I have another one…..sigh.
I was totally traumatized by two ‘70s movies. Well, two OF the hundreds of ‘70s flicks that scared the pants off us…but anyway, these two are DON'T LOOK NOW (I think that's the title, with DONALD SUTHERLAND dealing with the death of his daughter) and BURNT OFFERINGS (the chauffeur). The thing that scared me in the first one was the little lady in the red cape that turned around unexpectedly. My God, I almost died. She was so ugly and it was so unexpected for me. BURNT OFFERINGS, it's obvious, that damn chauffer with the big grin was making me think of Mr. S. the whole time. Ugh. But that movie was so creepy in a lot of ways – I remember I was upset that the father tried to drown the kid – we had a pool. That kid was rather annoying though.
Oh wait, one more in the annals of my brain, DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT? Wait, let me check. No, it wasn't that one, it was DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. OH my. I was so scared of this because at Grammie's house, they had those same little "doors" in the room that the little critters/gnomes were trying to drag the main character into. Total Trauma. As for DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT, I've never seen it, also tagged as THE FORGOTTEN of 1973, and I am adding it my Netflix queue now. Thanks for this site….so much fun!
UNK SEZ: Good traumafessions all Smidget! Thanks for bringing up DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT. I'm not sure if has been mentioned here yet. I remember that movie playing on late night television as a kid and everything about it from the rural setting to the amateur acting used to unnerve the hell out of me. I did a little poking around and found that you can watch the whole movie (with a surprisingly good quality picture, considering) on Youtube HERE!
The first time I saw Don't Look Now, I literally ran out of the room screaming when that dwarf turned around. Shaking it's head (it was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman) and holding up that straight edge razor… and that face!
Why is it that tiny things can be just as terrifing as something huge? To this day little folk, straight edge razors, red hooded coats and fog bring that same feeling of panic.
Some intrepid company needs to produce full-size plush toy versions of those DBAOTD creatures. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
BURNT OFFERINGS scared the Hell out of me as a kid. They used to play it on TV all the time and my older cousin used to make me watch it every time they played it! The Chauffer was creepy (in a psycho Jim Carey sorta way) but for me THE END was the clincher. To this day I have a hard time watching that (and, yes, I own the DVD!)
DONT BE AFRAID OF THE DARTK is apparently being remade. and get this – instead of a housewife its a TEEN GIRL finding the little monsters! Sigh. Groan. Rolls eyes. Yet another remake thats sure to suck!
I remember as a kid my grandfather telling me that movie scared the Hell out of him. Then as a teen my best friend said it was "the Scariest Movie I Have Ever Seen". I saw it as an adult and its dated and not THAT scary but still – theres an appeal there that makes me watch it at least once a year.
Saw DONT LOOK NOW as an adult and didnt think much of the movie as a whole but thats cene where the dwarf turns around?! I'm pretty sure my ass flew up off the couch and I just sort of levitated there in shock and disgust! What a FACE! I would buy the DVD just to have that scene in my house at my disposal.
For everyone's info: DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK is now available on DVD from Warner Bros. Archives collection, along with fellow TV traumatizer BAD RONALD:
http://www.wbshop.com/All/ZARCHIVEALL,default,sc.html
(I don't work for Warner Bros. or anything, I just got really excited when these titles were added, had to share.)
Ugh that lady's face is right here now. She scared the begeezus out of me! ARGH!
Maybe the remake of DBAOTD spurred the DVD release, and if so, one good thing has come from it already. The quality of my "special edition" dvd purchased from ebay a few years ago is mediocre to say the least. Guillermo del Toro is somehow involved in the remake if I'm not mistaken, so call me cautiously optimistic…
DBAOTD has to rank way up there as a traumafession for people aged 43-50 or so. I was 9 0r 10 when it came out in 1973 (forget the month it aired originally) and it has stayed with me ever since. It is a bit dated, but for atmosphere, eerie music/whisperings it still provides chills.