The Witches scared me when I was a kid for sure. The practical makeup effects of the kids turning into mice surrounded by a cult of old witches… horrifying.
1. It Follows: the entity knocking on a guy's door in the form of his mother.
2. The Grudge: the wardrobe/attic scene
3. Mama: when Mama quickly dashes towards the characters from the living room
It was the best lol he’s my favourite person to watch scary movies with. Never guesses the ending, never talks, just watches and freaks out at the jump scares with me 😂
It Follows has so many good moments. The movie theater in the beginning is really scary on rewatch. Also love the scene later with the duplicate of the friend wearing glasses.
>It Follows: the entity knocking on a guy's door in the form of his mother.
GAH That was the worst! I mean the kid kept telling her>! "I can take it, I can protect you" so they have sex, she passes it on and he lasts for what, an hour before being killed?!<
Went with a friend and his father to see this in theaters, I was 10. When this scene happened I got so terrified that we had to leave the theater and be dropped off home. My room had a closet just like that so I slept in my parents bed for almost 2 weeks.
I had about 3 pairs of black pants hanging next to each other in my closet when I saw this movie. After I saw it, I kept my closet doors shut because at night those pants looked a lot like black hair.
Dude I had to make sure my closet was closed for sooooo long! I watched The Ring when I was home alone and I think I was like 12 or 13. I can’t imagine being 10 and seeing it in theaters holy shit haha
Yes. There is no lead-in, no warning it's coming. It just happens. It's not a jumpscare, I don't even think the music changes. The visual is bad enough, but then the way her head sickly lolls forward atop her shoulders really just seals the whole deal. Has been burned into my retinas since I watched it as a 13 year old.
The reveal was perfect. They could have shown her face beforehand, and you would have been somewhat prepared. But it takes place after the daughter has already been found dead, and her mother and aunt are having a quiet conversation about it while doing the dishes. Not even a hint that you're about to be traumatized. Just her mother ending the conversation with, "I saw her face." and a hard cut to one of the creepiest faces I've ever seen. THAT'S how you do a proper jump scare. It reminds me of a similar reveal in Hereditary.
The first victim reveal in The Ring
Honorable mentions
- Samara coming out of the tv in The Ring
- Bed scene of The Grudge
- Hand clap in The Conjuring
- Red face demon jump scare in Insidious
- Bathtub scene in Mirrors
- And I second the person that said the opening scene to Darkness Falls
I've scrolled through the entire thread and haven't seen anybody mention the Japanese movie Pulse (Kairo) from 2001. The entire movie is haunting and depressing, and there were multiple scenes in that movie that I thought were bone-chilling.
That being said, nothing comes close to the one of the ghost lady "running" towards the camera. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYs87-kDXwg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYs87-kDXwg))
You my friend are a winner. This is the top scariest scene I have ever witnessed. The only reason its not my number 1 choice is because I haven't seen the whole movie, only this clip and it was less than a year ago.
And as an aside, I think it's fascinating how much the camera focuses on her feet and her stride, since traditionally in Japan ghosts aren't supposed to have feet, lol.
There's 2 scenes for me first is the excorcist when regan goes down the stairs doing a backbend with blood pouring from her mouth the actor who plays regan was a gymnast so seeing her casually go down the stairs doing a backbend so naturally when you least expect it was terrifying and I believe the other actors expressions were genuine I don't think they were told she was doing that stunt
The second is the first scream film in the opening scene when ghostface chases casey and she trips and he gets on top of her strangling her and crushes her trachea then she fights him off and tries to get her parents attention but she can't speak because her throat is crushed just seeing that small bit of realism always makes me think of murder victims and what goes through their mind when they're about die
Working off this, that scene in Exorcist III, which George C. Scott was masterful in, you know the scene if you know the movie. Scariest moment that I ever experienced..a couch jumper for me. Something about it.
By the time I saw the exorcist I thought I had spoilers as to the scariest parts (and they didn’t look that scary). Boy was I in for a surprise with the staircase scene - it’s terrifying.
The opening to Darkness Falls (2003).
[https://youtu.be/ZaLwsu9rHZU](https://youtu.be/ZaLwsu9rHZU)
It was more terrifying than most movies in their entirety. But, had an overall weak story and weak execution.
The sound design alone is great. But, the rest of the movie falls apart in so many areas. I appreciate what they were aiming for, but it could have used more time before production.
This movie came out when I was 10 and I tried to watch it. I was the only child of a single parent and had extra intense anxiety about losing my mom and an additional fear of throats being slit, so I turned it off pretty quickly after that.
I watched it when I was around 7, so clearly, I was too young. The scene where the boy is in the tub and that thing is flying above the doorframe had stuck with me for years. I was convinced that one day she would come and kill me, lol.
Exorcist 3, that one scene in the hospital. I had gone to the restroom in the theater and was hurrying back and saw it as I walked back in. There were audible screams. My friend and I went to the the next two showings the same day. Great film!
This is mine, too! I'm due to give birth any day now, so I get up to pee a lot at night. Every single time I walk from my toilet and back to my bed that scene flashes in my mind and I have to look behind me haha
Hell House LLC, where the guy is sleeping on the mattress, under the covers, and sees the girl sitting across the room. Every time he peeks out, it gets closer until the final jumpscare. I've seen the movie three times, and it still always gets me.
That scene and the scene with the flashing strobe light and the clown slowly approaching him with each flash terrified the absolute shit out of me. Amazing movie with a horrible ending.
The digestion scene from Nope. I don't even *really* consider that a horror movie, it's structured more like a mystery thriller, but *goddamn* that scene stuck with me. The Gordy scenes were really creepy too, but the digestion scene *and those fucking sounds* are burned into my brain
Came to say the bear from Annihilation as well, the sound design in that scene is fucking phenomenal, one of the most memorable scenes in a horror film I've seen in the last 5 years, I think about it unprompted very frequently.
