops with veins and arteries *shivers* and i also find quite disturbing are death or mutilation scenes where its the whole body and the person is still alive screaming. the worst ones I just cant watch are Volcano and Dante's Peak.... BODIES SHOULDNT MELT!!!!  

 

Melting and such like that does not bother me. I can handle severed limbs and spraying arteries and the like... I have friends interested in the special effects field, so I have seen a lot of that stuff so most of it just does not bother me. But eyeballs... ewww.. I have had to sit through a couple of safety videos on it, stuff not special effects or made in a prop shop... stuff from emergency rooms and on site accident reports and all of it left me scared in ways I prefer not to think about.

 

If you really hate melting people you will wanted to stay away from The Incredible Melting Man, The Devil's Rain and H-Man. All pretty old films were melting people is kind of the plot of the films.

[They call me Loyalty 1,954]

Psychological horror, due to my imagination.

[Moony the Cat 3,707]

There are a few Things that scare me, first off creepy looking Monsters that just look messed up, the second thing is, if someone tells about something and you can be never sure if it exists or what it is, i mean the unknown, when its not clear, what the thing is, that you should be afraid of.

The third thing is gory scenes or brutal scenes.

I dont even look at some of them, but maybe thats disgust and not fear. XD

Edited October 12, 2016 by Nanotek

[Sir Hugsalot 9,368]

I'll split my post into horror movies and games. Won't be long, but I have to do it.

 

Movies:

They only manage to scare me, when people don't switch off their survival instincts and literally run into their own demise screaming and waving hands like idiots. That's why I dislike vast majority of horrors (and why I love those that don't do this kind of thing). I like avoiding cliches and overused scare ideas. I DESPISE jumpscares in movies, they're cheap and scare for 1 second and then there's just... nothing. 

I don't want horror movie to have "strong moments". What I want is a creepy atmosphere going through entire movie. Something that requires more than reading "how to make horror for dummies". 

 

Games: 

No way to defend myself from threat, being like a mice in a labirynth, knowing that danger can appear everywhere at any time. Unpredictable encounters and once again... strong, creepy and haunting atmosphere. Pretty much first Amnesia in a nutshell. That game ruined my sanity xD

[Steve Piranha 29,496]

The pony fangame Twilight Escape has the thing that scared me the most my whole life. It's so scary that as soon as I saw it, I panicky closed the game and ended up frantically breathing and my heart rate too fast. Hell, he's part of the reason I haven't touched the game again. I call him "Mr NOPE" as a result  :-P

[Merion 783]

Oh, I just remembered another thing that really creeps me out: seeing the characters trapped in small spaces. I don't really suffer from claustrophobia, but the first half of The Descent scared the hell outta me. The passage collapsing, the characters getting trapped in an unknown cave with no hope for rescue... it was pretty believable and pretty scary.

[Discordian 6,021]

Jump scares. It's literally the only thing in horror that gets me. Either a jump scare or the fear of jump scares. Without them horror wouldn't scare me in the slightest.

[Peppermint Larry 203]

For movies/videos, I love uncanny valley. Clowns, dolls, mannequins- they creep me out a lot and I absolutely love it. Ghosts, demons, aliens, and anything paranormal is good- they have me constantly questioning whether or not I'm being watched. They make me question if I'm ever alone in the house and that's a little chilling. Monsters, zombies, and psycho killers themselves have no effect on me- I'm actually tired of them. I feel like they're overused and corny. Gore is alright if used sparingly- I like feeling squeemish every now and then. 

 

For games, I get terrified of humanoid enemies that are taller and bigger than the one I'm playing. Mr. X in RE2 and Nemesis in RE3 were the absolute worst. And while not explicitly horror, I absolutely hate underwater levels in games- if I don't think too much into them they are just an inconvenience, but if I think too much into it, it's absolutely terrifying. Jumpscares are cool if used sparingly, but I find that actually playing a game like FNAF is just more stressful than it is fun.

[K1539 47]

I've watched many horror movies in my time. I migrated to focusing on J-horrors and such likeness because they usually had more psychological elements rather than old fashioned hack n slash (not always the case though) And J-horrors nearly all share the same elements so it can get rather droll. I don't usually seriously watch horror movies anymore.

Things that really frighten me are nihilistic abstracts. Not being in control. Having no purpose or value. Nothingness. These are subtle fears but they underlie my every day. Not so much a crippling fear but an instinctive inclination away from a particular idea. I'm not sure how a film could be made to provoke these fears. At least not directly. I suppose a visual representation could be related to a more obvious fear of mine, which is voids. I can't swim because open waters resemble voids of nothingness. I can't stand at the edge of a cliff for the same reason. It has evolved to where I cannot stay comfortable with my feet off the ground even on bicycles (this blends into not being in control, especially with motor vehicles) I suppose I could be mentally conditioned into a fearful state of mind by combining these things with horror elements and generally frightening tones.

[Envy 6,405]

Eating of humans, and/or domesticated animals, like dogs and cats. That stuff disturbs me to no end.