American Cheerleader

To get into the spooky spirit of things, I’m doing a countdown of my favorite scary movies of all time. Now, these flicks may not be the freakiest or even the most popular or acclaimed of the genre, but they’re MY faves.

Tune in every weekday for another movie, until we get to my favorite scary movie of all time! Now, a recap of my faves so far:

#20: Jaws

#19: The Last House on the Left

#18: The Faculty

And coming in at number…

#17

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

directed by Jonathan Liebesman; starring Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird & Matthew Bomer; Rated R

**This movie is NOT suitable for kids under the age of 17!!

The tale of this particular massacre has been told time and time again, but this particular version has an excellent cast. Jordana Brewster is a standout actress and really makes you feel the terror her character’s going through (she had practice in The Faculty). Also, this version tells the story behind the story, which its predecessors didn’t really get into. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, two young couples get into a car accident while on a road trip and are arrested by a local cop. The cop—who’s not really a cop at all—brings three of the four back to his house of horrors, where he and his psycho family (enter famed Leatherface) torture them one by one.

WHY IT’S SCARY: This family is about as scary as it can get. Not only are these teens stuck out in the middle of nowhere, but they’re being chased around by this guy who’s wearing someone else’s skin! The level of violence and horror in this movie is enough to make you think twice about taking that cross-country trip.

SCARIEST SCENE: When one of the brothers is strapped to a table in the basement and at the mercy of Leatherface. You think, he’s gotta make it out…but he doesn’t.

SCARY STORY: Though touted as being based on a true story, not all the events in this movie were based on factual events. What did mimic real life? The character of Leatherface was fashioned after serial killer Ed Gein, who was known to make masks out of his victims’ skin and wear them.

FUN & FREAKY FACTS:

* Ed Gein is said to have also inspired parts of Psycho and Silence of the Lambs.

* After Jordana worked with producer Andrew Form on the Chainsaw set, the two became a couple, got engaged and were married in May of 2007

* The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994) starred a very crazy Matthew McConaughey and scream-happy (former cheerleader) Renée Zellweger.

They have no idea what's up ahead...

This is why you should never pick up hitchhikers!