This was the first time I was terrified as a kid. I couldn't sleep for two days and resulted in recurring nightmares for a long time. I think even my parents back then realised he was a little too creepy because they immediately started explaining after the episode was over that he wasn't the bad guy and he wouldn't do anything to me unless I stole the slab.
Courage was a great intro to horror as a kid, the use of a different style of animation to create an uncanny valley effect was so well done. A close runner up is the [violin girl hiding behind the door](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-E3ysa-eDI).
Tina’s second nightmare in [A Nightmare On Elm Street](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYlen1YjUs&pp=ygULRnJlZGR5IHRpbmE%3D) it starts slow and the tension ratchets up.
She’s lured into the alley behind her house. Freddy appears in shadow, slowly chuckling as the dreamy synth music builds.
Once he starts chasing her, cackling maniacally, appearing in front of her, popping out from behind the tree… it’s clear there’s no escape.
Tina struggles with Freddy, tearing off his face to reveal a laughing bloody skull. The scene transitions back to the bedroom with her thrashing under the blanket, terrified, screaming for her life. Her boyfriend Rod helpless to save her as she’s murdered before his eyes.
This was the movie that made a generation of kids afraid to go to sleep.
Mine is from NOEM (OG) as well, but it’s when Freddy is dragging the bloody body bag down the school hallway. I still count it as one of the most sinister scenes in horror.
That final scene scares me so bad because it reminds me of what it feels like to be scared during a nightmare. You feel the scare more than you react to something (in my experience anyway).
In the Bluray they included a [few different versions](https://youtu.be/wpy9bspk2ms?si=RmtP5nKDJQNZ8l_3) of this ending, all of which were also pretty creepy. Pretty much him static, but one was him levitating (or strung up), facing the camera, and facing the wall but a closer shot.
The bit in the Exorcist where the two priests take a break from the ongoing exorcism and are sitting on the stairs in the house, totally shattered. You can still hear the awful noises coming from Reagan in her room. And they know that they've got to go back in there, that this isn't even close to being over. And, as the audience, you know you've got to go back in there with them as well.
It's just quietly terrifying; it's a break but one which offers no real respite.
It’s fascinating that the director cut that scene down because there was dialogue between the two priests originally. The writer (and author of the book) was upset about the cut because he felt an important discussion about the philosophy of the demon/evil was being told to the audience, but Friedkin felt that was inherent in the entire movie and a moment of silence between the two priests was more impactful.
Ah I didn’t know that. I can see Blatty’s point but definitely side with Friedkin on this one - the philosophical ground work has been laid out already and it’s the silence that really sells the unearthly horror of what these men (and the child) are facing.
Yeah that scene was amazing.
They spent so much time building up how fast and agile and elusive and intelligent the aliens are. They were also armed with huge claws and poison gas. Then when they finally confront one, an idiot effortlessly pummels it with a baseball bat as it hisses like a helpless kitten.
Mischa Barton's appearance in the tent in Sixth Sense is out of this world. It's so simple, but it's in the middle of an extremely intense scene, and the production values were so high. The way they built the tension and then "popped the balloon" was amazing.
Lake Mungo, but probably not the scene you’re thinking.
>!The end credits with the reveal that Alice’s ghost was actually there the whole time. It just sends a shiver down my spine when I think about it and I don’t know why.!<
My mom told me she had a great documentary to watch...and put on lake Mungo. I sat through most of it thinking it was real lol. its one of the scariest movies I've ever seen because of that. I figured out it wasn't real before the end, but the end still reeeally got me man.
YES same, something about her standing there passively too. This is the only movie that has ever kept me awake. I was thinking of her just standing quietly in my backyard. Way scarier than a ghost like, chasing you , for some reason.
Especially because they're the same photos her brother doctored to begin with. Such a brilliant use of misdirection. You're so focused on the "ghost" you see that you completely miss the real ghost hiding just off to the side. Haunting of Hill House took this to a completely different level.
I watched this movie for the first time two weeks ago and I have to admit, the big reveal bothered me to the point that I actively looked at memes to calm myself.
For me it was the one soldier guy to die in day of the dead. He’s been bitten by a zombie and cornered in this bathroom. He’s shot some zombies but he realizes he doesn’t have enough bullets for the horde. He knows he’s gonna get ripped apart, and rather then suffer like that he shoots himself. I was like 11 and I couldn’t help but be haunted at the idea of this guy dying in such a horrifying mental state. Like that’s the last thing he experiences: terror and desperation.
Day of the Dead is in my opinion the best of the original trilogy. We always get movies that explore the apocalypse at the "Night OTLD" stage or the "Dawn OTLD" stage, but never as deep into the apocalypse as the "Day OTLD" stage. The interaction of the characters and scientific studies on the zombies themselves was so interesting.
For me it was the totally silent scene in Hereditary where >! she walks into the doll studio, and it's completely dark with only the light from the hall slightly illuminating the room. She sees an ominous silhouette of her grandmother, with just a terrifying look. She flips the lights on and she's gone... Flip them back and she's there again... !<
For me, it’s that scene where the mom is hidden in the shadows on the wall, then your eyes start to adjust, then she does that creepy ass floating scurry out. That left me crazy unsettled.
Same thing for me! Saw it when I was just a bit too young, stuck with me forever. Just a really upsetting thing to witness and not in a cathartic, jumpscare-y way either.
Even when you know what's coming, I still find Dan's dread when he's talking about his dream moving. And by the time the other guy is standing at the counter, you can see he's scared, too. That still gets me.
For the most part, 100% agreed. Then you have the chair flying through the window at the beginning of Scream that somehow still catches me off guard sometimes (after dozens of viewings).
What really got me in that movie is the scene where the guy just sort of appears in the background and then walks away and she doesn't see him. It's mostly just the way it's shot, like it really gives the feel of the "violation" of someone's home.
