Movies that scarred me for life is all about the movies that keep you up at night.  The horrors you just can’t seem to get out of your head.  But beyond the monsters, ghosts, slashers and aliens, there are also the cringe worthy films you wish you never saw.  Movies that made you wish you had the lost two hours of your life back.  There are tons of ways a movie can scar you for life.  This series will look at 12 of my personal favorites.

The Human Centipede

AND…  I’VE NEVER SEEN IT!

I’ve always loved horror movies though I’m more a fan of thrillers than gore fests and torture porn.  That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy films like Saw every now and then but The Human Centipede takes gore to a whole new level…  I think.

XTRA: Top 10 Horror Movies With Great Stories

A coworker of mine, knowing my love of the horror genre, sent me a link to The Human Centipede’s trailer.  He asked me to take a guess at what the film was about.  97% of the population probably made the same guess that I did.  Giant bug?  I don’t mind creature features.  Maybe this would be a low budget horror film with a massive centipede that crashed through walls and ripped people in half.

I was way off…

It’s about a deranged doctor who surgically attaches 3 people face to butt to form a horrific PEOPLE… PEDE..

That was going to be my second guess!

When it comes to deranged people committing atrocities in movies, most of the scares are in the threat of violence.  A horrible fate awaits innocent people who must escape and we cheer them on while experiencing the thrills along the way.  Torture films these days throw out the threat and then follow through for an entirely different kind of scary.  It works for those who love gore filled movies and even I can admit to liking a select few torture films like Saw and Hostel.

This trailer kick started a conversation amongst my friends that lasted weeks.  How crazy could the movie possibly be when you see the 3 unfortunate souls walking around as one in the trailer!  How does the surgery take place?  What the hell was the director thinking!?

I was stunned when I saw the trailer thinking about all the little reasons why the movie would be 100% disturbing.  Eventually, I made my way over to The Human Centipede’s Wikipedia page to learn more about the story.

That’s when I decided I didn’t really need to see it.  If the trailer grosses me out for all the wrong reasons then why bother right?  Yet, I still have to give director Tom Six credit for creating a film so disturbing that the trailer freaked me out.

I don’t know if I’ll ever have a stomach strong enough to watch people poop in each others’ mouths while an insane doctor laughs.  I’m genuinely concerned for those poor people…  Especially since the actors involved didn’t necessarily know what they were signing up for. (According to wikipedia)

And just when you think it couldn’t possibly get any worse?  Word breaks that a sequel is in the works and rumor is the film centers around a TWELVE-ipede! A film Tom Six promises will be the sickest movie of all time.

Gross.  No thank you.

Movies that scarred me for life is all about the movies that keep you up at night.  The horrors you just can’t seem to get out of your head.  But beyond the monsters, ghosts, slashers and aliens, there are also the cringe worthy films you wish you never saw.  Movies that made you wish you had the lost two hours of your life back.  There are tons of ways a movie can scar you for life.  This series will look at 12 of my personal favorites.

Event Horizon

I was terrified after viewing Event Horizon for the first time. I think it’s because in a way, deep down, I believe that something as evil as hell or as good as heaven could exist.  So when I think about where that ship went and what those crew members went through it makes me cringe.

It gets me thinking about the big picture.  About what’s possible.  It can be pretty scary when you think about the massive size of our universe and how, in theory, anything is possible.

Some may say I’m taking a good old fashioned horror film a bit too seriously but aren’t movies supposed to make you think?  Even horror movies set in space can carry emotional weight if you relate to it. (I feel like making a gravity joke at this point is fitting…  But I shall resist the pun.)

At the end of the day, we are all pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things and most of the time, I think about the wonderful and amazing possibilities that are out there.

It’s too bad Event Horizon exists to remind me that there could be evil as well.  When you think about what people experienced aboard that ship it makes one scene in particular absolutely horrifying.  I’m not going to discuss the scene in detail here because it happens to be the All Time Best: Scary Movie Scene.

It’s kept me up at night and creeps me out to this day.  I bought the film for $5.99 a few years ago and haven’t watched it yet.  I’m waiting for someone to watch it with me so I’m not alone.

Think I’m kidding?  I’m not.

But that’s the fun of horror movies!  That’s why they kick ass!

Last summer featured a 12 part series called Movies That Changed Everything about the movies that inspire the aspiring filmmaker.

Click here to read the complete series.

Today, I’m happy to announce a new series here at The Athletic Nerd.

