Horror is something I love wholeheartedly and have done for as long as I can remember. Even as a little unwashed mite, there were few things I appreciated more than when my old man read ghost stories or told his own stories from his childhood in the rural areas of Småland. Which he of course spiced up with plenty of supernatural untruths. Everything from haunted attics to relatives who had been walled in alive. Naturally, his mother was anything but happy about this, but in time she came to accept it for what it was.
But even though I was apparently quite well prepared, or rather used to being terrified, there have always been films, even at a young age, that transformed me into a pathetic little ball on the sofa, with the blanket pulled over me as a protective barrier of warm security. So what better time to reflect on these horrific creations than now, when Halloween and the darkness of autumn are looming. Horror can be consumed all year round, but snuggling up on the sofa with the wind whistling and the rain lashing against the windows is just something special.
That said, I want to emphasise that this is by no means a list of the scariest or best horror films in history. Of course, we've covered that topic several times here at Gamereactor. Either as articles or top lists. No, this is simply about a bunch of reels that for various reasons managed to shake me up and crawl under my skin - regardless of their other possible qualities or genre - and gave me a good dose of real chills.
The Goonies
Perhaps the most seemingly remarkable and strange choice on this list. Which in all reasonableness should (and will) primarily include horror films. But the fact is that when I saw The Goonies for the very first time as a five-year-old, I was absolutely terrified by well, you might guess, Sloth. His introduction in the film where you glimpse him in the shadows, locked up and roaring in the basement of the old restaurant. It was simply too much for little old me and I ran away from the TV crying.
As we all know, Lotney Fratelli, his real name, has a heart of gold. The world's sweetest, oversized cuddly bear who just happens to have had the misfortune of being dropped on the floor once or twice too often by Mama Fratelli. Why my reaction was so strong over him I honestly don't know. My parents allowed me to watch an odd amount of films intended for much more adult eyes as a child, and renting video cassettes along with an Esselte Moviebox on Friday nights was a tradition.
The trauma also lingered. Something that resulted in it taking many, long years until I actually gave The Goonies another chance and thus also rediscovered my love for the film. Which of course still holds true today. Thankfully, Sloth and I are now best friends and he doesn't scare me in the least.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Here's another interesting childhood trauma that was also probably the first real horror film I actually tried to watch. The primary school playground in the happy 80s and early (and slightly darker) 90s was, as you know, a place where it was all about bragging about the horrors you had seen on video. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was of course mentioned, as well as all sorts of other horrors that more often than not were actually just pure fiction. Remember, we didn't have the internet or even access to film magazines. Our understanding of the world of film rarely extended beyond what we saw on the shelves of the local newsagent. A ridiculously limited range of films by modern standards but what we thought at the time was an inexhaustible library.
So when a classmate told us about how his much older brother had managed to make a copy of "the scariest film in the world", we were of course extremely curious. Partly because the whole concept of recorded films still felt magical, but also because the description of a killer with knives on his hands sounded a little too good to be true. So, after school, my friends and I went home with this friend to watch this forbidden film, full of blood and violence. In other words, everything that we tough youths claimed to love.
No one else was home so it was no problem to occupy the older brother's room, complete with his little 14" TV and a VCR plugged in. That's as far as we got, however. Because after A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors had started, it didn't take many seconds before all of us otherwise so cocky guys started to squirm on the couch and break out in a cold sweat. To say that we were completely terrified by the first few minutes of the film is a gross understatement. Which also resulted in recurring nightmares. The film was shut down in a hurry and none of us ever spoke about the incident again.
Drag Me To Hell
For better or worse, it's not quite as easy to be startled in adulthood as it was when you were a little tyke. If nothing else, you definitely react to completely different things. But Drag Me To Hell was a very special experience, full of cheap surprises and built up like a haunted house at a funfair. Quite simply, a series of madnesses that incessantly bombard you and never allow any real respite. That was the experience of seeing Drag Me To Hell in a pitch black theatre in Ireland.
It was like any other Friday night after work. We had our Cineworld monthly passes. Outrageously cheap, barely 100 euros for a whole year at the time and allowed you to visit the cinema as often as you wanted with entry to all screenings, every day of the week. I'll probably never understand how that concept worked out financially. But anyway, we found ourselves there in the theatre and none of us really had any idea what Drag Me To Hell was. Trailers on YouTube weren't really a thing back then.
What followed was one of the most memorable cinema experiences ever. Because even though the theatre wasn't even a quarter full, the rows of seats were shaking from how violently people (including us) were jumping and jerking at regular intervals. People were screaming out in sheer fear and your pulse was downright unnecessarily high. An absolutely fantastic and terrifyingly wonderful evening, and by far the film that more than any other genuinely made me feel like I was six years old again, walking through a haunted house at Liseberg. Terrified but happy.
Mungo Lake
For various reasons, I was late to the party when it came to Mungo Lake. A brutal indie gem from "down undah" that for several years was quite difficult to get hold of, until some distributors in the UK actually had the good taste to release it on blu-ray. So I was well into my 30s when I saw Mungo Lake for the very first time, and even though I had heard a few things before I was extremely hesitant. Found footage is not a genre I have a lot of love for and although Blair Witch was scary at the time it was made, the market was flooded with cheap rubbish after the success of Paranormal Activity.
But Mungo Lake defied the odds and was by far one of the scariest film experiences I have enjoyed in many years. Honestly, the film is more of a documentary than pure found footage and the tragic story of 17-year-old Alice's drowning accident, as well as the subsequent discoveries made by her brother. Yes, they get under your skin like nothing else. Not to mention all the details that can be found afterwards, if you dare to see Mungo Lake a second time. A quiet, low-key story that doesn't involve any sudden noises or shocking surprises except for ONE scene, which most of you who have seen the film will remember.
No, Mungo Lake is so much more than a simple thriller about the supernatural. It's a very human story about unanswered questions, dealing with a sudden death, and the emptiness left behind after the loss of a beloved friend or family member. Mungo Lake shook me to my core and I dare say that no other film in my adult life has touched me in such a deep yet uncomfortable way.
The Entity
The Entity. A story based on the true story of a single mother in Los Angeles, and the violent and invisible creature that haunts, torments and rapes her in her home.
Provocative, challenging and deeply disturbing. Yes, The Entity is a mix of everything, but more importantly, it is genuinely scary. So much so that when I saw the film for the first time as an adult, I had trouble sitting through the entire story. And no, not because of the subject matter, although rape itself is scary enough. Primarily, it's Barbara Hershey as Carla Moran, the vulnerable single mum, whose performance really sells the concept.
The invisible ghost and its sheer malevolence, as well as the surprisingly violent scenes and the evil that permeates the entire film. It makes the experience not only unique but also deeply unpleasant and disturbing. Of course, it is also possible to analyse much of what happens in the film, drawing parallels with everything from domestic violence to mental illness. But at the end of the day, it is a highly effective thriller that scandalously few people seem to talk about, and which still has the ability not only to shock but also to upset and send chills down the spine.