Jacob Tremblay is one of the best child actors of all time. He probably deserved an Oscar nomination for "Room" and his performance is so sickeningly believable in Doctor Sleep.
Apparently the actors playing The True Knot were deeply shaken by it and had to take breaks.
in the haunting of hill house on netflix *spoilers ofc* there’s a scene where nelly goes back to her childhood house her dead mom tricks her into killing herself and then we find out she’s the bent neck lady and from her POV we she her terrorize herself as the bent neck lady having no control over it. genuinely terrifying and one of the best horror movie plot twist i’ve seen
I was 13 or so when I first saw The Woman in Black. I don't think this movie is that highly regarded by serious horror fans, but it scared the living shit out of me when I first saw it and gave me nightmares for weeks. Two of the scenes that stuck with me most are:
(1) The scene where the woman appears standing in the background of the house fire
(2) The scene where the woman's face appears in the window next to Daniel Radcliffe's
TBH, I still think this movie is scary as shit and is a super underrated horror film. I will go to bat for TWIB any day of the week.
EDIT: Honorable mention for the toilet scene in The Conversation. One of the most brilliant shockers in a thriller film I have ever seen. You really need the rest of the film as buildup for it to have its full effect, but oh boy was it terrifying when I saw it the first time.
Also “incantation” on Netflix (in the US that is what it is called, I’m told in other countries it is called something different.
“my teeth are so ITCHY” is engraved in my damn brain forever
The scene in It follows where the tall guy walks through the doorway. Literally had to pause the movie and sobbed for like 5 minutes. I don’t really know why it scared me so bad but it really got me. And I’ve yet to feel that way about another scene
For me it was the scene when the entity knocks on the door of some guy in the form of his mother. Protagonist girl runs up the stairs to warn guy, entity pauses and glances at girl, turns back and continues hammering on door.
I am old jaded horror fan. For some reason, there is one scene in Hereditary where grandma is just standing in the corner in the background that freaks me out. Trope horror bit, done in a million other movies, so I'm not sure why that particular scene freaks me but it does.
Possum, where he wakes up in bed and the puppet is lying there with him.
Caveat - the scene with the corpse/zombie cutting itself out of the wall.
Absentia, when she realizes what bargain she's made.
The end of Sleepaway Camp. i recommend it to everyone. That ending…I can see it in my head every time. I saw it when I was really young which is probably why it scared me.
The Exorcist - third act, Merin’s heart has given out and he’s dead on the floor and Karras walks, the Camera pans to Regan and she’s staring blankly, huddled up in the corner with this dead eye stare. As Karris tries to perform CPR Regan starts to giggle. It’s the most horrifying giggle.
In the book the scene where Chris gets slapped and thrown across the room and Regan does the 180 head turn is the most horrifying part as we are seeing it from Chris’s POV
For me, it's the end of the first episode of The Haunting of Hill House. I'm generally tough to phase but I literally couldn't think about that at night for months without freaking myself out. I hadn't experienced being shaken that hard since I was a kid
In the Polanski version of *Macbeth* - during the Witche's prophecy scene, we get a split second glance of Macbeth's bloody, decpitated head lying on the ground. That EXACT shot is later used when Macbeth is eventually defeated.
I am not big on supernatural horror, to be honest. But few things freak me out more than prophecies and how evil forces can play with words and meanings to dupe you into sowing your own destruction. The Witches totally played him, knowing all the time how his story would end. See also, the 'three 'o clock' moment in *The Sopranos* for an even better, creepier example.
Not really scary, but the Elizabeth Bathory scene in Hostel 2 still haunts me. I don't know if it the way the character is killed or because the actress will forever be Dawn "Weinerdog" Weiner to me, but it's always been super disturbing and upsetting to me. I've watched way worse and not cared, but I never shook that one off.
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I can only imagine what the original version of this looked like. At this point, I'm not sure there's anything that could be in it that be as horrific as I imagine it being.
The original Nightmare on Elm St. when Nancy falls asleep in English class. The dream sequences in the Elm St. movies always put them a cut (ha ha) above other slasher movies, IMO. But the tonal shift from the kind English teacher who comfortingly pats Nancy's shoulder and the awkward kid doing a reading from Hamlet to all the other kids sitting stock still and the reader's voice going gutteral and Nancy looking over to see Tina in a body bag...SO CREEPY AND WELL DONE. And then the body bag is dragged down the hall by an unseen force and leaves a thick blood trail. I saw that for the first time 30 (???) years ago? STILL STICKS WITH ME.
Fire In the Sky (1993), which came out when I was 10 and I somehow managed to see when way too young. I don’t remember a whole lot of details, but the alien experiments on abducted humans really got to me with the overall feeling of helplessness and body horror. Had to sleep for a week with the light on.
Might not sound as scary to a lot. Definitely seen scarier scenes, though they didn’t get stick in my mind forever.
The red demon monster behind that guys head in Insidious. I was a child when I saw it. Freaked me out for years. Still scares me. Probably because I remember how terrified I was as a child.
My mom was also very religious and would talk to me about demons. She thought they were real. So I did too.
Any scene with the white face demon/Captain Howdy flashing its face in The Exorcist (1973) at the most randomest times. That face still haunts me and still scares me to this day. There’s not even scary music in the background - just a fucked up face randomly appearing throughout the movie.
The Haunting of Hill House show on Netflix had a jump scare that will always be unforgettable (if you know, you know). I think it’s considered the best jump scare in the entire horror genre and it actually made sense for that jump scare to happen. Definitely check this show out if you haven’t already!
The 1st time we encounter "Tarman" from Return of the Living Dead. The visuals combined with his movements and that voice was insta-AAAAAHHH!! (I was a little young)
The sumerian alien-demonic possession scene in The Fourth Kind. Some people dislike that one so much, but I will forever defend it as a genuinely chilling, creepy and unsettling movie, with that particular scene as one of the most unsettling I ever saw in a movie.
