Category Archives: List

A Nightmare on Elm Street: TFO’s 5 Scariest Scenes

August 9, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of my all-time favorite horror movies. The original movie had Freddy Krueger in all his terrifying glory, before he became a murderous comedian in later sequels. I love psychotic, funny Freddy just as much as the next person, but scary Freddy is my favorite. Well, as much as a burned-to-death child molester can be.

These are my top 5 scariest scenes of A Nightmare on Elm Street:

5. The Takedown

Nancy was the original Kevin McAllister, Home-Alone-ing the bad guy way before little Kevin even knew the word ‘booby-trap.’ She comes up with a plan to intentionally fall asleep and set an alarm to wake herself up so that she can grab Freddy to bring him to her world. At first, it seems like her plan didn’t work, but Freddy pops up behind her in jump-scare fashion and then chases her through her booby-trapped home.

4. Nancy’s School Dream

Nancy falls asleep in school while a classmate recites a scene from Hamlet. This nightmare starts off slowly but so creepily as the classmate quotes in a whisper, “O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” Nancy walks outside and sees Tina’s bloody corpse wrapped in a sheet and being dragged down the hallway.

3. Bathtub Hand

Yeesh! Nancy falls asleep in her bathtub while reciting the famous Nightmare rhyme, and of course, Freddy makes an appearance. Knees spread to either side of the tub, Nancy passes out, and Freddy’s knife hand slowly emerges. The sight of those sharp fingers close to such a tender area always made me cringe. And it still does.

2. Glen’s Death

Poor, poor Glen. Cute, baby-faced Johnny Depp. He just didn’t take this whole thing seriously enough. I don’t know what exactly happened to him when he was pulled into and under his bed, but it certainly wasn’t pretty and it left his parents with a hell of a mess to clean up in his room. Even when I just have this movie playing in the background while I’m doing something else, I always take a second to watch this scene. His mother just walks in to a fountain of blood exploding from her son’s bed. So much blood, so much gore. Always a fan.

1. Tina’s Death (and Long-Armed Freddy)

Poor Tina. You just had to do it with your boyfriend, didn’t you? Don’t you know that’s forbidden in a horror movie?

After she and Rod have some (unnecessarily loud) sex in her mother’s bedroom, Tina falls asleep and has one of the creepiest nightmares of the whole series in my humble opinion. I don’t know what it is about Freddy with his long-ass arms scraping down the alleyway, but it’s the scene that has stuck with me ever since I was a little kid. Creepy. As. Hell.

Tina’s death is also arguably one of the most iconic scenes of the series when she’s dragged screaming and bloody from her post-coital bed, up the wall, and across the ceiling.

Bonus Scary Scene: The End. What was up with that damn mommy mannequin?

What about you? What do you think was the scariest scene?

List, Television, Top Horror Lists

TFO’s Top 10 Favorite Scary TV Shows

July 12, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but it is too damn hot outside for me to enjoy much of anything. Put me in a pool, and I’ll be fine, but I do not get how anyone can just sit outside in this kind of weather for fun/relaxation.

Aw hell no.

That’s why when summer rears its ugly head, I retreat to my nice, dark, air-conditioned house to watch TV, nap, and…nap some more.

What can I say? My bed is super comfortable.

But I don’t write about beds or naps here. I write about skeery things. So for this Top Tuesday post, I thought I’d count down my top ten favorite scary tv shows. What else are you going to do to avoid the heat?

TFO’s Top 10 Favorite Scary TV Shows

10. Scream Queens

Oh man. This show cracks me up. If you’re looking for a still-gory, kinda-creepy, but still funny horror show, this one is a safe bet. Emma Roberts is hilariously bitchy in this as the diva Chanel Oberlin. Watch this. It’s worth it.

9. Penny Dreadful

This show just ended unceremoniously, but I guess with only three seasons, it’s not a long watch. Old-school horror icons are re-vamped (see what I did there?) and star in a macabre vision of Victorian London. It’s really fun and really creepy.

