The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004) User Reviews

Rollicking romp through thrillers

[flovece · 9/10 · 29 March 2005]

It's amazing that something this smart/insightful can be so much fun. The producers took a gaggle of talking heads and had them comment on a clip filled countdown of scary/suspenseful movie moments — in everything from horror/SF movies to things like Wait Until Dark. (The full list is at Bravo.com.) Rerun a few times a year, it stays watchable even after you've seen bits and pieces of it already. (It's five hours.)

Basically it's like those VH1 music countdowns, and the fun is in the variety of who they picked to comment. These include big-name filmmakers and authors, offbeat fans like the Swedish Bikini Team (or the St. Pauli Girls or whoever the hell those blond twins are), and film experts such as my favorite, the ever-fabulous MAITLAND McDONAGH, whose books, such as "Filmmaking on the Fringe," "The 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time" and the definitive Dario Argento bio, "Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds," are damn good readin'.

Fantastic!

[wolfofmoonandsun · 8/10 · 22 April 2005]

List specials come and go, but "100 Scariest Movie Moments of All Time" is different. Made by Bravo and done VH1 style, the best word to describe it is just "fun." A group of guests were rounded up to discuss each movie in turn, and they're a wide-ranging bunch at that. From the masters of horror (Stephen King, Wes Craven, etc.) to comedians to people who have nothing to do with movies at all, everyone has something to say. I sometimes think the Coors Twins were just hired to recite the "Come play with us. Come play with us," line from "The Shining" in an eerie unison.

The horror movies themselves don't seem to be in any particular order. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is ranked high above "Child's Play", and the #1 spot will likely leave you scratching your head. But it's not a big flaw. The movies too are wide-ranging. The big boys of terror have their moment in the spotlight. But also expect to see obscure/or foreign films that, while not as popular as Freddy and Jason, can be more terrifying than you'd ever imagine.

The list itself might be scary, but there's no shortage of humor. The commentators don't hesitate to joke about even the scariest moments; they're funny, too. One such moment is after the hobbling scene in "Misery", and someone says "I didn't walk for, like, six weeks after that." This gives the whole special the feeling you're discussing horror movies with a group of friends.

Bravo shows reruns occasionally, so I'd recommend checking the guides. You won't be disappointed by this one. At least it's better than that awful "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs...Ever".

An Impressive Collection

[Gafke · 9/10 · 30 October 2005]

100 scary moments from 100 movies, and not all of the movies featured are from the horror genre. This is an incredibly well done, informative and often very funny countdown show, featuring some very frightening moments from the scariest and most disturbing movies ever made.

Not content to stick with the mainstream scares of Freddy, Jason and Michael (although they are all to be found here as well!), "100 Scariest Movie Moments" also brings us images from forgotten, neglected and such controversial films as "Deliverance", Fulci's "The Beyond", the harrowing Dutch film "Spoorloos" and even such family fare as "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Wizard of Oz" - neither of which are films typically thought of as being scary but which contain some seriously disturbing imagery nevertheless! The show doesn't flinch either as it shows us eyeballs pierced in "Zombi", the nauseating disemboweling scene from "The Last House on the Left" and some naked butt from the transformation scene in "An American Werewolf in London."

The commentary is fascinating as well. Rob Riggle and Rob Huebel provide some of the best comedic moments as they enthusiastically comment on and re-enact scenes from "Psycho", "Blue Velvet" and "Jurassic Park." Interesting facts and fascinating memories are provided by the filmmakers themselves and longtime fans offer amusing recollections, recalling exactly how scared they were upon viewing the scene in question the first time.

All in all, "100 Scariest Movie Moments" is a bit like sitting around with your geeky horror fan friends and enthusiastically comparing notes as you run screaming down memory lane. Some horror fans will undoubtedly be disappointed and screaming "Foul!" with the revelation of #1, but one must remember that this isn't a countdown confined strictly to the horror genre. Okay, I admit - I agree that #3 and #1 should have switched places, but it's a small gripe. The show is incredibly entertaining. It is by turns funny, nauseating and intelligent.

