Wow! You guys enjoy your horror! Yesterday’s entry generated over 150 comments. So, what scares you? Apparently, a lot. Interestingly enough, over lunch today we were talking about Halloween events and Carl mentioned how a farm near his home used to put on a special Halloween-themed event every year complete with creepy corn mazes and leering scarecrows. According to Carl, one year his daughter was chased through a circus maze by a chainsaw-wielding “little person” in clown make-up. Yup, that would do it for me.
Some movies do it for me too. What follows is a list of my top ten favorite horror movies (in particular order):
1. Audition (2002): On the advice of a friend, a lonely widower holds a fake audition as a way of meeting women. Alas, the one woman who catches his fancy turns out to be a little more than he bargained for.
2. Misery (1990): Author Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by Annie Wilkes, a woman who just so happens to be his Number One Fan! Annie nurses him back to health and all she asks in return is that he complete his next novel while under her care. A bed-ridden Paul complies, but when his work runs contrary to her expectations, Annie takes it upon herself to steer her captive in an alternate creative direction.
3. The Exorcist (1973): Two priests must exorcise the evil spirit that has possessed an innocent little girl.
4. Session 9 (2001): A hazmat team hired to clean out an abandoned mental institution come across the taped psychiatric sessions of an infamous patient.
5. Halloween (1978): A small-town babysitter is stalked by an escaped mental patient – on Halloween night.
6. The Shining (1980): A writer agrees to act as caretaker to a resort hotel in the Colorado Mountains. He moves his wife and son up, prepared to spend the winter working on his new novel – but when a snowstorm strikes, cabin fever sets in.
7. Ringu (1998): A reporter investigates an urban legend about a mysterious, cursed videotape.
8. Don’t Look Now (1974): Following the drowning death of their daughter, a couple head to Venice to oversee the restoration of a church. While they are there, a serial killer stalks the city. Corpses are being dredged out of the canals as the husband catches glimpses of a small figure in a red raincoat he believes could be his recently deceased little girl.
9. The Sixth Sense (1999): A child psychologist makes the acquaintance of a nine-year old boy who claims he sees dead people.
10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991): FBI agent Clarice Starling calls on an incarcerated cannibalistic psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lector, hoping his insight will help her track down a brutal serial killer named Buffalo Bill.
So, what’d I miss.
Today’s pic: Another little something from Whispers.
Eva K. writes: “How long do people have to read the books of the month?”
Answer: About a month. Check the sidebar for next month’s BOTM club selections.
David writes: “Are you guys planning on having Vala make a guest appearance on Atlantis?”
Answer: Sorry. No plans for Vala in Atlantis.
PG15 writes: “Oh, and the time dilation thing happened to the Tria (where is it, by the way? Hehe…), not the Aurora.”
Answer: Oops. Of course.
Shadow Step writes: “Just do what they did in the 30ies, put a fishtank in front of the lens with smoke in it.”
Answer: The 30’s?! They shot through a water-filled aquarium for certain scenes in the episode Watergate.
Dignan50yp writes: “…why the sudden desperate need to pair up our characters in romantic situations?”
Answer: 1. I would hardly call it a romantic situation. 2. I think both “sudden” and “desperate” are the wrong words.
Teslan writes: “As for your theory on what makes something scary, would you agree then that “Alien” is a great deal scarier than “Aliens”?”
Answer: They’re two completely different movies. Aliens is more of a classic scifi monster actioner whereas the original Alien was more of a horror movie told within the framework of a scifi world. And I thought both were excellent.
Charles Schneider writes: “Who do I need to contact in your publicity department to arrange an interview with a member of cast or crew?”
Answer: No one in particular. Just contact the MGM publicity department (or the show’s internal publicity department).
Paloosa writes: ““Dead End” with Rise Wise was a great little film…”
Answer: I own the dvd. I should check it out.
Tango writes: “If sending the messages back creates a new timeline and the existing timeline is left unchanged, how do you explain the safety deposit box?”
Answer: Holy crap, I didn’t even think of that. Excellent point. The message in the safety deposit box would certainly suggest a closed time loop – but the fact that we see future events play out AFTER the past has been changed and the timeline altered suggests an alternate timeline has been created.
Heather writes: “She is the one who watched Event Horizon and pushed furniture up against all the doors and slept with a knife…to me that movie isn’t scary but somewhat gorry (spelling?)”
Answer: There were some scares. One in particular that stuck with me was the quick cut to the grisly fate of the previous crew.
Would it possible for you to send me an e-mail with an autographed picture? If so, what is your e-mail so I can send you my e-mail?
Ok, so the dolls have to do with Whispers…interesting…!
Speaking of horror/suspense, have you yet seen Colin Cunningham’s CENTIGRADE? He just won a “Best Actor” at Method Fest in Calabasas, CA, USA.
Trailer here:
http://www.centigradethemovie.com/
Colin showed us the almost-finished product at the Legendary Gathering last August. Think it was the day before you attended.
The only movies on your list I have watched is “Sixth Sense”. Great movie, and one of the few that I didn’t ‘get’ until the reveal. Not often that happens. Also saw “Misery” – very predictable!!
But as for the others: I was 15 when “The Exorcist” was first released and didn’t want to go see it. I also asked that school chums not talk about it when I was around and they kindly agreed to this. It, along with “The Shining, and “Silence of the Lambs” are on my NEVER list. As for the others – meh!! too much other stuff (re: Sci-fi) going on.
How is the weather?? Any more snow??
Pardon me, didn’t mean to insult the effects 🙂
Btw, do you have a desktop computer at home you blog from or do you carry a portable around every where (like McKay)
Ha, so I just commented on yesterday’s post, submitted and saw today’s post was up! Way to be behind, Kimberly.
I guess I’m not really much of a horror film sort of person. I tend to be pretty jumpy and do a lot of stiffled screams and gasps when things suddenly appear where they weren’t (or shouldn’t be). The old, wait around the corner and shout “BOO!” bit works like a charm on me. I generally try to stay away from horror films and stick to crime shows (which horrify me) and sci fi shows for my bouts of terror.
I will say that I thought The Sixth Sense was a brilliantly done film that scared me. And The Ring. I shrieked a lot during that one. And Signs… Are you seeing a pattern here?
The only movies on your list I saw are “Halloween” and “The Sixth Sense”. I’m not really into horror and my husband hates it.
Oh god, not only did my husband absolutely LOVE Audition, he bought it. I couldn’t be anywhere near the living room while he watched it, it creeped me out that much.
Since your tastes seem to run in a similar vein to my husband’s, have you ever seen Battle Royale? It stars the girl who played Gogo in Kill Bill and my husband said it’s one of his favorite horror/sci-fi films of all time.
I didnt get to comment on what scares me yesterday ….so heres a breif top ten..
1. CLOWNS!!
2. Dolls (my mother collected them and they stared at me in the dark while watching horror movies all thru my teenage years CREEPY!
3. Spiders bigger then a quarter! Everyone says they cant hurt you but they can damn well make you hurt yourself trying to get away from one of them!!
4. Puppets!
5. Heights
6. Flying wellflying is cool. The crashing not so much!!
7. The Chick climbing up out of the well in the Ring 2 because NOTHING should ever move that way EVER!!
8. Going to a bar with no Canadian beer (enough said)
9. Elevators (We can Thank Speed the movie for that one)
10.Andrew Zimmerman from Bizzare Foods!! (all I can say is thank you god Im not married to him because their isnt enough cleanser in the world before Id kiss him on the lips ever again!!)
And one of my all time favorite scary movies was Ghost Story. It starred the Borg Queen Chick in it I cant remember her name but she was mega creepy in that role!!
Ok I think I’ve done enough ruining of my Rep. now with that top ten list.
Good to know Lulu is on the mend and doing well Joe!
Have a great one!!
Oh!! and that picture from whispers looks like something straight out of Pink Floyd The Wall AWESOME!!
ok I think im done now…wait…no I am 😀
I loved “The Shining”, “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Exorcist”. Granted I wouldn’t watch them until my early twenties, they were very good. I watched “Misery” years ago but I liked the book better. It’s almost embarassing but “The Blair Witch Project” scared the hell out of me. I always used to be afraid to watch scary movies, but as I’m getting older I really want to watch them. The problem is, there aren’t really many really scary movies coming out anymore. Although, I haven’t been to the movies in a while, so I really don’t know.
Audition is one creepy movie. I saw it a few years back and then suggested to my sister that she watch it. She had nightmares for a week. The scene where she cuts off his feet gives me the willies. My sister and I [after we got over the inital disgust] loved the part when she is sticking those wires in his eyes and makes that sound when she pushes them in. Eeek! Its a great movie…I should buy it. I netflix it all time.
I wish I can join your BOTM club, but I am so busy with my classes that I cannot read anything outside anthropology/russian/german articles, etc. Perhaps during the summer when I have less classes and more time to read.
oh, any chance to see the Tria in season 5, or will she still be stuck in the void btw galaxies?
hey Joe,
Audition, Misery and Session 9 sound very interesting, I’ve seen most of the others. I’d also add Alien and Event Horizon, both great sci fi horror movies! regarding the latter, I remember the scenes you described. they reminds me of the message the main character (Dr. Weir right?) has to translate and how first he thinks it’s ‘save us’ but then it becomes ‘save yourselves’. I thought this combined with those flashbacks was indeed a little unsettling
Jaws, definitely. Even though I’ve never seen the complete movie, going in the ocean still creeps me out. I thought the 6th sense was a great movie, but I don’t particularly think it’s horror? The first couple of episodes of 4400 creeped me out, I couldn’t watch the rest.
Other than movies, clowns, definitely. What is it with people who LOVE them and decorate their homes with that picture of the clown on black velvet (it’s someone famous, but wellllll before my time)? And the poster of Shaun Cassidy from the 1970s – I remember being at a sleepover and we were sure it’s eyes were following us. Way creepy.