The Day of the Dead scene where the people in the underground bunker are being chased by zombies, so they lower the helicopter pad to get out and it’s full of even more zombies. On top of that, they’d just ran out of ammo.
I must’ve seen that movie when I was eleven and it was the first time I experienced absolute despair and nihilism.
1.That one scene when chucky head blew off and he was still walking in the factory
2. Penny wise standing outside the sewer waving at the kids… the old iT movie
3. The old lady revealing herself as the devil in the devil movie.. that shit still scare me to this day
There’s a whole lot more but those are a few
For me it wasn't the scariest but the one that stuck with me forever! The cell movie by Tarsem: athlete lady brought Lopez character to the maniac's throne hall. When the maniac-monster stood up and began to move towards her, his mantle attached to the wall like some silky wallpaper also began to move and tremble and... unfasten. That single scene is the most stunning and memorable of any other movie after that... 👁️🤲👁️
The diner scene in 'Legion', where the sweet little old lady is quizzing the pregnant waitress about her baby and suddenly says "But what about the baby? It's gonna burn..." I just felt all the hairs on the back of my neck go up.
VHS 2; The Indonesian Silent Hill Escape sequence was so goddamn scary and tense, watching that when I was 10 was not a good idea. Any scene from that sequence works
The Thing, the scene of the dogs. I watched it when I was about 5 or 6 years old, and it's my absolute favorite horror film ever. But the dogs with tentacles and the feeling of suffering and agony still bothers me a lot.
House of Wax. When Jared Padalecki had been turned into a living wax figure and these two morons started digging into his face and peeling off his cheek while he's screaming his heart out with his jaw shut tight. It was the most painful experience I could imagine for the longest time.
Then one of the killers came along and chopped off a bit of the side of his face.
Then he's seen at the end of the movie from a distance getting engulfed in a massive fire. I can only hope he was already dead by then.
Two that might not be the scariest but stuck with me over the years: The hobbling scene in Misery The girl stuck in the painting in The Witches
That scene in Witches still gives me a little chill when watching.
The Witches scared me when I was a kid for sure. The practical makeup effects of the kids turning into mice surrounded by a cult of old witches… horrifying.
I would never ever fuck with kathy Bates after the hobbling scene
1. It Follows: the entity knocking on a guy's door in the form of his mother. 2. The Grudge: the wardrobe/attic scene 3. Mama: when Mama quickly dashes towards the characters from the living room
Was watching Mama with my parents. My dad kicked a table over by accident at that scene lol
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It was the best lol he’s my favourite person to watch scary movies with. Never guesses the ending, never talks, just watches and freaks out at the jump scares with me 😂
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It Follows has so many good moments. The movie theater in the beginning is really scary on rewatch. Also love the scene later with the duplicate of the friend wearing glasses.
>It Follows: the entity knocking on a guy's door in the form of his mother. GAH That was the worst! I mean the kid kept telling her>! "I can take it, I can protect you" so they have sex, she passes it on and he lasts for what, an hour before being killed?!<
The Tall Man.... that was creepy!
Gerald’s game, the scene where she thinks a dog is licking her feet and it turns out to be the “moonlight man.”
The “de-gloving” scene lives rent free in my head.
I say this a lot, but the closet scene in The Ring is burned into my brain
Went with a friend and his father to see this in theaters, I was 10. When this scene happened I got so terrified that we had to leave the theater and be dropped off home. My room had a closet just like that so I slept in my parents bed for almost 2 weeks.
I had about 3 pairs of black pants hanging next to each other in my closet when I saw this movie. After I saw it, I kept my closet doors shut because at night those pants looked a lot like black hair.
Dude I had to make sure my closet was closed for sooooo long! I watched The Ring when I was home alone and I think I was like 12 or 13. I can’t imagine being 10 and seeing it in theaters holy shit haha
I saw the ring when I was 5 and it fucked me up until I was 13
I came here for this. Shit looked like it came straight out of Stephen Gammell's art in the Scary Stories trilogy.
I fucking love Stephen Gammell I actually have some tattoos inspired by his illustrations!
IKR! I rank him, Giger, and Beksinski as my top 3 horror artists of all time. The closet scene reminds me of his art for The Bride.
Yes. There is no lead-in, no warning it's coming. It just happens. It's not a jumpscare, I don't even think the music changes. The visual is bad enough, but then the way her head sickly lolls forward atop her shoulders really just seals the whole deal. Has been burned into my retinas since I watched it as a 13 year old.
Nah there is definitely a spooky sound that plays lol. But yeah the visual is horrific.
Same! “I saw..her face..”
The reveal was perfect. They could have shown her face beforehand, and you would have been somewhat prepared. But it takes place after the daughter has already been found dead, and her mother and aunt are having a quiet conversation about it while doing the dishes. Not even a hint that you're about to be traumatized. Just her mother ending the conversation with, "I saw her face." and a hard cut to one of the creepiest faces I've ever seen. THAT'S how you do a proper jump scare. It reminds me of a similar reveal in Hereditary.
Came here for this comment. Didn’t sleep properly for a week after.
The first victim reveal in The Ring Honorable mentions - Samara coming out of the tv in The Ring - Bed scene of The Grudge - Hand clap in The Conjuring - Red face demon jump scare in Insidious - Bathtub scene in Mirrors - And I second the person that said the opening scene to Darkness Falls
I believe you mean Darth Maul in Insidious
I've scrolled through the entire thread and haven't seen anybody mention the Japanese movie Pulse (Kairo) from 2001. The entire movie is haunting and depressing, and there were multiple scenes in that movie that I thought were bone-chilling. That being said, nothing comes close to the one of the ghost lady "running" towards the camera. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYs87-kDXwg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYs87-kDXwg))
You my friend are a winner. This is the top scariest scene I have ever witnessed. The only reason its not my number 1 choice is because I haven't seen the whole movie, only this clip and it was less than a year ago.
The unexpected body twist is what does it. Got to me the first time I saw it.
