Post readers clearly love a good scream. And with Halloween nearly upon us, the time is right. Response to this week’s Readers Poll searching for the scariest movie of all time was overwhelming. Of course the expression “you’ve got mail” is in itself a frightening concept these days (even if it’s only electronic) – but we summoned our courage, took out a razor-sharp letter opener and took a stab at it.
“That’s an easy one,” read one response containing a vote for Jamie Lee Curtis and “Halloween.” “I watched it first time when I was 16, and though it was broad daylight outside, I was still scared like hell when I came out of the theater. There have been technically more advanced movies since, but no doubt Halloween was – and is – THE scary movie.”
A lot of the responses supported this notion that the scariest movies are not necessarily the goriest. They’re the ones with a good plot, good acting and buckets of suspense rather than blood.
“I vote for “Wait Until Dark” with Audrey Hepburn, Efren Zembalist Jr., Richard Crenna and Alan Arkin,” wrote one reader. “No special effects or serial killers after teen-age babes – just good acting and a final five minutes of suffocating suspense.”
Suspense master Stephen King also got the nod for the film version of “Misery.”
“Cathy Bates’ acting had everyone screaming in horror; without blood, without ghosts, without special effects – just sheer horror,” she wrote, “That was the only time I’ve ever truly screamed in a movie theatre!”
Several readers turned the question on its head and compared living in modern Ukraine to watching a scary movie. That includes witnessing President Kuchma’s frightening explanation of the Gongadze affair on the “60 Minutes” news show; the delays in shutting down Chernobyl; as well as the state of poorly financed, post-Independence Ukrainian films.
“I cannot watch them without a shudder,” wrote one horrified viewer.
But in the end it came down to a fight to the death between two classics: “The Exorcist” and another King production, “The Shining.” We won’t tell you what weapons they chose to finish each other off and claim top prize – hunting knives, ice picks or chainsaws. But, safe to say, there was at least one demon and an ax involved.
Voters for “The Shining” didn’t elaborate much beyond stating that, “Those twin girls freaked me out.” We understand.
But it was “The Exorcist” – with the possessed, swivel-headed, projectile-vomiting, 12-year-old Linda Blair – that was the winner of the scariest movie award. Not just because a lot of Post readers are lapsed Catholics with unresolved feelings of guilt, but because it also set standards.
“It was one of the very first of this kind,” he said. “A lot of producers tried to copy this kind of scenario, but no one managed to impress us so much.”
– Daniel MacIsaac
RESULTS
Winner:The Exorcist
2. The Shining
Others receiving votes: Alien, The Blair Witch Project, The Cage, Cannibal, Cape Fear, Children of the Corn, The Decay, The Duel, Farenheit 451, Final Destination, Friday the 13th Part I, Jurassic Park, Lost Highway, Nightmare on Elm Street Part I, Nosferatu, Saved by the Bell: The Movie, Silence of the Lambs, Sleepy Hollow, Twin Peaks, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail.
NEXT QUESTION
What is the best restaurant in Kyiv?
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