What would you say is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen? If you are unsettled by the prospect of alien invaders laying waste to planet earth, then maybe War of the Worlds or Battle Los Angeles would be your answer. Or maybe face-to-face encounters with nasty creatures from outer space send a chill up your spine. If so, then Signs, Predator, or any of the Alien movies would be the kind of cinema to give you nightmares. Films featuring folklore monsters — with vampires topping the list — have caused many movie-goers to scream and hide behind their popcorn. What about teenage slasher flicks? There are plenty to choose from in that genre with (in my opinion) the first Halloween movie being the best. And let’s not forget the misunderstood-but-still-harmful giant monster movies such as King Kong and Godzilla.  I’m offering just a sampling here. There have been some very successful scary movies built around other types of characters such as robots/cyborgs, demons, and mad scientists.

I have two choices for the scariest movie ever made. The first is Wicker Man (1974) starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, and Britt Ekland. The second is Get Out (2017) starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, and Stephen Root. These movies have a common foundation, insofar as they revolve around one man encountering a group of people who seem weird yet relatively harmless at first, but who, in fact, have a gruesome fate planned for him. There are four elements that make these two films scarier than most other horror films. (Be advised that from here on, there are potential spoilers.)

Ignorance

Neither Police Sergeant Howie nor Chris Washington has any idea what is in store for him. Each man enters his respective “dangerous environment” without any inkling of what that danger is. In Howie’s case, he is searching for a missing girl, Rowan, who lives on a remote island off the west coast of Scotland. Chris, a young African-American photographer, is meeting the family and friends of his Caucasian girlfriend, Rose Armitage.

Isolation

Both men are isolated physically as well as socially. The island to which Howie travels is far removed from the traditional civilized world to which he is accustomed. Indeed, lacking even an airfield, the island can only be reached by small boats. Similarly, Rose’s family lives in a large home, surrounded by a forest, in upstate New York. There don’t appear to be any other dwellings nearby. Paralleling the physical isolation is the social isolation. Howie, a devout Christian, is horrified by the pagan beliefs and practices of Summerisle residents. They, in turn, give him no help in his search for Rowan, and cause him added confusion with bizarre pranks. For his part, Chris is definitely a fish out of water in the white upper-class social setting of Rose’s family and friends. During an outdoor party at the Armitage estate, Chris must endure awkward, patronizing comments by the other part-goers, who wish to establish a “connection” with him.

Subtle but Effective Deceit

The Armitages and their crowd, and the residents of Summerisle are evil by any standard meaning of that word. But they are not murderous psychotics like Norman Bates nor do they possess any supernatural powers or even greater-than-average human powers. They are cunning, calculating, and deceitful. Mrs. Armitage puts Chris into a hypnotic state (a “sunken place”) supposedly to help him deal with his mother’s tragic death years ago. But she is really setting him up for the procedure that will take away both his freedom and identity. Chris is left further unprepared by the friendly conversation he has with art dealer Jim Hudson, the one party-goer with whom he’s familiar. In Howie’s case, it’s the hospitality and reasonableness of Lord Summerisle that prompts the police officer to put down his guard. Lord Summerisle, the island’s leader, explains that his people’s pagan beliefs originated with his agronomist grandfather, who introduced crops that prospered in the island’s climate but needed help from the “old gods.” Lord Summerisle doesn’t tell Howie about the kind of sacrifices these gods require.

Plausibility

I believe this element is what gives these two films an added dimension of horror that is missing in most other movies of this type. Quite frankly, the plots of Wicker Man and Get Out are quite plausible. I doubt many people worry about earth being destroyed by aliens or giant home-grown monsters. And social media appears to be the weapon of choice for ill-willed teens rather than knives and axes. But who’s to say a small isolated community could never adopt a nature-based religion reminiscent of the Druids? The fact is, it could, and in all likelihood, any outsider coming into this community would get some nasty surprises. To be sure, the surgical procedure featured in Get Out pushes the envelope — but only a little.  In this age of medical marvels, including surgery performed with lasers or by robots, a procedure whereby one person’s consciousness is transferred into another person’s body seems only slightly out of reach.

So Wicker Man and Get Out are my two choices for the scariest movies ever made. Of course, there are a lot of scary movies I haven’t seen, and more that will be made in the future, so my opinion could change. You may disagree with my choices. That’s fine. I can handle that. But maybe we should discuss our differences at a quiet location far from the clamor of daily life. We could sit down at a table in the drawing room of a large house surrounded by trees. I’m sure we’ll have some lively and enriching dialogue. Oh, by the way, I’ve asked Dr. Armitage and Lord Summerisle to join us.