Of course, my husband’s closet is extremely horrifying to me now 🙂 Thank gosh we don’t share.
wams352
Darkness Falls did it for me but i was younger when i watched it. I love horror movies but sadly don’t get to see many.
So I’m trying to avoid season 5 spoilers, whenevers there’s a mention on your blog i skip, but would you say season 5 is darker, like season 4?
Thank you for the sidebar with the books. I really am working toward better read/participation. Got my Empire of Ice Cream and The Blade Itself. Actually started the Android’s Dream and Timescape. yeah…need to do better.
Regard Colin Cunningham’s independent film CENTIGRADE – that was eerie, but very well done. The only thing that helped me not get creeped was we had a room full of people for the screening. Strength and safety in numbers.
Missing movies:
– Pitch Black, which I “heard” thru my fingers after the sun set. The only thing I liked was the sound of Vin Diesel’s voice.
One book that creeped me was Salem’s Lot. Took a while before noises at a window did not seem menancing.
Part of the anguish is the suspense, waiting for the kicker to happen, and you know something is going to happen, and one or more characters are doing something that is predictable to evolve to the kicker.
And, to add to the anguish, the inabiity to do anything about it.
I did watch a few of the ones you listed and did not care for them because of the “scare” effects. Yes, I am a bona fide woose and get creeped out easily.
Must say the mask pix is eerie, but not totally frightening. But the mouth which is like a metal sieve is unsettling; don’t know why. Almost like the gas mask that was molded to people in a prior episode of Dr. Who.
sigh…Whispers may become a 6 dog night or a room with friends. Cannot miss an episode just cause it is scarey.
Hey Joe
When you watch a Movie, or a TV show, what do you useally do when watching it? Do you enjoy it like everybody else, or pick it apart with memories (if you made it)? Or just pick it apart for effects ideas and the like?
Speaking of movies, have you or any one you know seen LOTR?
Hi Joe
Any news on the victims (ahem, guest stars) on the “Whispers” episode.
Where did the prop department find that Soviet era gas mask. Or did they acquired it from somewhere in Eastern Europe. FYI that gas mask would be good for about 30 minutes against poison gas and blistering agents before the charcoal filter is used up in very moderate activities (like walking). But the mask is ineffective against nerve gas unless you get rubber suit ensemble that goes along with it. Hope to see some sap (ahem, extra) move around in a full Soviet era NBCW gear in the episode. It would look something like a slow motion Sandman from golden age DC Comicc.
I find very few movies are scary to me. Due to my over-exposure to horror flicks. They started to resemble previous films with just changes to cast and locations. There is the annual “Fantasia” scifi/horror/asian festival in Montreal. Been a regular attendant. See just about everything, from excellent to really awful genre films. The festival move to the Concordia University’s Hall building downtown several years back. You can now watch some really weird films than hit the pubs and bars on Crescent street afterwards.
My top 10 fav horror films:
10. ….
Yeah, like I said, I no watch them. Though I gotta say, it’s funny (and expected) that no recent horror features appear on that list. Have they really gotten that bad?
Anyway, here’s a question:
What do you think about removing one of Atlantis’s piers, permanently, during some battle or explosion or something? Do you guys think you’ll ever do something like that, damage one of the show’s vehicles permanently?
It’s something I wished they did on Star Trek Voyager.
will have some romantic scene betwen Baal and Qtesh? on Continuum…
I must respectfully call you whacko for “The Shining.” Have you read the book? The whole point of Jack Torrence is that he’s your everyday guy who is juuuuust on the edge of going totally nutjob. He’s shown his violent streak before, however, and it’s made clear that the abuse he’s suffered as a child haunts him far more than he’s willing to admit. The Overlook Hotel then is able to use his weaknesses — especially his inner refusals to accept and deal with them — to manipulate him.
The main reason the 1980 version of “The Shining” is so bad isn’t the minor changes in the script, even the changing of the ending, it’s the horrible *casting*. Jack Nicholson may be fantastic at playing nutjobs, but at the beginning of the film he comes off as a nutjob and so the slow degredation to total nutjobdom that comes through in the book is completely lost. And that’s the true horror of the book, in my unhumble opinion: that the “hotel” slowly pushes all the right buttons, shoving the guy right off the mental cliff. [The casting of Shelly Duvall as Wendy was equally horrid — Wendy is supposed to be, in her own way, just as damaged as Jack. Although she stay with her husband, even through the violence, because “that’s what you do” (oh, the ’70s!), she has a strong inner strength that is what pulls her and her son through the ordeal at the Hotel. Duvall comes off as such a wuss, it seems more like luck that she survives at all.]
In the late ’90s The Shining was redone as a mini-series. I remember at the time thinking that the casting of one of the guys from “Wings” (Steven Weber, iirc) was going to be just as horrible, but it worked. He came across at the start as Everyday Guy (With Issues) and you spent the rest of the time watching him descend into madness. The mini-series was done by the same production group that had done the mini-series of “The Stand” — and oh! how could I not remember how much THAT book creeped me out and terrified me. Even the mini-series did, and I knew what was going to happen
So, in conclusion, maybe if you see the 1980 movie of “The Shining” from an non-book-related POV, it comes off as scarier, but the casting just ruined it for me.
I’d also like to mention, for no good reason, that the first THREE times I saw “The Sixth Sense” I was in an altered state. I was drunk off my behind the first time, and the next two times I was heavily (legally, thank you) medicated. It didn’t frighten me as much as totally weird me out, the first time I saw it. I remember trying to go to sleep after watching it, yet wide awake, babbling to myself, “But… the doorknob! The table! The sweater! The ring! AUGH!” etc. etc. etc.
Oh yes, definantly tops my list of scary movies. I hate clowns. When I was little, around 4 or 5 My pre-school brought a clown in to entertain the kids. The minute I saw the clown, I started screaming and crying. Needless to say I was not the favorite one on the playground that day. Because I was so upset and wouldn’t let the guy come in the building, they made the Clown leave. Creapy evil things, those darn clowns. For my husband, his fear is the ferris wheel in disney land. Tee hee, the funniest thing you’ve ever seen when a 33 year old man is death gripped to the seat’s of the moving ferris wheel. 🙂 Nicole
Sorry, I have another couple of questions…
1) If you can say, is Whispers going to be somewhat horror like? It looks a little scary from the drawings.
2) Would you recomend “28 Weeks Later”?
The Shining, both the book and original movie, are my all time favorite! Of all the Stephen King I have read, the story that freaked me out the most was The Mist. I worked nights in the nursing department of Univ. of PA’s large animal teaching hospital at the time which had multiple barns full of patients to be checked on. The night I finished that story, and every night for the next week, we had such a thick fog you couldn’t see 2 feet in front of you! I had to give myself a pep talk each time I had to leave one barn and go to the next that it was only a story – no creature was going to pop out in front of me and kill me where I stood.
Although the number one thing that scares me…ferrets. Such evil little creatures. Truly evil.
Did you get to keep the book Latin for the Novice in Window of Opportunity?
How about ‘The Thing’?
Have you seen ‘Spoorloos’/’The Vanishing?’ Spoorloos is the Dutch word for vanishing (kind of). I’ve read the book, HOLY COW, that was SCARY. I read it in Dutch, but I’m sure there’s translations of it. You should read it, it’s only about a 100 pages.
And I thought ‘Shaun of the Dead’ was quite awesome, not that scary though.
[Gin gwai (The Eye)]
Gin Gwai
Could be considered scary in some parts, but more ‘scary’ in the sense of Ringu. Things don’t jump out, they float slowely in and linger…which I think is even creepier. A really enjoyable film, I think. I’m not easily scared, but the elevator scene…that’s all I have to say on that.
lol gas mask. ‘are you my mommy?’ Excited to see what this ep. is going to turn out like! Torture I tell you!
Ah, I know. My biggest fear? Atlantis not being re-newed!!! *heart-stopping moment*
On April 10, 2008 at 6:28 pm allison Said:
[Gin gwai (The Eye)]
Gin Gwai
Could be considered scary in some parts, but more ’scary’ in the sense of Ringu. Things don’t jump out, they float slowely in and linger…which I think is even creepier. A really enjoyable film, I think. I’m not easily scared, but the elevator scene…that’s all I have to say on that.
There is just something so sinister creepy about Asian horror movies that seriously lacks in a lot of American horror films. To American horror has gone more gore less scare but the asians ones leave a ablance of both that creeps you right out and leaves you begging for more case and point. I screamed like a banshee in The Grudge when yoshi was in the attic and that groaner chick ends up right behind her!! Down right scary stuff!!
Funny. I dont even think of Misery, Sixth Sense, or Silence of the Lambs as “horror”. And the Exorcist didnt strike me as particularly good. Something about pea soup I guess. I do remember being creeped out by the Omen. That one had me edgy for a few days, always looking for what might come falling out of the sky. I am enjoying the conversations being generated by the topic anyways.
And I for one would like to thank you for addressing Ronon/McKay/Keller tease. While I dont want to see the show turn into “As the Wraith Turns”, the fact is our characters do have certain…drives. And given we’ve seen the mentioned characters initiating the first steps of having a relationship, I would like to see where those steps lead. Besides, the idea of poor McKay trying to overcome his terror of an angry Ronon for the sake of the girl is a scene I dearly want to see canonized.
Misery? I preferred the book to the movie, but then that’s true for most Stephen King based works with the exception of “The Shining.” Great movie.
I didn’t think anyone else had ever seen “Don’t Look Now.” It’s a strange movie and it surprised me, but not one of the scariest.
I watched “The Exorcist” once and it scared me so much, I’ll never watch it again.
For more human based horror, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt” is my winner. Fabulous movie. Some might not agree that its horror, but I think it has the key elements that qualify it.
“Alien” is definitely more horror than sci-fi and ranks at the top for me for scariness.
How about “Psycho?” I avoided watching it for years and when I finally saw it, that last scene with Anthony Perkins smile made my skin crawl.
