The answers to our horror visual quiz and TWO winners!

Congratulations to Vasilj Milosevic and Willie Stevens who correctly identified all 25 horror movies from the featured gifs.  Here are your answers:

1 = The Shining

Lots of great, hair-raising moments in this one, but the twins are my favorite.  A seminal moment in movie history, so I’d say this was an easy one.

2 = The Ring/Ringu

I practically jumped out of my skin the first time I witnessed Sadako crawl out of a t.v. screen.  Surprisingly, this is one of those rare instances where the remake is as good as the original.

3 = Don’t Look Now

This one scared the beejeebers out of me when I was a kid watching this movie at home alone on a night when my parents were out.  Donald Pleasance running around Venice, desperate to track down the ghost of his recently deceased daughter.  Whatta surprise!

4 = Blair Witch Project

In all fairness, reports of moviegoers vomiting during screenings had more to do with the shaky cam than the actual scares.  Still, this film boasts easily the most terrifying capture in horror found footage history.

5 = Ju-On/The Grudge

I was actually torn between the woman under the sheets and the anxious little ghost boy at the foot of the bed but elected to go with the former because, as we all know, the safest place at night IS under the covers.  Usually.

6 = Carrie

This one was a little harder but I think pretty recognizable by those who’ve sat through this memorable scare.  I remember hearing that this entire graveside sequence was actually shot  backwards.

7 =Kairo

This one is more of a thinking person’s horror film, an exploration of philosophical terror, with some truly eerie images – like this limping ghost woman.  This is one of those more common instances where the North American remake is far worse than the original.

8 = The Exorcist

I could have gone with the by now classic 180 degree head turn but elected to go with the notable backwards crawl.

9 = Event Horizon

I know a lot of people who really hated this movie, but I think it’s the perfect marriage of sci-fi and horror.

10 = Audition

Apparently when this movie screened at a New York festival, audience members actually got up and left during the film’s infamous “ballerina with a wire saw” scene.  As alarming as that scene was, however, THIS was the shot that made me jump – and offered the first hint at the horrible things to come.

11 = REC/Quarantine

Never watched the North American remake but the Spanish original was all sorts of terrifying – especially this shot.

12 = It Follows

Loved this weird little movie – up until the swimming pool scene.  But up until then, it offered up some truly great scares…like this one.

13 = Dark Water

This was a tough one to identify but the movie ranks as one of my very favorite J-Horrors.  The missing child, the growing water spot on the ceiling, the hair in the tap water.  And that final elevator realization – if my daughter’s out there in the hall, then who is behind me in the elevator?

14 = The Descent

Just the very idea of spelunking fills me with dread – and obviously with good reason as this film will attest.

15 = Phantasm

So, admittedly, it hasn’t aged well but as a 12 year old kid, this movie was pretty damn scare – especially this surprising reclamation by The Tall Man.

16 = Salem’s Lot

Not a theatrical release but a television adaptation that offered some surprisingly effective scares.  Like – Hey, Ralphie’s back!

17 = El Orfanato/The Orphanage

Next to clowns, there’s nothing scarier than kids.  And this movie proves as much.

18 = The Babadook

This movie offered up two theoretical horrors: a ghastly children’s book character come to life, and the prospect of having to raise a kid as annoying as this one.

19 = Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

I remember seeing this movie as a kid and being traumatized by the shot of the dog with the human face.  In retrospect, this movie’s closing shot was the far more effective scare.

20 = Carnival Of Souls

Another tough one to identify, but it’s a true classic.  The fact that it’s in black and white just makes the visuals all the more frightening.

21 = Sperloos/The Vanishing

Didn’t see the remake which I heard had a ridiculous happy ending, but the original became a classic because of its decidedly Unhappy ending.

22 = Misery

One of my very favorite horror movies; certainly my favorite Stephen King adaptation.

23 = Jacob’s Ladder

Another classic.  That hospital sequence still gives me nightmares.

24 = Prince of Darkness

Probably the most difficult of all the gifs to identify.  Kudos to those of you who recognized this macabre supernatural film featuring the late Donald Pleasance.

25 = The Visit

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this movie – despite that precocious kid I was really hoping would meet a horrible end.