Be warned: this show clocks in at around 5 hours, and it's very addictive. Make sure you have the time to sit in front of your TV, or else have a blank tape handy. Once you start watching it, you won't want to stop.

Great!

[jellyneckr · 6 May 2005]

I watched this mini-series when it originally aired around Halloween time of last year and was quite impressed by how entertaining it was. It's very different in tone from the list specials that are shown constantly on VH1 all the time. Despite some of the commentators making occasional jokes here and there, this is much more serious (and more interesting) than the VH1 list specials. Among the interviewees are Clive Barker, Bruce Campbell, John Carpenter, Courtney Cox, Wes Craven, Sean S. Cunnigham, Joe Dante, Stephen King, Leonard Maltin, George A. Romero, Tom Savini, Stan Winston and best of all, Jennifer Tilly who shows her amusing sense of humor and odd charm. If you are a big horror movie fan or are just a fan of movies in general, you should enjoy this. I'm giving it a nine out of ten since I didn't fully agree with the list.

Very entertaining.

[BuffyCordyWillow-1 · 9/10 · 1 July 2006]

I watched this when it first aired a few years ago, and I've seen it a few times since. It's very entertaining, and I've seen a lot of really good films thanks to it's list.

It's addictive as well. If you haven't seen it before, once you start, you'll want to watch the whole thing. Which could be a good or bad thing, because it's 5 hours long.

I don't agree with some of the choices, but overall I think they did a very good job. They added some of my personal favorites ("The Devil's Backbone", "Audition") that may be unfamiliar to a lot of people watching the show.

Definitely worth checking out.

I always love watching it

[my-dog2 · 9/10 · 14 November 2006]

I've seen the entire 100-movie countdown 5 or 6 times now. Even so, I love it every time. Every time through it feels like a new countdown. Because of this special, I've now seen many more horror films. I admit they got some interesting people to do interviews with, like the Coors Light twins...maybe they were only added to do the 'come play with us' line from The Shining. Regardless, I enjoyed the interviews between clips; they added some needed humor and insight.

Though this list isn't a perfect rank of the scariest movie moments, it still knows which are scarier than others. Maybe they should've called it "Scariest movie moments" and left it at that, without it being a countdown. Then everyone can be happy.

A well-assembled list

[MiPueblo · 8/10 · 19 April 2005]

The 100 Scariest Movie Moments is a well-assembled list of the classic moments in horror cinema. It seems that the scary moments are ranked according to how shocking they were when they were first released in theaters. When I saw the number one moment I went "Huh?!" but then I remembered how shocking it was when it came out, and, bingo. There's your scariest movie moment of all time! Features interviews with some of the modern 'masters' of horror (Wes Craven, Stephen King, John Carpenter, George Ramero), stars of their films, and the critics who were scared by them. Though some of the interviews are rather bland, others give some interesting insight on the films in the countdown.

Fun stuff.

[outhereallnight · 8/10 · 20 June 2005]

I may not have agreed with the placing of each film (the final five could do with some switching around), but by and large I had no complaints about the rankings and enjoyed seeing many older movies and a few good lost-in-the-shuffle films featured. Several of the films were those not generally considered horror per se, and it was nice to see them included.

Many of the commentators had insightful, interesting or just plain entertaining observations. It's rare that a show such as this is devoid of particularly annoying participants, but everyone here was fun and lively. If Bravo decides to give this special another run this upcoming Halloween season, I'd certainly recommend catching it.

Never get's old to me.

