This popped into my head out of nowhere this evening as a good forum topic. I was thinking about all the sounds that creeped me out in movies from my youth, and a few really stood out. So I thought we could all contribute to the library of...

MOST UNSETTLING SOUNDS OF '70s/'80s CINEMA!

Here are a few that really got to me as a kid:

Donald Sutherland's Scream in Invasion of The Body Snatchers
You probably know the gist of this film's story. Aliens start taking over the bodies of humans. You think at the end of the movie that the protagonists reunite and things will end okay, until...



The Phone Ringing in When A Stranger Calls
There's nothing quite like the chills you get when a film turns something so benign into the most terrifying thing. That's what When A Stranger Calls does to the simple ringing of a phone. You dread it. You absolutely dread the thought that the phone might ring one more time for Carol Kane's character to answer.



Ch, Ch, Ch, Ha, Ha, Ha - Friday The 13th Series
It's almost as iconic as Jason himself. The creepy, unnatural tones that forewarn viewers that they are about to witness the man behind the mask do his dirty work once more. The curious thing about this series of sounds is that we have got them all wrong, all these years. Though we think we're hearing "Ch,ch,ch, ha, ha, ha" the actual recording was of "Ki, ki, ki, ma, ma, ma", a shortening of "Kill her mommy".



Demon Wail from the Evil Dead series
As if Evil Dead wasn't disturbing enough visually, Sam Raimi and company went all out and doubled the scare factor when they created "Cabin Run" scenes featuring the unearthly wailing of the spirit(s) possessing the helpless victims. Making it extra unsettling was the fact that only we the audience are privy to the noise, as the victims hear nothing.



Squeal of The Photographs from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I can't imagine that this horror classic could have begun in any more unnerving a way than that which made it to the final cut. As we are shown through a series of photographs what is found by authorities in a lonely graveyard, the click and squeal of what seems like a really bizarre violin sends shivers through you.

Nice to know you're still reading my mind Vaporman.

When a victim in a Friday the 13th movie is walking in the woods and a twig snaps, that gives me an uneasy feeling, because Jason Voorhees is close.

The alien pods in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" generate across species lines ­ of course. 

eddstarr wrote :

Do you guys know Mercedes McCambridge?

She is the most famous actress/voice actor as the voice of the devil in, "The Exorcist". Yes, you never saw her but you sure heard her. No other voice performance gives me the creeps like "Mrs. M" as the voice of satan.

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I remember seeing a featurette or something similar in which she talked about what she had to endure in order to create that voice. If memory serves, it involved raw eggs and smoking. I'll have to look that up though.

Vaporman87 wrote :

eddstarr wrote :

Do you guys know Mercedes McCambridge?

She is the most famous actress/voice actor as the voice of the devil in, "The Exorcist". Yes, you never saw her but you sure heard her. No other voice performance gives me the creeps like "Mrs. M" as the voice of satan.

-end quote

I remember seeing a featurette or something similar in which she talked about what she had to endure in order to create that voice. If memory serves, it involved raw eggs and smoking. I'll have to look that up though.
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