Scariest Movie Scenes

by Katelyn
(Saskatoon, Canada)

The Scary Twins from The Shining

Movies on the whole rarely scare me. I'm not saying this to prove what a horror badass I am, I'm lamenting the fact that I don't get that visceral, heart in throat feeling more often from film. So I consider myself lucky when a movie has a scene that can give me that sense of terror. I thought I'd share those moments that get me, regardless of the number of times I've seen the movie.

The things that cause fear is very personal, and thus this list is as well. There is no objective criteria with which to judge such a list (such as use of camera, plot, characters) and it is likely that many people won't share my fear.

I in no way am vouching for the quality of the film in it's whole; some movies on this list are admittedly uneven, or sometimes just poor.

Just one more caveat: I am going for scenes that scared me. Thus scenes that are plain disturbing are not included (hence no Audition or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), nor are scenes of tension and suspense (sorry Hitchcock). And I have intentionally excluded the cheap jump scare, my least favorite of all horror devices. To borrow a line from Pet Semetary, "it's the hand from under the bed that caresses your foot in the dead of night." THAT's the scary I'm going for. So here, for everyone to judge, are the scenes that make my heart thump:

5) The eye in the crack of the door - Black Christmas

Yes it's old, and probably pretty cheesy by many standards. But it did "the calls are coming from inside the house" before and better than When a Stranger Calls. And when Olivia Hussey opens that door to find her murdered friend, it's not the body that makes me cringe, but that wide, creepy eye peering at her from the crack of the door, and accompanied by the whispered ramblings of a madman. No Billy. Run Olivia!

4) The bed - The Grudge

OK, let's get one thing straight: the bed is off limits. It's the safe zone, and nothing can get you if you pull the covers high enough. This was the belief that I have lived by since I was about 4... until The Grudge decided to ruin everything.

Not only did Shimizu destroy the image that the bed was protective, he made the threat come from INSIDE the bed. I couldn't sleep that night, imagining I could feel her fingers and hair brush across my toes, certain that she was doing her creepy crawl up my sheets to pull me into her... wherever she pulled people. I don't know, but it's a place I don't want to go. I'll just sleep on the couch, thank you very much.

3) The face in the closet - The Ring

I know most people would consider the scene where she crawls out of the TV to be the scariest in the movie. Not me. In fact, the movie lost me at that point, and I'll spare everyone my diatribe on how much I hated the manipulation at the end of the movie to make Samara evil (which is probably why Ringu worked so much better for me on the whole).

Anyway, I think the closet scene works so well because at this point, the movie has lulled you into a false sense of security. Something creepy and strange has happened yes, but it's over now and this is just a wake. Then you hear "I saw her face" and then YOU see her face and oh my god what the hell was that?! And then it's gone. It's very rare that what is shown on screen is scarier than what I could imagine, but this is one of those cases.

I don't consider this to be a cheap jump scare, because what is shown is actually scary, rather than being a cat in a tree or something else equally lame. It still sometimes makes me hesitate before opening my closet.

2) The man on the bike - In the Mouth of Madness

This is a movie largely ignored by horror fans, and I'll admit it has it's problems. It also has the man on the bike, who gives my willies the willies. What is it about him? The weird time/direction blur? The effective (but strangely obviously fake) make-up? The idea of youth trapped inside a shriveled frame? The assertion "he won't let me out"? No, I think for me, it's the look he gives Styles before gliding away on his bike; that empty, dead, hollow look. Insert shudder here.

1) Twin girls - The Shining

I know, I know, this is like putting The Exorcist at the top of your "scariest movies of all time" list. But these girls deserve the top spot. They have never ceased to make me tense up.

I get tense whenever Danny rides that stupid big wheel in the halls, even when I KNOW they aren't around the corner. Kubrick has such patience for build-up that when he hits you with a horrifying scene, it kind of kicks you in the gut.

I don't even think it's the flashes of them, chopped up in a blood soaked hall. It's the deadness in their faces, and the monotone way they invite Danny into their hell. "Come play with us Danny, forever and ever and ever."


So that's it. I imagine I should be happy I even have some moments that freak me out, as I bet there are many people on this site who just don't get scared anymore at all. But if you do, drop a comment and let me know what scenes get you. I'm always looking to add to this list.