I like things that go bump in the dark and live basically across the road from miles and miles of countryside in Pendle witch country so it's fairly logical that something like
The Blair Witch Project (1999)would make me uneasy. And it does.
I used to camp out as teens in the fields - sex, beer and camping were the order of the day - Mainly without the sex though, sadly i don't live in American high school world, and any noise would shit us up. I mean it could be anything out there. I get the same feeling if i go out with the dog after dark in the fields, torch in hand, shadows flicker, trees rustle, unseen creatures scrabble about in the leaves and you basically can't see a thing.
The Blair Witch Project takes all this into account and throws in murderous witches as well. Even now after seeing the film several times i can still get unnerved by it when i allow myself to get drawn into it all.
Back when i was 21 i was in North Wales at a caravan site with my fiance. She went to bed and i stayed up and watched a film on the portable tv -
The Black Torment (1964). I can't explain why, maybe it was the strange surroundings, i have no idea, but it really gave me a sense of unease. I was genuinely scared by it. I'm guessing it was a right film, right place sort of thing. It's not like i hadn't seen it before either. I had the pre-cert VHS on the Stablecane label at home.
When i was younger i hated the opening of
Jaws (1975). I found that scary. The young couple on the beach in the dark, girl goes out for a swim alone, buoy ringing in the distance, the ominous theme, the underwater camera photography. You get the picture.
The opening of
Scream (1996) was probably the most on edge i've ever been at the cinema. It really did grab me by the short and curlies, from the opening phone call to the gore soaked finale with poor Drew Barrymore hanging from a tree with her guts out.
Back when i was a child i used to visit London with my parents once or twice a year to see shows such as Yul Brynner in The King and I and Michael Crawford in Barnum. The easiest way to get around London is the Underground (You can probably guess where this is leading) so the idea of a werewolf stalking those empty and eerie Underground passages in
An American Werewolf in London (1981) really freaked me out. Nowadays i think the stalking on the moors is the best sequence for atmosphere and chills.
The Wizard of Oz (1939). Now that was a frightening experience as a child. That witch and those flying monkeys. Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, so scary.
More recently i found
The VVitch (2015) to be an extremely tense experience. From beginning to end there's a sense of dread that builds up to almost claustrophobic conditions and i've been thoroughly entranced by it both times i've watched it. Again it must be a countryside, darkness, witch thing i have going on. Clearly due to where i live and the surrounding area.
Finally,
Doctor Who (1976-79). Now i know it's not a film but in my youth it scared the life out of me. From Tom Bakers haunting face in the opening credits and that music of course. I never hid behind the sofa but i did hold onto my mum's hand every week. The stories i found most frightening were
Brain of Morbius, Masque of Mandragora, The Robots of Death, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Deadly Assassin,
Image of the Fendahl, Horror of Fang Rock. Anyone familiar with the show will know we are firmly in the Gothic and Grand Guignol period which i'm sure gave me a love of all things Gothic horror in later life.