[Fetusman82 · 10/10 · 5 June 2006]

I watched this during the October of 2004, and I fell in love with it immediately. I, who had recently fell in love with films at the time this aired, had not watched many films. I didn't know where to begin. I was newly introduced to horror films and had only watched The Shining so far. And then one night, I caught this special by coincidence and was introduced to 100 horror films, most I have not heard of. A year later I had watched a lot of those films on the list and watched the special again and loved it more and more every viewing. Since my first viewing, I had watched more than horror films, but horror is still one of my all time favorite genres of film. I continue to watch it whenever it's on. I appreciate how they include the silent classics like Nosferatu and The Phantom of the Opera and the use of foreign films like Suspiria, Demons, and Audition. My favorites made the list, that made me really happy, like The Shining, The Exorcist, JAWS, and Night of the Living Dead. I do wish Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer's home invasion scene and The Eraserhead baby scenes had made the list, but it's good enough. And because they didn't forget the classics it's a perfect list, and the perfect countdown. Watch this if you get the chance, it's five hours, but it makes an unforgettable night.

100 Scary Moments

[I_Am_The_Taylrus · 10/10 · 30 August 2006]

SPOILERS

This is a countdown to the scariest movie moment of all time WHEN IN WAS RELEASED IN THEARTERS! A lot of you are thinking why the Jaws scene was the scariest movie moment? It was freaky in theaters, wasn't it? Anyway, this is a very good list and one of my favorite countdowns of all time. I also like it that there is comedy in it. Rob Riggle and Rob Huebel do a very good comedic part in this countdown. I also find it fresh to not hear bleeping out when they have curse words. Instead, they stop the word abruptly. The only problem that I had is that the moments that they picked were not really scary and the movies had scarier moments. Overall, this is a good list.

10/10

Recommended titles: Jaws, Alien, The Exorcist, Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Shining, and The Silence of the Lambs.

Questionable Placement - Awful Ending

[MishMishCakeeee · 7/10 · 3 January 2007]

It was Halloween when I watched this, and I was psyched with my popcorn and overly-caffeinated soda on the sofa. I was looking forward to seeing some really scary movie moments, and I loved the first part of the show, but after realizing how long the show was I just watched it out of obligation to see the final pick.

I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, and at this point we're to about number five or so, where I see "The Exorcist", which in my mind is *the* scariest, so I figure that there must be some horrifying movie at number one.

Jaws… A movie about a shark… Look, if you're that afraid of a shark than you should stay away from the water. It's not a movie that haunts you at night, unless you live on a boat, or in the middle of the Atlantic!

Is there any way that i can get this on DVD!?

[Scottytrotts · 10/10 · 20 June 2007]

Whats better then a scary movie with scary scenes and people making some of the funniest comments? A list of 100 scary movies with the 100 scariest movie moments of all time with the coolest people commenting on them! I really want to know if there's a way to own this on DVD, i love watching this every time it comes on, it introduced me to so many scary movies that i had yet to hear about that i want to see, and the stuff they show in it is unbelievably spectacular. And the people interviewed through out the whole thing are so funny and cool. Plus if it wasn't for this movie i probably wouldn't have gotten hooked on my newly found favorite horror movie of all time, George A. Romero's Dawn Of The Dead. Haha to be honest though the scene they showed from Dawn Of The Dead i found to be quite hilarious. but yeah it's so much fun watching this thing. So please if anyone knows where to get this on DVD, let me know!

Funny, not scary

[ChelseaGirl98 · 2/10 · 2 November 2006]

"The 100 Scariest Movie Moments" is not very scary. The vast majority of the clips are simply incredibly disgusting and bloody. Disembowelment, eyeball piercing, etc...this is not "scary" in the true sense of the word. The film really should have been titled, "The 100 Most Revolting Movie Moments." The filmmaker simply does not know what horror really is. There is way too much slasher stuff and not enough psychological terror. I was happy to see a few of my favorites on the list, including Rosemary's Baby and a wonderful Spanish film called The Devil's Backbone. I wish there had been more films like that instead of the stupid Friday-the-13th-type movies.

The people who provided the commentary were, in some cases, perfectly logical--horror-film actors and directors, for instance--but others were ridiculous. The Coors (or whatever brand it was) beer twin bimbos? Huh?? All in all, a waste of my viewing time.