Movies That Scarred Me For Life!

This new series will look at the movies that have stuck with me over the years for all the wrong (or right) reasons.

• Horror films
• Monsters
• Childhood Haunts
• Spiders
• Cartoons (Cartoons?)
• Demons
• Ghosts
• And Much Much More

Stay tuned for the first episode which arrives next week!

These films grabbed a hold of my imagination and basically ruined my life for various reasons that will definitely surprise you.

Throughout the series, I’d love to hear your picks too!

Comment, Tweet, E-mail and Share.

Which movies scarred you?

New TVs and Horror Movies

When I was younger, I saved up my meager $5 per week allowance for a year to put towards a new television for my room.

With the help of my parents, I bought a fantastic 13 inch TV and hooked it up to an old VCR.

Every night, I was ‘supposed’ to turn it off at a reasonable hour but I rarely did.  I was always surfing for late night movies and watching flicks I taped.

These included a ton of horror films.

This is how I first experienced The Exorcist and to this day I still regret watching it when I did. 

Since then, I’ve always been weary about horror films with religious themes.

No other genre scares me more.  It’s not that I can’t bear to watch them but they stay with me.  My imagination runs wild.

‘What if” plagues my brain and I freak myself out.  It’s hard to sleep when you are young and pondering the BIG questions of our universe.

It was even worse after an incident with a Ouija board in which my friends convinced me a demon would visit me at 3:33 am someday.

After nearly 15 years, I’m still mildly distressed when I wake up and it’s 3:33 in the morning.  Who knows right?  I’ve even written a short film about it.

The point is, for a long time, I had trouble sleeping when I started thinking about the real possibility of demons visiting my bedroom.

I have to thank Keanu Reeves’ Jack Traven for helping me through those nightmarish nights.

Speed Helped Me Sleep

It’s a completely random statement to make but it’s true.

Before I became a VHS/DVD addict, I had to catch movies on television and tape them.

Speed was one of the hardest movies to find.  Maybe I missed it or didn’t know where to look but for years I wanted my own copy.

Note: In hindsight, I should have just asked for it as a birthday gift or something.

In either case, I loved Speed.  It was my absolute favorite movie for years.

So, when horror movies got to me, I used to close my eyes and ‘watch’ Speed.

Laugh it up but it worked.  Trying to piece together every single second of that film kept my mind occupied long enough to sleep.

I’d normally get about 20 minutes into the film before passing out but it was all I needed.

Eventually, I got my own copy of the film and I still watch it often.  I don’t need it to help me sleep because I’m an adult now but it was still a useful tool back in the day.

Religious themed horror films still kick my ass though.

Any odd stories you would like to admit to?

I have more…

Check out: Why Ninja Turtles Made Me Cry and Why E.T The Extra Terrestrial Scared Me

A few weeks ago, I was right in the middle of a debate at work. The argument began when myself and a friend expressed our excitement for Hatchet 2.

A few people who had seen the first Hatchet disagreed.  Essentially, the conflict could be summed up with one question:

Are movies like Hatchet any good?

In order to answer that question, Team Hatchet came up with a list of Horror Comedies and the cult following they have achieved.

Admittedly, horror comedies are only for certain audiences who appreciate them.  Happily, I’m one of them.

Here are the 10 of the best:

Evil Dead

Bruce Campbell.  You can’t talk about horror comedies without mentioning Ash and his adventures in the Evil Dead trilogy.

Evil Dead 2

Sam Raimi is awesome.  That is all.

Arachnophobia

Spiders literally paralyze me with fear.  Once a year, I make a trip to the zoo just to dare myself to look into the Black Widow cage.  I regret it every time.

This movie scared me more than any other movie I can think of except THIS

Critters

Second only to Gremlins as my favorite ‘Little Monster’ movie.

Tremors

I’m not a fan of the follow up films but this one has stuck with me over the years.

Slither

“What kind of thing wants you to eat it!”  I laughed out loud several times during this flick.

Hatchet

The movie that started the debate.  By no means is it the greatest horror movie of all time but it’s definitely among the best tributes to horror.  Director Adam Green is a massive fan and his knowledge of the genre bleeds through this instant fan favorite.

Zombieland

A new addition to my horror comedy collection but a welcome one as well.

Gremlins

The first movie I thought of.  One of the classics.

Shaun Of The Dead

Easily my favorite movie on this list.  Changed the way I’ll look at movies forever.