“Them” will remain a sentimental, but flawed favorite. I remember being scared as a kid by that sound in the desert.
There have been some TV series with creepy value. “Twin Peaks” creeped me out in the first season and episodes of “The X Files” win, such as “Squeeze” and “Beyond the Sea.” David Nutter was one of the better directors on that series for the horror and suspense.
What about your thoughts on horror in TV? Anything stand out there for you?
About “Timescape.” Up to the point when he put the message in the box, there was only one timeline. The divergence in the timelines didn’t start to happen until after that event. So both timelines should have a future where that message exists. Only in the one timeline is there someone who had asked for it and read it. So the presence of the message doesn’t negate the idea of alternate futures.
Hey Joe, just wanted to say that I love reading your blog. I won’t give you my top ten horror movies, but my number one is the movie It. Clowns are just creepy!
I’ve always wondered: how do horror writers write their stories without freaking themselves out? I once wrote a short horror story as a teenager – about a man who chops up his wife, puts her in the trash bag and sets her out with the garbage to be picked up. Gave myself nightmares – and it wasn’t even a great story. If I were Stephen King I’d never be able to be in the house alone or in the dark!
Anything about Whispers that would give you nightmares?
lol gas mask. ‘are you my mommy?’
I have to agree, that gas mask is waaaaaayyyyy to reminiscent of Doctor Who.
I’m a fan of the whole B movie horror genre. I watched all the Nightmare on Elm Street movies on halloween with a friend all night. However, I find that the scariest movies out there are the ones based on real life events (and no, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not a real event!). You said that you like thrillers because it’s possible that your neighbour could be a serial killer. I recently watched the movie Katyn, and was so disturbed by the ending… then even more disturbed realizing that it actually did happen.
Oooh, I so need that gas mask for Burning Man … does it work? The dust storms are horrible and I’ve been making do with damp bandannas.
Poltergeist scared me silly, but only because it had creepy crap I was scared of as a child. Alien … saw it in a mostly empty theater, right in the front row, hadn’t heard a thing about it previously. Jumped out of my freakin’ skin. I wasn’t allowed to watch scary movies as a child, so my first foray into horror I can remember clearly was Don’t Look in the Basement. Scarier still because a herd of us teen girls went to see it in the old Orpheum, which had old opera boxes boarded up along the sides and reputed to be haunted. Atmosphere, atmosphere.
Worst horror movie ever, and the star of my Bad Movie Nights: Hard Rock Zombies. Mix an extended 80s hair band video, zombies, Nazis, auto-cannibalistic dwarves, toss in a few werewolves with a leather fetish and possibly a witch …. good times, good times.
My favorite non-scary horror flick: Phantom of the Paradise. Rock and roll opera Phantom remake. Hilariously ahead of it’s time and the music is good. My friends hate it, in fact, they hate it more than Mega-Snake.
I watched The Exorcist when it first hit the theatres and I’ve only seen excerpts since. It creeped me out too much to watch the whole thing. Another show which I’ve only seen once and do not wish to see again is Clockwork Orange. Very disturbing, I thought. Interestingly, I didn’t find Sixth Sense scary, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still enjoy it even though the surprise ending is no longer a surprise.
Now, does anyone remember The Creeping Unknown? I was about five years old when I saw that. My older brother and I had nightmares! THe only time I’ve ever had nightmares, knock on wood.
Thanks so much for the info. I’m trying to line up as much stuff as I can for San Diego Comic Con. I don’t know if it would work out, but it would be a dream come true for this rookie to score an interview with one of you guys.
I’m sure your publicity department contact info. was in a previous blog post, but if I can’t find it I’ll be sure to send Baron Destructo an email as to the proper way to contact your publicity department at Bridge Studios.
Thanks for all the creeps this post too.
“So, what’d I miss.”
Psycho(1960)… I have always been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, and Psycho was the very first horror film that I ever saw. The movie had been out for a number of years, and I remember my parents taking me to the drive-in to see it. Anthony Perkins was brilliant as Norman Bates. Psycho, imo, is one of the greats among horror films.
Rear Window(1954)…Another Alfred Hitchcock movie that I really enjoyed. James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Raymond Burr – all three terrific.
I loved “The Shining” (huge Jack Nicholson fan) and “The Sixth Sense”. I also saw “The Exorcist”. It was awhile before I could stomach pea soup, though, after a certain (Linda Blair) scene.
Excellent list, Joe.
danielfanforever
With regards to Audition…please use “SPOILER” next time since I haven’t seen the movie and now…well dang it.
Shout out to allison for the “are you my mommy” reference…one of the best Doctor Who episodes…loved BLINK.
The original When a Stranger Calls kept me (the first twenty minutes and then the end) from babysitting in a two story house.
The music from Halloween creeps me out…with Meyers you always know he is there but never no where exactly…by the way Rob Zombie’s remake was horrible…it changed it into a farce…not making it scarrier just more pitiful.
I think Shallow Grave had an effect on me…I stopped talking to my friends for a couple days…you never know who you can trust
On Dan Simmons book The Terror…I am still struggling to read it…I am not sure if it is the lyrical rhythm that is throwing me…I need to finish that book…I have never taken this long to read a book…it sits at my desk at work just waiting to be finished…but I have BOTM selections to read first…wink wink.
As for Event Horizon—my sister wants me to clarify that the way Hell was represented was what scared her…I think I said that right.
As for SGA…I was wondering as a writer…when you turn in a script and get your notes back…has anyone ever said “McKay would never say that?”
Guess what I just saw!? You won’t have to – I just returned from seeing Richard Kind at the New York City Opera in Leonard Bernstein’s comic operetta “Candide” playing Voltaire and a number of other characters. A stunning performance on his part, and needless to say, hillaaarrrious.
Oh… and Event Horizon has always weirded me out.
As far as scary/horror movies go, I have to say I’m a fan of some of the ‘classics’ like Hitchcock’s ‘Spellbound’ and ‘Suspicion’ and Welles’ ‘The Third Man’ – lighting can certainly do a lot for the mood.
What’s scary right now – figuring out income tax returns and studying for my comprehensive exam for my PhD.
@ Allison OMG I thought that very same thing as soon as I saw it. Those were probably the creepiest episodes of Doctor Who.
As for my scary movies, well Signs freaked me out. I saw it on dvd in a dark house that I didn’t live in all alone. And i didn’t know it was actually aliens. I thought it would be about conspiracies. Biggest scare of my life when he is in the closet and they show that clip on the news. I practically leaped over the back of the couch.
I also find the Grudge creepy. And even now, if anyone makes that awful noise with their mouths I get really creeped out. Things like Halloween and slasher films don’t bother me, partially cause I started to watch them when I was really young. Blame bad neighbors.
And since I didn’t get to post yesterday… I am afraid of flying (well crashing), heights (though I am working on this one), non existence, and bugs late at night. And as my sister was just nice enough to point out, she thinks I am afraid of cleaning and commitment.
Hey Joe!
Since “Whispers” is going to involve horror, is there going to be any ‘TV-Friendly’ gore? (If you can call it that) I’ve noticed, as Stargate has gone on the years, the use of gore-like/blood sequences has become more detailed. Note with the SG-1 episode “Talion”, which I think is one of the bloodiest episode of Stargate to date, some of the gore/blood sequences are pretty vivid. Not only that, but the surgical scenes in some the latest seasons has shown some detail as well. 😛
Thanks as always!
– Enzo Aquarius
Jaws.
I hear that we will be introduced to a new group of aliens in the mid season 2 parter of season five. Are they just another group of humans or do they actually look like aliens?
LOL are you my mommy came from a Dr. Who epi?!? Oh man I saw that and had a Blue Velvet moment!! Not a horror film but its right up there on the creepy scale :O!!
Anyone Remember the Changeling with George C. Scott??
Now that movie scare the bejesus out of me as a kid!!
I didn’t want to take baths after that movie but thats ok Jaws was a payback to my mother who said get over it when she refused to take baths but rather showers for fear of sharks being in the bath water. LMAO You gotta love Karma!!
And the exorcist?? I didnt sleep for a week after that movie and as for the noise from the grudge my girls live to creep into my room at 3 or 4 am and make thats noise juts to hear me yelp all I can say is revenge is mine when they’re older 😉
I’ve seen most of the movies on your list, but I only saw clips of Audition and went “yeah, no”. I can stomach just about anything, but what I saw of that, I just wouldn’t be able to hack it.
Halloween is one of my all time favorites. The scene where Laurie is crying in the hallway after she finds her friends dead and the mask slowly illuminates in the darkness behind her gives me chills no matter how many times I see it.
For my own list, I’d also add The Fog (1980 version…dark shapes, glowing eyeballs, rotting arms…that’s what creeps are made of) and The Night of the Hunter (1955…Robert Mitchum is terrifying). Anything by Hitchcock is good, of course.
BTW…nice gas mask. I think my dad has one like that.
In Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, that guy at the Mordor gates with the helmet that covers his entire face except for his BIG SCARY POINTY ROTTEN TEETH. And he kept smiling. Yeah, I didn’t like that.
The Pyramid Head guy in Silent Hill was pretty awful, but I’ve heard he’s worse in the game. And I didn’t like the way the faceless nurses moved.
And Pennywise the clown from It, especially when he came out of the drain in the shower. In retrospect, it wasn’t that scary, but my dad let me watch it when I was about 6 or so (bad parenting mistake #671). And the aliens from Alien (Dad let me watch that one when I was 7), and Jaws (I was 4). And the mean Terminator from Terminator 2 (7 or 8).
And the people-eating cave monsters from The Descent.
As for the good version of The Eye (the Chinese one, not that Jessica Alba crap), the elevator part was pretty bad, but I think the part when they’re going through the village and the person goes running by (those who’ve seen it probably know which guy I’m talking about), scared me more I think.
