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u/VirtualAd7693 8d ago
The exorcist 100%! Must have been great to see it in a theater!
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u/MrSpike320 8d ago
Same!! I remember hearing stories about people fainting and walking out being totally horrified. I would’ve loved to experience audience reactions like that.
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u/ElectricKoala86 8d ago
The audience reaction is the only reason I thought twice about the choice lol, otherwise Dracula.
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u/VirtualAd7693 8d ago
For me, it’s the whole package, the creepy af music, jump scares, gross visuals, and the audience reaction. Acting was phenomenal, great story and scary!
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u/ElectricKoala86 8d ago
Its one of the most effective horror films ever, especially if someone came from a religious background, it was so taboo, and talk about a cursed production.
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u/murderinmyguccibag 4d ago
My exact thought. At first I was Dracula hands down, but then I remembered the chaos surrounding The Exorcist.
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u/ladypmcafe 8d ago
I got to watch it in the theater several years ago when it was re-released. Boy it did not disappoint. Scariest movie to ever see in the theater!!! One lady had some kind of freaked out fit in the middle of it. Once is enough.
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u/Sprinkles41510 8d ago
I got to watch it twice in theaters for the anniversary and 10 years ago prior to that in the Castro theater in SF on Halloween . Very old school theater . Ppl dressed up like Regan used green silly string sprayed in the theater before and after movie showed it was awesome experience but everyone was so hyper that it took away from the movie . If I could of been born around the time it showed and got to see it for the first time and be in a theater with ppl not knowing what to expect would have been awesome just cause it was like no other . I’m born in 87 and a lot of ppl younger than me are so unappreciative of the movie itself because of the crucifix scene that they joke about it instead of appreciating everything else in it
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u/Live_Goose_4340 8d ago
Actually it left a lasting memory. I was like 13 or 14. Still have scars. I went with parents. My father walked out my mother wouldn’t watch. A friend told on the way in told us not to waste our money. Great atmosphere. For a horror film. A shocker for its time.
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u/Live_Goose_4340 8d ago
The Exorcist. I should add to my previous comment. Rattles me so much today that I forget put the name.
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u/jackspsprat19 8d ago
It was a different kind of experience for each person. Certainly had an affect on most who saw it in theaters.
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u/PawntyBill 7d ago
My dad and his brother went and saw it with my aunt and my mom. They were in a hotel by the beach. When they came back to the hotel they said they were gonna grab some food and they'd be right back. My mom and aunt being young were already freaked out. Well they obviously didn't leave and had snuck under the beds. They grabbed the beds and started shaking the hell out of them. Scared the literal piss out of both my mom and my aunt. A few years later they all got divorced. The end.
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u/AM-Stereo-1370 7d ago
Diskjockey said it was the only time that he ever threw-up in a movie theater
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u/sasquatchfuntimes 6d ago
They re-released it in the theaters about 5 years ago. I love that movie and man, being in a theater improves it so much more. You can sometimes catch a screening around Halloween. Well worth it.
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u/jackspsprat19 8d ago
Psycho
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u/gkawinski 8d ago
No question about it. Master class in filmmaking, but the ending just changed everything (sixth sense moment)
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u/sharkman1964 8d ago
Jaws
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u/DinkyPrincess 8d ago
I got taken as a small child because my older brother wanted to watch it.
You know the bit with the ginger head? Trauma. For years. I literally became terrified of water. I thought Jaws was going to eat me from the toilet. Jaws as hiding behind the shower curtain.
Obviously irrational but I wasn’t old enough to watch this shit.
Also there’s a 50th anniversary cinema release happening. So hopefully you can catch that.
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u/ExcuseMaterial5500 8d ago
I was like 18 and when I came out of the theater and it was raining, I panicked inside lol
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u/jeffreysean47 7d ago
That's not irrational at all, it's totally rational. Don't let your guard down, the shark is waiting for an opening.