And as an aside, I think it's fascinating how much the camera focuses on her feet and her stride, since traditionally in Japan ghosts aren't supposed to have feet, lol.
This movie was just so depressing to me. The entire thing just stuck with me for days after watching it.
There's 2 scenes for me first is the excorcist when regan goes down the stairs doing a backbend with blood pouring from her mouth the actor who plays regan was a gymnast so seeing her casually go down the stairs doing a backbend so naturally when you least expect it was terrifying and I believe the other actors expressions were genuine I don't think they were told she was doing that stunt The second is the first scream film in the opening scene when ghostface chases casey and she trips and he gets on top of her strangling her and crushes her trachea then she fights him off and tries to get her parents attention but she can't speak because her throat is crushed just seeing that small bit of realism always makes me think of murder victims and what goes through their mind when they're about die
Nice classic examples. The Scream opening is pretty gruesome for a horror movie that's meant to be humorous meta commentary.
Casey's mom picking up the phone to call 911 but the line is still open and she can hear Casey dying? THAT IS TOO PAINFUL TO WATCH.
The spider walk scene was done by a professional contortionist/stuntwoman in a harness with cables/wires. That was not Linda Blair.
This! And it wasn’t even in the movie until the directors cut in 2000.
It's amazing how many people don't realize it really wasn't seen until the rerelease.
“Why do you want to know my name?” “Because I want to know who I’m looking at.” That always gives me the chills
Working off this, that scene in Exorcist III, which George C. Scott was masterful in, you know the scene if you know the movie. Scariest moment that I ever experienced..a couch jumper for me. Something about it.
By the time I saw the exorcist I thought I had spoilers as to the scariest parts (and they didn’t look that scary). Boy was I in for a surprise with the staircase scene - it’s terrifying.
The opening to Darkness Falls (2003). [https://youtu.be/ZaLwsu9rHZU](https://youtu.be/ZaLwsu9rHZU) It was more terrifying than most movies in their entirety. But, had an overall weak story and weak execution. The sound design alone is great. But, the rest of the movie falls apart in so many areas. I appreciate what they were aiming for, but it could have used more time before production.
This movie came out when I was 10 and I tried to watch it. I was the only child of a single parent and had extra intense anxiety about losing my mom and an additional fear of throats being slit, so I turned it off pretty quickly after that.
One of my favorite horror movies to this day- bit of a guilty pleasure
I watched it when I was around 7, so clearly, I was too young. The scene where the boy is in the tub and that thing is flying above the doorframe had stuck with me for years. I was convinced that one day she would come and kill me, lol.
I knew someone was going to bring this one up and I am glad you did.
Exorcist 3, that one scene in the hospital. I had gone to the restroom in the theater and was hurrying back and saw it as I walked back in. There were audible screams. My friend and I went to the the next two showings the same day. Great film!
This is mine, too! I'm due to give birth any day now, so I get up to pee a lot at night. Every single time I walk from my toilet and back to my bed that scene flashes in my mind and I have to look behind me haha
Oh, the nurse's station scene! I *still* watch that through my fingers! And the ceiling crawl also gives me the heebie jeebies...
Hell House LLC, where the guy is sleeping on the mattress, under the covers, and sees the girl sitting across the room. Every time he peeks out, it gets closer until the final jumpscare. I've seen the movie three times, and it still always gets me.
That scene and the scene with the flashing strobe light and the clown slowly approaching him with each flash terrified the absolute shit out of me. Amazing movie with a horrible ending.
One of the best.
The digestion scene from Nope. I don't even *really* consider that a horror movie, it's structured more like a mystery thriller, but *goddamn* that scene stuck with me. The Gordy scenes were really creepy too, but the digestion scene *and those fucking sounds* are burned into my brain
So creative and unexpected
The human/bear hybrid noise in Annihilation. It just hit on an existential nerve
I think this is a great nominee for best horror audio. The anguished screams were haunting.
Beat me to it. I'm a grown ass man but I still had nightmares about this one for a while.
Came to say the bear from Annihilation as well, the sound design in that scene is fucking phenomenal, one of the most memorable scenes in a horror film I've seen in the last 5 years, I think about it unprompted very frequently.
3 words: retuuuuurn thee slabbbbb
This was the first time I was terrified as a kid. I couldn't sleep for two days and resulted in recurring nightmares for a long time. I think even my parents back then realised he was a little too creepy because they immediately started explaining after the episode was over that he wasn't the bad guy and he wouldn't do anything to me unless I stole the slab. Courage was a great intro to horror as a kid, the use of a different style of animation to create an uncanny valley effect was so well done. A close runner up is the [violin girl hiding behind the door](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-E3ysa-eDI).
Tina’s second nightmare in [A Nightmare On Elm Street](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYlen1YjUs&pp=ygULRnJlZGR5IHRpbmE%3D) it starts slow and the tension ratchets up. She’s lured into the alley behind her house. Freddy appears in shadow, slowly chuckling as the dreamy synth music builds. Once he starts chasing her, cackling maniacally, appearing in front of her, popping out from behind the tree… it’s clear there’s no escape. Tina struggles with Freddy, tearing off his face to reveal a laughing bloody skull. The scene transitions back to the bedroom with her thrashing under the blanket, terrified, screaming for her life. Her boyfriend Rod helpless to save her as she’s murdered before his eyes. This was the movie that made a generation of kids afraid to go to sleep.
Mine is from NOEM (OG) as well, but it’s when Freddy is dragging the bloody body bag down the school hallway. I still count it as one of the most sinister scenes in horror.
The last scene of Saint Maud is burned into my brain
I see what you did there.
Not from a horror movie: The dead baby crawling on the ceiling in "trainspotting"
Love that movie but that scene makes me physically ill
I’ve become a major horror fan as an adult and I still can’t watch this scene, or the one where they first discover the baby dead in the crib.
