I saw some movies before ratings, and before parents really paid attention. This is the lens I will use for this list.

1. Hang ’Em High – Clint Eastwood. The reason is self-explanatory.
2. The Exorcist – Linda Blair – I had some nightmares from this, and one of the lines used was pretty edgy.
3. Lenny – Dustin Hoffman – There is an explicit scene in here that was edgy for a young man to see in the early 70s. And Lenny Bruce was no choir boy, let’s not forget that.
4. Jaws – Roy Scheider – Today, this movie would have been flagged just for cigarette smoking. Young people were legitimately scared to go in the water after seeing the film.
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Richard Dreyfuss – This was a heavy subject, and it was very believable. It was very thought-provoking.
6. Day of the Dolphin – George C. Scott – I never looked at Dolphins the same way after this.
7. The Changeling – George C. Scott – That wheelchair still creeps me out.
8. The Towering Inferno – Paul Newman – The premise of this happening is still chilling, and this concept has been copied many times over.
9. The Poseidon Adventure – Gene Hackman – Those passengers went through a lot, and so did the viewers!
10. Planet of the Apes – Charlton Heston – As a young boy, I had no idea Rod Serling was a writer for this, but it makes complete sense. It was scary, but over the years, it became funny to me.