Cujo, and other Movies based on 'Real Life Horrors'

[Darkness]

"In another thread the question is asked, 'Why are Zombies so scary?', and I found myself commenting that I really don't find them scary at all. Yet I couldn't put it into words as to why."

"Mind you, if Zombies were to REALLY to show up, hell yea, I'd be major scared. But the reason the movies do nothing for me is that, deep down in my soul of souls, I really doubt they will ever exist."

"While watching 'Cujo' it suddenly dawned on me how to explain why 'Zombie Movies' don't really scare me, when ones like 'Cujo' give me nightmares. 'Cujo' terrifies me simply because of the realness of it. Getting trapped in an old car, by a rabid dog, is far more likely to happen, than waking up one morning to find the world over thrown by 'Zombies'."

"There are many other movies based on 'Real Life Horrors'. Which one(s) scare you the most, and why?"

[Corpse Grinder]

A 1980 unternational casted movie called "Virus" comes to mind (not that Jamie Lee Curtis mess, and not the Italian zombie one, either!) It's about a deadly virus that gets released after a plane crash and only a handful of survivors must make it to the Antartica where it's too cold for the virus.

And "Outbreak" (1995) with the ebola like virus from a monkey gets out and a small town gets quarantined.

With our world's history of deadly diseases and plagues throughout the centuries, especially the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the recent Avian Flu viruses, I think it's scarier to face because you can't see the disease. A person who's coughing and sneezing next to you might be spreading some lethal virus and you wouldn't even know it 'til it's too late.

But I like to think in extreme measures like in "Virus" or "The Last Man on Earth" (1964) where I would be with a small group of strangers or if I'm alone. Either scenario is scary because I won't know the strangers very well, they could be good or bad, and they'll think the same of me. Paranoia will put a big strain on surviving but being alone would be worst because I'm so conditioned from all of these horror movies and maurader movies, I would probably go mad everytime I hear a noise outside.

[chewy]

Jaws

I recall that after it came out, a group of psychiatrists wrote a paper on why it terrified so many people so badly. They concluded that the shark was a creature out of a nightmare; almost totally alien. And when it killed you, it did it in the worst way imaginable: by devouring you alive. I think they were pretty much spot-on.

I've seen videos of some shark attacks. There's one I remember seeing of a woman being attacked while swimming out in the open ocean. A 15' (or so) Great White tore off one of her legs. I can't even imagine the terror she felt.

[Darkness]

"Good one, Chewy, and thank you for joining us." :clap:

"Natural Storm Disaster Movies are another one for me."

"The Universe is always shifting, churning and changing. Floods, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Volcanoes, Wild Fires burning out of control, Ocean Storms, Asteroids, etc. All of these know no master, and can wipe out mass people and land in one fell swoop. And you can't 'fight' them, and you can't truly predict them, (although I will admit that we are getting better and better at knowing when they are coming.) and you really have no real recourse, but to just get out of their way, if you can. These movies remind me that any day now the Earth could shift and it could be MY town sinking into the ground, or being torn apart by a storm. Gives me the shivers for sure." :scare:

[dead and loving it]

I'd say for me it's movies with people who have "snapped", like Misery, Fatal Attraction, Cape Fear, and Psycho. People go over the edge all the time, and these situations could very well happen for real.

[Darkness]

"Yes indeed. Psychos, Serial Killers, Maniacs, and the like are all around us. Time bombs just waiting to ignite. The real life monsters, human and very dangerous."

[Cybopath]

"Yes indeed. Psychos, Serial Killers, Maniacs, and the like are all around us. Time bombs just waiting to ignite. The real life monsters, human and very dangerous."

Also in thinking about it lots of non horror movies would be terrifying, take "Die Hard", sure it's a kick ass action movie but if you where trapped in a building with 12 lunatic terrorists who could end you and your loved ones lives in an instant wouldn't you be terrified.

Criminals and Terrorists, real life threats.

[Darkness]

"Yes, that and Hi-Jackers, Bank Robbers, Kidnappers, Abductors, and *extreme deep shudder* Rapest, etc. Movies on these are more terrifying, (Especially to the real life post-trauma Victims.) than the average viewer could ever imagine. Who needs fictional monsters, when our very streets are littered with real ones."