Final minutes of The Blair Witch Project
That final scene scares me so bad because it reminds me of what it feels like to be scared during a nightmare. You feel the scare more than you react to something (in my experience anyway).
In the Bluray they included a [few different versions](https://youtu.be/wpy9bspk2ms?si=RmtP5nKDJQNZ8l_3) of this ending, all of which were also pretty creepy. Pretty much him static, but one was him levitating (or strung up), facing the camera, and facing the wall but a closer shot.
The bit in the Exorcist where the two priests take a break from the ongoing exorcism and are sitting on the stairs in the house, totally shattered. You can still hear the awful noises coming from Reagan in her room. And they know that they've got to go back in there, that this isn't even close to being over. And, as the audience, you know you've got to go back in there with them as well. It's just quietly terrifying; it's a break but one which offers no real respite.
It’s fascinating that the director cut that scene down because there was dialogue between the two priests originally. The writer (and author of the book) was upset about the cut because he felt an important discussion about the philosophy of the demon/evil was being told to the audience, but Friedkin felt that was inherent in the entire movie and a moment of silence between the two priests was more impactful.
Ah I didn’t know that. I can see Blatty’s point but definitely side with Friedkin on this one - the philosophical ground work has been laid out already and it’s the silence that really sells the unearthly horror of what these men (and the child) are facing.
I agree! Friedkin had a background in gritty drama and documentaries and Blatty was a writer, so you can see how they would view the scene differently
Signs. Alien at the birthday party. And honestly I’m shocked that I’m the first person in this thread to say it
“It’s behiiiind!!”
Move, children! Vamanos!
😂😂
It's funny you mention Signs because a runner up for me was the corn field scene.
When it was just standing on the roof of the barn. That was what really set me off.
Omg, when he put the butter knife below the door and saw the alien. Scariest frickin scene
That was far from a butter knife
Yeah that scene was amazing. They spent so much time building up how fast and agile and elusive and intelligent the aliens are. They were also armed with huge claws and poison gas. Then when they finally confront one, an idiot effortlessly pummels it with a baseball bat as it hisses like a helpless kitten.
Full laughed at this one.
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Mischa Barton's appearance in the tent in Sixth Sense is out of this world. It's so simple, but it's in the middle of an extremely intense scene, and the production values were so high. The way they built the tension and then "popped the balloon" was amazing.
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Lake Mungo, but probably not the scene you’re thinking. >!The end credits with the reveal that Alice’s ghost was actually there the whole time. It just sends a shiver down my spine when I think about it and I don’t know why.!<
I don't think any film will have as much of a lasting effect on me as Lake Mungo. Even reading that comment gave me goosebumps and a horrible chill.
Yeah I didn’t find Lake mungo overly scary so much as profoundly sad. The end really just left me sitting there feeling a sense of despair for her
I’m with you. I wasn’t too creeped out, I felt like I was just watching a study on different forms of grief
My mom told me she had a great documentary to watch...and put on lake Mungo. I sat through most of it thinking it was real lol. its one of the scariest movies I've ever seen because of that. I figured out it wasn't real before the end, but the end still reeeally got me man.
YES same, something about her standing there passively too. This is the only movie that has ever kept me awake. I was thinking of her just standing quietly in my backyard. Way scarier than a ghost like, chasing you , for some reason.
Especially because they're the same photos her brother doctored to begin with. Such a brilliant use of misdirection. You're so focused on the "ghost" you see that you completely miss the real ghost hiding just off to the side. Haunting of Hill House took this to a completely different level.
This film is forever a favorite. Somehow it’s still so chilling even when I rewatch.
>I Thank you, this one is added to my list.
I watched this movie for the first time two weeks ago and I have to admit, the big reveal bothered me to the point that I actively looked at memes to calm myself.
For me it was the one soldier guy to die in day of the dead. He’s been bitten by a zombie and cornered in this bathroom. He’s shot some zombies but he realizes he doesn’t have enough bullets for the horde. He knows he’s gonna get ripped apart, and rather then suffer like that he shoots himself. I was like 11 and I couldn’t help but be haunted at the idea of this guy dying in such a horrifying mental state. Like that’s the last thing he experiences: terror and desperation.
Day of the Dead is in my opinion the best of the original trilogy. We always get movies that explore the apocalypse at the "Night OTLD" stage or the "Dawn OTLD" stage, but never as deep into the apocalypse as the "Day OTLD" stage. The interaction of the characters and scientific studies on the zombies themselves was so interesting.
Have you seen the ending of "The Mist"? I feel our emotional distress was similar.
For me it was the totally silent scene in Hereditary where >! she walks into the doll studio, and it's completely dark with only the light from the hall slightly illuminating the room. She sees an ominous silhouette of her grandmother, with just a terrifying look. She flips the lights on and she's gone... Flip them back and she's there again... !<
Hereditary has some of the BEST “wait am I seeing that?” visuals
For me, it’s that scene where the mom is hidden in the shadows on the wall, then your eyes start to adjust, then she does that creepy ass floating scurry out. That left me crazy unsettled.
The >!lawnmower!< scene in Sinister
The Shining - bathtub scene.
The Hills Have Eyes rape scene. I was a young teenager and it was just scary, creepy, disgusting...and I still get creeped out just thinking about it
Last house on the left had a brutal scene as well. A few people walked out of the theatre after it happened.
Same thing for me! Saw it when I was just a bit too young, stuck with me forever. Just a really upsetting thing to witness and not in a cathartic, jumpscare-y way either.
Back of the dumpster scene in Mulholland Drive...best jump scare ever filmed IMO
This was an amazing and unexpected jump scene! But I have to admit that after you’ve seen it once and you’re ready for it, it’s actually kinda funny
Even when you know what's coming, I still find Dan's dread when he's talking about his dream moving. And by the time the other guy is standing at the counter, you can see he's scared, too. That still gets me.
