---
title: 'when horror movies are ACTUALLY scary'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=PXr9xW7525U'
video_id: 'PXr9xW7525U'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 641
---

# when horror movies are ACTUALLY scary

> Source: [when horror movies are ACTUALLY scary](https://youtube.com/watch?v=PXr9xW7525U)

## Summary

The video critiques modern horror movies that overuse jump scares and offers recommendations for genuinely terrifying films. It highlights Lake Mungo, Hell House LLC, and Host as examples that use atmosphere, psychological dread, and innovative formats to create lasting fear.

### Key Points

- **Horror movies aren't scary anymore** [00:00] — The creator states most modern horror films fail to be truly frightening, prompting a search for movies that actually scare.
- **Dislike of jump scares** [00:28] — Jump scares are criticized for being overused and causing only momentary surprise, not genuine fear.
- **Lake Mungo: One masterful jump scare** [01:47] — The Australian mockumentary Lake Mungo is highlighted as a film that uses a single, well-executed jump scare to heighten psychological horror.
- **Lake Mungo plot** [02:15] — The film follows a family grieving their daughter Alice, who drowned, and their paranormal encounters with her ghost, told through a mockumentary format.
- **Haunted house movies are hit or miss** [03:37] — While classics like The Conjuring are decent, they lack the lingering fear that keeps viewers uneasy at night.
- **Hell House LLC: Surprisingly scary** [04:26] — Initially dismissed as low-budget, Hell House LLC is a found footage film about a haunted house attraction gone wrong, with realistic characters and a tense climax.
- **2020 and internet-based horror** [06:34] — The pandemic isolation inspired Host, a film set entirely on a Zoom call where a séance summons a demon.
- **Host's unique scare** [08:54] — The scariest part of Host is the realization that the viewer is also part of the Zoom call, blurring the line between film and reality.
- **Special mentions: Sinister and Skinamarink** [09:07] — Sinister is scary until it over-explains, while Skinamarink evokes a quiet, liminal fear like a familiar nightmare.

### Conclusion

The video encourages viewers to seek out horror movies that rely on atmosphere and psychological dread rather than cheap jump scares, naming Lake Mungo, Hell House LLC, and Host as standout examples.