(P.S. I love the Die Hard Movies.) :)

[UNDEAD FRED]

In Return of the Living Dead the guy said that Night of the Living Dead was based on a true story. Zombies they freak me out.

The Towering Inferno. It wouldnt be nice to be trapped in a burning high rise, knowing the flames will reach you soon. Would you jump?

[Cybopath]

Just watching Flags of Our Fathers (excellent film by the way).

Now theres a whole other horror, War. Whether it be Nazis, Japanese, Vietcong or Iraqis coming for you.

[chickenchop1]

A 1980 unternational casted movie called "Virus" comes to mind (not that Jamie Lee Curtis mess, and not the Italian zombie one, either!) It's about a deadly virus that gets released after a plane crash and only a handful of survivors must make it to the Antartica where it's too cold for the virus.

And "Outbreak" (1995) with the ebola like virus from a monkey gets out and a small town gets quarantined.

With our world's history of deadly diseases and plagues throughout the centuries, especially the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the recent Avian Flu viruses, I think it's scarier to face because you can't see the disease. A person who's coughing and sneezing next to you might be spreading some lethal virus and you wouldn't even know it 'til it's too late.

But I like to think in extreme measures like in "Virus" or "The Last Man on Earth" (1964) where I would be with a small group of strangers or if I'm alone. Either scenario is scary because I won't know the strangers very well, they could be good or bad, and they'll think the same of me. Paranoia will put a big strain on surviving but being alone would be worst because I'm so conditioned from all of these horror movies and maurader movies, I would probably go mad everytime I hear a noise outside.

I just watched Virus last week on a 50 Movie Pack "Chilling Classics" Collection for $17.99. It was good for its time, I liked the ending too. The scenes where they show the death toll from each city, then zoom in to a corpse inside a few cars was great, should've been extended a bit more for more effect. Movies where the world is wiped out don't scare me, but are some of my favorites for the atmosphere of a "place now forgotten".

---
As far as movies that spook me out most often are evil ghost/haunted movies, as you're never safe. Nothing like the Grudge, but something more like "Lady in the Black Dress" or something like that. The Shining, Pet Sematary, Exorcist left their marks when I was a kid. I only saw it once (not on DVD anymore), but the scene where he's sleeping on his bed and... Ghosts seem like they have some slight potential to be real in my mind.

The Ghost usually has the advantage in the dark I'd say.

[Eknytz]

Jaws- I think that could be one of the worst ways to die- swimming out in the murky water, no telling what is beneath you and it snatches your leg and there is not a thing you can do to survive.

[Constantine1911]

Jaws- I think that could be one of the worst ways to die- swimming out in the murky water, no telling what is beneath you and it snatches your leg and there is not a thing you can do to survive.

Jaws and Lake placid.

[Darkness]

"Piranha is another one that freaks me out. Little vicious flesh tearing critters, and they school in the thousands."

"And another one just came to me, Airplane Crashes. Having a good idea of what it looks like when they hit the ground, and knowing all the things that can go wrong way up there, is one of the main reason I have my fear of flying." :scare:

[Victor Clark]

While we're on the subject on plane crashes, Tom Hank's 'Cast Away' has a pretty realilistic scenario to it: a man survives a plane crash in the ocean and tries to survive on an island with barely anything on him. That could happen to anyone in a plane, and I wouldn't be suprised if there are people on islands right now, unaware of our society and struggling to live the remainder of their lives unknown by man and dead to their families and friends. That would kill me to know I'm pretty much alone and invisible to humanity.



Also, that movie had to be the goriest PG13 film made.

[Godzilla_Rules]

I lived the movie "Cujo" to this day i can't watch the movie because when i was 15 i was badly mauled by my st. benard. i was attacked 3 or 4 times where i needed stiches but my looser parents did not want to do anything about the dog. well one day the st benard put me in the hospital, i had to have plastic surgery. i was almost paralized. the police took the dog away and put him down since my parents would not do it. kinda sad. huh? to this day i have bad dreams about being mauled.

[Eknytz]

I just realized, why is this thread in the NonHorror section?