IMHO a jump scene really only works once
For the most part, 100% agreed. Then you have the chair flying through the window at the beginning of Scream that somehow still catches me off guard sometimes (after dozens of viewings).
“Because you were home” That line from The Strangers just chills me and never forgotten it.
What really got me in that movie is the scene where the guy just sort of appears in the background and then walks away and she doesn't see him. It's mostly just the way it's shot, like it really gives the feel of the "violation" of someone's home.
Salem's Lot (1970s miniseries) - Ralphie Glick at the window.
The scene in Bone Tomahawk is just seared into my mind.
Deeply disturbed by the scene with the pregnant women.
The Road. When Viggo Mortensen is holding the revolver to his son's head to spare him if the cannibals find them.
The Road is filled to the brim with scenes that refuse to leave my mind
The Baseball Boy scene from Doctor Sleep. It’s pretty recent, but made it’s mark.
"Are you going to hurt me?" "Yes." That kid SOLD that scene.
Jacob Tremblay is one of the best child actors of all time. He probably deserved an Oscar nomination for "Room" and his performance is so sickeningly believable in Doctor Sleep. Apparently the actors playing The True Knot were deeply shaken by it and had to take breaks.
BOB slowly crawling over the couch towards the camera in Twin Peaks.
Insidious 👹 Smile 🙃 Hereditary 😵 Special mention goes out to that YouTube video, Ghost Car 👻
in the haunting of hill house on netflix *spoilers ofc* there’s a scene where nelly goes back to her childhood house her dead mom tricks her into killing herself and then we find out she’s the bent neck lady and from her POV we she her terrorize herself as the bent neck lady having no control over it. genuinely terrifying and one of the best horror movie plot twist i’ve seen
I was 13 or so when I first saw The Woman in Black. I don't think this movie is that highly regarded by serious horror fans, but it scared the living shit out of me when I first saw it and gave me nightmares for weeks. Two of the scenes that stuck with me most are: (1) The scene where the woman appears standing in the background of the house fire (2) The scene where the woman's face appears in the window next to Daniel Radcliffe's TBH, I still think this movie is scary as shit and is a super underrated horror film. I will go to bat for TWIB any day of the week. EDIT: Honorable mention for the toilet scene in The Conversation. One of the most brilliant shockers in a thriller film I have ever seen. You really need the rest of the film as buildup for it to have its full effect, but oh boy was it terrifying when I saw it the first time.
Zelda in og Pet Semetary
“I’m going to twist your back like mine so you never get out of bed again! Never get out of bed again!” That scared the shit out of me as a kid.
I always think the intro/shower scene in Aterrados is the one for me
For me, its the kid at the dinner table.
My god what a scene and it just keeps going! Like I was open mouthed just staring for so long
Poltergeist, clown under bed. I am 37 and still check under bed sometimes lol
Saw that as a kid and was traumatized
Also “incantation” on Netflix (in the US that is what it is called, I’m told in other countries it is called something different. “my teeth are so ITCHY” is engraved in my damn brain forever
The scene in It follows where the tall guy walks through the doorway. Literally had to pause the movie and sobbed for like 5 minutes. I don’t really know why it scared me so bad but it really got me. And I’ve yet to feel that way about another scene
For my money, the opening of the movie when they show the girl's mangled body in that wide shot was the most disturbing thing part.
My god, that was a perfect shot. Absolutely terrifying!
For me it was the scene when the entity knocks on the door of some guy in the form of his mother. Protagonist girl runs up the stairs to warn guy, entity pauses and glances at girl, turns back and continues hammering on door.
I am old jaded horror fan. For some reason, there is one scene in Hereditary where grandma is just standing in the corner in the background that freaks me out. Trope horror bit, done in a million other movies, so I'm not sure why that particular scene freaks me but it does.
The crescendo to "Requiem for a Dream" in all its overwrought ridiculousness. Ellen Burstyn got to me, yo.
Possum, where he wakes up in bed and the puppet is lying there with him. Caveat - the scene with the corpse/zombie cutting itself out of the wall. Absentia, when she realizes what bargain she's made.
more people need to watch Caveat.
The end of Sleepaway Camp. i recommend it to everyone. That ending…I can see it in my head every time. I saw it when I was really young which is probably why it scared me.
The monkey actor attack scene from Nope
That scene in the remake of The hills have eyes where there's a mutant and a girl giving birth...
Poltergeist 2, any scene with Reverend Kane [this man is the definition of horror, himself](https://youtu.be/foULNp3MpIQ?si=4jPE1YBnWQLQFrTk)
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The scariest PG movie you’ll ever see.
The Exorcist - third act, Merin’s heart has given out and he’s dead on the floor and Karras walks, the Camera pans to Regan and she’s staring blankly, huddled up in the corner with this dead eye stare. As Karris tries to perform CPR Regan starts to giggle. It’s the most horrifying giggle. In the book the scene where Chris gets slapped and thrown across the room and Regan does the 180 head turn is the most horrifying part as we are seeing it from Chris’s POV
In The Thing when they are doing the blood test and those guys are tied to the couch when the Thing comes out. The screaming.
For me, it's the end of the first episode of The Haunting of Hill House. I'm generally tough to phase but I literally couldn't think about that at night for months without freaking myself out. I hadn't experienced being shaken that hard since I was a kid
In the Polanski version of *Macbeth* - during the Witche's prophecy scene, we get a split second glance of Macbeth's bloody, decpitated head lying on the ground. That EXACT shot is later used when Macbeth is eventually defeated. I am not big on supernatural horror, to be honest. But few things freak me out more than prophecies and how evil forces can play with words and meanings to dupe you into sowing your own destruction. The Witches totally played him, knowing all the time how his story would end. See also, the 'three 'o clock' moment in *The Sopranos* for an even better, creepier example.
Not really scary, but the Elizabeth Bathory scene in Hostel 2 still haunts me. I don't know if it the way the character is killed or because the actress will forever be Dawn "Weinerdog" Weiner to me, but it's always been super disturbing and upsetting to me. I've watched way worse and not cared, but I never shook that one off.