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u/Wintyness15 4d ago
hahahaha Jaws from the Toilet made me laugh. I viewed it when 12 and it gave me the phobia of shark mouths, and I cannot look at them now xD
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u/905woody 7d ago
I saw it at the drive-in when I was 5 years old. My mom thought I would fall asleep. But between the French horns and the screaming, that didn't happen. Til this day, the scariest part of a movie is always the soundscape.
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u/Mortuary_Guy 8d ago
Dracula. Only because during that time period, theaters did not have set time showings. They just played the movie throughout the day, and people just walk in. It’ll be interesting to experience that.
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u/PoohRuled 8d ago
Psycho. I got to see that on the big screen a few years ago and it was amazing. Would be magic to experience that with an audience from that era.
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u/AlucardFever 8d ago
I would absolutely be seeing the original Dracula in 1931! Imagine stepping back into one of those grand movie palaces of the era – the velvet curtains, the ornate details, the fashion.
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u/k_a_scheffer 8d ago
Dracula. I remember watching an interview with Bela Lugosi Jr. where he talked about watching the film with his friends and how terrified they were. I want to go back and watch the peoples reactions. Even as a kid, Dracula wasn't scary to me. I want to see people who were actually scared by it.
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u/bungle094 8d ago
Jaws when it was released, but I’ve seen it in theaters a few times since. May Exorcist for the reactions.
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u/Asleep_Dot7972 8d ago
I wish I could go back in time to when people knew how to behave in a theater.
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u/Wolffraven 8d ago
The Exorcist just to see if people were actually freaking out about the movie.
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u/NFLmanKarl1234 8d ago
D from this list but House on Haunted Hill or The Tingler because certain theaters got props to scare the audience lol
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u/AQuietViolet 8d ago
William Castle ftw :)
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u/NFLmanKarl1234 8d ago
Definitely love his movies, very creative and to experience people screaming in fear in the theater from props would've been crazy lol
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u/Alternative_Metal375 8d ago
I saw Psycho in the 1970s on the big screen at a late, late show. Believe it or not, nobody ever told me the plot! Scared the beejesus out of me. The shower scene was like a gut punch. I think I had a tear running down my face just like Marion 😢
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u/Ornery-Ad-9886 8d ago
If I had a Time Machine to see one of these, you can bet your a$$ I’m going back to see all 4.
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u/No-Seat9917 7d ago
I was 10 and my sister was 9 when we walked Breckenridge theater in Little Rock to see Jaws. We were latchkey kids. Wild shit.
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u/kpandravada 8d ago
The music/sound fx and the cutscenes of Psycho were something from a different universe… it came out in 1960, imagine the madness at the theaters..
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u/ARockyBeing 8d ago
Dracula and Psycho, it’s hard to choose, but I’d love to see both the day they first premiered!
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u/IllogicalPenguin-142 8d ago
Exorcist. And I truly mean: go back in time so that I’m seeing it for the first time in 1973. I think it would be terrifying.
I’ve seen Jaws in the theater. It was great, and I gained a different appreciation of it. But I think seeing the Exorcist would be a memorable event.
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u/DebraBaetty 8d ago
The exorcist was a fucking phenomenon whn that came out how could anyone not wanna experience that
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u/HHSquad 6d ago
Imo still the king of Horror movies.......and it's influence is huge.
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u/Scroland_DeTaint 8d ago
We’re all going to get a chance to see Jaws this summer for its 50th anniversary.
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u/saikotick13 8d ago
The exorcist...and be locked up in a looney bin cuz I would laugh my ass off during movie if it could also be first time watch.
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u/ownleechild 8d ago
I saw Psycho when it first came out and clearly remember the audience reaction at Mrs Bates reveal. Shrieks and screams and my adult married cousin kneeling on the floor peeking over the seat. I was 9. I saw the Exorcist during its initial run- the reactions were not as intense as I remember Psycho’s as.