[Darkness]

I just realized, why is this thread in the NonHorror section?

"Because not all movies based on 'real life horrors' fit in the 'horror movies' category. So I put it here to keep the format a bit more open."

[Darkness]

"I saw this movie awhile back, about some folks who were in the middle of the ocean, and got stranded off their boat. They drowned one by one. Now that would be a horrible way to die indeed."

[zmbvan]

"I saw this movie awhile back, about some folks who were in the middle of the ocean, and got stranded off their boat. They drowned one by one. Now that would be a horrible way to die indeed."

Are you talking about Open Water? I agree that it would suck to die like that, but that movie was horrible. Very boring. But really getting stuck out in the ocean would be bad.

The Decent, of course without the mutant humans would be a very scary situation. Getting stuck/lost in a cave in the dark with a broken leg.

[Darkness]

Are you talking about Open Water? I agree that it would suck to die like that, but that movie was horrible. Very boring. But really getting stuck out in the ocean would be bad.
"Yes, thank you. That's the one."

"I wasn't too impressed by the movie itself, but the concept of the movie is one that has always scared me in real life."

The Decent, of course without the mutant humans would be a very scary situation. Getting stuck/lost in a cave in the dark with a broken leg.
"Good one too."

[detpat]

Look up and read the story of the cruiser USS Indianapolis. Totally horrifying.

The films dealing with people and what they are capable of are the most genuinely disturbing. As an Investigator i used to do most of my work in the sorts of places that "wrong turn" type films actually occur. I've often considered the sorts of situations that occur in those films, often when I'm in such a place that reminds me of those films. It can be a jolt when you find yourself in a very small town and realize you've seen almost exactly the same place in a movie. Usually just before all hell breaks loose in the flick.

I always work alone too. Ohio, PA and WV were the places i worked and i also do urban exploration and photography, so i find myself in the spooky and secluded places all the time. I can usually find a secluded and spooky place in the middle of a city.

Of course most of the victims in these stories are done in because they are remarkably stupid and don't take even the most basic precautions regarding their personal security. screaming, begging and arm waving don't count.

Oh, on the decent thing, i did lots of caving when younger and, though i never broke a leg, i did get injured plenty. Sometimes got lost for hours at a time and did get my head caught in a crevice for a half hour once.

[Zombie Buffet]

I found The Descent so terrifying not because of the mutants, but because of the depths of savagery that a person is capable of sinking to depending on the situation. It scares me to think what humans can be capable of.

Funny Games really bothered me because it showed that even the most "normal" looking person can be the most dangerous thing out there, capable of brutality and depravity that most of us could not even imagine. I find that terrifying....:scare:

[Victor Clark]

I agree about the fact that people can go to extreme lenghs of insanity for little or no reason, and it's a creepy thing to see on a movie because when you watch it, you think "I know a guy just like him!"

A good example is the Christain Bale movie American Psycho. The scary thing about Bale's character wasn't because he was killing people left and right, but because he seems like such a normal human being in the film. Most serial killers in the films have certain characterisrics of them that make you think "This guy just dosen't seem right", but the killer in American Psycho would just make you think "This guy is really cool for a business man", right before he comes at you with an axe and a raincoat on.:lol:

[Darkness]

I agree about the fact that people can go to extreme lenghs of insanity for little or no reason, and it's a creepy thing to see on a movie because when you watch it, you think "I know a guy just like him!"

A good example is the Christain Bale movie American Psycho. The scary thing about Bale's character wasn't because he was killing people left and right, but because he seems like such a normal human being in the film. Most serial killers in the films have certain characterisrics of them that make you think "This guy just dosen't seem right", but the killer in American Psycho would just make you think "This guy is really cool for a business man", right before he comes at you with an axe and a raincoat on.:lol:

"Reading your post, the movie 'Disturbia' comes to mind." :scare:

[Zombie Buffet]

I agree about the fact that people can go to extreme lenghs of insanity for little or no reason, and it's a creepy thing to see on a movie because when you watch it, you think "I know a guy just like him!"


Exactly. When you see these stories on the news where perfectly "normal" people just snap and do the unthinkable, you see interviews with people that knew them, and it's always, "He was such a nice guy, very quiet". You just never really know a person, I guess......:doh:

[detpat]

most real life serial killers are very bucolic looking, even boring and uninteresting.

