I vaguely remember watching Bullitt on TV when I was about 8 and being aghast when the two guys following Steve McQueen burned up in their car.
Vertigo - I saw it on Saturday Night at the Movies and lost interest after the opening rooftop chase. After passing 50 years of my life it clicked finally. I enjoy more each time I watch it now. I'm 68 now.
My dad took me along to see whatever he wanted to see, rating and content be damned. I remember bits and pieces of seeing Running Scared in the theater (Billy Crystal, Gregory Hines). That would have been when I was about 8 or maaaaybe 9. For sure not age appropriate. I was more impressed a few years later when I got to go see Total Recall. “Baby you make me wish I had 3 hands”. Adolescent mind blower.
When I was about 10 or so, I saw 1972's "Fuzz" on TV. As part of the plot, the villain would pour gasoline on homeless people and set them on fire. Kinda messed me up!
Allow me to explain: 1. B**tle fan reads topic on SHMF. 2. B**tle fan posts with B**tle reference, relevant to topic or not.
Omega Man and THX 1138 in 1971. My sister and I snuck in and were terrified. Not movies for 11 years old to watch. We were scared for a week and I mean sacred.
I have suffered from arachnophobia since watching "The Incredible Shrinking Man" at a very young age. It was often shown on Saturday afternoons so it wasn't my parents' fault.
“Earth vs the Flying Saucers” when I was 8 years old - great Ray Harryhausen effects! I have it on blu-ray now and still enjoy watching it from time to time. Later on tv seeing William Shatner on The Twilight Zone in “Terror at 20,000 Feet.”
This reminded me of seeing The Kingdom Of The Spiders. Really creeped me out. At the end the whole town is webbed in.
I was too young to understand Cries and Whispers in 1972. Solemn people dressed in white and black in red rooms. As I was watching I knew the film would become important to me later. I was scared to death by the wicked witch in Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, especially when Snow White ate the apple. I thought the Dwarfs were a little creepy, too. That was a re- release in 1964, I think it was. I was horrified when Bambi's mother was killed. They were just cartoons. The film that really traumatized me was the musical Oliver! when Oliver Reed murders sweet Shani Wallis. We see it coming and I was saying to myself no! don't show it! and they showed it.
I was 11 when I bought a ticket to see Poltergeist. Apparently the MPPA had given it an "R" rating, but relented when Steven Spielberg complained it should be rated PG. Nonsense - that movie freaked the crap out of my 11-12 year old mind.
Yeah! Although A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's revenge is certainly 'in the closet'. Or is it out? I'm not sure the movie itself even knows.
Not sure how old I was, I'm thinking 7 - 8ish. The House on Haunted Hill, 1959. Terrified, could not sleep all night.
Good choice. Although Dr. Strangelove came out at the same time and smashed Fail Safe at the box-office.
My Mom was a horror fan, and in the early 80s cable tv was the new thing and loaded with lots of said content. No restrictions then like in the years later, so I was exposed to a lot of films I was probably way too young to view. But I LOVED them..all those now-considered-classics from the late 70s / very early 80s. 'The Howling'...'The Thing'...'American Werewolf in London'....'Salem's Lot'....'Alien'.....'The Exorcist' ...various 'Jaws' chapters.....dozens more. Gore didn't bother me really even at a young age, as I already had a understanding that it was all 'pretend' and just 'for the movies'. But there was still a LOT of stuff in those films that could effect you on other levels. The two films that I can immediately think of that messed with my head are 'The Howling' and 'The Day After'. 'Howling' I first saw in 81' on cable tv, I was age 10. Loved it...still do...but the 'mating' scene with the matriarch werewolf and the leads' hubby was definately ....impactful. Still one of my favorite movies. Anyone who was a kid or a teen at the time 'The Day After' aired on network tv in 1984 will probably relate to it messing with your head as well at a young age. I was 13 and yeah....I will always remember that poor horse getting 'zapped' during the nuclear explosion. At the time it was released, there was a lot of talk about it effecting youths in negative ways. Hey, I turned out okay! ( starts flipping lip with finger...bbbbbbb) -
The first time I can remember seeing an episode of Star Trek was its first episode "The Man Trap" and I remember the salt monster using its sucker hands to kill people. It was probably in syndication at this time which would put me around 7 years old.