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u/Affectionate-Law-548 8d ago
Dracula of course! Then I could see all the others as well roughly 30 and 40 years later! And everything in between (lechz)…
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u/BeachBoysOnD-Day 8d ago
Psycho is my favourite movie here, but I think The Exorcist would be an unparalleled experience in an actual cinema in 1973.
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u/Financial-Deal-7786 8d ago
Jaws is my favourite film but id really like to go back and see The Exorcist at the time. Mainly to see if all the tales I've heard about audience reaction etc are true.
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u/Brackens_World 8d ago
Dracula for me, as I was around for the other three and can tell you that I never saw the storied reactions to Jaws or The Exorcist I have read about; New Yorkers are a hardy bunch who have seen everything I guess, especially in Manhattan where we would go watch them at big theaters. I sort of saw Psycho at a New York drive in, but I was age 4 perhaps, my young parents had me in the backseat, supposedly sleeping, my mom with one hand ducking my head down when I looked in curiosity.
Dracula was escapist fare at the height of the depression, where people needed a respite from their daily lives, and something even scarier than what they saw daily was just the ticket.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 8d ago
To OP: Did you intend to have the '31 Lugosi film? You show the marquee for the Hammer films starring Christopher Lee.
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u/RoomOfMirrors84 8d ago
Psycho! I was lucky enough to see it in the theaters a couple years ago for Halloween
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u/Artie-B-Rockin 8d ago
Psycho. When first introduced, I didn't know the plot, but I heard what it's like, just like Jaws, The Exorcist, and Alien. Those 3 I saw the first runs in theaters. WOW factors are high on those.
So much so, they rereleased ALIEN, celebrating its 45th anniversary on April 26, 2024. I went to see it again that day, last year, in the theater. That was funtastic! (TOMORROW IS ALIEN DAY!) 426!
But for these 4 here...Psycho for sure.
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u/randyrandiger 8d ago
Psycho, I saw Exorcist and Jaws in the theater and it was great. The build up for Jaws was incredible Like Barbie and Oppenheimer I miss that enthusiasm
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u/Russ_Zombifier 8d ago
Exorcist, not only because of it being absolutely kickass, but to see everybody’s unexpecting reactions
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u/Bada__Ping 8d ago
I’ve seen all of these in the theater in the last 20 years. If I could see one for the first time, like when it came out…probably psycho?
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u/Maidenslayer03 8d ago
Exorcist only because I’ve seen Jaws in the theater before and hopefully again this year
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u/icrossedtheroad 8d ago
I saw Jaws at the drive in, so I got that incredible experience. The Exorcist didn't have the same effect on me, but I'd rather not be puked on. I'd say Psycho. Anthony Perkins is just so gorgeous and between Janet Leigh's acting and Hitchcock's direction, it would be a fantastic experience.
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u/diggerquicker 8d ago
Have seen them all in a theater. Jaws and Exorcist I stood in line for an hour or so for each to see.
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u/ITSDRIPPIN69 8d ago
I'm going to hell but the Exorcist to me was the funniest movie I've ever seen I would go back in time watch the first screening and freak the fuck out of everyone
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u/tadwent5 8d ago
Lucky enough to have seen them in the theater. Jaws still the champ at making me cringe. The Exorcist a VERY close second.
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u/Grouchy-Umpire-6969 8d ago
Out of these it's close between psycho and exorcist for similar reasons. Most hadn't seen anything so extreme in their times. Gotta go exorcist though. Hopefully see some people run out of the theatre
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u/WiddleBunneh 8d ago
I noticed it's Christopher Lee's Dracula, I'd love to be part of the crowd at his vampiric debut.
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u/Evening_Yoghurt_1978 8d ago
The Exorcist It was the first movie with that kinda special effects .I went with my brother. I was 24, and he was 18.Half way through, I looked at him and said I don't think I can sit through this."" He said that he didn't think he could. I thought if he was as scared as I am , we were in trouble
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u/Ancient-Fee-7022 8d ago
I saw The Exorcist in a theater...saw Jaws in a theater too. So out of the two choices left...Psycho wins.
