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Nov. 1st, 2003 12:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ealgyldenI just broke up a very tense, potentially dangerous standoff between one of the cats and a huge raccoon (a real one, not a kinky nerd in a suit), and now I'm pretty jittery from the adrenaline. The cat looks okay (fingers crossed), but I can't check on the rabbits until the sun comes up, so I'm in for a restless night, I think. Goddamn predators. It gets shot the next time it comes back. I think I'll do the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fannish5 even though it's late, and see if the typing helps my hands stop shaking.
1) What is the movie that scared you the most? (Notice I didn’t say the scariest movie.) Does it scare you still?
Well, the scene in ET where the government guys in the cleansuits come smashing into the house and Elliot's family doesn't know what's going on and so they're screaming, scared the heck out of me as a kid, but the rest of the movie wasn't very scary. Willie Wonka was majorly disturbing, but almost too weird to be really scary. I remember the fact that I was scared by Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Watcher in the Woods, but it's been so long since I've seen them, I can't remember why.
So the winner has to be The Haunting. No, not the misbegotten, overwrought remake that had a far better cast than it deserved. The original with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom and Russ Tamblyn (who has now become "Amber's Dad" in my brain. Poor Riff). Unlike the other movies I mentioned, I didn't see this one until I was a teenager, when my little sister and I innocently tossed it in the VCR one afternoon. I had the book (by the estimable Shirley Jackson) on my shelf, but I'd never read it. So there we were, beautiful sunny day, middle of summer... and we were practically hiding under blankets behind the couch. What did it was scenes like when the characters were together in a dark room on the first floor, listening to the whatever-it-was, ghost, spirit, formless evil whatzit, banging once on each door on the second floor, getting closer and closer. Or Eleanor, trapped in her bed, as the whatever bangs its way to her door, then it stops, then silence... then she listens, frozen, as it tries to get in, first subtly, then violently. Or Eleanor grasping Theo's hand for reassurance in the night, and Theo grips hers back tighter and tighter until Eleanor finally breaks, and so does Theo... in her own bed on the other side of the room. Eeeeek! (Okay, the hand thing is older than dirt as ghost stories go, but trust me, it's scary in context). I've watched it since (and have read it several times as well), and while it's never quite equalled the terror of that first viewing, it's still a very creepy film, in large part because you hear a lot more than you ever see. And as you know, nothing will get you like your own imagination.
2) What is the tv show or episode that scared you the most? Does it scare you still?
There were a bunch of X-Files eps that scared me the first time I saw them, even ones that weren't especially scary on a second viewing. Twin Peaks had some moments that were pretty creepy, and oddly enough, so did Psi Factor (it was a Canadian X-Files knock-off with terrible writing, and it starred Matt Frewer for a few seasons. I have a slightly guilty love for it). But I think I'd have to go with the first episode of American Gothic. Excellent start to an excellent series, and scary as hell.
3) Do you watch horror movies/tv shows or avoid them? Why?
I hunt them down with glee. I'm not generally fond of slasher flicks, but any other sort of horror will probably get my attention. I've always been interested in ghosts and spirits, monsters of various sorts, and the paranormal in general, so that's part of it. I'm a sucker for cheesiness, classic or modern, which also helps. And I like the surprises, like that little frisson of horror invoked by just the right chord in the score, or the perfect angle to a shot, or the expression on an otherwise unremarkable actor's face.
4) What is the best "Very Special Halloween" episode of all time? Why?
Each of the Treehouse of Horrors has had at least one segment I've loved, but they're pretty uneven. And both the Great Pumpkin and Garfield vs. the ghost pirates were specials, so I don't think they count. So I think "Halloween" from BtVS. There are so many things to love about it, from Giles flinging the library cards in the air when Ghost!Willow arrives, to "Who is that girl?", but especially the introduction of Ethan. Oh, how I loved Ethan.
5) You have an unlimited budget and the best costumers and makeup people from Hollywood to help you, who or what do you dress as for Halloween?
