Every few months my mom would visit her family in Chicago and my dad, my brothers and I would have what we called "bachelor's weekend." Always entailed eating schlock and watching scary movies, which my mom hated. It was during these weekends that I was introduced to The Shining, Silence of the Lambs, and Cape Fear, all around the ages of 6-12. Totally inappropriate. But the movie that got to me the most during one of these weekends was, inexplicably, Poltergeist III. That movie effed me up so bad that I couldn't be alone in front of a mirror for years. I mean, seriously, years. How did you get away with the butchers knife thing?
Those are all terrifying films, especially for a young tyke. I recall seeing the shining at about 12 years old and being so shook up by being aroused and terrified all at once. You know the scene with the hotty in the bath that turns in to an old corpse of a woman? That got me. Also those twins on the bikes. Sheesh. Forgot all about the poltergeist films, I watched them too often as a kid. Freaked me out. noooo! Dude still freaks me out
Think I was too young when I watched The Shining to get that specific reaction. It was the blood pouring out of the elevators that did it for me (freaked me out, I mean, not aroused me...). Cape Fear went way over my head, too. As did The Vanishing, which I watched again recently and wished I hadn't. Funny thing about Poltergeist- first one didn't do a thing to me. Something tells me that that would be the one that got me now- more for the whole "kid disappearing in the middle of the night" thing than any supernatural aspect. What an evil series. My dad mentioned one time that Don't Look Now is just about the scariest movie he's seen as a grown-up with kids. Anybody seen it? Not sure I want to.