8. Ash vs. Evil Dead

Another funny one. If you’re a fan of the Evil Dead trilogy, you’ll love this show. It totally remains faithful to the over-the-top insanity of the movies. So weird. So gory. So funny. And it’s got Lucy Lawless in it, which is always a plus.

7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy, Buffy, Buffy. You were the OG. She was a complete badass, and this show had so much going for it. Vampires, witches, laughter, sadness, a musical episode – why wouldn’t you watch this one?

6. Tales from the Crypt

I’ve already talked a bit about this one in a previous post. I love it. You’ll love it. Just watch it.

5. Supernatural

I’m going out on a limb here and putting this in my top 5 even though I haven’t actually seen all of it. *Gasp!* I know. It’s sad. I’ve only seen the first season (when it first premiered on TV) and a few random episodes here and there, but I’m about to remedy that. Even if I haven’t seen all of it, I know enough about Sam and Dean to know that I can recommend this one highly.

4. The Walking Dead

I’d be surprised if you aren’t already watching this show. I mean, who doesn’t watch The Walking Dead? Nazis and commies, that’s who.

3. American Horror Story

If you’re attention-span isn’t too long, this show is for you since the story changes with each season. Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare, Lady Gaga, Kathy Bates – there are so many great actors that have starred in this fun series.

2. Hannibal

This show is beautiful. While some may find it a bit pretentious, I freakin’ loved every minute of the precious few seasons it was on. Hopefully, it will come back in a few years (hope never dies), and we’ll be able to continue our journey with Hannibal as he eats his way through life.

1. The X-Files

An oldie but a goodie. This show will always have a special place in my heart. I spent many a weekend night watching agents Mulder and Scully do their thang.

List, Top Horror Lists

TFO’s Top 5 Favorite Shark Movies (That Aren’t Jaws)

June 28, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

Who doesn’t love a good shark movie? After Jaws made everyone scared to go into the water in 1975, movies featuring our fearsome finned friends popped up everywhere. And after SyFy entered the picture with its seemingly endless supply of shark-themed craziness, we certainly have enough movies to satisfy our bloody cravings.

To coincide with both Shark Week and the newly released “The Shallows” starring Blake Lively, I thought it would be quite appropriate to list my top 5 favorite shark movies that aren’t Jaws…because what shark movie list wouldn’t have the most famous shark at number 1?

And, for the record, I’m not saying these are good movies; I’m saying they’re my favorites.

Here it goes:

5. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark

Oh? Did you not expect me to have SyFy shark movies on this list? Yes, they might be over-the-top, terribly-acted pieces of junk with horrible special effects, but damnit, they’re fun.

Yeah. Pretty sure these effects beat good ol’ SyFy.

SyFy has crafted a very big guilty pleasure for a lot of people. From giant crocodiles to weird mashups of creepy-crawlies, there’s no creature that’s safe. And sharks are one of their favorite subjects.

Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark is terrible – just terrible. But in a good way. There are some “unforeseen” complications when a shark-shaped submarine is sent to kill a huge shark that’s terrorizing people. Yep. They fight. People die. It’s awesome.

4. Open Water

Two divers get left behind by their tour boat and have to fend for themselves against the terrors of the ocean…including some – you guessed it – hungry sharks. This movie is intense. It’s not one I can rewatch over and over, but it’s a good one.

3. Ghost Shark

Another SyFy masterpiece. There’s a ghost shark haunting a small coastal town, and it’s just spectacular. The deaths in this movie crack me up (don’t judge me). A guy gets eaten on a slip-n-slide and one guy gets split completely in half after he drinks – yes, drinks – some ghost shark-infected water.

2. Deep Blue Sea

Oh, man, I loved this movie when it came out, and I still think it definitely has some rewatch value. Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, and LL Cool J feature in this movie about super sharks genetically engineered at a science station in the middle of the ocean. The point is to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, but things don’t exactly work out as planned. And (SPOILER ALERT) Samuel L. Jackson’s death scene is one of my favorite surprises of any horror movie.

