MovieChat Forums > Fatal Vision (1984) Discussion > Scariest Movie of My Childhood

Scariest Movie of My Childhood

posted 18 years ago by hollywoodsaint
11 replies | jump to latest

Saw this as a young kid and it gave me nightmares for months; I remember it was shown over two different nights and, as riveting and well-acted as it was, I wished I'd never seen it.. The worst part about it was that it was a TRUE story; I'd seen lots of horror movies, slasher flicks, etc. up till that point and none had much of an effect on me 'cause they were just movies but this-- this showed that someone's DAD could just snap and murder his own wife and kids... To this day, I'm not sure if he's guilty or innocent (I lean towards guilt), but, let me tell you something, if that DNA testing that they're working on right now comes back and shows that he's innocent, there is gonna be some s hit hitting the fan... I'm just sayin'........

[–] JoeLoebner 18 years ago

He might be innocent, according to a Wall Street article that i read.

[–] djk91 18 years ago

I watched it when it aired on NBC in 1985 and what scared me was the music and the picture just before the show went into every commercial break. Really creepy.

[–] edunn91 18 years ago

Yeah your right. I was about 10 years old at the time and I remember that movie
just like it was last week. Gary Cole was incredible and I have followed his career ever since. For some reason TV movies back in the 80's had a way to creep you out.

Some others I remember vividly is The Atlanta Child Murders and The Deliberate Stranger.

[–] fastdriver1171 18 years ago

I think I was about 12 or 13 when this movie came out, and it was quite creepy. I recently bought it on DVD and watched it again and it still packs quite a punch. Yes, Gary Cole was wonderful and one of my favorite actors (he plays creepy guys really well ;) Another scary TV movie that I remember from my childhood was "Don't Go To Sleep"....check that one out on IMDB. I think what makes Fatal Vision so scary is the fact that it's a true story....unimaginable and awful!!!

[–] hollywoodsaint 18 years ago

Interesting footnote to my original post; I recently had a chance to meet Gary Cole and talk to him about "Fatal Vision".. I work in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, and I found myself on the set of a show he was working on.. I said to him, "I gotta tell you, you scared the hell out of me as a kid" and proceeded to tell him about my fixation with FV.. We talked about his experiences working on it, and I asked him if he thinks McDonald is guilty or innocent- he said that he had access to all of the court records, autopsy photos, etc. and said that McDonald's story made perfect sense EXCEPT for the fact that he is still alive.. He said that that one fact makes him think that McDonald is guilty........

[–] jakehasmoved 18 years ago

In response to the question of DNA testing, I have to say that I don't think any testing would help. It's not the length of time that is the issue; it's the lack of samples and controls to compare the samples to. If some DNA was found that didn't belong to any of the 4 MacDonald family members, it would have to be matched to SOMEONE. The problem is, where does one begin? There were quite a few officials on the scene in that house that morning; one would have to rule all of them out, for starters.

I think Jeffrey's behavior convicts him above everything. This has got to be one of the most compelling murder cases I have ever read about.

[–] hollywoodsaint 17 years ago

Just saw it again for the first time in over 22 years- wasn't quite as scary this time; then again, I'm not ten years old anymore :-) ... Nevertheless, still an awful, awful story and very tragic... I guess I would still lean towards thinking that Macdonald is guilty, though there are some extenuating circumstances that prevent me from being 100% sure- and no one who wasn't there that terrible night can be 100% sure of his guilt....

[–] AriaOfTelengard 12 years ago

It was worse for me. I lived about 4 blocks away from the house in the early 1980's. After watching the original broadcast of the TV series, I remember biking to his house the next day and imagining all the crazy things that happened in the boarded up house. Yeah, even though the murder happened in 1970, the house was still under lockdown back in 1983.

[–] Stacy_says 12 years ago

Me too! I watched it and had to crawl into bed with my parents because I saw it when I was like 7 and it made me question mortality for the first time. I think he is guilty but its so hard to believe anyone could do that to the wife and especially those little girls. Still freaks me out.

[–] candigale 11 years ago

OMG!!! I was in 6th or 7th grade when it came out, and I ended up sleeping in my Mom's bed for several months. To this day the trial interests me, but it still creeps me out because it scared the crap out of me!!!

[–] eileen-guthrie555 8 years ago

I was in junior high and I just really kept thinking what were those 2 little girls thinking before their father crushed one girls skull in and stabbed her and the other cradled in his arms and stabbed her to death. Usually not mentality healthy to be thinking about something like that, but when I see children murdered by a parent, someone they trust and rely on to then be so betrayed by a parent. But, I can help it but think what were they thinking when he took their life.

But, I've always thought his story never added up. If people broke into the house, he would be the strongest person and the first one to be taken down or injured because he has to strength to injure or kill one of them he was trained to do just that by the Army. A pregnant woman sleeping and two small little girls would ever be a threat to crazy drugged out hippies. They might be on drugs but I think they would know who would be the biggest threat.