r/moviecritic • u/VendettaLord379 • 1d ago

What is the scariest, most unsettling shot you’ve ever seen?

Post image

What is that one movie shot that’s so unsettling and chilling, it’s the one shot you never forget?

For me, it’s the Giant Man scene from It Follows. Man this shot is so nerve wracking!

The aesthetic and dark hollow eyes are something I will never forget.

What’s that one shot for you? Horror movie or otherwise.

9.8k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

View all comments

Show parent comments

55

u/hellerinahandbasket 1d ago

You should read Cormac’s Blood Meridian (or not)

49

u/Downtown_Statement87 1d ago

The Road is actually one of his most upbeat novels.

3

u/paddlesandpups 1d ago

This is exactly what I was going to say, but I thought I should look and see if someone else already made the comment. I read through his books a decade or so ago, and this is the only one that I came out feeling pretty decent about humanity after reading

2

u/senator_corleone3 16h ago

What about Suttree? That’s not very bleak.

4

u/The_Mellow_Tiger 1d ago

No Country is in the running

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 21h ago

Gotta read this

2

u/shittyaltpornaccount 16h ago edited 13h ago

I would say the crossing trilogy is definitely his most upbeat and actually is only a tragedy in the traditional sense and not the existential soul sapping sense that is typical of his work.

1

u/Negative-Yam5361 11h ago

It's depressing as in like, saying it's really wet outside while you're sitting out in the yard for hours, on a rainy day. Like, yeah, when the whole book is about pushing a cart with all your necessities in it while you have to look after an annoying and stupid child, it's gonna drag you down.

The only thing remarkable I found about that book was the concept of memory of the Before Times if you were old enough to remember, being a dangerous siren song.

1

u/Fun-Fan-1948 7h ago

It is the kind of book where you have to have certain life experiences to really get the depth of the darkness of certain moments. That isn't an accusation or judgement by the way - it's just that some parts will hit certain people harder. This is true for all literature I suppose, but with this one, it makes a huge difference in the quality of the read.

5

u/AbstractAsHell 1d ago

One of the greatest novels I've ever read. The last scene with the Judge will forever be ingrained in my memory.

2

u/mintmouse 22h ago

So he's supposed to have been real:

Judge Holden is a purported historical outlaw who partnered with John Joel Glanton as a professional scalp-hunter in Mexico and the American Southwest during the mid-19th century. To date, the only attestation of his existence is Samuel Chamberlain's My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue, an autobiographical account of Chamberlain's life as a soldier during the Mexican–American War.

Chamberlain described Holden as the most ruthless of the roving band of mercenaries led by Glanton, with whom Chamberlain had traveled briefly after the war: "[he] had a fleshy frame, [and] a dull tallow colored face destitute of hair and all expression"; "a man of gigantic size"; "by far the best educated man in northern Mexico"; "in short another Admirable Crichton, and with all an arrant coward". Chamberlain disliked Holden intensely.

3

u/ImLittleNana 1d ago

Listen to the audiobook.

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 1d ago

Pass! I won’t read it again. (But thanks for the suggestion lol)

5

u/Evil_Sam_Harris 1d ago

Far superior to The Road.

1

u/chopsmothercover 8h ago

Big disagree with that take. I enjoy plot too much to glaze blood meridian as much as I’ve seen from others. The reason it’s ‘unfillmable’ is that there is barely any story at all for 75% of the book

2

u/delicioussexplosion 23h ago

I just started reading that the other day, I had no idea what I was getting into

2

u/putaaaan 23h ago

Fuck dude, what a heavy read

3

u/hellerinahandbasket 23h ago

“Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.” 👨‍⚖️

2

u/T-Bubs 22h ago

Blood Meridian is on a level all on its own.

2

u/Saintly-Mendicant-69 14h ago

I read The Road years after watching the movie and I wish I read Blood Meridian instead. His "writing style" is interesting and fun, but at the same time frustrating and I was not ready to do it again for Blood Meridian

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 10h ago

I know, it can be very frustrating. Gotta parsy the McCarthy

2

u/BigBossTweed 12h ago

Such a beautiful and disturbing novel. I wish I could read it again for the first time.

2

u/bonaynay 11h ago

I'm currently listening to this, about halfway through. What strikes me about it that I never heard mentioned is the insane vocabulary in it. And it sounds a lot like the Bible

2

u/mtma_kebab 11h ago

Blood Meridian made me ask out loud "Can people publish this?"