1. The Sharknado Series

I. Freaking. Love. These. Movies.

They are so stupid. They are so crazy. They are so awesome. If you like shark movies, how can you not watch the triple-threat that is the Sharknado series. The last movie, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No, was fantastically terrible. They resorted to space travel to vanquish the Sharknado. Space! And the fourth movie in the series, Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (LOVE IT!) premiers on July 31!

So. Effing. Excited.

Anyone disagree with this list? Or maybe you agree and just want to add an observation? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

List, Movies, Top Horror Lists

Top 5 Most Disappointing Movie Monsters

May 17, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

We’ve all been there. You’re watching a horror movie. Strange, scary things are happening, and you just know whatever is the cause has got to be equal parts creepy and awesome.

Then, it shows up. And it kinda sucks. Why did it have to suck?

So in honor of our shared disappointment, this Top Tuesday post is dedicated to the Top 5 Most Disappointing Movie Monsters.

Quick disclaimer: I will not be including any SyFy movies in this list or else it would’ve been too damn long. And it would have been redundant. Most of them are supposed to be stupid, right?

5. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

I was pretty excited for this movie when it was advertised. I only saw the trailers that didn’t show the creatures (I try to limit my views of horror movie trailers so they aren’t ruined), so I had no idea that the BIG BAD THINGS were cute, little fairy-like creatures. I mean, I wouldn’t mind having one of these little guys as a pet. I’d dress it up, take it to the park, feed it nice things. One thing I wouldn’t do is be terrified of it.

4. Cloverfield

I can’t say so much that I was disappointed in what this monster looked like; I was just disappointed they showed it all. It wasn’t that bad or anything. In my opinion, the movie just went downhill after they fully showed the big guy. I liked the glimpses, just not the whole enchilada. It was too much enchilada. Like when you think you can eat three at a Mexican restaurant, but you really should have only tackled two. You don’t hate the enchiladas. You just know you had too much.

3. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

I’ve said before that I love the Paranormal Activity movies. I just do. I enjoy the subtle effects and the storyline. Toby, little Kristie’s best friend, is the malevolent force behind all the chaos in the movies, and I think Toby, in his invisible form, was pretty cool.

And then they gave us the sixth installment, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.

It wasn’t exactly terrible. It just sorta ruined the air of mystery surrounding Toby. I admit I was pretty excited to find out that they were going to “show the activity” in this one, but I was pretty disappointed to see Toby as just another CGI ghost. Oh well. It didn’t ruin the series for me. I just wasn’t a fan of visible Toby.

2. Stephen King’s The Langoliers

This one’s a little obscure if you aren’t a fan of 90s-era Stephen King TV movies, but it makes the list because it annoyed me soooooo much as a kid. I was so excited about The Langoliers when it was advertised. I remember even asking one of my teachers in fifth grade if he knew what they were at recess. Surprise, surprise. He didn’t.

So I watched this movie. If you don’t know, it’s about a group of people on a plane that flies through the aurora borealis. Everyone who was awake when that happens disappears, and those that were asleep awake to find themselves wondering why the hell all these people left without their clothes, wigs, pacemakers, and dentalwork.

Thankfully, one of the sleepy passengers just so happens to be a pilot who is able to land the plane at a deserted airport. After some quick sleuthing and leaps of logic, they figure out they went back in time, proving what middle schoolers already know – history is boring.

One of the passengers, an annoying businessman expertly played by Bronson Pinchot, tells a story about the Langoliers, monsters his dad used to tell him would come and eat him alive if he was bad. They end up hearing a buzzing noise off in the distance and decide they should get out of there before the source makes it to them. When the source finally shows up – the titular Langoliers – they are nothing but flying cannonballs with teeth, eating the landscape and devouring time as we know it. WTF, guys?

1. Stephen King’s IT (*Not Pennywise. He’s Cool.*)

Yep. Another King entry. It makes me a little sad to add this one to the list, but as much as I love Stephen King’s It and as much as it holds a very special place in my heart, even I can admit the monster reveal at the end was a let-down. Maybe it was because Pennywise was so awesome. There just wasn’t anything they could do to top him, so I imagine the conversation went something like this:

Guy 1: “Okay, we need something to be the actual monster at the end, so what could be scarier than this clown guy?”

