MovieChat Forums > The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) Discussion > possibly one of the most freezingly scar...

possibly one of the most freezingly scary scenes I ever saw.

posted 14 years ago by cmflash
5 replies | jump to latest

When Dorian's hand bumps the hanging lamp in the school room. The black and white movie lighting and the shifting of light and shadows augmenting the silluettes on the wall, put goosebumps on my goosebumps and froze the breath in my throat.

The concept of the sort of atmosphere from that scene has freaked me out for years. Bone chilling! A movie in color can't achieve that sort of feeling. The lighting is all wrong.

Plus Dorians calmness, and the lack of dialouge made it all the more intense.

"Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat". ~Henry Emerson Fosdick

[–] xfastfurious15 11 years ago

that scared you? lol.

[–] tomtac 8 years ago

Could it be because it resembled the similar scene at the end of "Psycho (1960)"?

(No doubt about it in my mind, that Hitchcock had seen this film and borrowed this from it.)

[–] guy_in_west_houston 7 years ago

I thought the same - Hitchcock borrowed the light/shadow trick for Psycho. But I think Dorian is for more effective. I always thought Dorian Gray was a unique horror film - no blood, screaming, or chases - just a creepy story.

[–] slimone (7996) 5 years ago

I remember seeing this film a long time ago and yes it was scary at the end.

[–] Druff (1446) 9 months ago

It was definitely a memorable moment, but personally I'd never describe it as "scary" per se.