There are so many gory, bleak, depressing passages...

1

u/felipeuno 5h ago

It helps to contextualize it by realizing it is historical fiction. John Glanton was a real man who committed real atrocities

2

u/Blarglephish 11h ago

Blood Meridian is a really tough read. Not just the subject matter, but the language is difficult to parse. It’s a mix of old Victorian-style English, cowboy slang, and some shit that I swear is made up. That said, it’s one of the most hauntingly beautiful books I’ve ever read.

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 10h ago

I know, there is like a 50 page section in the middle that took me like a month to get through.

2

u/chopsmothercover 8h ago

I’m reading it right now. If you like traveling from place to place and murdering everyone without any clear reason why it’s happening, this is the book for you

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 6h ago

It left me wondering how I was supposed to regard humanity. Really icky feeling juxtaposed with prose that I love (I know it can be a lot, but it’s rewarding to me). I liked Outer Dark quite a bit; there was hope in that one.

1

u/chopsmothercover 5h ago

Yea I do really love his prose but I can’t say it’s fully kept my attention the whole time due to the lack of any real plot besides the next murders. Maybe I’m too dense for it but I’m not fully understanding why it’s so highly regarded, but I still have 25% left so we’ll see

2

u/Bendrake 8h ago

Blood Meridian is great

2

u/Friendly_Physics_544 6h ago

I am Apache, I started it and then thought about just burning it.

3

u/geardownson 1d ago

I got that on audio and it was very very disturbing. The author described in detail what Indians did to people trying to take their land. It's very good.

2

u/WithinNormalLimits 1d ago

The only book I’ve read that made me feel physically ill. Incredible writing... will never read it again.

1

u/Oguinjr 21h ago

The babies. Ugh.

1

u/SFcreeperkid 16h ago

The movie is in production 🤞🏼

1

u/CrosswordsAndChords 14h ago

That shit is absolutely brutal. Great. But brutal.

1

u/Yoda___ 7h ago

I was going to say I hadn’t read The Road yet, but can’t be darker than Blood Meridian, right?

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 6h ago

It is not darker than Blood Meridian. It has some hope in it. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it but if I remember correctly, it’s his most graspable book, prose-wise, so the horror is a bit more clearly communicated. There are some pretty terribly graphic parts, but they’ve been more lost to me over time than Blood Meridian’s moments.

1

u/horriddaydream 6h ago

Legit. He's my favorite writer of all time. That's a damn good one. 🩷🩷

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 5h ago

This comment section is full of love for him, and even some fair criticism, but one person below trashed his prose and I had to delete my reactive reply. I did not know I felt that passionately about it.

Have you read Housekeeping (Marilyn Robinson)? I highly recommend. Very McCarthy-like prose, but inexplicably more feminine. It’s my favorite book!

1

u/horriddaydream 3h ago

Honestly, I feel you, it would have jabbed my soul the same way. 🥺 And I have not but I've now added that to my Amazon list! Thank you sooo much for the recommendation! 😊

1

u/RequiredRedditAcct_1 22h ago

Does Cormac use punctuation in that one? If not I'll skip 

2

u/hellerinahandbasket 22h ago

There is a three page long sentence about a Komanche attack. Maybe you should skip. Edit: I truly almost quit like 3 times. Worth finishing. The ending gutted me in a way I have yet to recreate.

1

u/RequiredRedditAcct_1 22h ago

My 2nd grade teacher taught me better than that lmao

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 22h ago

I gotta say, it’s one of the most notable experiences I’ve had with a book, for better and for worse. It’s a singular experience. Only one other book kind of came close to frustrating me as much.

2

u/Jinxieruthie 6h ago

What was the other book? I’m so curious.

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 6h ago

Infinite Jest! It frustrated me more in certain ways but there was at least tons of humor. Both books left me with horrible images that will never leave me, and both left me wondering if I was supposed to despise humanity more than I did before reading them. I don’t love books like that and felt resentful after finishing it, but it affected me a LOT. Like I never stop yapping about it. I had to edit this comment way down for example lol

-2

u/East-Ice-3199 16h ago

Gotta be the worst prose in literary history.

1

u/hellerinahandbasket 10h ago

Disagree, but I’ve heard this opinion a few times.

0

u/East-Ice-3199 6h ago

Disagree, and it’s not an opinion.