It might be easier to ask me which movies did not scare me. I’m one of those people who gets scared watching movies way too easily. Except for The Blob, which was just kinda funny.
28 Days Later sticks out in my mind as terrifying. To the point where I refused to go to 28 Weeks Later with my friends. Anything done by Stephen King freaks my out as well. My roommate and I watched Rose Red today and I may not sleep tonight.
As for yesterday’s thing on fear, well, I don’t like anything happening to mine or other people’s eyes. It scares the hell out of me.
G’day Joe
Misery and Silence of the Lambs, two great movies. Not really scarey just suspenseful, Alien is so much better the Aliens imho. Have a great day, night whatever.
Janet
Yes I completely agree about The Shining. When I was a kid I loved to read the Stephen King novels, which were *way* scarier than the actual movies. However, I did enjoy the Shining, but anytime I would watch it my sister (who was older than me) would run out of the room. It is something about the mind that chills you to the bones, rather than say seeing 1408 about a haunted room in a hotel. Then again, we do have great stories about a sanitarium in Fort Qu’appelle that makes you think you should be watching a movie.
-JJ
So, I was at the bookstore today and I almost got Timescape, then realized that I’m not a computer and so it takes me more than a few minutes to read a novel (and no sense reading a BOTM that we’re done with). Instead, I think I’ll try to get The Android’s Dream so I can finally participate in an actual conversation. Plus, I’m very fond of androids (apparently Data was an influential figure in my childhood).
I will never forget the first time I “saw” The Exorcist. I was babysitting, the kids had gone to bed, and I was alone in a dark house, innocently flipping through the channels. I came upon what I thought was some kind of medical show: it was the scene where the mom takes Regan to the hospital and the doctor does a scan of her brain. I settled in, intrigued to see what was wrong with the poor kid. If you’ll recall, the very next scene has Regan flopping around unnaturally on her bed in the middle of a full-blown manifestation of whatever was possessing her.
My hands flew to my eyes, dropping the remote, and I had to blindly search around on the floor until I found it again and managed to turn the television off. The parents returned home about an hour later to find every light ablaze. And I still can’t watch that scene in the movie. Creeps me out.
Oooh! The Shining! I love that movie. One day, when I was a senior in high school, some friends and I skipped school in order to watch The Shining. None of us had ever seen it before.
Naturally, we got caught. My mom went on a rant, finally asking me something along the lines of, “What did you guys do anyway? If I really want to know.” Me, “We watched The Shining.” Mom, “Oh, I love that movie. It creeps me out. The first time I saw that show…”
I never did get punished for sluffing. Ever since, I have attributed my escape from being grounded for a month to the Power of Movies.
Oooh, Ringu totally freaked me out! The Ring, however … not so much. Didn’t care overmuch for The Grudge.
Have you seen Uzumaki? I liked most of the manga, but never saw the film. The manga for Parasyte is both psychologically horrific and extremely gory, but I find it compelling somehow anyway. Not sure I want to see the film, though.
I thought The Others was pretty scary, and had a nice twist, too.
The clown in Poltergiest scarred an entire generation, and the clown in IT reinforced that. The Halequin in Ghoulies, and the film Killer Clowns from Outer Space, didn’t help.
My parents took me to see some scary stuff when I was a little kid. There’s a scene in The Omen III that has stuck with me forever — a woman turning to her baby’s crib to find a zombie-looking baby slowly turning it’s head to look at her. I can’t hardly remember the film at all, but that haunts me to this day. So does a that scene in The Shining, where the elevator opens and floods the hall with blood.
The film Wolfen (which I saw the same year, when I was about five — yes, that’s where I got my name), on the other hand, didn’t scare me at all, save for the beheading where the guy’s lips still moved after.
Nightmare on Elm Street (the second one — I never saw the first) was one of those where I had to turn on all the lights and stay up till dawn after watching it. I don’t generally like that kind of film, though — not really into gore (which has me wondering why I like Parasyte).
Alien and Aliens were both really good though, I’ll agree with that.
The Twilight Zone, both the movie (well, the insterstitial stuff with Dan Akroyd — “Wanna see something *really* scary?” — and the remake of the story with the kid who wished things) and certain eps of the series (old and new — especially the one where the kid makes a device that sucks all tyhe sound out of things, any one dealing with “the last people on earth”, and the ones with the living ventriloquist dummies), were scary.
There was an ep of Night Gallery where paintings changed, showing a zombie getting closer and closer to the house — that scared the tar outta me. The openeing to Tales from the Darkside always had me changing the channel in a hurry. I remember one ep in particular with a ouja board and a hidden room that had me up all night after. The part of the opening for the second Outer Limits series with the trees that grow roots for some reason freaks me out. There’s an ep of Monsters where a puppet kills her creator’s boyfriend that deeply disturbed me. (See why I hate talking/moving doll stories? And yet I find myself wanting to write an encyclopedia about them …)
“Hush” was definitely the scariest ep of Buffy.
Not a horror fan, myself. Of those you’ve listed I’ve only seen Misery and The Sixth Sense (and I can’t remember the latter.) I think Misery is a great film, so I guess I should say that I’m not a fan of gory horror films. I really can’t stand seeing people or animals get cut to shreds/stabbed repeatedly/have bits blown off … I don’t watch any film if I know it’s going to contain a lot of blood’n’guts. I’ll never be watching No Country For Old Men, for example. It’s kind of depressing that graphic violence seems to have become more prevalent in films, as it means there are even more critically acclaimed films that I can’t watch. 🙁
your scary movie choices where good but,the first jason had such an ending that i will never for get it. Saw that one at the movie house.
we thought the movie was over with the girl in the boat and where all setted down for the credits and out of know where the body / boy comes out of the water.
my fried had just stuffed her mouth with pop corn. Needless to say the pop corn went flying as i jumped in my seat. thats the movie that stays with me. Its all in the ending.
Warning! Fraggle Dragon, don’t read this!
Hi Joe,
as you are all so happily discussing your fears I fel the need to speak mine out loud too:
SPIDERS!
Hell yes, it’s those small harmless creatures who’d never hurt a human. It doesn’t make sense at all. That’s why I started to handle my fear. It works quite well. But a huge spider all of a sudden close to me can have me scream with fear.
Take the time I was innocently brushing my teeth in the bathroom and one of those things, not that small, falls from the ceiling right onto my left boob.
That poor beggar was dead before it could move one of those hairy legs and it took me half the the day to calm down.
Weirdly enough, I wasn’t scared at all my the movie “arachne phoebia”. I hardly watch scary movies. I’m not that scared but I don’t enjoy them much either. I’m concentrating more on my daily fears ;o)
My mum is scared to death by frogs. As she’s hardly scared of anything I couldn’t stop laughing. Bad me, I know, but the situation was just hilarious! :o)
There were some scares. One in particular that stuck with me was the quick cut to the grisly fate of the previous crew.
Event Horizon certainly scared the bejeebers out of my mum and I.. though partly because we didn’t know going in that it was that kind of film! We were just expecting a sci-fi movie, not a gory horror movie set in space! We spent half the movie holding hands in a deathgrip and wailing, “Nooooo! Don’t go off on your OWN, you FOOL!!” 😆
That Picture reminds me of Dr Who episode!
OMG, Misery was F-en freaky! But its such a awesome movie, so I have to watch it whenever I get the need…
ohh, what about Candyman?? I could never watch the whole thing, so I don’t know if it badly made. I could never get past the his voice…damn scary
NZJ
I’m sorry to say I don’t watch any horror movies at all for fear of never sleeping again (well at least for a long period of time). I did see the Sixth Sense, which I loved, but was unable to stop shaking for a while, and had many creepy dreams. When I was a child I had a very overly active imagination, so anything remotely scary stayed with me. Ever see Return to Oz? The switching heads still creeps me out to this day.
How do you feel about suspense/thrillers? THOSE I really enjoy.
The scariest horror movies I’ve seen are all those I saw when still young (like A Nightmare on Elm Street), without regard to overall quality, simply because I had so few defense mechanisms for keeping them from dominating my imagination. But I think if I watched The Exorcist now, even as an adult, I’d be pretty seriously unnerved. Like pg15, I basically don’t do horror now – for me, since peer and/or partner pressure is no longer a factor. I’ll consider Whispers my adventure for the year in that genre. 😉 (Oh yeah, I also saw Blink on Dr. Who, and was definitely unsettled by people’s faces turning into gas masks.)
The Japanese ghost-story classic, Kwaidan, isn’t necessarily scary, although it does get a bit spooky at times. The fourth of the quartet is the longest, and IMO the best story. A big plus is the artistry with which that story in particular was made.
Clowns and spiders don’t bother me, but anytime my brother was flipping through the channels when I was a kid and I happened to see Tammy Faye Bakker, her eyelashes totally creeped me out. They still kinda do – sitting like centipedes on her eyelids like that. *shudders* Bro used the image to taunt me. You know how big brothers can be. – The other thing I find not-quite-familiar, so rather creepy, is Donald Trump’s hair. I see things in it, like images in clouds, except they’re never pleasant.
I can kind of see why “Misery” made your top two scariest movies. There are definitely some rabid Gate fans and we really do love our favorite characters, but I don’t think any of us are quite that bad. I really enjoyed “The Sixth Sense” and was kind of surprised that they advertised it as a horror movie after I saw it, it played as more of a psychodrama to me. *shrugs* I think my favorite horror movie is “The Lady in White”, which is an excellent ghost story, as well as a genuine horror story of the all too possible sort (not going to say exactly why for those who haven’t seen it, because it’s well worth watching). And “Silence of the Lambs”, yeah, I can definitely agree with that one!
