☠ scariest ☠

currently watching this (on hulu). I kinda love this movie, its so 2000s. I know a lot of people think this movie is bad, especially in the shadow of the original blair witch, but I've liked it for years. it has a "SciFi channel weekend movie marathon" vibe that is really near and dear to my heart (also on that list is pet sematary, children of the corn, it miniseries, pumpkinhead, leprechaun, etc. the list goes on).

I even remember I was reading stephen king's danse macabre and he mentions that he liked this movie. I was so excited! I found the original quote in my copy of the book. he says, "the sequel, book of shadows: blair witch 2, for instance - I loved it, but I was pretty much alone on that one." that was so validating to me because I always liked it but didn't want to advertise openly that I liked it. I weirdly got shamed for my movie preferences a bunch in high school. the story includes the ninth gate and dreamcatcher, and is for another time.

ANYWAY the real reason I'm writing about it is because when the credits rolled at the beginning, I was reminded of who directed this movie: Joe Berlinger. he's directed so many serious documentaries. he made the paradise lost trilogy, that's now a true crime classic, he also made a good one about whitey bulger, and both a documentary and film about ted bundy a few years back. its just funny to me that he made those films, and book of shadows. it's awesome too, I love it. it made me really happy to sit with this information tonight :)

(and apparently I've grown enough as a person to be happy broadcasting my movie preferences online lol)

I am soooooooooooooooo excited for the deep house. this is the current movie that I'm not sure will live up to the hype in my mind, but I still want to see it ASAP. it checks so many boxes: a maury and bustillo film (inside was spectacular), horror film about youtubers/vloggers (lol, I can't help what I like), underwater horror, exploring abandoned spaces horror and exploring underwater abandoned spaces horror.

(it is a bit annoying that when searching "the deep house" I keep getting so many results for deep house music)

I first heard about In the Earth (2021), the new film by Ben Wheatley, from a review in the boston globe. I didn't know he had a new movie coming out, so it was a nice surprise. I watched the trailer and LOVED these posters. it felt like it was going to be about some ancient mystical shit connected to the forest/earth (duh, I guess), maybe something psychedelic. also the score was done by Clint Mansell (who has worked with Wheatley before) and Mansell did the score for Requiem for a Dream (2000, Aronofsky), which is one of my favorite movie scores. so Ben Wheatley + Clint Mansell + ancient mystical shit = YES.

I would say overall I liked it. it was bizarre, and the story built good tension as it went. I also liked the music a lot. It made me think of what I heard about Irreversible (2002, Noe), where they included sounds on a frequency that agitated people throughout the movie (or something, I'm not super informed about sound stuff). Sound plays a part in In The Earth, too. the movie also takes place during a pandemic, so that felt like, relatable content.

I will say that its kinda frustrating because I feel like its so hard for a movie to live up to the hype created by its ad campaign. the best example for me that I can think of is 2010's black swan ( Aronofsky) because that trailer had me beyond excited. black swan was good and I really liked it, but I don't think any movie could have lived up to that hype. and that's partly on me, because I built it up in my mind, but oftentimes trailers seem to be cut showing a different vibe than the full film. just sayin.

ANYWAY, I had built up In The Earth in my mind quite a lot. I didn't know what to expect going into it, and felt at the end like...whoa what just happened? I would recommend it for sure, I like this kinda thing. I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to give away any plot points. I would say this wasn't super hardcore horror, probably kill list was more intense than this. but it's worth a watch for sure :)

I watched a lot of movies this weekend.  I watched annihilation for the first time and watched ex machina for the second time.  I cannot say enough about the set design of ex machina, so so good.  I should write something about devs at some point, too.  maybe even rewatch it, because I loved it too.  highly recommend devs :0   

Annihilation was fantastic.  the visuals were brilliant.  I love the look and feel of Alex garland’s work in general - the pacing/vibe feels almost dream-like and surreal.  and one of the impacts of the “shimmer” (seen below) is disorientation, and that was represented very well.  the cast was great - I kept imagining Natalie portman’s masterclass ad where she talks about her approach to acting as I watched this.  

this was one of those movies that really pulled me in.  again, the visuals were stunning.  they were so beautiful, and at the same time there was a visceral sense of uneasiness, and even disgust at times.  the effects were great, too.  

worth noting: there are some gory/graphic scenes.  So if I wanted to recommend this to someone, I would make sure to take into account whether they can tolerate that.  the reason I even mention this is because I liked this movie so much, I want to recommend it to anyone I think could tolerate it.  I would say the gore is worth it and not gratuitous in this case, but graphic movies are in my wheelhouse, so I'm biased.    

I rewatched kill list a few nights ago, after hearing that ben wheatley had a new strange horror movie coming out (in the earth, 2021).  I also finally watched a field in England, and rewatched high rise. I've only seen kill list one other time, the last time I posted about it which was in early 2012.  a lot has happened to me since then and it felt like watching it for the first time (almost).  

I liked it quite a bit.  the pacing and events feel very intentional in terms of there not being a lot of extraneous shit going on.  gosh, there is a connection I want to make to another horror movie but I don’t want to give even an inkling to the ending (or the progression of events).  I remember seeing the above poster at the time, and I always liked it.  especially now after the re-watch, it’s a great visual representation of the events of the movie.  also the font looks a bit like sticks, which factors into the events.

I just rewatched the collector (2009, its on amazon prime and tubi right now) and I stand by my previous enjoyment of this film.  couldn't quite say “I stand by my love of this film” lol but I like it quite a bit.  I’m about to rewatch the collection (2012) and just found out like a day ago that they’re making a third film 😱, the collected, like now.  I feel like these movies are kinda underrated, and I really like the character Arkin (played by josh stewart).  These films definitely didn't get the same mainstream attention that the Saw movies got, but they have a similar “mastermind who makes traps to kill people” kinda vibe.  I like to recommend these movies to people who like horror movies, but probably wouldn't suggest them to someone who isn't super into scary stuff.  The collector has some gruesome scenes, and some clever traps, but overall isn't too graphic or intense (for me 🤷🏻‍♀️).  I can’t really remember much about the collection (or how graphic it is) so i’m looking forward to being reminded.  

hello hello hello scariest :D its been a long time yet again.  I spent yesterday looking back through this whole Tumblr and I am so glad to have this record of my horror movie love.  Its been 10 years since scariest was born and thats really wild.

Snuff: A Documentary about Killing on Camera is a documentary that I watched back when I first started scariest (the doc is from 2008).  I found and watched it again yesterday and I think it really holds up.  it has interviews with well-spoken and interesting people, plus lots of footage that is quite graphic.  it goes through like serial killers, faces of death, cannibal holocaust, war footage, urban legends and where snuff could actually intersect with the real world.  even though my tastes have softened a bit, I still loved re-watching this, and also would NOT recommend for the faint of heart.  

I have been seeing ads everywhere for “unfriended: dark web” and some reviews said it was decent (or they actually said its a surprisingly cruel movie which peaked my interest...).  I didn't even realize it was a sequel so when I found “unfriended” from 2014 I thought I would give it a watch. 

the movie consists of our main character (Blaire), her boyfriend and friends partaking in their usual (daily?) group Skype chat.  we see a video of a girl committing suicide and are shown that it connects somehow to these people.  a mystery person is sitting in on their Skype call and messaging them and when they can't hang up or get them out, they start to get alarmed.  this mystery person proceeds to force them to reveal deep dark secrets and we find out that (SURPRISE) these people are really shitty.  fear and chaos ensues 😱😱😱   

it seemed curious and hard to believe that a movie could be just events seen through webcams and via a computer screen.  I realize this isn't the first movie to do this but nevertheless I was curious if it would be effective.  it was not a bad movie...actually let me rephrase that - it was an okay movie with a conceptually interesting setting.  I think they did a great job making it seem like it was a real young millennia’s computer.  little things like our main character re-typing a response a few times to get it right really helped sell that this was an event playing out online.  at many points the movie consisted of 4-5 people shouting to each other via Skype and it got tiresome for sure  

warning SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOLIER SPOILER SPOILER warning

holy shit its been two years since i have posted anything here!  hi whoever is reading this!  to get right into it - horror movies are playing a bit of a different role in my life over these past two years.  perhaps as evidenced by this blog, i used to be all about testing my own limits.  how much depravity can i stand?  will anything break through the barrier i had set up?  (ahem...). “nothing phases me!”

 but the way i watch horror movies now has changed.  i actually feel emotions now (hah) and am putting my toes back into the metaphorical horror-movie-water.  “what will watching salò be like for me now?” 

i can say it was damn difficult to even get through an hour of it.  i am almost embarrassed to admit how impacted by it i was.  i guess i have changed.  it doesn't diminish my love for horror - it is almost as if everything i used to watch will be seen through new eyes now.  time to re-watch everything again!      

two years have passed (actually four years for my relationship) and i am happy to report that i have a partner (dan) who loves horror movies as much as i do.  he even watched a serbian film by himself months after i mentioned it in passing as the worst thing i had ever seen.  just because i said “do NOT ever see this”.

so basically: i feel like this may be an uninteresting post but its my blog and i can post what i want 🤷🏻‍♀️.  next, I have not abandoned scariest forever - its a damn good url and I am proud of how much i have posted on here.  and last, just an update from me, thats about all.  i’ve changed (who hasn't) but my love for horror still runs strong.  

when i see dan on wednesday, we might see the new purge movie or i’m currently trying SOO hard to get him into channel zero which is fucking great.  so thats a recommendation for whoever is reading: watch channel zero - something actually good from syfy!  the end for tonight. 

my boyfriend and i watched sinister 2 together recently.  i thought the trailer looked really fun and also joe hill mentioned liking it on his tumblr and that is enough to get my attention.  it was quite good.  not as quietly creepy as the first one.  the first sinister has a soundtrack that is so amazing and scary, it would be hard to beat.  i tried to watch this movie from a non-judgemental place;  meaning i wasn't trying to pick it apart or criticize every little thing that was mundane or boring.  

so its been a very long time since i have written anything. truthfully i haven't felt super in the mood to watch scary movies for awhile and don't know if i am “back”, as it were.  i haven't been in the mood for dark, gore, fucked up shit lately because of where i’ve been.  lots of doctor who has been in order.  but i digress.  so i just watched the purge: anarchy on hbo go and was actually kinda into it.  i think its better than the first one.  the first purge felt kind of like a typical home invasion with a “political” twist.  in this one, we get to see more about what the world of the purge and the new founding fathers of america looks like.  i always think that the power of just everyday people to be fucked up is a pretty frightening thing and the purge movies play into that very effectively.  obviously its not the best movie ever, or even close but as horror movies go i was wrapped up in the story for the majority of the movie.  i liked the different views on the purge - those for and against and just how fucking scary it would be to have all these people around you who feel it is there right to rape, terrorize and kill anyone they damn well please.  

also a little michael k. williams is always appreciated.  i was like “yes! its omar!”.  

i totally know what you mean - awhile back i was feeling so jaded by all the horror movies i was seeing so i started to seek out the "most disturbing" films.  like, i googled "list of most disturbing films ever made".  and found some stuff that was actually very dark (a serbian film) and it has stuck with me to this day. (along with some actual gore that i started peeking into but then couldn't un-see -- not recommended)  

i don't know if that is what you're looking for though.  off the top of my head some of the "classics" would be cannibal holocaust, a serbian film, salo or the 120 days of sodom and a weird japanese film called naked blood - these movies are all disgusting and disturbing and that was exactly what i was looking for at the time - wanting to see more and more upsetting films, almost like testing myself.

ANYWAY -

the divide by xavier gens, antichrist by lars von trier, and red, white and blue by simon rumley are all very dark but much more psychological than some of the others mentioned above.