It was dangerous being an anxious child like I was and having a love for movies. My imaginarium was both a sanctum of solitude and a trapdoor to terror, constructed from the films I watched. Sometimes, it was my own fault for choosing a horror movie that I knew would have me quivering like an earthquake with Parkinson’s disease. Other times, I was blindsided, perhaps due to a lying friend or a film’s welcoming premise.
Whatever the reasons, movies took advantage of my youthful vulnerabilities. In a way, it’s a testament to the film for being able to create a pocket of frightful believability. But, most likely, it’s more of a reflection of how easily scared I was as a kid.
Here’s a list of things from movies that are responsible for a number of soggy bed sheets.
Skeksis – Dark Crystal – Age 5
How I watched it:
Through my tiny fingers, which were covering my tiny eyes. My parents most likely thought “oh, a Jim Henson film, the kids will like this.” Indeed, my older brother loved it, so they were half right.
Why it scared me:
It’s all in the design and how well they merge with the creatures’ barbaric nature. Their long, skeletal Grim Reapery hands work in tandem with their vile thirst for death and pain while their acid-dipped skin displays history of their savagery towards themselves and other living things.
The long-term effects:
Whenever I order a poultry dish from a restaurant, I ask if the bird was free-range or not, followed by whether it had a creepy-as-f**k smile.
Tar pits – The Land Before Time – Age 6
How I watched it:
With an open heart and a love for cartoons.
Why it scared me:
The fear of drowning in thick, oozing tar probably wouldn’t’ve sunk into me if it weren’t for vulnerable little Petrie’s blood-freezing screech for help. Seriously, watch the YouTube clip. It’s still kinda terrifying.
The long-term effects:
My car’s oil has never been changed. I no longer have a car.
Velociraptors – Jurassic Park – Age 7
How I watched it:
Under false pretences. They marketed this film to children, a film about vicious man-eating creatures running rampant and out for blood. Still, my brontosaurus bobblehead and Jurassic Park SEGA Mega Drive game were pretty rad.
Why it scared me:
Because they’re veloci-f**king-raptors.
The long-term effects:
I dropped my dream of becoming a chef.
Martians with death rays – Mars Attacks – Age 8
http://youtu.be/bzie3YWaxp0
How I watched it:
Against my will. I had never liked the concept of extra terrestrials. Being a kid, I couldn’t trust most of the kids at school let alone an otherworldly creature with a knack for planet-hopping. “But this is a funny movie Liam,” my brother proclaimed. “It’s not scary at all.”
Why it scared me:
Because the aliens had death rays that disintegrated most of your being, leaving nothing more than a pile of glowing bones. And I’m sorry, but those skull-brain wide-eyed faces are scary as shit.
The long-term effects:
I made sure that every film that had something to do with Mars would bomb in the box office (John Carter, Mission to Mars, Mars Needs Moms, Ghost of Mars).
Drowning – Titanic – Age 8
http://youtu.be/asnH_8oR-us
How I watched it:
With my Dad. He’s a bit of a Titanic enthusiast. Plus, it was that year’s Avatar so we were socially inclined to watch it.
Why it scared me:
Given how it was promoted as a romance film, I dropped my guard, leaving my agoraphobia exposed. So when I saw the unsickable ship displaying symptoms of sinkability, I was mortified. With little means of escape, rooms flooding with ice-cold water and 27 guys falling from the deck and hitting the propellor in the exact same motion, drowning made its way into my crowded fears list.
The long-term effects:
Reoccuring nightmeres of me drowning in time to My Heart Will Go On.
Psychos with knives – Scream – Age 9
How I watched it:
Through peer pressure. I stayed overnight in Porirua with my cousin and his friend. They were into scary shit (they attempted to summon Bloody Mary the night before) and somehow acquired a copy of Scream. Not wanting to seem like a wimp, I decided to watch it with them.
Why it scared me:
I was at an age where I started realising the improbabilities of some of my fears. Skeksis weren’t real, Velociraptors are extinct and martians with death rays won’t be coming till the end of this year. But psychos with knives? They exist, and in my mind, they were freakin’ everywhere.
The long-term effects:
I display an unhealthy aversion towards anyone at Halloween parties wearing a Ghostface Killer mask.
Dodgy-looking alleyways behind dodgy-looking diners – Mulholland Dr. – Age 19
How I watched it:
It was a cheap ex-rental. Having heard very little about the film at the time payed off, adding to its already impressively nightmere-ish atmosphere. However, it was a scene involving Winkies and two seemingly random chaps having a conversation about a dream one of them had. The man with the dream mentions how terrified he is of this face that is said to be in the alley behind Winkies. So, they decide to check it out, in hopes of confirming the null hypothesis.
Why it scared me:
The build-up is masterful, leaving you petrified. Given the plethora of WTF moments that had proceeded this scene, you really had no idea what, if anything, would appear from behind the wall.
The long-term effects:
I’m never gonna watch Eraserhead. Never.
The obelisk – 2001: A Space Odyssey – Age 22
How I watched it:
On my own accord. Not much more to say. I rented it, loved it, bought the Blu-ray for $15.
Why it scared me:
At first, I thought it’d be hard to explain why this black oblong disturbs me so much. Then I realised that it’s BECAUSE it’s so hard to explain that makes it so disturbing. Well, there’s that, and the devil’s choir that plays every god-damn time it shows up.
The long-term effects:
I am currently a foetus.
What arbitrary film fears lingered in your childhood? Aliens? Robots? Orange pygmy people that work for a mentally disturbed chocolate factory owner? Lie down, take a deep breath and tell me where it all began…
…in the comments section.
