I haven't seen this movie, but a friend was taken to see it by his mother when he was six years old. He claims it traumatized him and that he had nightmares for years afterward. That was probably a judgment error by his mother. Can a movie give you post-traumatic stress syndrome? I remember as a child watching a preview scene from the original "The Fly" after my father had gotten up to use the restroom, and just about ******* in my pants.
I also, was taken to see this by my parents when I was 6, and had nightmares for weeks afterward. You have to understand that in those days, parents didn't even read reviews of films to find out what they were about. My mom just said "Oh look, there's a new Bette Davis picture playing, anything with her is good!". Little did she realize there was a graphic meat cleaver murder in the first ten minutes! Anyway, we all enjoyed the film, but wow did it have an impact on me that has lasted to this day. For one thing, it made me a huge Davis fan. Also, I couldn't comprehend in my 6 year old mind, that the homely white trash maid was the same lady who played Endora on Bewitched. The fact that she could be so completely different gave me a lifelong fascination with acting. It still is my all time favorite movie, and I can't even count how many dozens of times I have watched it.
shareMy friend's mother was probably thinking the same thing. I'll tell him about the lady who played Endora on Bewitched. It may give him a similar appreciation for acting. We tend to forget the professionalism and hard work involved with making movies.
I invited a friend over to watch this. She told me she would, but said, "Don't expect it to scare me--it's an old black-and-white movie." Well, as I fully expected, it scared the hell out of her. Suspense is better than slashing anytime.
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yes this movie scared the crap out of me when I was a young pup --- and also I remember going to the drive in with the family to see the sound of music, and they had a preview of "whatever happened to baby jane.....". lol even the previews gave me nightmares ----- also for your fans of black and white horror suspense, Id recommend the original Haunting with julie harris, and the original diabolique.....
shareYou are SO right about THE HAUNTING and DIABOLIQUE and for a suspense film I would ADD WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
I saw it as a youngster myself. The scene of the head rolling down the stairs freaked me out but I don't remember having nightmares in particular about the show. It was just memorable. And those Bette Davis eyes! That probably freaked more people than anything.
shareWhen I was a kid, seeing Velma staring up from the bottom of the staircase is what scared me the most.
This is a wicked good film ~
11/16/12: The day the Twinkie died :(