[Zombreach]

I have always had a morbid fascination with plague-type disasters. I watch any documentaries and fiction movies I can find about them. I think that would be my real-life horror. 28 Days Later was very freaky because it could happen.

Although sharks, piranhas, and crocs are scary, I would just stay out of the water. (Or perhaps away from the water in the case of Lake Placid!)

[chickenchop1]

I have always had a morbid fascination with plague-type disasters. I watch any documentaries and fiction movies I can find about them. I think that would be my real-life horror. 28 Days Later was very freaky because it could happen.

Although sharks, piranhas, and crocs are scary, I would just stay out of the water. (Or perhaps away from the water in the case of Lake Placid!)

Unless you're in one of those movies like "Water World", or the end part of "AI", or a number of others where the water takes over the land and there's almost no land to dry off on. Considering the world is mostly ocean, and the ice caps are starting to melt... (recent chunk the size of 7 Manhattan's just broke off). Anything's possible in the future.

[Zombreach]

Unless you're in one of those movies like "Water World", or the end part of "AI", or a number of others where the water takes over the land and there's almost no land to dry off on. Considering the world is mostly ocean, and the ice caps are starting to melt... (recent chunk the size of 7 Manhattan's just broke off). Anything's possible in the future.


LOL!!! Oh great, just when I thought I had enough to worry about! Now I could have sharks, piranhas, and crocs in my back yard just waiting to feast on me. :x

[Zombie Buffet]

There's always something to worry about, life is a pretty scary thing. :scare:That's why movies are such a great escape. :)

[Augustus Desius]

"Snakes on a Plane"- It has happened before. Where will you run? It can hide anywhere, and when you least expect it, strike you and pollute your blood with toxins. Then what, then what. . . :cry:

:lol:

No but seriously, Cujo scared me too. Don't really know why to be honest. It was just so visceral. Movies, even ones that relate to real topics, normally don't get to me, but this one scared me a bit.

Remember kids. Animals are strong everywhere except the eyes. GO FOR THE EYES OF THE BEAST AND THE REST WILL FALL!

[Darkness]

"I'm sitting here watching 10.5, about 'The Earthquake', and this one gives me the shivers too. So many fault lines around the world, so much weight on top, and everything moving and shifting constantly. We never know when its gonna break, or how badly."


"I do think that one thing that gives me goosebumps, with this particular movie, is the great special effects. Take, for example, the bridge going down. They actually have a shot where the bridge has finally started to really fall, and the cars are suspended in air momentarily. I can feel the drop in my stomach every time I watch it. Scenes like that can make a movie like this even more terrifying."

[Zombreach]

I love to watch those movies too. It's hard not to imagine yourself in the same position. I always wonder what I would do in a similar situation. It is scary. Mostly because it is real...or at least could be!

[Godzilla_Rules]

well cujo to this day i can not watch. i was badly mauled by a st benard when i was 15, shortly before it came out. i was in a hospital for a week and it was the worst nightmare of my life.

[zombiekilling101]

well cujo to this day i can not watch. i was badly mauled by a st benard when i was 15, shortly before it came out. i was in a hospital for a week and it was the worst nightmare of my life.

sorry to hear that. how did the attack happen if you dont mind takling about it?

[Darkness]

"Saw a cluster of killer bat movies the other night. Now there's another one that scares me." :scare:

[Ball Tripper]

The movies that scare me the most are movies about aliens. Call me crazy if you want but I'm a believer. Nothing is more terrifying to me than an alien abduction, there is nothing to compare to the helplessness of a human faced with a superior being.

[Darkness]

The movies that scare me the most are movies about aliens. Call me crazy if you want but I'm a believer. Nothing is more terrifying to me than an alien abduction, there is nothing to compare to the helplessness of a human faced with a superior being.

"That doesn't really fit into the topic of this thread. We are talking about movies based on 'real life horrors'. Ones that are real to EVERYONE, not just the few who believe." ;-)

[Ball Tripper]

I think it fits, thats why I posted it. I think aliens are real, and it is because of the real possibility of abduction that alien movies scare me so much.

