Silence Of The Lambs or The Exorcist
People have assumed The Exorcist to be the scariest thing ever put on film. For me Silence Of The Lambs seemed more realistic, and so more scary. The first night I was on my own after moving out of my parents house. I was in Tampa all alone, no furniture, and bored. So I went to see this film (SOTL) that I knew nothing about. After the flick walking to my car Im looking over my shoulder, and so was everyone else walking out of the theatre. SOTL got a nationwide fearful reaction not sen since JAWS like I was Hopkins scared us all, absolutely reinvented his career, and Foster sold for him like a champ. Demme never has been as good since. Friedkins flick
IMO has been passed up by ....sadly...a more realistic horror film.