Um. Joan of Arc? Not very creative, I guess. Brunhilde? I'm not quite the Valkyrie type, but I could fake it, maybe. Ooh, or how about one of those gorgeously dressed tsarinas that are always popping up in kids' books about the Firebird or Clever Vassilissa or the like. I'd make my hoard of Hollywood helpers do all the beadwork and embroidery by hand. Mwa ha ha!
fannish5 even though it's late, and see if the typing helps my hands stop shaking.1) What is the movie that scared you the most? (Notice I didn’t say the scariest movie.) Does it scare you still?
Well, the scene in ET where the government guys in the cleansuits come smashing into the house and Elliot's family doesn't know what's going on and so they're screaming, scared the heck out of me as a kid, but the rest of the movie wasn't very scary. Willie Wonka was majorly disturbing, but almost too weird to be really scary. I remember the fact that I was scared by Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Watcher in the Woods, but it's been so long since I've seen them, I can't remember why.
So the winner has to be The Haunting. No, not the misbegotten, overwrought remake that had a far better cast than it deserved. The original with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom and Russ Tamblyn (who has now become "Amber's Dad" in my brain. Poor Riff). Unlike the other movies I mentioned, I didn't see this one until I was a teenager, when my little sister and I innocently tossed it in the VCR one afternoon. I had the book (by the estimable Shirley Jackson) on my shelf, but I'd never read it. So there we were, beautiful sunny day, middle of summer... and we were practically hiding under blankets behind the couch. What did it was scenes like when the characters were together in a dark room on the first floor, listening to the whatever-it-was, ghost, spirit, formless evil whatzit, banging once on each door on the second floor, getting closer and closer. Or Eleanor, trapped in her bed, as the whatever bangs its way to her door, then it stops, then silence... then she listens, frozen, as it tries to get in, first subtly, then violently. Or Eleanor grasping Theo's hand for reassurance in the night, and Theo grips hers back tighter and tighter until Eleanor finally breaks, and so does Theo... in her own bed on the other side of the room. Eeeeek! (Okay, the hand thing is older than dirt as ghost stories go, but trust me, it's scary in context). I've watched it since (and have read it several times as well), and while it's never quite equalled the terror of that first viewing, it's still a very creepy film, in large part because you hear a lot more than you ever see. And as you know, nothing will get you like your own imagination.
2) What is the tv show or episode that scared you the most? Does it scare you still?
There were a bunch of X-Files eps that scared me the first time I saw them, even ones that weren't especially scary on a second viewing. Twin Peaks had some moments that were pretty creepy, and oddly enough, so did Psi Factor (it was a Canadian X-Files knock-off with terrible writing, and it starred Matt Frewer for a few seasons. I have a slightly guilty love for it). But I think I'd have to go with the first episode of American Gothic. Excellent start to an excellent series, and scary as hell.
3) Do you watch horror movies/tv shows or avoid them? Why?
I hunt them down with glee. I'm not generally fond of slasher flicks, but any other sort of horror will probably get my attention. I've always been interested in ghosts and spirits, monsters of various sorts, and the paranormal in general, so that's part of it. I'm a sucker for cheesiness, classic or modern, which also helps. And I like the surprises, like that little frisson of horror invoked by just the right chord in the score, or the perfect angle to a shot, or the expression on an otherwise unremarkable actor's face.
4) What is the best "Very Special Halloween" episode of all time? Why?
Each of the Treehouse of Horrors has had at least one segment I've loved, but they're pretty uneven. And both the Great Pumpkin and Garfield vs. the ghost pirates were specials, so I don't think they count. So I think "Halloween" from BtVS. There are so many things to love about it, from Giles flinging the library cards in the air when Ghost!Willow arrives, to "Who is that girl?", but especially the introduction of Ethan. Oh, how I loved Ethan.
5) You have an unlimited budget and the best costumers and makeup people from Hollywood to help you, who or what do you dress as for Halloween?
Um. Joan of Arc? Not very creative, I guess. Brunhilde? I'm not quite the Valkyrie type, but I could fake it, maybe. Ooh, or how about one of those gorgeously dressed tsarinas that are always popping up in kids' books about the Firebird or Clever Vassilissa or the like. I'd make my hoard of Hollywood helpers do all the beadwork and embroidery by hand. Mwa ha ha!