Thursday, October 17, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks-Jump Scares that Got You


I have had more jumps in my seat than I can think of except  now I can’t think of many at all. Wait, I think that sounds slightly suggestive:). I am talking about scary movies and I will be curious to see what everyone will choose as their 3 "jump out of their seat" moments. I will be very curious if Joel has any.  I suggest to head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what everyone has chosen. Here are my 3...

1. THEM-1954


It starts off where this little girl, after witnessing something scary,  can’t say anything until, while  in the hospital, she screams...”THEM!!!”  James Whitmore plays the cop who is trying to find out what is going on. This is at the time when the Cold War was in its infancy and the same with nuclear war  (every kid was told to hide under their school desks ‘cos  that’ll prevent them from being harmed) so big giant creatures, human and animal became huge in film(sorry about the pun). So when I first saw the image, on my parents’ black and white tv where I had to get up and turn the channel using an actual knob, I screamed. Now every time I hear freaky violin music, I start to scratch and remember...THEM!

2. BURNT OFFERINGS-1976


Oliver Reed is married to Karen Black with a child and an Aunt, played by Bette Davis, in tow who all move into one scary ass home for the summer. At first all seems good  except there are dreams of one weird looking hearse driver and everyone starts to dislike this house except for good ole Mom..Er...Karen Black. The house speaks to her. Let’s just say this is a lot scarier than that dumb Amityville Horror Movie. Oh, and it is one of Steven King's favourite movies. I did jump, more than once, but this time the TV was now in colour...still had to get up and change the channel though.

3. JURASSIC PARK-1993


If you haven’t seen this movie, you at least know about it. Three paleontologists are asked to come to an island that is the brain child of this nutty old buzzard played by Richard Attenborough. With scientists and a number of other crew, he has been able to recreate dinosaurs for a Disney like theme park. He decides to send the three out, along with his 2 grandchildren and a lawyer on a track to ...AGHHHHHH! Yes, seeing Mr. Rex  made me lose my cool and jump. I jumped more than once in this film....the raptors ...damn raptors. By the way, Jeff Goldblum stole the picture.

Which 3 films did you watch that made you lose your popcorn?


52 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    I hope you are feeling better today, dear friend. Hooray for Halloween season because it affords me the opportunity to discuss my favorite movie genre. I was age four in 1954 when my big brother took me to the theater to see Them! It was one of the best and scariest sci-fi horror films of the 50s.

    The only Burnt Offerings I have seen are the ones Mrs. S serves for dinner. At the end of that promo, the tag "Saturday after Barbara Mandrell" is a memory flogger. Remember when Marcia Brady played the troubled singer in Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story (1997)? Karen Black became quite a horror movie scream queen after her early appearance in Easy Rider.

    I love the original J-Park. I am a Laura Dern fan and got a hoot seeing Seinfeld's Wayne "Newman" Knight as the overwhelmed tech nerd.

    I jumped out of my seat during a couple of scenes in The Thing From Another World (1951). The biggest fright came when the scientists at that remote research outpost near the North Pole swung open the door and there stood carrot man James Arness (w/o Chester).

    I hope you are feeling better today, dear friend BB, and that you enjoy the rest of your week!

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    1. I’m glad you likeThem and Arness as the carrot also gave me a jolt. I know you would like Burnt Offerings so, if you find it, you should give it a try. I am not feeling up to snuff and I hurt my right arm...an Ehlers-Danlos issue

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  2. I've only seen Jurassic Park, it didn't make me jump but I do love that movie.

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    1. Seeing the raptor’s eye beside the hunter made me jump...one of a few in that movie

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  3. Not too many movies make me jump. (Real life is far scarier.) Alien had some good jump moments though.

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    1. Yes, real life is scarier and I still can’t watch Alien. As soon as that thing comes out of the guy’s stomach, I turn the channel

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  4. Seen all three! My parents took me to a drive-in movie to see Them. I was seven and still remember being scared. Of course, it was late and I should have been sleeping.
    I read the book and then I saw Burnt Offerings on TV. Scary good.
    As for Jurassic Park, I went to the opening night in Ann Arbor to see it. I was alone and a man came in with four young girls and asked if they could share my row. Think my screaming scared them more than the movie, lol.
    As for remembering another scary movie, Wait Until Dark. Audrey Hepburn is in the dark and Alan Arkin comes into the room behind her. I flew out of my seat.

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    1. Wait Until Dark = good one, Denise! I saw it, too, when it was first released in theaters. It is an excellent edge-of-your-seat thriller.

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    2. I love your recollections and smiled at your comment about screaming more than the girls. I agree with Shady that Wait Until Dark is a great choice

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    3. Wait Until Dark was my first thought. So good.

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  5. Agreed. Jeff Goldblum was awesome in Jurassic Park.
    Hope your day is filled with fun and pain free.

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    1. Wasn’t he? Unfortunately I am in pain, dizzy and exhausted plus did something to my right arm and have to be so careful the way I move it

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  6. I LOVE that little girl in Them! The movie was okay but she was great.

    I agree Burnt Offerings was better than the Amityville Horror but it didn't make me jump. You know Bette Davis and Karen Black hated each other when they were making the film and of course Bette didn't keep quiet about it in the press!

    Jurassic Park was an excellent first chapter in what now has become a weak series. Didn't make me jump though. Yes Jeff is the most memorable.

    I'm skipping the week, the only one I could think of the 79 version of When a Stranger Calls I've used before.

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    1. I thought you might have a tough week. I jump very easily so I could pick quite a few. I thought of Psycho, Angel Heart, freaky kids with yellow eyes do me in. I loved your picks from last week too and could have used Carrie this week.

