Watch the movies from Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Momments

The original film version starred Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. While by far this was not as graphic as the remake with Robert De Niro, this film features stellar performances that delivers the tension and fear without the graphic depictions that are so prevalent in today’s films. The overwhelming sense of being powerless to stop someone seeking revenge was pervasive, and acted brilliantly.

4 out of 5 stars

Terry O’Quinn gave an intense performance in this 1987 thriller that also starred Shelly Hack of “Charlie’s Angels”. The movie starts out introducing O’Quinn’s character in the aftermath of a murderous scene. As the movie progresses, we’re treated to glimpses of his inner rage until it finally erupts against his current family. Very intense, though not necessarily scary or anything new here.

4 out of 5 stars

The 1989 sequel follows up on his character as he resumes his passion of infiltrating a family. The now dead Jonathan Bradis did a great job as the stepson who didn’t trust his new stepfather. You actually get more backstory behind why O’Quinn’s character has this obsession with family which was missing from the first film.

3 out of 5 stars

This Lucio Fulci film had its share of zombies (like his #98 Zombi 2), as well as graphic gore. The basic premise is that this hotel or is it a hospital houses one of the seven doors of death, which are gateways to hell. As the film progresses we are witness to a woman’s face being dissolved by acid, a man’s face being eaten by tarantula’s and someone’s eyeballs being gouged out by a zombie. There’s a censored version of this that chops out seven minutes and is marketed as an R rated version titled “Seven Doors Of Death”.

3 out of 5 stars

This 1954 film is one of the earliest dealing with the consequence of atomic bomb testing in the deserts. While the special effects reflect the limitations of the time, the story as a whole stands the test of time. This film’s influences can be seen in later films like Aliens and Starship Troopers. At times you want to know more about the lives of the characters who survived attacks by the giant ants, such as the little girl found in the desert alone or the boys whose father was killed. In fact, the little girl’s performance as the shell-shocked survivor stands out among the whole movie.

4 out of 5 stars

David Cronenberg did the writing and directing on this film supposedly based on aspects of his own troubled divorce. Cronenberg also directed #51 The Dead Zone. He directed and wrote the remake version of #33 The Fly. And from the 30 even scarier movie moments he wrote and directed #14 Scanners and #4 Videodrome. For me his classic movie was “Naked Lunch”.

This film mixes social commentary on the mentally ill and child abuse with an appropriate level of gore as should be expected from a horror film. The viewer learns along with the main character the truth of what is going on, and the resolution is satisfying both graphically and thematically. For me the most gruesome part was the birth of a new member of the brood and its human mother cleaning it like a cat does.

4 out of 5 stars

This Italian film was redubbed in English and is a camp riot. The basic premise is that a movie theatre provides a gateway for demonic possession to occur and the patrons are trapped inside. It’s cheesy as all get out, and the effects are more comical than scary. Still some of the graphic scenes like a blind man’s eyes being clawed out provided some stomach turning.

3 out of 5 stars

I bought the DVD with the original and its sequel and watched them last week, and since I hadn’t seen the 1982 remake since the 1980s I decided to watch it again too.

The original was very suspenseful. You were lead down a path of wondering just what was going on. Was she turning into a cat, or was it all in our imagination. It was well-filmed and gave you just enough information and misinformation to keep you guessing until the end. It was this version that made Bravo’s list.

4 out of 5 stars

The sequel was nice in that it gave you a chance to see what happened to the characters from the first movie. The lead actor from the original had changed to where he wasn’t a likeable person, which while fitting with what had happened to him, seems odd for the time period. Still, the transition to a ghost story made the film suffer in my opinion.

3.5 out of 5 stars

The 1982 version took elements from both of these films, though the director indicated that he really should have changed the name since it was truly a different film and not a remake. As a 15 year old boy, I found this film to be highly erotic with its beautiful Nastassja Kinski in the starring role. I actually wanted to meet one of these Cat People and become one at the time. While the effects pale compared to today’s CGI, they were top rate for what could be done at the time. Even now some of the cinematographic choices outshine many of the current films.

4 out of 5 stars

I’d actually watched the 1980 version by Lucio Fulci first and was going to write an entry about it when I noticed the description of why the film was on the list referred to the 1934 version with Bela Lugosi. Fulci’s version was suitably graphic and you had a sense that the cat or cats were what were evil and killing people. The special effects were comparable to other films of that time. I rated it 3 out of 5 stars.

Having watched the Lugosi version, I fail to see what was so scary about the scenes with Karloff skinning him alive. The scene kept cutting to the female lead screaming at the sight, but unlike Psycho where you saw blood and the raised knife, this film provided no indication that it was going on besides the screams and dialogue. The black cat in this film was killed early on, and the true villain of the film were the people themselves.

3 out of 5 stars

Whether you believe or not, religious horror films always deliver scares and this one is no exception. This 1977 film is filled with an all-star cast though at the time people like Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Walken, Jerry Orbach and Chris Sarandon hadn’t made names for themselves. On the other hand Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Jose Ferrer, John Carradine, Martin Balsam and Sylvia Miles were all big names and their supporting roles in this film were superbly acted.

The basic premise is a haunted apartment house where a suicidal model moves in and begins having odd experiences (reminiscent of #24 Suspira). What is the truth behind the visions and experiences? Watch the movie to find out. Part detective show and part religious horror, this film delivers on all levels.

4 out of 5 stars

It had been a while since I watched this film and since I finished organizing my DVDs recently I decided to rewatch this along with it’s sequel. I’d watched the remake when it came out and enjoyed it. The original seemed more disjointed/less polished than the remake, but for its time the original was one of the scariest things out there. I have to admit that I still pick up hitchhikers, but I always have this movie in the back of my mind. It had great action sequences, and a killer who never justified his actions. I prefer the original over the remake and the sequel. Watch the sequel to see the after effects on the surviving characters from the first film.

4 out of 5 stars