Movies That Are Frightening
Movies That Are Frightening
And The Life Lessons Learned From Being Scared
Image by L.E. Wilson from RedBubble based on work by Stefan Keller and Prawny on Pixabay
Life and movies use many different kinds of lessons to teach us what we need to learn. And sometimes, apparently, the best way to get through to us is to scare us. I often wondered why horror movies and dark dramas are so popular when it’s quite easy to get our fill of the horrible and the terrible simply from reading the news, or studying history, or considering all the ways our bodies can be attacked by disease.
But perhaps the lessons we learn after being given a good cinematic fright are the ones we’ll never forget. And these lessons may very well help keep us safe, or at least help guard our hearts against misfortune by making us more thick skinned and resilient.
In any case, it turns out that some of the most profound life lessons are found in movies that are frightening, so we must give them their due.
The following is a list of movies, broken up into three categories, that will leave you shaken, but hopefully also wiser.
1) Tyranny and Corruption
With a government or leaders like those depicted in these films, who needs enemies?
The Ghost Ship (1943)
The Ghost Ship (1943) is a psychological drama directed by Mark Robson about Tom Merriam (Russell Wade), the 3rd Officer on a ship, the Altair, captained by Will Stone (Richard Dix), a man who is slowly going insane.
Life Lesson: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
—Lord ActonCaptain Stone (holding a gun): Authority cannot be questioned.
Officer Merriam: That’s crazy talk.
Captain Stone: …Who’s crazy? You, who defied me and are helpless? Or I, who control your destiny and the destiny of the Altair and all the lives on board? … I’m Captain. As long as I wear these stripes, there isn’t a man in the crew that will believe you or help you. You’ll find them too lazy, too cowardly, too disinterested. That’s what I want you to learn Merriam. Men are worthless cattle, and a few men are given authority to drive them.
When those in charge have power over the masses, why wouldn’t you expect violence, corruption, and abuse? Or, why wouldn’t you try to safeguard against these dangers by limiting both the power and the number of people who rule over others? What are we, sheep? How dare so called “authorities” control, restrict, and cruelly punish us when we disobey their unjust commands! Aren’t we meant to be free? Why do we need rulers especially when their thirst for power time and again winds up hurting the most vulnerable among us? Isn’t it time that we were given the absolute right to rule ourselves? Why should thousands or millions of people be made to suffer because of the decisions and actions of a handful of elitist, corrupt executive bureaucrats who probably got into power through underhanded, unfair means in the first place?
These are the kinds of questions you may ask yourself after watching these movies and seeing what happens when those in charge are not only unaccountable to the people, but also indifferent to their suffering. Some are documentaries, some are based on true stories, and all are devastating examples of tyranny and corruption:
Swing Kids (1993) is a drama directed by Thomas Carter set in Nazi Germany about the Swingjugend, a group of youths who loved American swing music and dance but were forced underground and brutally punished for their preferences by the repressive government.
Life Lesson: Know who your real friends are.
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House of Sand and Fog (2003) is a drama co-written and directed by Vadim Perelman, based on the book by Andre Dubus III, about Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), a California woman who loses her house because of a mistake by the local government office, and then fights to get it back from the Iranian immigrant family that bought it from the county.
Life Lesson: Everything is temporary.
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God Grew Tired of Us (2006) is a documentary written and directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn and narrated by Nicole Kidman about a group of about 25,000 boys who escaped the violent civil war in Sudan by walking 1,000 miles to Ethiopia and then Kenya, where they were housed in refugee camps, from which about 3,800 “Lost Boys” were then allowed to immigrate to the United States through the efforts of the International Rescue Committee.
Life Lesson: “If you are going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill
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Changeling (2008) is a drama directed by Clint Eastwood about the true story of Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a woman whose nine-year-old son, Walter, disappeared in 1928 Los Angeles, and who, with the help of an activist preacher, Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), fought against claims by a corrupt and incompetent police department that they had found him, although he was actually a victim of the Wineville Chicken Coop murders.
Life Lesson: Never start a fight, but always finish it.
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Richard Jewell (2019) is a drama directed by Clint Eastwood, based on an article in Vanity Fair magazine by Marie Brenner, about Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), a security guard who alerted law enforcement about a backpack containing three pipe bombs and helped evacuate the area at the 1996 Summer Olympics Games, thereby saving people’s lives, only to be falsely accused of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing after the FBI leaked their investigation to the media, which led a public humiliation campaign against him.
Life Lesson: Individual rights are threatened when the government and the media work together. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” — Mark Twain
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2) Mental Illness and Drug Addiction
Among the worst, most frightening calamities that may befall us is an illness we cannot cure, especially when it devastates our ability to lead any kind of normal life.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) is a drama directed by Terry Gilliam based on the semi-autobiographical book set in 1971 by Hunter S. Thompson about a drug-fueled trip that two friends, Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro), take to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Life Lesson: Just Say ‘No’ to drugs.
Duke: We’re all wired into a survival trip now. No more of the speed that fueled the ’60s. That was the fatal flaw in Tim Leary’s trip. He crashed around America, selling “consciousness expansion” without ever giving a thought to the grim meat-hook realities that were lying in wait for all those people who took him seriously—all those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy peace and understanding for three bucks a hit. But their loss and failure is ours, too. What Leary took down with him was the central illusion of a whole lifestyle that he helped create. A generation of permanent cripples, failed seekers who never understood the essential old-mystic fallacy of the acid culture: the desperate assumption that somebody, or at least some force, is tending the light at the end of the tunnel.
