With scary season in full swing, hmv.com have surveyed 2,000 people to get the definitive take on the scariest horror film scenes of the past six decades. The survey, conducted by OnePoll, found that the spine-chilling head spin scene from The Exorcist was the most frightening moment in the history of horror. Classics like Psycho, Carrie and The Shining also picked up a substantial share of the votes.
The
scenes that scared people the most
|
%
|
The head spin - The Exorcist (1973)
|
17.95%
|
The shower scene - Psycho (1960)
|
16.85%
|
The hand grabbing the arm - Carrie (1976)
|
15.10%
|
Girl coming out of the TV - The Ring (2002)
|
14.90%
|
Chest burst scene - Alien (1979)
|
14.10%
|
Grady Twins in the corridor - The Shining (1980)
|
12.80%
|
The children being attacked - The Birds (1963)
|
11.45%
|
Night vision scene - Silence of the Lambs (1991)
|
10.05%
|
Man cutting off foot - Saw (2004)
|
9.95%
|
The rocking chair - Woman in Black (2012)
|
9.10%
|
The head spin scene from The Exorcist was voted the scariest scene in cinema history, with 18% of the vote.
45% of people admit to switching all the lights on after watching a scary film in an effort to dispel the horror.
The 1970s – the decade that brought us strikes, recession
and Thatcher (now that would be a scary movie) – was deemed the scariest decade overall, with horror movie scenes
from that period accounting for 27% of all votes across more than 50 different
films included in the poll. Titles from the 2000s had the second-highest share
of the vote at 18%, closely followed by 1980s horror with 17%. Despite Alfred
Hitchcock’s Psycho and The Birds making the top 10, the 1960s,
famous for its hippy spirit and free love philosophy, emerged as the least
creepy decade, with films from that era making up just 11% of all votes.
People were asked to describe what makes a great horror film.
The top themes included a strong story, a well-crafted soundtrack, and plenty
of shocks and surprises along the way. And as one person suggested, perhaps the
key to a great horror is simply “Jack Nicholson’s face”.
Ian Hunter, Professor of Film Studies at De Montfort
University, offered some insight on how the genre has evolved:
“Traditionally horror films
were either about supernatural and primal fears or monsters that transgress
what seem to be natural boundaries (the dead who live, humans who are also
animals, and so on). Today, while such films still exist, the most frightening
are perhaps about the terrors of everyday life and the worst monsters are
versions of ordinary people - psychopaths, serial killers - who threaten our
sense of rationality.”
Richard Hand, Professor of Media Practice at the
University of East Anglia, also offered his thoughts on the inner-workings of
great horror cinema:
“A masterpiece like Psycho may be (in)famous for its shower
scene, but the genius of the film is established long before that scene
happens, in the slow tightening of its suspense, gradually unnerving the viewer
with a simple but compelling narrative, a genuine ‘composition’ of excellent
performances, editing, design and, perhaps most importantly of all, soundtrack.
Indeed, it is often the sound of horror that can haunt us most thoroughly,
worming its way deep beneath our skin and haunting our nightmares even when we
turn away or cover our eyes.”
This theme of lingering dread was reflected in the results
of the survey. 51% of people said they feel “fearful” after watching a scary
film or TV show. For women, the figure was 64%, and for men, it was 36%.
How
people stop feeling scared
|
%
|
I switch all the lights on
|
45.94%
|
I watch a comedy show on telly
|
41.78%
|
I go to bed
|
18.71%
|
I read a book
|
18.61%
|
I watch another film
|
17.13%
|
The idea of simply going to bed to escape the film-induced
fear may seem like an odd strategy to some, but this wasn’t the only surprising
response from the 2,000 people polled. 3.4% said they would “go for a walk”
(these 68 brave souls seemingly felt exposing themselves to the unknown dangers
lurking outside would help calm them down). And 2.8% said they would simply
“drink a chamomile tea” - an option that was more popular with men than women
overall. 4.75% of people preferred other antidotes, such as “get a
cuddle,” “drink some wine,” and “check
the wardrobe to make sure nothing's hiding in there.” One person advocated a
more matter-of-fact approach: “tell myself it's only a film and to grow up.”
HOW much of a HARDCORE HORROR fan are you?
Those nice people at HMV have given us this quiz to give to you AND IT'S NOT EVEN BLOODY CHRISTMAS yet...
Those nice people at HMV have given us this quiz to give to you AND IT'S NOT EVEN BLOODY CHRISTMAS yet...
No comments:
Post a Comment