I am definitely with wams352. “Jaws” scared the living daylights out of me. That first scene completely ruined swimming in the ocean for me and I still have occasional nightmares about sharks 30 years after seeing that stupid movie. The scariest movie I can think of isn’t even a movie, it’s Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, especially the one they showed this last year where these people actually went out to swim with Great Whites in open water, outside of a shark cage. My palms were clammy with cold sweat by the time I finished watching that. Yeah, so much for even trying to confront that fear. *shudders* As far as horror goes otherwise, what scares me the most is watching the nightly news and seeing the evils people are capable of committing. Other than that, hypodermic needles (yeah, didn’t that one cause me grief in the Army), being paralyzed, being buried alive. From a standard horror/sci-fi point of view, I’d have to say the idea of something taking over my body and my consciousness, causing me to lose control of my being completely. As a friend of mine euphemistically says, I’m a Control Enthusiast. 😉
Thanks for the pictures of the concept art from “Whispers”, I am more and more intrigued with that episode. The second doll is definitely creepifying and makes me think of an Ent gone very, very bad. *checks date* Well, it’s only 3 more months until season 5 starts and then the episodes will come and go at a rate that is entirely too fast. *sigh*
Hey!
Okay, a recommendation for a scary movie… realize that I’ve seen every scary movie there is. It’s pretty much my genre, my thing. That being said, two movies have ever scared me. The American remake of The Ring. NOT the sequel, just the first one. The other one scared me more, and it was the original Ring. It’s Japanese. Watch the American one first, and then the Japanese one. The scares are not only in the concept, but in the sound, the editing, the color saturation, and the perfect amount of seriousness vs. relaxed moments. Nothing ruins a movie more than taking itself too seriously, or worse, blowing a great concept with shitty editing or sound (example: Dead Silence — every time the villain lady moves, it’s ridiculous and laughable).
I hope you watch these, pay close attention, and let it get under your skin like it did mine. I definitely recommend both of these movies.
Just thought I’d get in on this conversation, since people usually look at me weird when I tell them which movies scare the crap out of me. Movies like Hostel or Taking Lives scare the bejeezus out of me for one simple reason…. they could or do happen in real life. It’s the movies that are so off the wall, like Aliens, one of my alltime favorite movies by the way, but I think it’s a cool adventure with lots of action sci fi flick. It doesnt scare me though. A Nightmare on Elm Street, not scarey. I’ve met Robert Englund a few times and he’s a great guy so that alone would keep me from being afraid of any antagonist he plays lolol.
I won’t watch anything that revolves around clowns or dolls since both are in the same category of “beings” as far as I’m concerned. One of my favorite episodes of SGA is Vengeance… totally in the realm of my favorite Aliens movie and put a fun sense of dread in the atmosphere around our favorite team. But the “scariest” episode of SGA, to me, was Underground where they meet and befriend the Genii only to have them show themselves as anything but what they said they were. Two faces, enemies wearing masks as friend (clowns and dolls) to me are the best “fear inducing” plotlines. I also found the meeting of the Wraith Keeper in The Rising to be one of the scariest scenes in any movie that I’ve ever experienced. LOLOL I’m serious, I was terrified by these things that I was sure I’d never come back to watch. But then my better sense and curiosity got the best of me and here I am! Four years later and the only two shows I watch are Stargate Atlantis and Ghost Hunters. Nothing else is worth watching…. except Two and Half Men when I get the chance and remember when it’s on.
My favorite book of all time is still The Stand by Stephen King. And before anyone asks, yes I started to read IT until it got to the point of identifying the killer as a clown.
Am trying to read The Keep now. I saw a movie by the same name years ago and I loved it and am curious to see if this follows that movie.
Two big scary things for me, Joe.
The first is spiders of all sizes. I can’t handle those. They scare the hell out of me. It’s the way they movie, all those legs and more. Just thinkin’ about it scares me. It doesn’t matter how big or how small. I tried to sit through the movie Arachnophobia, but couldn’t do it. I caught the second half of another spider movie with William Shatner in it and that kept me up for a week.
The second thing is being in a big house at night by myself. You know how a lot of houses continue to settle? They creak and make other odd noises. That also scares the hell out of me. My imagination runs wild as the house makes those noises and it keeps me awake as well. I’ll nudge my husband to go check it out while I cower under the covers.
Can you give us an idea on what the season four DVD’s will look like? Do you get an advanced set?
Oh and I noticed Nicole (MysteryMadchen) mentioned the ferris wheel at Disney….. I got your husband beat on the horror rides thing. Try those damn Teacups… okay? Sure you laugh. I went to Disney with a friend, right after recovering from a major head injury….. didn’t know those innocent looking teacups spun THAT fast. When I told her to stop she thought I was kidding and went faster and faster…. never ride Teacups if you’ve suffered a head injury within the last ten years -chuckles-… I was totally incapacitated from the vertigo it caused, not to mention the pain… -takes a shakey breath as he remembers and lets it out slowly- horrifying torture I tell you. Evil, eviiiiil teacups.
Okay I’m done now. -grin-
I can’t do horror. I can’t even bring myself to read your horror selections in the BOTM.
My horror taste veers towards the classic Hammer and Universal films from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. (I think Hammer started losing it in the 60’s, personally.)
Still, to this day, the Vincent Price version of “House of Wax” can give me nightmares.
Hello!
Looking back at my post yesterday, the use of “desperate” was a very bad choice of words so please let me rescind it. I’m also going to put my use of “sudden”, as in “three and a half years of episodes with no major character romance and now suddenly Keller’s got two guys and they’re fighting over her” on hold until I actually see the episode.
As for scary movies, have you ever seen Salem’s Lot? Sure, The Shining was a horror classic, but for pure jump out of your seat, what the heck is outside my window terror King’s Salem’s Lot is one of the best vampire pictures ever made. David Soul is just one of the many bonuses. 🙂
Hi Joe,
Yes! I love my horror movies! Not the gore ones! The ones that make you scared. The ones that have creept me out are event horizon, silence of the lambs, the shining, the grudge, some chinese horror films for eg: One missed call. So very creepy! They do really great horror films! My list goes on! Also Amityville horror & more. Oh That stephen King Movie the one with the clown & he says “they all float down here, you can float too”! He was in the storm drain. I couldn’t walk past a storm drain for a year after that movie. Now I can!
My worst fear ever is spiders! I am a huge arachnophobic! I freak out bigtime when i see one or one is on the tele or even a plastic one freaks me out! I think I need help!
Also those creepy pic’s you posted scared me!
I love your list of creepy scary movies!
Take care & happiness always!
Cathie
Hi Joe,
One movie I personally found scary when I first saw it was the Thing. Wanted to ask, how many episodes will Larrin appear in this next season?
Take care Joe!
Audition sounds like my kind of movie, I’ll have to try and find it.
I noticed two of your all-timers are based on Stephen King books (Misery and The Shining), which begs the question: Which did you like better, the books or the films? (I’m assuming you read the books…)
In the case of Misery, it was a long time between when I read the book and when I watched the movie. I think I liked the book better because I felt more empathy for Paul Sheldon, but the movie captured the sense of claustrophobia really well. And Kathy Bates was really really creepy.
I definitely liked The Shining better as a book, but the film was good too. I almost treat them as separate entities (which I’ve found is a better way of overcoming the difficulties of adapting something for another medium). I liked the attention to detail in the book, and the supernatural elements, particularly the first incidence with the hedge animals following Jack. But I liked the relationships in the movie, and the way Jack slowly spiral’s into a kind of desperate insanity. And if I ever heard anyone saying “Heeere’s Johnny!”…
Seeing as you had so many comments yesterday (congratulations by the way), I think I’ll ask my questions from then again.
1. Have you seen The Mist yet? If so, what did you think?
2. Have you read/seen King’s 1408?
3. Have you ever seen Satoshi Kon’s “Yume nara samete” (Perfect Blue)?
I will have the movie Audition today. We’re going to watch it tonite instead of… BSG, we’ll save that horror for later.
The Shining (JACK), Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist= all on my list of all time faves. But not as horror films.
Speaking of recent Doctor Who (however 1st impression that mask reminded ME of Genesis of the Daleks) I’ve seen some really nutter, lame, ridiculous episodes but OMFG, last nite watched Partners in Crime which just may have taken the cake as worst, may Atlantis never degenerate that far for a story. Thank gods the next one looks much better.
DD
Ooops! In my above post I meant to say “4 and a half seasons”
Thanks. 🙂
Not necessarily a movie, but Dr. Who creeped me out with one of the Eccleston doctors’ episodes The Empty Child – that mask gave me the shivers, and what do I see on your blog but – another mask! Gleep. Can’t wait for Whispers.
And a movie that still chills, though it’s older than dirt, is a Quatermass movie, Five Million Years to Earth – it falls down a bit on the climax with effects that are…representative of the time…but it’s the first time I ever was introduced to the concept of an alien DNA percolating through humanity. There’s a scene in a subway that always makes me squeak.
was talking to my mom about horror movies she loves them. She says the first mummy movie was the scariest one she ever saw. She swears is a different movie when viewed at the driven ….I wander if it was what was going on in the cars around her at the driven that was scary lol… connie
Thought you might like this little gem i found on the net surfing.. A Stargate Mirror
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/a434/
Oh yes, it’s more horror for me when you don’t exactly see the things. I’m not really afraid of an alien monster.
I watched a few of the movies you mentioned. I prefer Steven King’s books. In my opinion the movies can’t show the atmosphere of the books. Misery isn’t one of my favourite King books. I like It. I read it as I was 12 or 13. And couldn’t look into a drainpipe for a while…
And for movies:
Ring (the first one) was very creepy.
What lies beneath – there was one scene where I digged my fingers into my friend’s arm in the cinema. But the feelings were gone as I watched it the second time.
Identity is also a good one.
Maybe the most creepy movie for me is The Blair Witch Project (Part 1). I still don’t want to be in a forest when it’s dark outside!
I agree with you on Misery – horribly frightening film. It was hard to watch Kathy Bates in anything after that, in particular the Direct TV commercial that’s around now which uses a clip from the movie. (That scene where she rebreaks James Caan’s legs in bed is a true classic, IMO).