Mental illness and drug addition, in particular, rob us of ourselves, of our identity, and our individuality. We become controlled by negative impulses that hurt us more and more with each passing day. Of course for many illnesses we have no control, no say whatsoever, in what may manifest within our bodies. In these cases, we have no option really but to make the best of it and try whatever therapeutics may be available.
But some illnesses are strongly associated with certain behaviors, which we could in fact mitigate. Experimenting with drugs, abusing alcohol, smoking, and subjecting yourself to high levels of stress are simply not healthy choices. See for yourself what happens when self-indulgence is given priority over taking care of your mind and body in these tragic tales:
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) is a drama written and directed by John Huston, based on the novel by B. Traven, about three Americans: Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart), Curtin (Tim Holt), and Howard (Walter Huston), who search for gold in Mexico.
Life Lesson: There is no bad news; there are only blessings in disguise.
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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) is a drama directed by Robert Aldrich, based on the novel by Henry Farrell, about Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis), a former child-star who torments her disabled older sister, Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford), out of jealousy and spite.
Life Lesson: Don’t let someone else have absolute power over you.
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All That Jazz (1979) is a drama co-written and directed by famed choreographer Bob Fosse about Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), a hard-living broadway director who is reckless with his health and his relationships, which causes a lot of harm.
Life Lesson: Being driven by fear is not satisfying.
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A Beautiful Mind (2001) is a drama based on the book by Sylvia Nasar and directed by Ron Howard about John Forbes Nash (Russell Crowe), a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical mathematician diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Life Lesson: Learn to tell the difference between what is real
and what is only in your mind.🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
The Departure (2017) is a documentary co-written and directed by Lana Wilson about a Buddhist monk in Japan who counsels people that are suicidal.
Life Lesson:
You have to decide, on your own, to take good care of yourself, and until you do, you are committing incremental suicide.
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3) Failure
The fear of failure, dealing with failure, accepting failure, sometimes it’s all too much.
The War of the Roses (1989)
The War of the Roses (1989) is a drama based on the book by Warren Adler and directed by Danny DeVito about a married couple, Barbara (Kathleen Turner) and Oliver (Michael Douglas) Rose, going through a bitter divorce enabled by an unscrupulous lawyer, Gavin D’Amato (Danny DeVito), who later has a change of heart.
Life Lesson: Don’t go down the path of pettiness and vindictiveness; it just escalates suffering. Instead, accept your losses and find another way — you’ll be better off.
Gavin [talking to a new client]: What’s the moral? Other than dog people should marry dog people and cat people should marry cat people? I don’t know. Could be just this: a civilized divorce is a contradiction in terms. Maybe because of what happened, I’ve become too traditional. Maybe it’s not natural to stay married to one person for life. My parents did it — sixty three years, a few of them good. So look, here it is: We can begin. When it comes to your wife, I’m going to urge you to be generous to the point of night sweats. Because the all-important thing here is to get you through this as quickly and cleanly as possible, so that you can begin rebuilding your life. Ok? Or, you can get up and go home and try to find some shred of what you once loved about the sweetheart of your youth. It’s your life. Take a minute.
The level of humiliation and defeat one may feel after experiencing failure in any form can be tremendously painful. It’s natural to feel hurt, to feel scared, to react in anger, even, to frustratingly disappointing outcomes. But nothing is gained by giving in to these negative emotions, and much is won by accepting your losses, learning what you can from the experience, and focusing on problem-solving rather than being frozen by terror.
The following movies may have their scary moments, but not learning the lessons they are trying to teach us is more horrible still. These are cautionary tales, and reminders to always be vigilant, brave, and responsible:
Apollo 13 (1995) is a drama directed by Ron Howard, based on the book by Jim Lovell, about the historically significant Apollo 13 NASA flight to the moon by American astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon).
Life Lesson: It takes a lot of hard work to make a miracle happen.
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Friday Night Lights (2004) is a drama based on the book by H.G. Bissinger and directed by Peter Berg about the 1988 high school football season of The Permian High Panthers from Odessa, Texas.
Life Lesson: If you want to improve your situation,
give it all you’ve got and get the job done.🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)
Ghost Rider (2007) is a fantasy written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson about Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), a man who makes a deal with a demon, Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda), so that he can save his father, Barton Blaze (Brett Cullen), and be with his girlfriend Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes), but ends up cursed.
Life Lesson: If you make amends, you may get a second chance.
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A Serious Man (2009) is a drama written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen about Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a man searching for help with marital and professional problems, which happened to him even though he didn’t do anything.
Life Lesson: Even if you think life is meaningless and unfair, be a good person with integrity, because without it things will get even worse.
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If you’ve read other “moviewise” articles you may have noticed that my personal philosophy basically boils down to asking the question: why feel bad when you can laugh? At all times, even in the depths of despair, isn’t it still possible to laugh? Why not at least try to forget the pain and fear to enjoy what you can? Why not embrace the adage as stated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “the only thing we have to fear is … fear itself”?
But of course you can’t step out into the world blind to its troubles, distracted by entertainment, Pollyannaish and unaware of the many dangers that lurk all around. It seems risky, irresponsible, and inadvisable to do that, unless you’re incredibly lucky all the time. Fortunately, some dedicated and passionate filmmakers have taken it upon themselves to warn us about some of life’s tragedies. And for this we must be grateful because by showing us what causes pain, we can be moved by empathy to make things better for ourselves and others. That’s quite a gift!
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A grand list with so many of my favorites: A Beautiful Mind I rewatched recently and was struck again by the marvelous performances by Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly--and the smaller but key role by Ed Harris. Thank you, L.E.!
One could summarize these categories as 1) Authority gone bad; 2) Health gone bad; and 3) Life gone bad.