What movie(s) has scared you the most as an adult?

I'm looking to find some scary movies to watch with a friend who likes getting scared. Horror movies don't really do much for me scare wise outside of the odd jump scare startling me, but almost nothing has ever made me feel actually afraid and it always bugged him being the only one getting scared. So I'm on the hunt for some movies that will scare/freak me out and I was wondering what were some movies that you folks have watched and at some point in the film actually made you afraid? I'm currently downloading "Maniac", "The Lords of Salem", and "American Mary" in hopes that they will do the trick. I spent a few hours watching some trailers on youtube last night and they seemed like good candidates. I'm always on the look out for other suggestions though.

Bonus internet points to anyone that can include trailers so I don't have to Google it. Here be the trailers for the ones I listed for anyone else that might be looking.

I just watched Maniac a couple of nights ago based on one of the guys from RedLetterMedia saying it was good.

....mmm not to me. The acting was pretty bad. I never saw the original. Seemed fairly pointless with not much caring about the characters. (good music tho)

Lords of Salem was kinda good. It's very weird which I expected.

I'll throw in the only good horror movie I've seen in the longest time was House of the Devil. You probably need a particular taste for it though. It's pretty slow.

JAWS.

No matter how old I get that movie still has an effect on me. I can never enter the ocean without that theme tune playing in my head!

I don't usually watch films of the horror genre, so to answer your question, I don't think I have ever bothered to watch a movie that has scared me as an adult. Not sure that a horror film would or would not scare me, but the idea of intentionally trying to do so strikes me as madness.

My housemate has seen just about every horror movie ever. I think she considers REC the scariest. Maybe try watching it alone, much scarier that way.

@uitdetoekomst: it's fun being scared. You're the mad one sir! I've had a lot if trouble with movies scaring me anymore just due to the fact that I've watched a lot off horror movies in my day. The house if the devil is one I have yet to see, but hear great things about.

Contagion

I've seen the three movies you're downloading, and out of all of them I think "Maniac" is probably the straight-up scariest, even though American Mary is arguably a better film.

I found most traditional scary stuff doesn't scare me anymore into adulthood. What gets to me is existential dread and hopelessness, so if you're looking for those types of good times, I highly recommend Martyrs. It will leave you speechless, and is one of the finest horror films I have ever seen in my life

Also if you want to be horrified on a more real level, the documentary The Act of Killing came out this year.

Have fun with your emotions!

Pretty much any home invasion horror movie has always scared me based on the sole reason that it can actually happen. Try checking out one of those. The Strangers is a good choice.

I don't care for horror movies unless it's trying something different like Cabin in the Woods (which is more than just a horror film). I don't like the idea of being scared.

I recall watching The Grudge (American) in theaters when I was younger, and the CCTV scene and the "under the sheets" scene bothered the hell out of me for weeks.

Not much of a horror fan, but Eraserhead made me feel very uneasy.

The Woman In Black scared the living piss out of me in the theater. Can't say for sure that it'd have the same effect on my home screen, though.

I was at an impressionable age when I saw Bride of Chucky and it fucked with my head (ironically it's one of the comedic ones in the series), and I saw The Ring when I was about 9 and that scared the shit out of me too.

But as an adult? The Conjuring and Insidious recently were pretty damn scary. James Wan can get under my skin.

@fuzzypumpkin: To each his own, I suppose. I just don't understand it. It is not an emotional response that I find pleasing or enjoyable in any way.

edit: awww. come on... that at least was funny, right?

Jacob's Ladder.

A movie that still creeps me out every time I even think about it. Maybe not scary in the traditional sense, but whatever.

Uzumaki

Japanese horror and weirdness at it's finest. (I just hate those fucking snail people.)

I thought the first Paranormal Activity was pretty spooky.

No kidding, I saw The Grudge as a kid too, and the "under the sheets" scene scared the shit out of me too, and I STILL think about it from time to time.

The original REC is good, and the sequel is good too. Don't bother with the American remake of it though, because it's just stupid. The ending of REC has such an incredibly good payoff too, so it's definitely a worthwhile movie if you're interested in it.

Blair Witch Project, it doesn't help that I saw it in a big, nearly empty, creaky old auditorium in the dead of winter.

The original Maniac was really rough for me to get through. I watched it by myself years ago, and then when I found out my brother hadn't seen it, I watched it with him. Knowing what I was getting into I tried to mentally prepare for what was about to unfold, it didn't work. When the movie ended, we both got up from our chairs and went into different rooms. Not uttering a word to each other until the next day...so I definitely recommend it if you want to get scared.

The Conjuring. I thought I was over my fear of creepy dolls... Nope...

original maniac had Tom Savini effects work. It's actually interesting in a gindhouse exploitation sense. It was a passion project for Joe Spinell.

Nope, I'm not afraid of movies. Now just watching too reading on history of film making, production effects, it's just a fake knife, with a blood pack being squeezed away from camera. And also got friends who want to talk about making a shot, fake blood and rubber monsters.

To me, something like Slither just resonates with me, cheesy effects but disturbing idea behind them. Fighting an undead dear in dark lighting to hide it's a puppet.

Nothing has really scared me in awhile but, the last movie I remember freaking me out was "Event Horizon" I refuse to watch it again.