## Transcript

look if you clicked on this video you're
looking for horror movies that are
actually scary horror movies these days
just aren't that scary anymore sure some
of them are pretty good but not all of
them will actually scare you I'm talking
sleeping with the lights on scary I'm
talking showering with your eyes open
scary so I've gone through most of the
scary movie lists you can find on the
internet and I got to say these horror
movies I'm about to show you actually
scared me and we'll stick with you long
after the credits roll
don't you just hate jump scares there's
nothing I hate more than when movies try
way too hard to scare me and I'm just
sitting there
like okay maybe I'm being a little
harsher look as much as I love a good
jump scare they can get really boring
really fast take a look at these for
example
they're great for a quick jolt but it
doesn't always quite work and doesn't
really get you scared sure for a brief
moment you get all jumpy but that's
pretty much it lots of horror movies
stand to rely on this strob to get easy
scares and people often associate
getting shocked with getting scared I
mean that ain't fear you were just
surprised so you'd think that after
years and years of jump scares I'd still
be phased by what flickering lights in
that screeching violin sound please at
this point it's like when a comedian
says get it every time they make a joke
jump scares are okay they're great when
used effectively but having too much of
them though is basically admitting the
movie isn't scary enough on its own but
what if I told you that there's actually
a movie so scary it only needed one
masterfully executed jump scare
before I made this video I didn't
realize how Australia has been putting
out great horror movies for years
there's the babadook the loved ones more
recently you have talked to me and of
course Lake [ __ ] I don't even know
where to begin with this movie it's like
have you ever had the feeling of being
watched while watching cuz that's
exactly how this movie made me feel Lake
[ __ ] is about a family grieving the
loss of their daughter Alice who died by
drowning as her family comes to grips
with her death they all start having
nightmares and seemingly paranormal
encounters with Alice's ghost she shows
up in their dreams in photos and videos
and even in real life what follows is a
very unnerving look about what happens
when somebody close to you dies it's all
told through a mockumentary format which
added a sense of claustrophobic realism
which in turn makes the whole thing even
more unsettling the plot unfolds in a
way that makes it its horror turn from
something Supernatural into something
more psychological everything about his
movie is very atmospheric and the whole
thing feels like a true crime
documentary but with ghosts I'm not
going to tell you where the jump scare
is but I will say that you might not see
it coming cuz you know how jump scares
build that tense anticipation like
before they pay it off with that big
jump yeah like the whole movie feels
like it's one long jump scare buildup
I don't want to give anything more away
because this is a movie that you should
definitely see for
yourself Haunted House movies are pretty
Hit or Miss they're a classic horror
movie setting as old as the genre itself
and over the years we've seen tons of
them come out some of them are pretty
great and let's be honest some of them
are straight up dog
sh James Juan has been at the Forefront
of the Haunted House Revival with movies
like The Conjuring and Insidious while
these movies are great horror films and
actually provide you with decent scares
they lack a certain factor that makes it
hard for you to go to the bathroom in
the middle of the
[Music]
night I got to be honest when I first
saw Hell House LLC I thought it was when
of of those goofy Barkin bin horror
movies you'd watch when you just want to
turn your brain off but boy was I wrong
and the best and worst possible way best
cuz I found an actually scary horror
movie and worse cuz well pretty much the
same thing Hell House LLC is a found
footage movie about a group of friends
who created a haunted house attraction
called Hell House at an abandoned Hotel
in abdon New York as you could probably
tell making a haunted house attraction
at a rundown hotel with rumors of
satanic activities in the past isn't
going to end well the movie starts with
news reports about how 15 people died
and plenty more injured because of an
unknown malfunction during the opening
night of Hell House a documentary crew
is set on investigating what really
happened during that fateful night they
managed to interview people familiar
with the case and eventually track down
the last surviving member of the Hell
House staff Sarah Sarah provides them
with a vide tapes that show exactly what
went down and what went down is scary as
[ __ ]
it all builds up to an intense climax
that you just have to see to believe
also there's this
guy oh [ __ ]
dude what's up man what are you looking
at holy
[ __ ] got me
man the characters in this movie have
great chemistry and the way they act and
react are very believable if you imagine
yourself in the same
situation Hell House LLC is actually the
first part of a series of films that
delve deeper into the Mysteries that the
incident in this movie kicked off I'm
honestly kind of cynical when it comes
to found footage horror ever since the
first Paranormal Activity blew up since
then there's been a slew of terrible
movies made on a low budget that didn't
exactly make the sub genre respectable
but it's a good thing movies like this
exist to remind us all that hope isn't
lost 2020 was a horrible time it was a
pretty messed up thing that we can all
agree give us all Collective trauma
about being isolated lucky for us we
live in the Golden Age of Technology
where the internet brings people closer
together the internet became a Haven for
everyone who wanted an escape from
reality or to just be in touch with the
people they love it became the primary
means of communication so it didn't take
long before people started coming up
with ideas about how go posts can haunt
us through the internet found footage
works really well when it comes to [ __ ]
because it adds that sense of realism
which makes you feel like this could
happen to you or like it could happen to
anyone you know but what if there was a
found footage movie that made you feel
like you yourself is a part of the whole
thing
[Music]
[Music]
okay so I'm a sucker for techno horror
because like a lot of people my age or
just like a lot of people in general I'm
chronically online I know there were
tons of more problematic and actually
scary stuff on the internet than ghosts
but this one still really bothers me I
like going on video calls with friends
but when you start bringing a ghost in
that equation you know you know it's
bound to get creepy that's exactly what
happens in the 2020 film host in all
fairness the characters in this movie
had it all coming when they tried to do
a sance online simply because they were
bored like who does that there's
literally a million other ways to use
the internet when you're bored as
expected all hell Let's Lose once these
people unwittingly summon a demon who
just [ __ ] everyone up this movie Just
Hits all the right nose when it comes to
cares and actually comes up with
something that is both fun and
interesting there's something a little
cathartic about everyone getting what's
coming to them when they intentionally
[ __ ] around with demons and [ __ ] the
best part about this movie is knowing
that it was all filmed remotely so
everyone kind of had to set up their own
props and practical effects at home plus
it really was filmed through Zoom but
you know what the scariest part of this
movie is the scariest part of this movie
is how one by one everyone in the zoom
call was getting picked off and and then
you slowly realize aren't you kind of a
part of the zoom call
too there is still lots of scary movies
out there that you need to see I just
want to give a special mention to these
movies that scared me but didn't quite
stick The Landing first up I got to
mention sinister sinister was considered
the scariest movie of all time according
to science and I can agree with that to
an extent the first half of this movie
was a master class in horror
it was incredibly disturbing that
opening sequence of a family slowly
getting hanged from a tree that's the
stuff of nightmares it all kind of fell
apart when they tried to
overexplained don't exactly look scary
even the evil Dy at the center of the
all doesn't look scary at all I mean
look at him you can't expect me to
believe that this is some ancient demon
but that said this movie was really
scary until it wasn't last I want to
mention skin Marine I don't want to
dwell too much on this movie since I
plan on making a video about it in the
future but yeah this movie was pretty
scary to me it's one of those movies
that you either get or you don't it
appeals to a certain kind of fear that I
feel only a select group of people have
experienced firsthand that very quiet
Lial sort of fear it's like one long
nightmare that feels oddly familiar
I hope you found these movies
interesting and I hope you check them
out these are good horror movies and
they're actually pretty scary thanks for
watching everyone I hope you enjoyed the
video all right I'm out