As a kid Friday the 13th when it came out was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. As a young adult, I thought Silence of the Lambs was as good as it gets.
The original Friday the 13th was scary as shite when it came out. I was only 9. Kevin Bacon taking the arrow through the neck gave me nightmares. And the Jason Sound was just plain creepy and scary on it's own. A highly underrated horror movie because of all the crap sequels that came out after it.
Silence of the Lambs is simply awesome.
I was 10 when 'Friday' came out and 13 when I first saw it. I had nightmares for weeks. That last scene with the canoe was awesome, I think I jumped out of my skin when it happened. Highly underrated movie, and you're right it;s because of all the goofy sequels. But it's a classic 70's/80's horror movie.
Silence is one of my all time favorite movies. It's almost like Shawshank, in that everytime I'm surfing and come across it I always stop and watch. Hair raising great movie.
You didn't specify "original" here. Do you prefer the 80s version?