Guy 2: “Giant spider?”

Guy 3: “…Yeah. Giant spider.”

Guy 1: “I guess. Let’s tell the effects team.”

Fin.

So those are the top 5 monsters that disappointed me. Are there any that I missed that made you a little sad?

List, Movies, Top Horror Lists

Motherly Love: The Lessons We’ve Learned

May 9, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

Happy Mother’s Day!

Okay, I know Mother’s Day was yesterday, but we should really be celebrating our mothers every day. Shouldn’t we? Moms are so important. I know that I’ve been so lucky to have such a loving mother in my life. She’s funny, loving, smart – the whole package, really.

But this isn’t the place to talk about all that mushy stuff. So let’s stick with the status quo and discuss what horror movie moms have taught us:

Lesson: It’s important to have a moral compass.

Mother: Margaret White (Carrie)

Carrie’s mom just wanted her daughter to follow the righteous path. Maybe Carrie’s telekinetic powers came naturally to her. But maybe – just maybe – they came from Satan. Not Margaret White’s baby! She was ready to do anything and everything to keep her daughter from landing in the fiery pits of hell, including straight-up murdering Carrie to save her soul. It’s tough to have to make those kinds of decisions.

Lesson: It’s important to be polite. (Also, don’t wear white after Labor Day.)

Mother: Beverly Sutphin (Serial Mom)

Social niceties are important. You don’t just steal parking spaces or stand someone’s daughter up for a date in a civilized society – not without consequences. Beverly Sutphin knew this and tried her darndest to teach impolite people why they needed to die for their slights. And for wearing white after Labor Day.

Lesson: Explore your talents. If you’re good at something, it’ll pay.

Mother: Norman Bates/Mother (Psycho)

Ms. Bates was a little domineering. We all know that. But she was only looking out for the best interests of her child. Would Norman have gotten as far in life without Mother’s support? Telling him when to change the bed sheets, when to turn on the ‘Vacancy’ light, which guests to kill, how to cultivate his skill in taxidermy so that she could “live on” after death? I’ll tell you where he’d be. He’d be just another boring guy working at a failing motel. Listen to your mom. Mother knows best.

Lesson: Cleanliness is next to godliness.

Mother: Woman (The People Under the Stairs)

Little Alice was bad. She was friends with Roach, who spoke against her “parents.” Sometimes children need discipline for going against their parents’ wishes, and sometimes that discipline needs to be a scalding hot bath to wash away their sins.

Lesson: If anyone hurts my baby, there’ll be hell to pay.

Mother: Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th)

A good mother loves her child unconditionally and will go to terrifying lengths to protect/avenge him. Oh, so Jason drowned while you were having unprotected sex and getting high on all kinds of drugs? No problem. Ms. Voorhees will slice-and-dice you and every counselor there ever was. Don’t come between a mother and her child, or you might just end up dead.

These are just some of the important lessons we’ve learned from the horror movie mommies in our lives. And those are some pretty good lessons. They might be a little more violent than necessary, but well, no mother is perfect.

I mean, my mom is, but that’s beside the point.

Holiday Horror, List, Scary Stories, Top Horror Lists

Paranormal Celebrations, True Stories

May 3, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

Happy Paranormal Day! I hope everyone out there is getting a good dose of the supernatural, but in case you’re struggling to find the right way to celebrate, here are my suggestions.

Watch a little Paranormal Activity…with your imagination. I will defend these movies forever. Just imagine yourself in those situations. Would you need crazy CGI to freak out if you were in those characters’ shoes? No. You wouldn’t.
Read a good piece of supernatural fiction. My favorites are the Anita Blake and Hollows series. They might not be truly scary, but I love the magical worlds Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison create.
Get lost in the true and not-so-true creepy stories on Reddit on subreddits like NoSleep or Paranormal. I’d also suggest searching for creepy stories on the AskReddit subreddit. I love reading about people’s scary experiences.

Now for a true story. Let me set the stage.