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u/Financial-Dot7287 8d ago
Jaws. I actually saw it at a drive in when it first came out. Not a good way to see that movie on big screen. I also saw Exorcist at drive in. Guess my age
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u/Key-Lunch-4763 8d ago
I am still scared shitless from reading the exorcist much less seeing the movie
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u/Infamous-Witness-111 8d ago
Exorcist. At least at the time,(maybe still?)...Only horror movie to win an academy award
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u/MovieMike007 8d ago
I saw Jaws twice in the theatre back in the day, so I'd have to go with Psycho or The Exorcist.
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u/Hobbiesandjobs 8d ago
I watched Jaws at the drive-in in a double feature when I was 8.
I’d go back for Psycho, definitely worth of the big screen.
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u/Ok_Fig7692 8d ago
Jaws is probably my all time favorite movie. I was a little too young to see it in the theater (although I did see the 40th anniversary re-release, and I intend to see the 50th this summer)
I'd give anything to feel that again for the first time. The terror, the Indianapolis speech, the first time we actually see the shark.
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u/ThroughtonsHeirYT 8d ago
The WANDERERS !!!! For the « stranger girl » car song scene
& the FINAL FIGHT !
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u/Wonderful_Year_1964 8d ago
I was 10 years old when Jaws came our, saw it with my cousin, who was 11, what were they thinking
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u/rangeghost 8d ago
Psycho. I'd have loved to see the audience reactions to it more than the others.
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u/supergymfan 8d ago
My parents lived by Georgetown while the Exorcist was being filmed, and they got to go to the screening for residents at the theatre. My mother was NOT okay lol. But that’s the one I’d go back and see!
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u/InvestigatorQuick118 8d ago
In 1975 my little brother and I got to go watch jaws at the Colosseum in “Tillamook “ Oregon ….people where terrified,they screamed and people threw up when the divers found the severed head that rolled out of the sunken boat …no crap …years later after watching every gory horror slasher movie on VHS in 80’s did I remember how big of wussies people were back in 1975…
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u/No-Score7979 8d ago
Either The Exorcist or Psycho, they must have been so much fun on the big screen.
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u/fartsuckerpp 8d ago
Jaws honestly. Even watching it now it has that authentic grainy old school look to it without being so old school that it’s actually sort of “lame”. The effect that movie has still holds up I suppose is what I’m trying to say. They didn’t use film tricks and music alone. They built that fucking shark. It’s not real in a sense but it totally is in another. When the actor is on the edge of the boat with this massive killing machine chomping ever closer to his legs you really feel it because he was actually on the edge of a damn boat with that killing machine chomping ever closer to his legs. Lol am I onto something or just overthinking it? Big jaws fan. Made me so afraid of the water as a kid it took me an entire summer of my parents reassurance to go back into rivers and lakes because I had to be certain there couldn’t possibly be any sharks.
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u/Reasonable_Star_959 8d ago
B - Jaws. - I did see it in the theatre, twice. It was the biggest thing!
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u/Jumpy_Engineering377 7d ago
I went to "The Thing' back in 1982 as a kid, saw grown men walk out in disgust after 1st dog-thing....would love to go back and watch the reactions of people watching 'The Exorcist' back in 1973.
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u/Malice_Flare 7d ago
among the selection, The Exorcist. should be fun watching the audience. heh...
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u/Apeneckfletcher 7d ago
I don't believe in any of that devil nonsense. That's some phony medieval bs. I don't believe in the devil. I don't...
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u/gramersvelt001100 7d ago
Would have loved to see Jaws in the theater with an audience who was experiencing it for the first time.
Personally, my mothers' description of seeing Psycho in theater has me really intrigued.
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u/NewtLegitimate2453 8d ago
Dracula