Currently have a love/hate relationship with horror.
Loved Colin’s CENTIGRADE (mentioned yesterday), but it’s only 15 min. long.
Otherwise hate horror. Went to POLTERGEIST first run, had nightmares about it, swore to never again willingly watch horror films.
Hello Joseph!
La frenchi de ce blog is back 😀
Je suis fatiguer de tout ces cour et ces contrôls! enfin le week end! Encore la semaine prochaine (qui sera pire) et je suis en vacance! =D
150 commentaire pas mal^^! comme moi hier! Mon record est de 1700 commentaires dans un journée^^!
Question:
Quand vont sortir les premiéres photos et trailer de la saison 5?
Voila=)
Gros bisou bisou, je vous adore fort♥
Your Top Ten matches mine almost completely!! How weird is that?
Speaking of J-horror, there’s a fantastically fun little film called Exte that I caught at a festival last year…definitely worth checking out.
P.S. If you want the best of the best in worldwide horror, come to Austin in September for FANTASTICFEST. One of the top 10 film festivals in the US, a whole week of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. No yuppies, no gimmicks. Last year I even caught a film w/Major Davis in it!
Have you read the original novel of “The Shining”? After reading the book and seeing the movie, the most interesting thing to me was that certain passages through the middle section of the book were much more terrifying to me than the middle section of the movie; but the ending of the movie I thought was a hundred times more effective than the ending (or multiple endings, rather) of the book. I actually like both as a pair more than I like each individually, if that makes sense.
Tango writes: “If sending the messages back creates a new timeline and the existing timeline is left unchanged, how do you explain the safety deposit box?”
Answer: Holy crap, I didn’t even think of that. Excellent point. The message in the safety deposit box would certainly suggest a closed time loop – but the fact that we see future events play out AFTER the past has been changed and the timeline altered suggests an alternate timeline has been created.
I pondered that myself. I came to the conclusion that just sending the messages back didn’t alter the timeline–there was no conflict. It was only when the past altered their own actions did it create a different timeline. Bernstein felt that kind of shiver when the chemist did his press conference, which seems to me to suggest that’s where the split came (and again later with Kennedy surviving). In addition, not only did Peterson get the safety deposit box, but the 1998 scientists also found the news reports about the 1962 astronomer’s notion of aliens contacting Earth via the experiment. But since no one in the past believed him, it didn’t change anything.
I am really looking forward to Whispers after all these tidbits. The mask also reminds me of my recent visit to the Imperial War Museum. I’ve always found those things creepy.
I’ve only seen two of the movies on your list (though I’ve glimpsed scenes of The Shining and was forced to watch two of the subsequent Halloween movies). I’m not actually a horror fan, simply because most horror is really just needlessly gruesome rather than actually frightening. I prefer the sci-fi and suspense movies to the horror genre. I’m interested that Misery is a favorite of yours. I actually found it to be rather absurd. I mean, wow, that’s not a dedicated fan, that’s a bitter writer who can’t actually write. That being said, Kathy Bates is a brilliant actress. What was it about the movie that you like so much? Do you relate to the topic? 😉
Man’s inhumanity to man is always the scarier than bogeymen. The absolute scariest thing in modern times is a Black Hawk helicopter. The US sells Black Hawks to countries all over the world, but it doesn’t have much say in how those countries use the weapons. Jets bomb in a very clinical fashion but a Black Hawk hovers and shoots down at civilians, making an awful sound that is almost worse than the bullets. You can see the people inside and the flash every time the thing fires. Walls can sometimes protect a home from bullets, but not most roofs, so there is no place to hide. Then again if a Black Hawk is shot down then the situation flips and the occupents are now the ones scared shitless, sitting inside a broken bird in a neighborhood they just shot up. The helicopter attack is so ugly and so personal that you never forget it, and it evokes such anger that every time one falls from the sky it becomes the target for revenge.
Very good list.
I’d add Alien and Jaws. Alien because the first time I saw it was when I was three. I put it into the VCR by accident, because I thought it was a cartoon. It made perfect sense to my three year old mind. My mother found me on the couch about 45 minutes into the film with my eyes almost popping out of my head. Deer in headlights, couldn’t even move to turn it off.
Jaws because a) really big shark b) really big shark and c) um really big shark. Thanks to the opening scene of the film, I still have issues about swimming in the ocean; as in I only go in ankle deep.
The pictures from Whispers are fabulous, keep posting more please!! I can’t wait to see this episode!
You forgot ‘To the Devil a daughter’
I dare anyone to look into their car’s rearview mirror after that film. LOL
EVENT HORIZON?? IMO some of Sam Niell’s best work.
The idea of how the ship went from space, to hell, and back, was exellent. The magnetic drive thing was very, very cool. IMO, the person trying to find her relivtive(mother&child) was a bit week. But it was good to see how things get effected and altered. BTW, the stasis chambers looked very “do-able” in the way they seemed, relative to todays technologies. LOL.
Had to study Audition at Uni last year…along with Cannibal Holocaust….not really what you want to be watching first thing on a Monday morning. Can’t say I found either overly scary, just gross.
Are you familiar with a one off Halloween special from the BBC called GhostWatch….a ‘live’ ghost hunt event at a house with a Poltergeist, which caused all sorts of Orson Welles/War of the Worlds type problems when it aired….some people still believe the Beeb covered up deaths of presenters. I was 12 when it was on and the sound of cats screeching, which was prominent, still freaks me out.
Being British Doctor Who stuff, even if slightly wobbly and sticky back plastic, was viewed best from behind the couch and certain modern episodes too for that matter…thanks for the reminder of The Empty Child with the gas mask pic by the way….*shudders*
Oh and I grew up watching little gems like the ‘Play Safe’ adverts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KryOYburlFI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cna-MelQjGA
I’m surprised I ever crossed the Lino threshold to the outside world at all as a child
Forgot one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb00H6mCTM8&feature=related
OMG the horror of it…..the flares, the bangs, the lad doing his best ‘I’m Batman’ in an anorak impression, premptive Arnie….Well I won’t be sleeping tonight 😉
As a lot of your current blog comments & questions seem to relate around relationships have you ever considered that perhaps the best solution is the simplest?
I am thinking of the great relationship between ‘Hotlips’ and ‘Hawkeye’ in M*A*S*H. It’s that unspoken respect – the knowing glance. A bit of poetic license I realise but I truly think this is what people are asking for.
Thoughts Joe???
Hugs, Izzy xx
Oh, yeah…Jaws – forgot about that one. I live at the shore, and STILL have trouble going in the water, all these years later. :p
das
I don’t do horror/thriller/gore – especially gore (especially people being eaten and/or ending up dead in the end – Pitch Black was a huge mistake to watch). I don’t even watch the SciFi channel saturday night preview commercials. I did like the Sixth Sense, The Mummy movies, Van Helsing so in some ways my tolerance is improving (but I usually watch these kind of things edited for tv with my eyes mostly closed the first couple of time through).
Oooh, speaking of mirrors (that Stargate one is tres cool!), I have a strong phobia of them. *shudder* So of course there was one right across from my bed, growing up! After a few instances where my parents closed the door (which blocked the mirror when it was open) and “seeing” things in them when I woke up in the middle of the night (and, well, thanks to stories of the likes of Bloody Mary), I insisted they never close my door at night! XD And, well, it may be a foolish superstition on my part, but I believe in Eternity Gates (when make two mirrors face eachother) and the potential they have for bringing negative forces into your home, so when I moved into a place that had a mirror in the door right across from the medicine cabinet, I drew protection symbols in soap onm the cabinet, covered it with a towel, and never used it.
In another apeartment we had, which we swear was haunted, there seemed to be a “lag” in the mirror, like the image was slightly out of sync with your actual movements, and I alwayas had the feeling my image was smiling at me when I was turned away. I ended up writing a short story about that place — might as well get some use out of my psychoses, ‘ey? *G* I find it difficult to be scared by textual works on the whole, in general, though there have been a few stories that have creeped me out. But as someone memtioned earlier, writing that story creeped me out.
Arachnophobia wasn’t really all that scary a movie on the whole, but there was a part where a spider crawled into the popcorn, and my friend and I were eating popcorn while watching it at the theatre, so we made her little brother take it and sit down at the other end of the aisle, and put our feet up on the seats, off the floor.
That mask *does* remind me of the Doctor Who ep “The Empty Child”, now that I think on it — and that as a pretty damn creepy ep! The daleks used to scare the tar outta me, too, but, oddly enough, the Cybermen just bored me.
*waves*
For me if I watch a scary movie, it’s not always the story itself that freaks me out. The score for me adds that subtley of fear and can be quite powerful. You tend to know when they’re trying to entice the audience and scare the crap out of them by the subtle change in the music, and it’s very effective.
I will never watch Halloween again, just the mere mention sends cold shivers down my spine and I remember that one scene. Loved 6th Sense though. Episodes that contain that psychologicial/messing with your mind stuff are always winners for me. 😀
I really enjoyed Vengeance, the set, the score, the storyline, hopefully Whispers will have those same elements that I loved in Vengeance. Will you be using the old nursing home that you used again? Or was it a mental institution?
*still waiting to be cheered up* 😉
Luckily my patience knows no bound. 😛
*hugs*
I saw “Don’t Look Now” way way back when. It was very scarey. I remember not ever wanting to see it again…and I don’t think I have.
I loved the “Sixth Sense” but didn’t think it was particularily scarey, just a very very good movie. I think I screened during “Signs” when the aliens were revealed at that birthday party. That movie to me was scarey.
Since you are “researching” zombies, have you ever seen “Night of the Comet”…..campy and amusing in a good sort of way…not very deep though. It has Star Trek Voyager star, Robert Beltran, in it before he was in ST.
Becky
Hi Joe
Will season 5 follow up any old plots left open from earlier seasons like the Brotherhood’s ZPM or the Tria from ‘The Return’?
