Let's start with the film:
This movie, this remarkable film, has some REALLY intense moments to it! Seriously, Hiccup's life is seconds from being ripped out quite a few times in the film. I find that, because I really do care about Hiccup, every single time a dragon has him at its mercy I still get chills. It still puts me on edge. Look at these images, he is absolutely terrified in most of them, and then in that last one, even Toothless looks as though he is about to completely lose his nerve. I loved that feeling in the film, the fear and helplessness that the movie could generate without being explicitly violent. The dragons never actually kill anyone, but when they get Hiccup, you still feel very sure that they could! Let's look into them a little.
The Monstrous Nightmare slinking around the burning pole looks so sinister, so cocky and confident that he's about to get his teeth into Hiccup.
Then of course when Toothless pins him... wow! Could you get any more harrowing than having him stooping over you with that paralyzing stare burning into your soul? Imagine what must have been running through Hiccup's head as Toothless makes that thoroughly evil looking face and rears back. Just because he gets cute later in the film does not mean he is a creature who could not have done horrible, terrifying things. Hiccup even faints after that encounter, so I am going to say Toothless wins the scaring competition!
Ugh, thank goodness for Gobber! The part where the Gronckle pushes Hiccup up to the wall and fires at him is pretty fast, pretty furious, and Hiccup goes from feeling remotely safe to feeling like he is going to die in just a matter of seconds. The way he grits his teeth and prepares for the pain is so human. Really makes me feel horrible for him, and then of course my imagination runs through what would have happened if Gobber was not there.
Ok, the Zippleback! Man, even though the moment is short lived, that one is very nasty in its own unique way. I don't think there is any question as to whether the dragons of HTTYD are willing to eat people (Gobber's arm and leg, Fishleg's comments, and many other things point to that.) Let's just say that I have done some experiments on falling backwards and then trying to scoot away like Hiccup did there, trying to use your palms to push yourself back as quickly as possible. MAN! It is scary! The dragon would feel so large, and being on your back but still trying to escape is such a terrifying thing. The Hideous Zippleback even looks excited, looks sort of gleefully cruel as he eyes Hiccup over. Man, the things that boy went through...
When the Red Death first comes out, the camera actually pulls this weird zoom in on the the foreground, zoom out of the background trick on Hiccup and Astrid. It is the same trick used when the Nazgul approaches for the first time in the Lord of The Rings, and it really is a strange way to display fear! I believe the camera trick actually originated in horror films, and the Red Death certainly would have been horrifying!
Ok, last one I'll discuss... The Nightmare in the arena (also known as Hookfang)! That moment, that bit where he gets Hiccup and leans his head down at him with his jaws vibrating in a pleased growl... that has got to be one of the most intense moments in the film. I still get worried watching it. The dragon's chin is actually touching Hiccup's vest. The boy we've grown to love throughout the film is about to about to be killed in a horrible way by the very dragon he was trying to train. Man... Toothless is such a wonderful friend, and thank goodness he showed up because I can only shudder to think what the Nightmare was planning next!
And let's not forget RoB! We had at least one really uncool moment for Hiccup... really uncool. Ugh that Whispering Death nearly killed both Hiccup and Toothless multiple times. So, yeah, an intense scary moment from RoB
And then some less scary moments...
Ha! Tuffnut and his attempts at spookiness. He did a lot better scaring the people than he did scaring the dragons, but then of course the one of the people beat him senseless for doing it...
But none of these, not one, compares with a certain harrowing image someone made for me a while back. It was the product of a seriously frightening mental image that struck me, and then this particular friend decided to capture it in digital paint. I will be forever haunted...
Um... yeah, I'll never view Skrills neutrally again after that. The image alone gave me really vivid nightmares for two nights in a row. Thankfully, the friend did eventually write a short story to accompany this thing, and Hiccup does survive (saved by Toothless), but... just... ugh. Considering it is Halloween, I'll probably re-read that story this evening. It is honestly the most haunting, harrowing thing I've read to date. Makes Edgar Allen Po look silly... makes Jurassic Park feel mind, BUT Hiccup does live through it (Also, please note that it is particularly bad for me because I do love Hiccup so much, and the story was sort of born from an idea that I found frightening. So, someone took something I thought was harrowing and made a story out of it, and unfortunately that someone is an EXCELLENT writer...). Its about five pages, and four and a half of those pages are awful until Toothless finally shows up. If you want to read it, you could find it on Inhonoredglory's blog on Tumblr. Um... it isn't for the faint of heart. Just a warning. I still haven't recovered!
So... harrowing Halloween. I hope you all sleep well, but I know I won't. Stupid of me to look at that image again...
