I Dare You

What, do I dare you? To relive these scenes all over again and remember how truly terrifying they actually were. Are you up for it? Here we go.

“An American Werewolf in London” is a film that came out in 1981. It was a comedy/horror film written and directed by John Landis. The stars of the film were David Naughton as David Kessler, Griffin Dunne as Jack Goodman, Jenny Agutter as Nurse Alex Price, and John Woodvine as Dr. Hirsch.

The plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, walking across the moors while traveling in England. They’re attacked by a werewolf, causing David to become a werewolf under the next full moon, and Jack is killed.

The film won the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and makeup artist Rick Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The film has become a cult classic. A sequel, “An American Werewolf in Paris” came out in 1997.

The most cringeworthy scene was when David is painfully transformed from man into werewolf. Truly a realistic look into how this could happen.

For this movie I also wanted to mention the melancholy scene at the very end after David is gunned down. Silver bullets, remember? And the song “Blue Moon” by Sam Cooke plays. This classic track plays during the film's closing credits, creating a haunting contrast to the film's themes and events.

“Carrie” is a f976 American supernatural horror film. It was directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen, adapted from the 1974 semi-epistolary novel “Carrie” by Stephen King.

The film stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy teenage girl mocked and bullied at school. She develops the power of telekinesis that she uses to wreak vengeance on her tormentors. The film also features Piper Laurie as Margaret White, Amy Irving as Sue Snell, William Katt as Tommy Ross, Nancy Allen as Chris Hargensen, John Travolta as Billy Nolan, and Betty Buckley as Miss Collins.

Carrie has been victimized by her religious fanatic mother due to her unique telekinetic abilities and outcast by her high school peers because of her different personality and appearance. On prom night, Carrie is set up by conniving classmates to win prom queen, so they have the opportunity to drop pig's blood on her while she's on stage. This gruesome act of bullying results in the gifted young woman unleashing her powers on the dance and killing dozens of high schoolers.

When you saw this scene and the bucket of blood poured over Carrie and her eyes got really wide, you knew it was time to head for the hills.

“The Exorcist” is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty. It is based on Blatty’s 1971 novel.

The film stars Linda Blair as Regan Teresa MacNeil, Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin, and Jason Miller as Father Damian Karras.

The film follows the demonic possession of a young girl and the attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests.

“The Exorcist” significantly influenced pop culture and is included on lists of the greatest films ever made. In 2010 the Library of Congress chose this film for preservation in the US National Film Registry.

Throughout the film the possessor, one of the scariest demons ever featured, Pazuzu, never makes an appearance, but the fear factor is in the way he alters Regan, affecting her physical appearance, voice, and abilities.

When you get to the part of her head twisting completely around, you know this will leave a significant impact on you.

“Halloween” is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, who cowrote it with producer Debra Hill. The movie stars Donald Pleasance as Dr. Sam Loomis, Jamie Lee Curtis making her film debut as Laurie Strode, and, among others, Tony Moran as Michael Myers.

The film is set in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield. It follows mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his teenage sister one Halloween night during his childhood. Escaping 15 years later he returns to Haddonfield, stalking teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends with his psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis, in hot pursuit.

At the climactic moment when Laurie is attempting to escape the knife-wielding masked man, she hides in a closet. There is a stressful moment of tension while she waits before Michael smashes through the closet, slashing at her with the knife. This high-intensity scene in Halloween emulates the fear and danger of the situation.

“Jaws”—this film has three sequels, Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, and Jaws: The Revenge, but most stay true to the original. This 1975 American thriller film was directed by Steven Spielberg. It is based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley.

It stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of marine biologist Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, and a professional shark hunter Quint by Robert Shaw hunt a man-eating great white shark that attacks beachgoers at a New England summer resort town.

The film draws your attention right from the opening scene: a young woman, Chrissie, is going for a late-night swim when she's attacked by a shark. This imagery of a shark attack victim thrashing around in the water before her unfortunate demise is chilling, making it one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

“Misery” is a 1990 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman. It is based on the 1987 novel by Stephen King.

The film stars James Caan as novelist Paul Sheldon who winds up being rescued when his car crashes on a snowy road. Unfortunately, he’s rescued and held captive by an obsessive fan Annie Wilkes by Kathy Bates. The supporting cast includes Lauren Bacall, Frances Sternhagen, and Richard Farnsworth.

Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress and her win made “Misery” the only film based on a King novel to win an Academy Award.

No viewer who has experienced “Misery” can forget when Annie brutally breaks both of Paul's ankles in one of the most frightening moments ever seen in a horror movie.

“Rosemary’s Baby” is a 1968 American psychological horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski. It is based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin.

The film stars Mia Farrow as the titular Rosemary, a newlywed living in Manhattan who becomes pregnant. She starts to suspect that her neighbors have sinister intentions regarding her and her baby. Supporting cast includes Guy Woodhouse by John Cassavettes, Ruth Gordon as Minnie Castavet, and Sidney Blackmer as Roman Castavet, among others.

Rosemary never gets to save her baby, and at the end of the movie, after many nail-chewing moments, she is surrounded by neighbors, who are a satanic cult. Rosemary looks inside her baby’s crib; with a look of terror, she asks, “What have you done to his eyes?” During this moment of true horror the viewers learn that the baby has his “father’s eyes,” making reference to the fact that this is a child of Satan.

“The Shining” is a 1990 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. It is based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King.

The film stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance, Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance, and Scatman Crothers as Dick Halloran, among others.

The film presents the descent into insanity of a recovering alchoholic and aspiring novelist, Jack Torrance, who takes a job as the winter caretaker for a mountain resort hotel with his wife, Wendy, and their clairvoyant son Danny.

The film has since been critically reappraised and is now often cited as one of the best horror films and one of the greatest films of all time. The film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

The most memorable and iconic scene is when Jack busts through a door with an axe, chasing Wendy, and yells, "Here's Johnny!" Jack Nicholson has a long and respectable reputation in film, but this continues to be one of his most notable moments.

“Psycho” is a 1960 American horror film produced and directed by the master of horror Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay was written by Joseph Stefano and is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch.

The film stars Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, Janet Lee as Marion Crane, Vera Miles as Lila Crane, John Gavin as Sam Loomis, and Martin Balsam as Detective Milton Arbogast, among others. Should I have mentioned Norman’s mother? But then, she is all in his imagination, or is she?

Marion Crane steals money from her employer and runs away to take the cash to her fiancé, Sam Loomis, stopping at the Bates Motel along the way. After hearing a concerning discussion between the proprietor, Norman, and his mother and dining with the odd man, Marion is murdered while taking a shower in her room. When Norman discovers the body and scene, he makes the questionable decision to dispose of the evidence.

This eerie and brutal murder scene perfectly sets the scene for this unusual, shocking psychological horror. As horrific as it was on screen, in the novel the poor hapless girl gets her head lobbed off.