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Is The Exorcist the scariest film ever? Is The Exorcist the scariest film ever?
(5 months later)
What's the scariest film, ever – The Exorcist?What's the scariest film, ever – The Exorcist?
I once went to a showing of The Exorcist at a cinema in Southampton. It was fantastic – the staff cranked up the air conditioning, so as the film progressed, the cinema got colder and colder, and we felt like we were in the freezing room where the exorcism takes place – talk about an immersive experience. Brilliant, and damn scary, too.I once went to a showing of The Exorcist at a cinema in Southampton. It was fantastic – the staff cranked up the air conditioning, so as the film progressed, the cinema got colder and colder, and we felt like we were in the freezing room where the exorcism takes place – talk about an immersive experience. Brilliant, and damn scary, too.
Martman1Martman1
Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968) works as both a supernatural shocker and a very plausible take on modern paranoia where no one is to be trusted - your friendly neighbours, your doctor, your husband. Even the cheery Christmas shopping streets in downtown Manhattan are full of dread.Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968) works as both a supernatural shocker and a very plausible take on modern paranoia where no one is to be trusted - your friendly neighbours, your doctor, your husband. Even the cheery Christmas shopping streets in downtown Manhattan are full of dread.
zibibbozibibbo
I think the reason Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) works so well is the inversion of the classic idea that finding out what had happened to the ghost would end the haunting. It seems this has happened when the corpse is discovered in the well, but then you realise with dread that all they have done is set her free to wreak even greater havoc. Also, Sadako/Samara's indiscriminate, implacable malevolence chilled me. For no reason that we knew of, she wanted everyone to suffer and she could not be appeased.I think the reason Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) works so well is the inversion of the classic idea that finding out what had happened to the ghost would end the haunting. It seems this has happened when the corpse is discovered in the well, but then you realise with dread that all they have done is set her free to wreak even greater havoc. Also, Sadako/Samara's indiscriminate, implacable malevolence chilled me. For no reason that we knew of, she wanted everyone to suffer and she could not be appeased.
ArgentaArgenta
For me, it's Robert Wise's 1963 movie The Haunting. I saw it on television more than 40 years ago and it scared me so badly that I've never dared to watch it again.For me, it's Robert Wise's 1963 movie The Haunting. I saw it on television more than 40 years ago and it scared me so badly that I've never dared to watch it again.
Stephen Haigh, London E17Stephen Haigh, London E17
You could make a case for Jaws being the scariest film ever made, given how much residual fear it left in its viewers. How many people who saw Jaws in their youth or childhood can go for a swim in the sea without getting flashes of unease at the thought of something below them?You could make a case for Jaws being the scariest film ever made, given how much residual fear it left in its viewers. How many people who saw Jaws in their youth or childhood can go for a swim in the sea without getting flashes of unease at the thought of something below them?
DanNorthDanNorth
Nothing quite matches the terror induced when my four-year-old daughter asks if we can watch Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar for the 15th time that weekend.Nothing quite matches the terror induced when my four-year-old daughter asks if we can watch Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar for the 15th time that weekend.
ithaca99ithaca99
Something that really scares me is the thought of a bunch of teenagers, maybe five or six of them, getting stuck somewhere and some malevolent force or person picks them off one by one. Now that would make a scary film.Something that really scares me is the thought of a bunch of teenagers, maybe five or six of them, getting stuck somewhere and some malevolent force or person picks them off one by one. Now that would make a scary film.
MrTiggyMrTiggy
Is it possible to join an army as a private and rise to the rank of general? Has this ever happened in the British army?
Is it possible to join an army as a private and rise to the rank of general? Has this ever happened in the British army?
Sir William Robertson was not "the first British general to rise from the ranks" (N&Q, 11 April). Sir Hector MacDonald, a crofter's son from Ross-shire, joined the army as a private and ended his career as a major-general, several years before Robertson was promoted to brigadier. MacDonald, despite playing a prominent role at the Battle of Omdurman (1898), is less well-knownthese days, partly because his career ended ignominiously (he killed himself in 1903 after a sex scandal). However, both men deserve enormous credit for achieving high rank, given the class-ridden nature of the British army at the time. The system by which most commissions had to be purchased was only abolished in 1871, the year MacDonald joined the regular army.Sir William Robertson was not "the first British general to rise from the ranks" (N&Q, 11 April). Sir Hector MacDonald, a crofter's son from Ross-shire, joined the army as a private and ended his career as a major-general, several years before Robertson was promoted to brigadier. MacDonald, despite playing a prominent role at the Battle of Omdurman (1898), is less well-knownthese days, partly because his career ended ignominiously (he killed himself in 1903 after a sex scandal). However, both men deserve enormous credit for achieving high rank, given the class-ridden nature of the British army at the time. The system by which most commissions had to be purchased was only abolished in 1871, the year MacDonald joined the regular army.
Geoff Clifton, Solihull, West MidlandsGeoff Clifton, Solihull, West Midlands
My boss when I worked for the army was Major–General David McDowall, who had entered the army as a signaller or private soldier in the 1970s. He commanded the 2nd Infantry Division, responsible for the army in Scotland and northern England, and was also governor of Edinburgh castle. Not bad going.My boss when I worked for the army was Major–General David McDowall, who had entered the army as a signaller or private soldier in the 1970s. He commanded the 2nd Infantry Division, responsible for the army in Scotland and northern England, and was also governor of Edinburgh castle. Not bad going.
Roland CrookeRoland Crooke
Jean Bernadotte rose through the ranks of the French royal, revolutionary and imperial armies from private to general, later becoming a marshal of France, and finally – unbelievably – King of Sweden. It's an astonishing life story and I'm surprised it's not better known in this country.Jean Bernadotte rose through the ranks of the French royal, revolutionary and imperial armies from private to general, later becoming a marshal of France, and finally – unbelievably – King of Sweden. It's an astonishing life story and I'm surprised it's not better known in this country.
cjthcjth
Why hasn't anyone mentioned Hitler yet?Why hasn't anyone mentioned Hitler yet?
cloudberrycloudberry
Are there more ants than leaves?Are there more ants than leaves?
On television recently David Attenborough said that there are 200 million ants for every one person on Earth – that's a lot of ants out there!On television recently David Attenborough said that there are 200 million ants for every one person on Earth – that's a lot of ants out there!
MuzSesleriMuzSesleri
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