I was a freshman in high school, and my mother, sister, and I had just gotten home after a grocery trip one day after school. As my mother began to prepare our dinner and my sister started to pass some time on the computer in the dining room, I remembered I had a permission slip that I needed signed for a field trip. So, I went to my room at the back of the house to search my backpack.

My room was right across from my parents’ bedroom, and at this time my bed was situated where the end of the bed was even with the edge of my door frame about 10 feet across the room. My mother that day was wearing a cream-colored sweater. This comes into play in a minute.

While I was searching for the permission slip in my backpack at the foot of the bed, I heard my dad come home. He was talking to my mom and sister, and I could hear them joking around. I finally found the piece of paper I was looking for, and while I was wrestling it from the other papers in my bag, I saw very clearly with my peripheral vision my mother walk past my doorway and into her bedroom into her closet.

Or so I thought.

I told her to wait one second while I got her to sign the paper, and I heard a very clear, “Hmm?” I immediately followed her into her room with the paper and a pen and turned into the walk-in closet.

No one was there.

I stood there for a few seconds, really confused because I had JUST SEEN HER WALK IN THERE and she had JUST ANSWERED ME. I walked back to the kitchen and saw that my mom was exactly where I left her, washing vegetables for dinner. My sister was still on the computer, and my dad was taking off his work boots.

What. The. Hell.

I walked back to my parents’ room, but – of course – nothing was there. I didn’t really expect there to be. I was so weirded out that I didn’t even make a big deal about it, which is pretty strange because I’m all about this stuff normally. I just couldn’t believe that had just happened. I ended up telling my mom about it one day, and she said that the house could be creepy sometimes but that it was probably nothing. My sister thought it was cool and said she felt creepy in the back of the house at times.

I forgot about it for the longest time until one day my family and I were eating dinner at a restaurant in Branson. We were talking about creepy things, and my dad happened to mention that he thought there was something in our house. He said he’d seen out of the corner of his eyes a Native American woman in a cream-colored shawl walk around our house at least a few times.

Say what now?

I had a momentary freak-out when I heard this and told him about the woman I had seen go into his bedroom closet. He just said that he believed it. My parents’ house is located in Eastern Oklahoma, and there are quite a few Native American burial grounds close to our house. It’s very possible we have a few ghosts that call our land home.

Each of my family members’ have seen or felt creepy things in the back of our house from time to time. My sister has even had a few things moved from her shelves and placed on the floor in her room.

Silly ghosts.

So that’s my story. It’s not flashy, but it’ll do. Anyone out there have a creepy paranormal encounter? I’d love to hear it.

List, Movie Reviews, Movies, Top Horror Lists

The Fright Owl’s Top Twenty Favorite Horror Movies

April 19, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

Since this is the inaugural Top Tuesday post, I thought I’d give my audience a little peek inside my head and list my top 20 favorite horror movies. It was just going to be a top 10 at first, but that just made me sad.

So here goes…

20) Evil Dead: How could I not put Evil Dead on the list? Sam Raimi + Bruce Campbell = Imperfect Perfection

19) Paranormal Activity: These movies get a lot more hate than they deserve. I love that they aren’t in-your-face with the effects and that you have to use your imagination. Plus, I’m pretty special because I’m listed in the credits on the DVD. Yeah. It’s there along with a billion other people’s names, but DON’T YOU TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!

18) Trick ‘r Treat: I love a good, Halloween-themed, intersecting bunch of stories as much as the next person. That’s why this one is probably on your list, too. And Sam is just freakin’ adorable.

17) The Conjuring: Of the new horror movies that have come out recently, this is only second to one. It doesn’t have to try too hard to get the creep factor across.

16) Sinister: This is that one. Love, love, LOVE this movie. The music, the direction, the story…all gold in my book.

15) Scream: Ah, the movie that spurred a rash of slasher movies in the late 90s. Where would we be without Billy Loomis and Stu Macher? I can tell you one thing. There would be no Ghostface, and that is not a world I want to live in.

14) Poltergeist (1982): ”You son of a bitch! You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn’t you? You son of a bitch, you left the bodies, and you only moved the headstones! You only moved the headstones! Why!? Why!?” Best. Quote. Ever. Fin.