The crazy thing is that Quarantine 2: Terminal, the (I think) direct-to-DVD sequel to the American remake of REC, is considerably better than Quarantine. It's crazy how much better it is.

I liked Quarantine...saw it before REC so did not have basis of comparison. If the sequel's good I'd consider checking it out...REC2 was OK but I didn't like the direction they took, particularly with the infection's origins.

To OP, "Let the Right One In" has gotten high marks for being creepy and disturbing. Cannot vouch for the movie but the book is quite ick-inducing.

Paranormal activity ... I would say the exorcist but I still havent seen more than 10 minutes until my mind freaks out by the possesion theme of the film. im a wuz when it comes to that D:

Rob Zombie has a knack for making some truly horrifying movies, but Lords of Salem wasn't that scary.

If you haven't seen his best two: House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects I highly recommend them. They are very entertaining and incredibly creepy. House of 1000 Corpses especially is unnerving.

I don't find horror movies "scary" but the conjuring was a great movie.
A movie that haunted me for a while and made me not wanna go to bed the night I saw it was "strange circus".
Probably the darkest movie I've ever seen. It's on netflix now so check it out at your discretion.

@liquiddragon: I wouldn't call Strange Circus scary, but it is deeply disturbing.

V/H/S, Insidious (both), The Poughkeepsie Tapes

I'm the exact same way. I stumbled upon Martyrs a while back and I loved every second of it because every second I just wanted it to be over. I'm trying not to spoil it, but...man...fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. It was just such a good movie.

Yup, especially seeing it early on, going in cold with no expectations. I thought it was a very effective scary movie.

Oh yeah, REC and 28 Days Later too.

I realize that a lot of people don't find it "scary", but The Mothman Prophecies really got to me. I did see it in the theater alone in the middle of the day which may have had something to do with it, but it disturbed me. If you haven't seen it, check out this clip. If you have seen it, this is the part where they're talking to Indrid Cold on the phone. Chills!

I still have trouble with The Exorcist and most J-Horror ghosts stuff. Anything that deals with possession and J-horror ghosts really messes with me.

After watching V/H/S 1 and 2 I was super uncomfortable and fairly depressed. Both of those movies kind of put me off to Horror in general for a while, save for books. I kind of realized that I don't like horror unless it's at least a little fun. For example, Halloween, The Exorcist, The Conjuring and Paranormal Activity are examples of this. Both V/H/S movies just left me upset and regretful. In hindsight I suppose that was the point, but I still regret watching them both.

Does it have to be a movie? Because YouTube is a gold mine for shorts and general scariness if you dig deep. Here's a starting point.

For me, I watch so much horror that it's really difficult for traditional movies to affect me anymore. Just pure desensitization through overexposure.

As for my personal pick, BXX: Haunted really freaked me out bad. It was an interactive, non-linear, 32 hour long (seriously) found footage film. The site's still up, (http://bxxweb.com/haunted), but they sadly took down the footage and made a traditional movie out of it that I have yet to see. I really, really hope it resurfaces some day, because it was kind of incredible.

I saw Maniac last week. That was fucked. It was really cool in that it was 99% first person, after a while whenever he'd stalk different women on the street I'd also be looking at the hair.

The final 20 minutes of Paranormal Activity 3 had me spooked. I can't deal with witches.

Scared? Nothing really comes to mind. I think the original Exorcist is very unsettling though.

I haven't watched many supernatural horror films (something I'd like to get to eventually), but I did find the dinner table scene in the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre film to be quite unnerving.

I'll be honest, no film has really scared me since I was about 15 and watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Although, I have to say that The Innkeepers (see below) had me really tense for really large sections of that film.

I love the Paranormal Activity films except for 4, and VHS actually scared me pretty good.

Last year I saw Inland Empire at night. The film was not scary per se, but it was very unsettling. I had several Lynchian nightmares that night.

I can't think of a film that legitimately scared me but seeing Paranormal Activity (the first one) before the hoopla started was pretty good. I think the theater really needed great speakers for that movie to work well.

Yeah, both of those were really unsettling. Haven't really watched a lot of horror in recent years, though I remember getting really creeped out by the original Ringu (and an South Korean adaption of the same story). For some reason Event Horizon is pretty effective on me every time I watch it, despite the unfamiliar setting, the kinda dumb plot and some really bad scenes. I guess Orbital's music is a pretty big part of that.

As an adult, most of the stuff here seems like creep out shocker stuff to me, which just not does instill FEAR in me, so my picks may not be welcome.

Personally, if it is trying too hard to be shocking or taboo, it gets me thinking more about the film makers than the film - my mind turns to the creators, the filming, the camera angles, special effects, etc - it really blows the immersion for me. Shocking combinations of gore, cruelty, religious themes, and sex are, for me, more laughable and mockable than scary.

I like getting scared, but it takes stuff that actually scares me to do it. Off the top of my head:

• The Shining
• The Vanishing (original)
• Hotel Rwanda
• Deliverance
• Psycho
• American History X
• Full Metal Jacket
• American Psycho
• The Road
• Night Crossing

@crusader8463: Scariest movie I've ever seen,

Session 9.

To the people saying V/H/S, what exactly was it that you found scary? I just found it dumb. I recommend Barrio Tales (some cheesy anthology on Netflix) before V/H/S.