Oh well, to be clear, I wasn’t implying that “Aliens” is a lesser movie than “Alien”, just not as scary. But you’re right both great films.
A lot (not all to be fair) of the newer stuff seems to go for violence over the necessary suspense build-up needed to keep you on the edge of yourr seat. Although I’ve had some people highly recommend “The Orphanage”.
The correct “ship” for Atlantis is Keller and Woolsey. They can whine and cry and irritate the universe together. True love!
As for the scariest movie ever, try the Julie Harris version of “The Haunting” – not the crap remake that came out a few years ago.
I am sorry, I have know idea the name of the movie. I saw it some twenty years ago and when driving late at night in unfamiliar territory it will pop in my head and still totally creep me out. It was about some back county people that shoot people off the road and ditch there cars in ponds or a river not sure. Then bury them up to there necks and cut out there tongues and feed them some kind of mushy oatmeal shit. Until they need them for their #1 sausage! That they sell at some road side stand. God! This movie still haunts me when driving late at night across county. Thank god for freeways now. I don’t get off unless I can see the gas station. LOL
I would be interested in knowing the name it, if anyone happens to know it. I am sure it is some super crappy B movie from the 70’s and wouldn’t scare a soul now.
I totally agree that the imagination is far far scarier than anything Hollywood can dream up. Once you know what you are dealing with it is all down hill from there. I think it is like the old saying. Its not the dark you are afraid of, its whats in the dark!
So when the movie in the 80’s came out The Fog. This movie took me for a ride. I was stationed up in New England on a Navy base and we got lots of foggy nights. When I had night duty you had to board each Tug boat and climbed down to the bilge to check water levels every hour and log it. By yourself! The closest humans three stories up asleep in their racks. The sounds of the water the boats rocking and that far off clangy sound and fog! The brain struggling to get a clue is anything out there! All time knowing that if I screamed not a soul would hear me. Major Major creep level!
Its funny I had my boys watch the The Fog and told them it was my scariest movie ever. They watched it and laughed at me. I guess you just had to be there.
For some 20years now nothing has creeped me out or scared me. Whats up with that!
So when you posted pictures of the fog. I was in heaven. Its funny I looked at them searching for a clue to not be afraid of whats in the fog. Very much looking forward to Whispers Joe!
I’m with everyone else, that Gas Mask most definitely reminds me of Dr Who’s “The Empty Child”. Creepy as hell. 😕
I’m not really a Horror fan but I have seen “The Sixth Sense”, which I loved and “The Shining”, which scared the crap out of me!
Just wanted to ask have you seen the original Gin Gwai or The Eye? I’m a big fan of the Japanese Horror market and loved Ringu etc and Ju-on. preferably subtitled. I think they embody terror and watching my eldest daughters face (shes 21) was even more entertaining as she is not a horror fan but rather prefers chick flicks(where’d I get that one I ask myself LOL)Also Battle Royale was a real chiller especially after having read many years ago a book by Stephen King in his Richard Bachman days The Long Walk ever read it?
My eldest son is an avid fan of the Japanese horrors as well as a big anime freak too, in fact he is the reason I became a fan (maybe it was brainwashing I dunno) I’d like to be able to recommend or even get a hold of some good anime or horror other than what you’ve mentioned here so any more recommendations please Joe?
Cheers.
allison Said:
lol gas mask. ‘are you my mommy?’
Same thoughts here. Very creepy episode of Dr Who.
Now I’m really looking forward to Whispers.
Not a fan of horror but have seen the Exorcist and far to scary for me. Liked the Sixth Sense. Very Creepy and I like that.
Joe, have you ever considered the best horror movie title regardless of the content?. I’ve always thought that ‘The Night of the Living Dead’ is a great unsettling title. Never seen it though.
Things that go bump in the night kinda are creepy, You know that feeling walking downstairs to get some water or something to eat like a snack at night and you get that I am not alone feeling even though it hadn’t crossed your mind in the slightest.
I admit, curiousity getting the best of me, watching a ghost video or reading about things like that with a few minutes to spare is often creepy when its dark out.
If that tree/wood thing in your previous(yesterdays) blog was real and suddenly jumped out at me, during the night I think my heart would just die.
Horror Films. Ugh. I agreed to watch Sixth Sense when it was in the theater with a group of friends. Most unfortunately I didn’t do my homework and find out what kind of movie it was before-hand. Included in the party were my Bishop’s wife and the gal who eventually became my sister-in-law so I thought I was safe. Future-Sister-In-Law had no idea what she was getting into either. Anyways, Bishop’s Wife (whom I later learned loves scary movies) unwisely sat between us two scardy cats. The rest of our party said they had almost as much fun watching the three of us as they did the movie. I wouldn’t be surprised if after that experience Bishop’s Wife was temporarily hard of hearing in both ears as well as sporting bruises on her arms from the two of us clinging to her. As for me, I didn’t sleep well for about three months after that. The part that still creeps me out even after nine years is the scene where Scary Crazy Man was discovered in the bathroom holding a gun on his “hosts”. *shivers* Good story, but I’ll never watch it again.
So, changing the subject, lets see if you feel like fielding my question today: Do you often have to re-shoot a scene once the episode has progressed as far the producer’s editing room, or is that pretty rare?
1)Will sacrifice continue to be a theme next season?
2)Will any of the team make any decisions next year that hauntingly direct their course of action over a good chunk of the season?
Okay I know you don’t like to be bothered by this stuff and all this speculation is based on partial spoilers but….it looks like we get
Team Episodes which are my favs with:
Search and Rescue, Ghost in the Machine, Daedalus Variations, and maybe The Seed with heavier Keller?
Broken Ties – Ronon focused
The Shrine of Talus- Rodney Focused
Whispers- Carson focused
Tracker- Ronon, Rodney and Keller
The Queen- Teyla
First Contact- Rodney and Daniel with maybe team
Is there a Sheppard focused episode at all in the first half?
If not, will we get any in the second half? Any word on the one that was ‘needing a home’?
Joe,
I didn’t get online yesterday (I know gasp!) because I chose to sleep…haven’t done so much of that lately, so I didn’t get to add my two cents on yesterday.
What scares me?
1) The thought of out-living my children
2) Tornadoes – grew up in the Midwest; now I live in Florida and I’m fine with hurricanes, even mesmorized by them, until they mention “Tornado Warning”, then I’m freaked out for the rest of the time that the wind blows.
3) I wouldn’t call it a fear, but I’m definitely freaked out by them: cockroaches – or any kind of beetle bug. In Flordia, the cockroaches are called “Palmetto bugs”. They are two to three inches long and they fly! And they’re not scared. When you flip on the lights, they turn and blink at you like, “Yeah? What do you want?” As far as other beetle bugs go, let me just tell you that I was fine with “The Mummy” until the scarabs got loose. I did not like “The Scourge” (SG1, Season 9) because of the same thing. And I was truly creeped out by “Vengeance” (SGA, Season 3) because those things were like huge bugs on two (?) legs…
Horror is not a genre I really get into, so I’m waiting to watch “Whispers” with my blanket up to my nose.
To address a bit of today’s blog:
I loved the movie “Misery”. I know Stephen King is considered Horror, but some of his stuff is more psychological than gore…”Misery” is one, “Green Mile” is another. Some of my students are getting ready to read “Carrie” and “The Dead Zone” for their “Book Club” project, so I’ll have to break down and read them, I suppose.
I didn’t see “The Sixth Sense” as a horror movie. I loved it as well as M.N.S.’s “Signs” and “Unbreakable”.
You had mentioned that “Whispers” was going to be true horror. Is it going to be creepier (or scarier) than “Vengeance”? Should I have a good, stiff drink to brace me before watching – since I would never miss an episode, of course.
Thanks again for the blog!
MA
Well, with the new information now available for Tracker on Gateworld it looks like Sheppard is the only major character who does NOT get a specific centered episode in the first half of season 5.
What’s going on Joe? Could you please tell us Sheppard fans what’s up? A lot of us had high hopes for Tracker as being the Sheppard centered episode for the first half of the season but Sheppard’s not even mentioned in the Gateworld description!! Are you scaling back on Sheppard’s role and position in season 5 with the addition of all the new and returning and guest characters? And why won’t you respond to any questions asking about Sheppard centered episodes?
Thanks a lot.
OH!
I forgot to mention that one movie that freaked me out for a LONG time was “The Pit and The Pendulum” (1961)starring Vincent Price and John Kerr. I haven’t seen it in years and I can still see the final scene vividly in my head.
MA
Just saw an article on Gateworld about Tracker, and yup, I’m Very Afraid. While the Rodney/Ronon pair sounds great, looks like my FF button will get a workout with that ep. (not a big fan of Keller, sorry)
I am just not sure of why, when you have the opportunity to do more team episodes this season, it seams you are still breaking them up into little pieces. There are only so many seasons left of this show (hopefully more than one!) that I’d personally love to see all the core team interaction as possible, and to give more time to our old favorites too such as Lorne, Beckett and Zelenka. To me they are SGA, Keller is not. This is only my honest opinion, not meant to dis others who think she’s a great character.
I once worked in a very old hospital called Walton Hospital, it was a former Workhouse built in 1868.
The hospital still had many Victorian features including the workhouse mortuary.
As nurses working night duty the conversation would turn to ghost stories one which came up again and again was the ‘Angel’.
Patients who were seriously ill and close to death would tell of an ‘Angel’ who would visit them stroking their foreheads and whispering words of comfort.
When asked if it could have been one of the nurses on duty that night they would say no.
Asked if they could describe her, they would describe a woman wearing an old fashioned uniform, longish dress, starched white apron and white frilly starched nurse’s cap.
Through all the descriptions one thing stayed constant the ‘Angel’ had no feet!
This puzzled us as to why a ghost would have no feet, until we found out that the floors we walked on were not the original floors, but built above the original ones.
The ‘Angel’ was walking on the original floors of the hospital.
