This month we asked the team in time for Halloween, “What movie(s) scared you or freaked you out so much that you never wanted to see it again?”

Sitting Duck: The only time I’ve experienced that sort of reaction was when I read God Emperor of Dune for the first and last time. As I recall, this was because Frank Herbert’s worst writing habits were on full display, with the narrative mostly consisting of Leto being a pompous bore. I could not bear the thought of going through that ordeal again.

You know, that’s not really in the spirit of this roundtable. Let’s see if I can come up with something else.

Okay, I think I have it. Sort of. The ghost hunting anime series Dark Gathering certainly freaks me out, but not to the point where I never want to see it again. Quite the opposite. Yet each time I watch it, it still manages to get under my skin. Certain aspects like the character designs of the ghosts and how some of the body horror gets implemented are part of it. But what really stands out to me is the sound design, so much so that the manga it slavishly adapts is a bit underwhelming in comparison. I have sensitive hearing, and audio components have a stronger effect on me (especially if I’m wearing headphones). All too often this is for the worse, as happened with The Legend of Hillbilly John and The Stone Tape. Yet in the case of Dark Gathering the music and the sound effects trigger all sorts of subconscious reactions that enhance the experience.

Drake: Let me preface this by saying that in the past I’ve had quite a bit of acupuncture done. And it was incredibly helpful for a few issues I had that just weren’t helped by more traditional Western medicine. So having said that, it’s pretty obvious that I’m going with Takashi Miike’s Audition, right? Because I’ll be honest here, using acupuncture needles to torture your victim is straight up evil. Those things are very sharp and can be somewhat painful at times. Like when you’re sitting there, trying not to move too much since it’s going to be unpleasant if you do, and then a sudden sneeze comes on. Trust me, that’ll light up your nerves like Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

So Asami going all in with the needles had me nope-ing out of ever seeing Audition again. It’s an interesting movie, and Miike is a talented director, but nope. Once is more than enough.

Justin: I get freaked out a little too easily — blame an over-active imagination — so I don’t know what possessed me to see House on Haunted Hill in the theaters in 1999. But I did. And while the last quarter of the film is cheesy and eye-rolling, the first three-fourths pushed all my buttons. This movie does creepy ghosts WAY too well, speeding up or removing frames to make them blurry and jerky. At one point a scare came that I wasn’t prepared for, and I let out a curdling shriek in the theater that still embarrasses me to this day.

Suffice to say, I haven’t rewatched it since. Can’t tell you if it’s actually as scary as I remember or not, but I don’t want to see those ghosts again.

ZombieDog: I know I have more than a few examples, but the one that popped into my head when the question was asked was 2009’s The Road. The Road is an apocalyptic film about a father and his son trying to stay alive. I’ve actually had arguments with my friends about why they love this movie and I don’t. There’s something about the realism that just grabbed me. It was torturous and while some people think the movie ends with the element of hope, I don’t see it that way. The portrayal of the people, the environment, and the hardships were just too real for me. I would be hard-pressed to say exactly why this movie affected me that way, because I watched hundreds of other apocalyptic movies and none of them have disturbed me the way this movie did. Even writing this review bothers me a little bit. I’m not going to tell people to avoid it, I am going to say there’s always something out there that will grab you by the soul and shake you to your foundation.