A number of different elements can make a good horror movie - whether that's creating an incredibly tense atmosphere, lulling the audience into a false sense of security or even well-done jump scares and gore. Some people have examples of horror movies being too much for them, so much so that they can't finish them - including the world-famous author known as the 'King of Horror'.
Stephen King has written horror classics such as The Shining, Misery, and It, creating some of the most unsettling scenes and in some cases characters within them. Yet there's one film he admits he couldn't finish the first time around.
On June 19, 1999, Stephen was out for a walk near his home in Maine when a distracted van driver hit him. Stephen sustained serious injuries, including a wide gash on his forehead, broken ribs, broken bones in his right hip and leg, and a punctured lung. He said himself that doctors were at one point considering amputating one of his legs - Stephen even said he would retire from writing because of the pain he was in.
Thankfully, Stephen went on to make a full recovery and continues to write to this day. And it was while he was receiving treatment in the hospital for these injuries he experienced a film even he couldn't get through.
Speaking on History of Horror, Stephen said: 'I was in the hospital and I was doped up - my son brought a VHS tape of it and he said 'you've got to watch this.' Halfway through it, I said 'turn it off, it's too freaky.' The film in question is the 1999 cult classic The Blair Witch Project.
It's a supernatural horror movie with a synopsis on IMDb that says: 'Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.' This found footage is what the audience sees - directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez created the fictional Blair Witch legend.
It was filmed entirely on a camcorder, a technique which has since picked up again in the genre and used in movies like Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity, to give it a more real, authentic feel. The film had a relatively low budget but went on to make tens of millions, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time - it's thought to be one of the first films marketed almost entirely on the internet.
Stephen was that taken aback by the film he even wrote about it in a 2010 republish of his book Danse Macabre, a non-fiction book about horror fiction in print, TV, radio, film, and comics. 'One thing about Blair Witch: the damn thing looks real. Another thing about the Blair Witch: the damn thing feels real,' he wrote.
'And because it does, it's like the worst nightmare you ever had, the one you woke from gasping and crying with relief because you thought you were buried alive and it turned out the cat jumped up on your bed and went to sleep on your chest.' See, there's nothing wrong with admitting a horror movie is too much for you if even the legendary Stephen King does it!
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