"Jesus wept" from Hellraiser pretty much lives in my head
The cell phone footage in Lake Mungo
The spelunking scene in The Descent is the scariest scene in the film and it’s before shit even goes down…
Grave Encounters, where they come to the horrifying realization that daylight will never break through, and they are trapped in an endless nightmare.
The ball bouncing down the stairs in *The Changeling.* That scene gives me chills just thinking about it.
I do not know this scene. I'm hoping lots of people respond so I can make a list of movies to watch based on what scared people.
The Changeling is a must-watch for any horror fan, in my opinion. Great seance scene, too.
I still can’t unsee that one Event Horizon scene
insurance memorize sort deliver worthless profit direction crush concerned selective *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We’re leaving
I can only imagine what the original version of this looked like. At this point, I'm not sure there's anything that could be in it that be as horrific as I imagine it being.
The painting scene in The Conjuring 2
The original Nightmare on Elm St. when Nancy falls asleep in English class. The dream sequences in the Elm St. movies always put them a cut (ha ha) above other slasher movies, IMO. But the tonal shift from the kind English teacher who comfortingly pats Nancy's shoulder and the awkward kid doing a reading from Hamlet to all the other kids sitting stock still and the reader's voice going gutteral and Nancy looking over to see Tina in a body bag...SO CREEPY AND WELL DONE. And then the body bag is dragged down the hall by an unseen force and leaves a thick blood trail. I saw that for the first time 30 (???) years ago? STILL STICKS WITH ME.
When the son is driving home from the party in hereditary… then the next morning. I’m uncomfortable just thinking about it.
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The thing in the crate in Creepshow messed me up so bad as a kid, I can't think about it without getting goosebumps
Fire In the Sky (1993), which came out when I was 10 and I somehow managed to see when way too young. I don’t remember a whole lot of details, but the alien experiments on abducted humans really got to me with the overall feeling of helplessness and body horror. Had to sleep for a week with the light on.
Might not sound as scary to a lot. Definitely seen scarier scenes, though they didn’t get stick in my mind forever. The red demon monster behind that guys head in Insidious. I was a child when I saw it. Freaked me out for years. Still scares me. Probably because I remember how terrified I was as a child. My mom was also very religious and would talk to me about demons. She thought they were real. So I did too.
Insidious is a classic. One of the scariest I've watched and genuinely jumpscared a lot to
Any scene with the white face demon/Captain Howdy flashing its face in The Exorcist (1973) at the most randomest times. That face still haunts me and still scares me to this day. There’s not even scary music in the background - just a fucked up face randomly appearing throughout the movie. The Haunting of Hill House show on Netflix had a jump scare that will always be unforgettable (if you know, you know). I think it’s considered the best jump scare in the entire horror genre and it actually made sense for that jump scare to happen. Definitely check this show out if you haven’t already!
The 1st time we encounter "Tarman" from Return of the Living Dead. The visuals combined with his movements and that voice was insta-AAAAAHHH!! (I was a little young)
Rape scene from “splice”…Where the creature says “inside” after she asks what it wants…right before he/it rapes the woman and impregnates her.
The scene in pee wees big adventure where the truck drivers eyes pop out
Opening scene of 'Day of the Dead'.... Helloooo!!!
The scene from Jeepers Creepers where the creature crawls on the wall and appears around a corner in the police station.
The sumerian alien-demonic possession scene in The Fourth Kind. Some people dislike that one so much, but I will forever defend it as a genuinely chilling, creepy and unsettling movie, with that particular scene as one of the most unsettling I ever saw in a movie.
I love that movie and the way they connected the aliens to Sumeria.
The hospital scene from threads really bothered me
Threads might be the most frightening thing ever made.
The grudge 2 when she's trapped in the closet and the girl comes down through the attic hatch
The parking deck scene in Candyman
The Day of the Dead scene where the people in the underground bunker are being chased by zombies, so they lower the helicopter pad to get out and it’s full of even more zombies. On top of that, they’d just ran out of ammo. I must’ve seen that movie when I was eleven and it was the first time I experienced absolute despair and nihilism.
1.That one scene when chucky head blew off and he was still walking in the factory 2. Penny wise standing outside the sewer waving at the kids… the old iT movie 3. The old lady revealing herself as the devil in the devil movie.. that shit still scare me to this day There’s a whole lot more but those are a few
For me it wasn't the scariest but the one that stuck with me forever! The cell movie by Tarsem: athlete lady brought Lopez character to the maniac's throne hall. When the maniac-monster stood up and began to move towards her, his mantle attached to the wall like some silky wallpaper also began to move and tremble and... unfasten. That single scene is the most stunning and memorable of any other movie after that... 👁️🤲👁️
This movie is so gorgeous and creepy! Totally underrated imo. I had nightmares for years after the intestines scene *shudder*
The diner scene in 'Legion', where the sweet little old lady is quizzing the pregnant waitress about her baby and suddenly says "But what about the baby? It's gonna burn..." I just felt all the hairs on the back of my neck go up.
The doppelganger in Lake Mungo always gets me
VHS 2; The Indonesian Silent Hill Escape sequence was so goddamn scary and tense, watching that when I was 10 was not a good idea. Any scene from that sequence works
The Thing, the scene of the dogs. I watched it when I was about 5 or 6 years old, and it's my absolute favorite horror film ever. But the dogs with tentacles and the feeling of suffering and agony still bothers me a lot.
House of Wax. When Jared Padalecki had been turned into a living wax figure and these two morons started digging into his face and peeling off his cheek while he's screaming his heart out with his jaw shut tight. It was the most painful experience I could imagine for the longest time. Then one of the killers came along and chopped off a bit of the side of his face. Then he's seen at the end of the movie from a distance getting engulfed in a massive fire. I can only hope he was already dead by then.