10. The Princess Bride
Lets ease our way into the list and start with something a little more mainstream. Ive only ever met one person in my entire life who hadnt seen this movie, and I cant comprehend how he managed to avoid it for so long.
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The Princess Bride: I find it hard to believe that he hadnt been strapped to a chair and forced to watch it the moment anyone found out hed never seen it (dont worry, I took care of it). I wont go on about how good this movie is because something tells me you already know. Instead lets get right to the part that made me hide under the covers and clutch a stuffed stuffed animal for protection. There are actually two moments in the film that are downright terrifying to a 5 year old. First theres the scene on the water. While Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) is the prisoner of the outlaw Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) she attempts to escape his ship by swimming away. However she quickly realizes that shes not going to make it very far because giant, hungry eels begin to circle her. The sky and water are pitch black; all we can see of the eels are brief glimpses of their backs and the ripples they create as they circle closer and closer to Buttercup. The scene is so tense and terrifying that, much to my 5 year old selfs relief, the narrator has to interrupt the story to reassure us, and Fred Savage, that Buttercups not going to be devoured by bloodthirsty sea-creatures. The next scene may not be quite as terrifying as man-eating sea serpents, but it still managed to haunt my dreams. Im referring to the scene in the Fire Swamp where Westley (Cary Elwes) faces off against one of the aptly titled R.O.U.Ss (Rodents of Unusual Size). A giant rat may not seem like the scariest monster youd ever have to battle in a fairy tale movie, but when youre barely pushing 3 feet tall theyre more than scary enough to induce nightmares.