PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Cringe scenes can be powerful. There are no limits to their actions. Some people can’t watch horror movies for this reason. It was shock value; it was George A. Romero and Dario Argento who pulled me into more intense horror movies that maybe I shouldn’t have watched as a young kid, but the damage was done: I was a gorehound. However, as the horror community wants something bad enough, it’s become a phenomenon. We all know the rage over Terrifier, and I love the movie enough to have an Art tattoo; yet there are scenes that I also have to turn away from in secret. I live for this stuff, but sometimes it goes a little overboard for shock value.
This is my list of the 10 times I had to look away.
Zelda: Pet Sematary
- We all know how horrifying she was, but as a kid she was nightmare fuel, which still exists today. I always have to fast-forward through her scenes. She was my first real fear from a horror movie. Maybe it’s what they wanted; of course, that’s what they wanted. They had a movie to make. I am one of the millions of people who were terrified of her. So, I wasn’t alone; I knew that other people could not watch her scenes either.
2. The scalpel scene: Pet Sematary
This movie was a two-for-one deal when it came to scaring me. The scene that I still turn away from was a scalpel to the back of the leg. I can’t watch it, and I stand by that. It was horrifying with the way they plotted out this ugly scene. Once again, did they do it for shock value? I guess no one will ever know. Some questions just don’t need an answer.
3: The rat scene: Terrifier 3
I get it, the series is too intense for people. The one scene that I have to turn away from is the rat scene. Once again, though I am a fanboy, I still have to look away sometimes when no one is looking to keep my “horror movie fan cred.” The rat scene was too much for me. I already have a small fear of rodents. This just didn’t sit well with me, and I know that’s the point, so it’s all good.
4. The Beheading: Day of the Dead
This film changed my life; it gave me such a fun feeling. It was definitely not a movie kids should watch, but some things just went too far, and there was no stopping me; I turned into a horror movie superfan. To this day, I still cannot watch the scene of the soldier getting his head pulled off. The thing that got me the most was the stretching scream that never went away and just got more intense.
5: Stitches: The cat scene:
I have seen a lot of movies that hurt animals; however, it was never shown outside of the death for the most part. Some movie scenes make me super angry, angry enough that I trashed the movie and protested that scene. Kill all the humans you want, but don’t show me an intense scene where a defenseless cat was tossed around and killed; I never wanted anything more to do with it. That still stands today.
6: The Strangers Prey At Night: A stabbing in my heart
I love the series, every movie, because of the creep factor. When I watched a mother being attacked as her daughter watched. Though I can’t relate to it, I felt the pain of her child; it almost made me tear up. As a father, I wouldn’t want any of this to be put on my child’s head. I could not imagine watching someone violently kill my mother; maybe I’m just an empath, but my heart broke.
7. SLC Punk: Popping pills for the first time
I have mentioned this scene before in another article, but the death of Bob killed me inside. It was such a good acting scene, but it makes me cry like a baby, so it’s a scene I refuse to watch. I lost my best friend as a young kid, so I relate to this a lot. It almost sends me back into the past, where I don’t want to be. This scene broke my heart completely, to the point where I thought about it constantly. Was it necessary?
8. Suburbia: Death of a golden girl
It was really hard to watch this scene because of how it played out. There are tons of movies that describe a death or end up at a funeral; this scene was a little much. Showing up at the funeral of someone who died because of you is a step into madness. I have several scenes in this movie that enrage me; I haven’t watched the movie in 15 years. This wasn’t a movie about punk rockers; it’s a movie that relies on pain and shock. To hell with this film.
9. Let’s Get Rocked: Rob Zombie’s Halloween
OK, I know some people deserve whatever your victims choose to do to overcome your bad self. I mean, the tree branch scene sticks with me. Instead of a knife, Michael uses things he finds in the wild to beat the piss out of a bully until his eyes glaze over and he’s gone. It wasn’t the death; it was the emotion of it. Hearing him beg for his life showed me the pain and fear he felt for being a jerk to everyone.
10: Angus: Goodbye, Grandpa
Angus is one of my favorite movies, so much that I would call it an easy 3rd place in my movie memories. I felt this movie because I was tortured in school. Angus showed that the underdog sometimes wins. However, when I was younger, I watched my gram die from a brain aneurysm, and this movie helped heal me, except for the death scene of someone who only wanted to love his family. It was truly heartbreaking for me.
I chose not to add in video clips, obviously. However, I think most of you caught the gist. Watching broken hearts just isn’t for me. I know it’s not always easy to witness the reform ideas from madmen, so I chose to envelop myself in happy things, with the occasional sad scene just to keep my emotions in check. I hope I hit at least one moving moment for you; whether it was terror or extreme sadness, some things just make us afraid of our own imagination. As if it is a big “What if?”
