What non-horror films have freaked you out?

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A thread was posted on hear a while ago about getting freaked out by comedy films, which is something I can realte to.

So my question to you is, what is the most un-scary film that's freaked you out?

Mine would have to be There's Something About Mary, I didn't even make it to halfway through the film before I had to walk out and go somewhere quiet to calm down.

Quite a few films have had bits that have freaked me out, even though they weren't horror films, but if I had to choose one above all others, it would be The End of Evangelion. Mind screw, lots of blood and violence, and plenty of characters who are walking SNAFUs. It was hard to watch, and I don't intend to again for the foreseeable future.

Many other films I find hard to watch for more mundane reasons. I have a hard time watching dramatic conflict in some cases, especially where the conflict is out of a misunderstanding or seems out of character. Although I could name many TV shows where this has happened for me, one of the biggest bits in film was at the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where Wonka, as a frankly cruel test of character, berates Charlie and Grandpa Joe for drinking the Fizzy Lifting Drink (okay, it nearly killed them, but Wonka's reasons were fairly petty) and telling them that they have lost the contest by default. It is only when Charlie, deciding not to take up Slugworth's offer of industrial espionage, places the Everlasting Gobstopper he pocketed with Wonka that Wonka declares Charlie to have passed the contest.

I guess Spirited Away has freaked me out a bit, posibly why I find it fairly hard to watch it over others. For one thing what hapend to the girl's parents got me, the baby and generally when they got back to the car.

Casper when the father became a ghost, plus the sequrl where a lady gets turned into a goat.

I got to the bit in Spirited Away where the parents turned into pigs and that was enough for me too.

Charlie and Chocolate Factory is also a no-go but it's the bit where the kid gets sucked up the pipe in the chocolate river that I can't watch.

I think it was a scene in Scary Movie 1. Shorty (Marlon Wayans) was in some closet and this "pretty girl" comes near him. We think she's all pretty but then a close up of her face is very scary looking. That scene just scared me.

Oddly, The Phantom Tollbooth.

I think it was the whole live-action to cartoon thing that freaked me out. I was really young at the time and the very concept frightened me.

Would you mind explaining what freaked you out in more detail? The only things I can think of are the scene where Ben Stiller gets his penis caught in his trouser zip and the violent behaviour of Mary's ret*d brother. Beyond that, the film is in a rather soft and light-hearted vein.

In response to the question, I have three films:

Pinocchio

The Pleasure Island scene where all the naughty boys turn into donkeys.

Kingpin

The bit at the beginning where Woody Harrelson gets his hand fed through the bowling ball machine and ends up having to use a metal hook.

Ghostbusters

This is my all-time-favourite film. The Magic montage scene towards the end always gives me the creeps as does all the scenes involving Zull, Gozor et al. That's why I love the film so much; the sheer intensity.

Last edited by EnglishInvader on 15 Nov 2010, 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I saw part of that movie, maybe it was the several parts where the dude was stalking her while she was undressing? That was definitely disconcerting to watch.

Well, this doesn't happen so much nowadays. I mean, when I was a kid I was also freaked out by Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, especially the part where the fat kid gets stuck in the tube. I've always had a fear of being stuck like that, with my arms pinned (there's actually a name for that phobia, can't remember what) and I wonder if I had it before or after seeing that film! Also, Watership Down. I've never forgotten the sight of the rabbit caught in the snare, blood all around its mouth, struggling to breathe. Great kids movie, folks.

As an adult, as I said, not so much. I've seen movies that were too much for me, like Me, Myself and Irene. Didn't get past the pooping on the lawn/cut to the soft-serve ice cream machine. Ew. These days, the closest I come to freaking out from a non-horror movie is if I have to hear or see anything from a Broadway musical type of thing. I cannot sit still and watch packs of people camping it up. It sets off something primal within me... I think it's called the fight-or-flight reflex.

I can recall coming out of the theater a few years ago after seeing The Departed and being so distracted thinking about the ending that I had difficulty driving home. Also, I rented Akira a while back, and the scene where Kaori got crushed to death kinda freaked me out.

That happened to me too, though I didn't know whether it counted as horror or not (certainly freaky kid espers, disembodied brains, and Tetsuo blobbing out would count towards it being horror, IMO), but Kaori being turned into tomato juice squicked me out.

The scene in Benny & Joon where Joon has a mental breakdown on the bus really bothers me and is difficult for me to watch. The part in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland where the Mad Hatter has a mental breakdown while being held captive in the Red Queen's castle makes me feel the exact same. It's a brief scene, a lot briefer than the Benny & Joon one, but if it had gone on any longer than it had, I would have had to fast-forward through it.

I also get freaked out by the scene in What About Bob where Dr. Marvin chokes on a piece of chicken. The fact that none of the other characters know how to properly perform the Heimlich Maneuver makes it especially distressing. On a similar note, I can't watch the scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where the dog chokes on a bone it found in the garbage. The sound of dogs choking/vomiting is one of the most horrid noises I have ever heard.

From what I can remember it was all of the above and more. I just don't deal with gross-out comedy very well.

IdahoRose - I haven't seen Tim Burton's version of Alice yet as I'm a bit worried about freaking out about it (I love Burton's films but sometimes the overall dark tone to them gets me a bit depressed for a couple of days afterwards). I saw Benny & Joon a lot when I was a teenager but the only thing I can really remember about it now is that I thought Johnny Depp looked HOT in it.

For a while I had a job doing quality control for a company that made broadcast tapes for various TV shows. "Seventh Heaven" was one of the shows I had to QC. There was one episode where the children in the show are all excitedly waiting for Christmas. I got very uncomfortable watching the show and had to take a break from it.

What really bothered me was the feeling of greed and almost lustful desire for "stuff" I don't much like Christmas or birthdays specifically because I have a problem with wanting more than I deserve. I guess I fear my own sense of greed so the show really bothered me.

Lion King 1 & 1/2

there was one episode of The Simpsons that freaked me out. Homer jumped into what he thought was a watering hole, but it had dried up. when the family went to investigate the source pipe, a dead body fell out. i know it's only a cartoon, but it still freaks me out. i couldn't sleep for a week.

otherwise, the scene in There's Something About Mary when the guy, Healy, gets his peenz stuck in his zipper. it's both funny and horrifying at the same time. maybe it's funny because it's horrifying. that's a good way to look at it. :3
now when you're scared, you just have to laugh at it and everything's okay.