Needless to say we tried to stay in pairs when on night duty.
Who needs Stephen King? Hell we scared the crap out of ourselves.
Urban legends or collective hysteria either way spooky!!!!
Pauline
btw, Is there any possibility of us getting to see Dr. Lee next season?
I feel a bit foolish but I haven’t seen a single movie on your list.
Wow….I’d almost totally forgotten all about ‘Ghostwatch’ *shudders* Thanks for the reminder, Emma. I had to sit and watch Disney films after seeing that just so I could get back to sleep – once the sun had come up that is!!
I’m not a horror film person really. However, I admit that both Signs and The Village got me going – the latter especially with all the unspoken words, the exchanged glances, glimpses of creatures *shivers* I can watch the film but even knowing what is going on, I still get a little creeped in the beginning. Event Horizon too freaks me out – it’s the combination of elements of the unseen, the reactions, the actions and the resulting happenings – that and Sam Neill just looks so psychotic.
I agree on Buffy’s ‘Hush’ and several of the X-Files episodes ( ‘Darkness Falls’, ‘Squeeze’, ‘Tooms’, ‘Space’ (sofa time!) and ‘Excelsius Dei’ which starred Teryl Rothery as a few examples). Doctor Who’s ‘Empty Child’ was fab! So was ‘Tooth and Claw’ – THAT was a werewolf! And I remembered the Torchwood episode – ‘Countrycide’! Seen any of that series yet, Joe?
Man…really wish it was Season 5 time all ready…come on guys! Hurry up! *giggle*
Dreams
So now that info on Tracker is out, we officially have 10 episodes in the first half of Season 5 featuring various characters. Ooops, I forgot. Everybody seems to have an ep but the lead. That makes sense!
Why don’t you just tell us already what’s going on?
On April 11, 2008 at 10:20 am Juliana Said:
I am sorry, I have know idea the name of the movie. I saw it some twenty years ago and when driving late at night in unfamiliar territory it will pop in my head and still totally creep me out. It was about some back county people that shoot people off the road and ditch there cars in ponds or a river not sure. Then bury them up to there necks and cut out there tongues and feed them some kind of mushy oatmeal shit. Until they need them for their #1 sausage! That they sell at some road side stand. God! This movie still haunts me when driving late at night across county. Thank god for freeways now. I don’t get off unless I can see the gas station. LOL
That was called Motel Hell hun. I forgot about that one until you mentioned it in here. lol.
On April 11, 2008 at 1:57 pm dignan50yp Said:
Well, with the new information now available for Tracker on Gateworld it looks like Sheppard is the only major character who does NOT get a specific centered episode in the first half of season 5.
What’s going on Joe? Could you please tell us Sheppard fans what’s up? A lot of us had high hopes for Tracker as being the Sheppard centered episode for the first half of the season but Sheppard’s not even mentioned in the Gateworld description!! Are you scaling back on Sheppard’s role and position in season 5 with the addition of all the new and returning and guest characters? And why won’t you respond to any questions asking about Sheppard centered episodes?
Thanks a lot.
To be honest, I’ve just about given up asking. There’s only so many times you can ask a question before the other shoe drops and you realise either the news isn’t good, or you’re just being ignored, for whatever reason. Maybe you’ll succeed where all other Sheppard fans have failed? 😉
Unfortunately I can only be as ‘informed’ as the information supplied to me, and now all I can see is episodes for characters other than my favourite, who also happens to supposedly be the leading man.
I always try to be optimistic. To be positive and trusting. I’ve always had a ‘wait and see’ approach. Alas a lot of Sheppard fans I interact with seem to have finally had enough, and are depressed, feel ignored and most importantly feel their favourite character has been pushed aside. It’s pretty hard not to feel that way at the moment.
I guess my optimism has finally run out too. 🙁
some things you see as a kid really stay with you. two tv-movies come to mind, the first with william shatner called ‘the horror at 37,00 feet’ (1973) and one with barbara eden called ‘the stranger within’ (1974).
the william shatner movie had some very creepy scenes, with ppl stuck on a plane that had some kind of demons trying to get them. interesting lighting and more interesting use of the dark. kind of cheesy, but i didn’t think that when i was a kid.
the barbara eden one was about a woman that found out she was pregnant (even though her hubby had a snippin’ done), and discovers the baby is not of this earth. this wasn’t so much scary, but creepy in that *she* was changing.
for their time, they were made well, but it’s the little things that can take an alright movie and just give it this little creepy-down-your-spine edge.
sally =)
Thankyouthankyou, Joe. That makes it very easy. Now I just have to to get the books from the library if I can!
Crap – my April 10 comment ended up on April 6! AAAAGH! Most frightening of all!
eddy
(Repost from accidental posting on April 6)
Hi Joe!
That mask, as others have said, reminds me a lot of the Dr. Who episode, The Empty Child. “Are you my mummy?” is one of the creepiest things I’ve heard in a while. (Blink was also an awesome, scary DW ep!
Scary movies for me: The Shining, IT, Salem’s Lot, heck most of the Stephen Kings’, even if they were crappy. The Sixth Sense was scary, but not overly so. Regular ol’ monster “jumps out and kills you” movies are scary, so I don’t usually watch them.
Jurassic Park scared the crap outta me – because the special effects were so realistic. Actually gave me nightmares.
Jaws was scary at the time, despite me not living near any significant body of water. Again, with “Boo!” factor.
Wow, I’m on a theme – guys named Steven/phen! Poltergeist is one of my favorite movies, but that damn clown and Tree from Hell still creep me out.
Y’know what scares me? Creepy kids singing during the end credits at scary movies, ala Amityville Horror and Poltergeist. AAAAGH! Amityville Horror scared me til I realized the people made the whole thing up. (Pathetic!)
And how are you?
eddy
I’ve never actually seen a horror movie so there is nothing helpful that I could add to the discussion. Sorry.
In other news, Amazon has Stargate Continuum for pre-order already! Here’s the link (hopefully, if it works anyways): http://www.amazon.com/Stargate-Continuum-Ben-Browder/dp/B0017MO10U/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1207962800&sr=8-13
Hmmmm….so the first half of S5 is Sheppard-lite? Hmmmm….
Maybe he’s snatched by Michael, turned into a hybrid, and goes the whole ‘Ford’ route, only to be rescued in the second half of the season, de- and re-programmed, and so on and so forth…
On a brighter note, didn’t JM say there was a possibility to see Shep’s ex again? If that’s the case, I assume there’s a Shep-centric episode coming up sometime in the future…unless Ronon goes back to earth to ‘hook up with Sheppard’s hot ex’… 😉
For the record, I’m not a fan of romantic relationships. That’s one reason I don’t watch soaps and nighttime dramas. I prefer action, adventure and character devel under fire – it’s just more interesting to me. I also LOVE exploring ‘friendships’ – both between enemies ( Common Ground ), and between friends (Rodney/Shep, Ronon/Shep, Ronon/Teyla).
Shep is an interesting guy – he started off as a snarky, somewhat undisciplined (and invincible), Wraith killer…and somewhere along the line he was humbled a bit, especially to the point were he actually fed one of the very creatures he vowed to eliminate. If I’m not mistaken, S4 was a turning point for Sheppard – his character was going through a lot of subtle changes, and he was force to confront demons (and a dominatrix) he’d rather not. Now, if I had things my way, S5 would be the season that shows us – not his continued struggle with self – but how that struggle has changed him, show us what sort of man he’s grown into because of it.
If not, I’ll just be happy with more Todd. 😀
das
Katie Said:
Wasn’t the Alan McCullough Shep whump episode originally supposed to be in the first half of Season 5? That may be the reason there isn’t a Sheppard-centric episode in the first half.
Of course I’d like to see more Shep and find out more about the character and see his Ancient gene explored. I hope he has an arc coming up.
Cheers, Chev
i am not a big fan of scary films or things but i am pleased that i did not get nightmers from shorn of the dead and my sister that loves films like the ones that you listed did
dasNdanger Said:
I wouldn’t have said snarky das but I do agree that he was a bit of a loose cannon. Episodes like The Hot Zone where he blazed ahead trying to save the day and exacerbated a problem.
I think command of the military on Atlantis has helped him grow. I’d also like to see that shown.
Cheers, Chev
Chev – oh, Shep’s snarky, alright. When he’s all full of himself – confident and determined to get his way – he’s a real pistol. But he was really humbled in a couple episodes in S4, and I really liked that. Let’s just take the whole Wraith thing…with Steve, he taunted him about his food source being just out of reach. Definitely full of snarkitude there. But in Miller’s Crossing, all of that irritating cockiness is gone as he persuades Wallace into become Todd’s din-din. You can just see the inner conflict on his face and in his manner…and it was (for me) a delight! In the first season or two I really wondered if Sheppard even had real human feelings, or if he was just programmed to shoot first, ask questions later. He was a bit TOO cold for me…but S4 has warmed me a bit to the guy. I’d just like to see a bit more of that – esp. where the Wraith are concerned – but not sure I will, seeing as how it looks like the first half of S5 is gonna be full of ‘evil Wraith needing to be killed’ again.
das
YO!!!
Any chance I could get an address in order to ship some pralines and candy from New Orleans and Lafayette Louisiana to you. If this is not the place to ask where should I go to get the address?
Thanks Sean
dasNdanger said: “If I’m not mistaken, S4 was a turning point for Sheppard – his character was going through a lot of subtle changes, and he was force to confront demons (and a dominatrix) he’d rather not.”
Tooootally have to agree w/ das on this one (sorry Chev!). Sheppard really surprised me in S4. There is definitely a depth of character there that has developed, and the writers would do well to explore and extrapolate on it. Not only do I think Sheppard deserves it, but I think the tallented Joe F could really take it far if given some meaty stuff to chew on. I know the writers can do it…hell, the show’s got some of the best writers out there! I just hope they DO.
And now I’m getting down off my soap box… 🙂