13) Stephen King’s It: This was my favorite movie in kindergarten, and Pennywise will forever hold a special place in my heart. Now, it has a special place on my list.

12) The Thing: Doom? Check. Gloom? Check. Creepy awesome severed alien head that grows spider legs and shrieks? Check.

11) Shaun of the Dead: All three movies in the Cornetto trilogy are fantastic in my book.

10) Dawn of the Dead (2004): I love zombies. That is all.

9) Psycho: I love the history of this movie just as much as I love the movie itself.

8) Child’s Play: Before Chucky became a wisecracking serial killer with a wife and kid, he just wanted to take over little Andy Barclay’s body with his crazy voodoo spell. These movies turned into dark comedies, but the first in the series was seriously creepy.

7) Halloween: Oh, Michael. I could watch you walk slowly and menacingly for hours. And I have.

6) A Nightmare on Elm Street: I don’t want to glorify a burned child molester, but Freddy’s got it going on in the fright department. The scene where his arms are stretched in Tina’s nightmare? ‘Nuff said.

5) Rosemary’s Baby: This movie is so tense without having to do much. Poor Rosemary. Happy me.

4) The Exorcist: No other possession movie has been able to come close to the horror created in this movie. Perfect.

3) The Shining: Ghost stories and haunted houses have always been some of my favorite things, and Kubrick created such a foreboding atmosphere with this movie that it’s hard not to rank it higher.

2) The Silence of the Lambs: I know. You might try to argue that this one’s more in the psychological thriller category, but go head. I’m ready. Just try to tell me that the world’s most famous cannibal doesn’t also belong on a horror list. You can’t. Not possible. Point: me.

1) The Ring: If you saw my post on Friday, you know I have a little bit of history with this movie. It’s the first movie that I saw in theaters that actually stuck with me way after it was over, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be one of those movies that I look back on when I’m older and think how cool it was that I saw it opening night in the theater.

Wow. That was so much harder than I thought it would be, and there are so many other movies that I love that didn’t make the list. I almost feel guilty that I didn’t add more, but who has time to read a top 100?

So, what’s your favorite scary movie?

Books, Creepy Crafts, Halloween, List, Movie Reviews, Props, Scary Stories, Television

It Begins

April 8, 2016 thefrightowl Leave a comment

I am a horror fan. If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you are, too.

I started this blog because I love to write, and as the saying goes, write what you know. I love scary movies, scary books, creepy history, horror survival video games, urban legends, cryptozoology, haunted houses, creepy crafts, and – most importantly (to me anyway) – Halloween. I also collect anything with a skull on it and keep a skeleton in my backseat. No, it’s not a statement on the importance of wearing seatbelts. It just makes me smile. And it gives me someone to talk to when I’m driving alone.

So, basically, I live and breathe horror. It’s what I love. It’s what I know.

I plan on posting at least twice a week to start. But who knows? Mr. Muse could attack at any moment. My topics will include:

Movie Reviews: Um, yeah. It’s a horror blog. What did you expect?

Halloween: So I’m a little obsessed with Halloween. I plan for it all year long. I’ll review local haunted houses, Halloween merchandise, special events, and any other Halloween-related topics that might pop up.

Lists: I’m pretty OCD (self-diagnosed), so lists are one of my favorite things. What kinds of lists, you may ask? One day I might rank my favorite zombie movies and then post a list of my favorite creepy video game villains the next.

DIY Creepy Crafts: I love being creative, and because my love of all things horror-related is pretty severe, I do a lot of creepy little crafts. One of my biggest projects is a haunted dollhouse (that used to have its own blog – very short-lived). I’ll post updates and pictures of the dollhouse as well as Halloween projects I’m working on.

Other Topics: I’ll also discuss creepy history, scary websites, video games, books, cryptozoology, urban legends, etc… I get distracted easily, so I don’t want to limit myself to one subject.

I’m excited to get started. I hope you enjoy my blog!

For those who prefer a little fright in their day