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    2. Yes, I knew about Davis disliking Black and she hated Oliver Reed as well because of his drinking. It’s unusual when Davis did like someone like James Stewart and Anne Baxter

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  7. I'm not a superfan of the horror genre. THEM isn't familiar at all, but I do recall seeing Burnt Offerings many years ago. Don't remember much about it, though. Yes, I've heard of Jurassic Park, but that's the extent of it. ☺ One movie I did like was CARRIE. That scene at the end, where the hand comes out of the ground was a real "jump out of your seat" moment.

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  8. A couple of movies where I know I was startled by: "The Ghost and The Darkness" (the scene where the hero's wife is walking along minding her own business when suddenly this lion springs on her) and "Mr. Brooks" (where Demi Moore is on the street minding her own business and someone jumps out of a van and tosses her into it).

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    1. By the way, I found myself cheering for the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park."

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    2. Hahahaaaa....you wanted the dinosaurs to win...well maybe if they got the kids:). I didn’t see your second pick but yes to your first! I love that movie and think it is under-rated

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  9. I mentioned JP in my blog today. Funny coincidence.

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  10. Hi there Birgit, only Jurassic park for me, although I would love to see the Oliver Reid and Bette Davis film. I didn't find the Jurassic park all that scary, and like the chap above I was rooting for the dinos to come out on top, Kate x

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    1. burnt Offerings is excellent. And I am laughing that you wanted the dinosaurs to win.

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  11. So, so many movies use this effective tactic. I watched several over the past couple weeks--all James Bond movies. Couldn't cite specific examples in these other than I remember my wife and I both being startled at least once in each of them.

    Another more subtle shock, though it impacted me from the first time I saw it back in the seventies, comes in Roman Polanski's Repulstion. This is a pretty slow film, but I think that's what made the shock moments all the more startling.

    I love the film Them! and have loved it since I was a kid. They show it often on TCM and every once in a while I'll still watch it or parts of it when its on.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. I wish I could get TCM. Repulsion is an excellent film but yes, slow moving. I found the very end quite shocking/sad/ revealing

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  12. Oh yes! That scene in Jurassic Park where the raptors nearly got the kids in the kitchen still creeps me out to this day! Great list!

    Here’s my Thursday Movie Picks!

    Ronyell @ The Surreal Movies and TV Blog

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  13. I detest jump scares. I avoid movies that might have them. So, I can't recall an instance of one (although I haven't been able to avoid them completely).

    Although, my mother famously (in my family) almost broke my father's toe at one jump scare a long time ago. I think it was Jaws...

    Since my emails seem to not be getting to you, a link to your cozy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/744400307/custom-listing-for-birgit-blue-cell

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    1. Thank you! I will order it...sorry for the delay! That is funny about Jaws...except for the toe

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  14. Jurassic Park sure can cause a few. I hardly ever recall any jump scares. Only one that sticks out is an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where I was only half paying attention and then boom.

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  15. Jurassic Park 2 has a scene where I jump. The same with the Fog. You had some good picks today. And this is a good topic for October. Hugs-Erika

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    1. Yes, the 2nd one had a couple of scares but I haven’t seen The Fog....either version.

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  16. Deathtrap! Just re-watched that for the first time in years. Still great.

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  17. As you know, I have seen Jurassic Park and even reviewed it. I haven't seen the others, but since I get TCM, I will watch for THEM.

    I agree that Goldblum was by far the best actor in that film. He's good in everything he makes with the possible exception of The Fly, which was a disappointment to me (also showed on TCM).

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    1. Many people loved Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. I still have to see this version. I love the original

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  18. Hi Birgit...sorry you are still suffering with your arm...take it easy ...having a sofa day today and watching anything that makes me laugh on the TV....only seen Jurassic Park from your selection..yes I screamed....enjoy the weekend and rest that arm xxxx

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    1. I hope you had a nice day on the couch, relaxing. My arm will take a long time to heal

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  19. I've only seen Jurassic Park and I loved it.

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  20. I have seen Jurassic Park- but not the others! It did make jump for sure. :)

    Hope your arm feels better soon.
    ~Jess

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    1. Yes, that film made a few jump. Thanks and it will take a while to heal

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  21. Off the top of my headbone, I can think of 3 times when I was startled by a movie (although I'm sure there are more).

    When I was young, that scene in 'JAWS' got me, where the shark suddenly surfaced beside the boat. I think that must have gotten EVERYBODY!

    There was a moment of shock when a person steps from out of nowhere in the dark in the underrated Horror movie 'THE SENTINEL'.

    And then that scene while the medical procedure is being done on a man's chest in John Carpenter's 1982 remake of 'THE THING'. That's still one of the most horrifying things I ever saw in a movie! That image will never leave my mind until the day I croak.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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    1. I almost went with Jaws as that made me jump more than once. I also jump when Dreyfus goes down to check on the boat and a head pops out

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  22. Hi there sis! Three movies that come to mind for me... Jaws is the first. That movie was tailor made for "jumps" of all sorts. Second would be Poltergeist, and third would be American Werewolf in London. I know that one was also half comedy but I literally dreaded what was going to happen next in that movie. Oh, and of course, the Abominable in Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer!

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    1. Yeah!!!! I am so happy to see you here. I almost chose Jaws for tha scene. I still have to see the other 2 pictures you talk about. Yes, I love that you were scared over Rudolph

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  23. Haven't seen THEM. Sounds like a purrfect movie for Halloween.
    Happy Sunday.

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  24. I haven't seen your first two.
    Jurrasic Park I haven't seen in a long time, so I can't remember the scares anymore.

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    i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
    or
    call/whatsapp:+2349057261346

    ReplyDelete