Weather you believe or not, does not change the fact that you could be abducted and probed and subjected to horrible experiments!



...........sorry, I know it's stupid. I should just keep my paranoid schizotypal delusions to myself.

[Darkness]

"Well, until over 90% of the world believes in Aliens, they don't fit the topic." :naughty:

[Ball Tripper]

Yea I suppose

[EvilWeasel35]

[B][COLOR="Red"]"Piranha is another one that freaks me out. Little vicious flesh tearing critters, and they school in the thousands."



That's always been a big misconception about piranhas. They don't actually attack living flesh. They would only eat you if you were dead. Nature's little vacuum cleaners, tidying up the waste in our waters. I think they're pretty cool. :)

For me it would be films like 'Wolf Creek'. That was based on a true story. The idea of being raped, tortured and brutally murdered scares me way more than anything else. :scare:

[Darkness]

"I agree, Serial Killers, and other twisted mental killers, rank up near the top of the list, as far as I am concerned."

[Ball Tripper]

Movies about serial killers and psychos and such don't scare me. I always think I would atleast know what I should to to handle it. I'm a pretty big strong guy and I think I could defend myself against another human. They may pull out a gun and shoot me dead, but I'm not gonna end up a victim in a slasher film style thing.

One 'real life horror' that did scare me though was Jaws. I don't like swimming in the ocean. Except for the one time I was snorkling in the bahamas, that was like ****ing paradise so that was different. But like down at ocean city? It creeps me out. The water is too opaque, I don't like the fact that billions of things live in the ocean and I can't see them. Jellyfish and baracudas and sharks.

[EvilWeasel35]

Movies about serial killers and psychos and such don't scare me. I always think I would atleast know what I should to to handle it. I'm a pretty big strong guy and I think I could defend myself against another human. They may pull out a gun and shoot me dead, but I'm not gonna end up a victim in a slasher film style thing.

One 'real life horror' that did scare me though was Jaws. I don't like swimming in the ocean. Except for the one time I was snorkling in the bahamas, that was like ****ing paradise so that was different. But like down at ocean city? It creeps me out. The water is too opaque, I don't like the fact that billions of things live in the ocean and I can't see them. Jellyfish and baracudas and sharks.

Yeah, but we're girlies. The chances of it happening to a guy are way lower! And it doesn't matter how strong we think we are, I was pinned down by a guy once and it took his mate to pull him off of me, so I'd probably have a cat in hell's chance if someone captured me. And bear in mind, in 'Wolf Creek' the kids were allegedly drugged and then tied up. In the UK (don't know about the US) but drink spiking is pretty common and I'm always very aware of that if I'm out.

[Darkness]

"Ever watched 'Catacombs'? Need I say more?" :scare:

[EvilWeasel35]

"Ever watched 'Catacombs'? Need I say more?" :scare:

Oooooo! No, I haven't seen that. That nasty? I'll have to check it out. :scare::)

[Darkness]

"You'll LOVE it. It's set in the Catacombs under Paris, where the world's biggest graveyard is." :)

[EvilWeasel35]

"You'll LOVE it. It's set in the Catacombs under Paris, where the world's biggest graveyard is." :)

Ooooo, cool! Definately going to look that one out! Thanks. :)

[Ball Tripper]

Yea I know it must be a scarier idea for a woman. In most horror films the victims are complete 100% idiots, and they let themselves be victimized. If I was a woman I would be more scared by the news than by slasher films. You hear about really horrible shit all the time on the news.

[EvilWeasel35]

Yea I know it must be a scarier idea for a woman. In most horror films the victims are complete 100% idiots, and they let themselves be victimized. If I was a woman I would be more scared by the news than by slasher films. You hear about really horrible shit all the time on the news.

That's because the media controls us with our fear! :x

[Darkness]

"Caught another one the other night."

"Prey: It's about a mother, and her two kids, who get trapped in a jeep by a pride of Lions, which first eat the Guide, that they hired to get them safely through the Safari. Protection gone. Security gone. All that's between them and a pride of starving Lions, is a flimsey tour jeep."


"That one gaves me chills. Real chills." :scare: