40. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – Family Dinner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ8fismDJtk

It’s kind of funny how many people cite The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as one of the bloodiest movies of all time because, honestly, there is not much objectionable material found within it. It’s just a movie that makes you feel uneasy because the creepiness is in the details. That house is dressed to scare the shit out of you, and director Tobe Hooper accomplished that feat. By the time the late Marilyn Burns is tied to that chair, you are sufficiently grossed out by the premise, but then Hooper ratchets up the intimidation by the Family. Also, the feeding of Grandpa is pretty disgusting, but again, totally safe for work.

39. Alice, Sweet Alice – “Alice, where are you?”

The scene only takes a couple of minutes, but it is found within a streamable version of the entire film. Enjoy either the short scene or the whole movie. Like I care…

Alice, Sweet Alice is a weird movie that doesn’t get a ton of press when it comes to the horror elite. It’s interesting because it puts children in such mortifying circumstances, something that you couldn’t see happening today. In this early section of the film, we find Alice’s sister Karen (a young Brooke Shields) being lured into an abandoned warehouse, perceivably by her sister Alice. The creepy tone that this scene strikes early on, remains throughout the picture, complete with the unsettling echoing of Alice’s name.

38. Rosemary’s Baby – Eyes of a Child

The writing is on the walls early in this picture – you know that the Dakota is full of Satanists (exactly where you’d expect to find them). So it is inconceivable to you that Rosemary could be so blind to it, even as she slowly puts the pieces together from the middle of the film on. But, as long as you put your disbelief on the shelf for two hours, you’ll be treated to one of the best reveals in film history. When Rosemary finally sees her baby, her reaction is priceless. “HAIL SATAN.”

37. Jaws – “You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat”

You knew it was going to be on here? I love how the scene plays on silence instead of musical cues. Just the sound of the water parting ways to show you the antagonist in full daylight. Steven Spielberg, in my mind, should be in the same conversation of great horror minds with the likes of Romero, Carpenter, Craven, and Argento, if only for Jaws and Duel.

36. Friday the 13th – Introducing Jason

Often times when I’m discussing horror with, what I will call, “normal people”, Jason Voorhees inevitably comes up. I like Jason a lot, but I just don’t think he got the films he truly deserved because the best Friday the 13th is the first one and he’s barely in it. He’s arguably the best couple of seconds in that movie, but this is an iconic figure of horror whose own movies let him down. Whereas Freddy Krueger got good material every once in a while, the Friday the 13th series seems almost allergic to a good story. Jason is all about the kills, which is fine, but it won’t elevate the guy up to the mythos that they built up around him in the first installment. The ending of Friday the 13th is one of the few times I was scared by a movie, and that’s thanks to our first look at Jason.

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