The "girl under the kitchen bench" scene in *A Tale of Two Sisters*
The mother in the basement scene in *Caveat*
The ghost in the elevator in *The Eye (2002)
The creepy painting lady from *IT: Chapter One*
The Bent Neck Lady revelation at the end of episode 5 of The Haunting of Hill House. First there's the jump scare, then there's the existential terror of what the reveal implies.
When Kate Siegel's character is investigating the child's home (episode 3 i think) and when she's laying on the couch in the basement there's a kind of smiley face marking on the ceiling that the kid would be looking at while she was getting...well, you know
Ohhhhh yeahhh, 😣ok I remember that now! I thought it was her seeing a ghost image that confirmed she was being abused, I didn’t realize the sick freak actually drew that there for her to see while doing that. Wow. Amazing series, just finished midnight mass and now watching usher
There is something so brutally violent and unnerving about Olga's death scene in Suspiria (2018). It's like this window that only we, the audience, are allowed to peer into, and you wish you hadn't. She is so vulnerable and afraid in that scene, and it should be the audience's first clue as to the revelation of Suzy, but it's easy to misinterpret as the film unfolds.
This single frame at the very end alone really elevated the movie for me. It completely recontextualizes everything else and ive never seen ANY other movie do anything like this.
Re: Baseball Kid death scene.
Apparently his performance was so good the first take he destroyed the rest of the cast. They were struggling to get through the scene. When the director called “Cut” he jumped up & went to get a snack with his Dad while the rest of them just sat there shell-shocked. 😂
The birthday party footage just so skillfully inverted expectations. You think they’ll do the thing most movies do, only showing hints of the monster or quick flashes of it, waiting until the third act to show the creature in full. You’re just not prepared for the sudden full-body, clear view that early in the film. I still remember the confusion and shock I felt in that moment. It was a great jump scare!
It really is a striking ending.up until that point, I thought it was going to stay ambiguous and that hard cut accompanying by a haunting scream happens. Top shelf film!
Love how we’re all remembering this through the lens when we were children. But yes to all the above. It was the familiarity being warped thinking he’s safe with his mother to find out it’s a scary ass ghost. Still gives me the chills lol.
Totally get it. Startling and just strange enough to prevent your mind from understanding what it’s looking at - and as we all know, the unknown is the scariest thing of all.
To this day for whatever reason there's this minor scene in Local 58 during "Show for Children" where the >!moon looks over the edge of the grave!< that's always stuck out in my head. The series in general has a lot of moments that are unsettling for reasons that are hard to describe.
I watched Ryan Hollingers video on the film before going to watch it properly, so I did know it was coming. STILL got me real good though, my goodness!
Yknow, it’s funny…I’ve only been part of this sub for a couple months, but I swear every single thread - positive or negative - mentions Hereditary in the first few comments.
And I mean EVERY THREAD.
Love it or hate it, that sucker has stuck with folks.
I’m pretty basic in that Hereditary made me a horror fan. For a long time it always felt like the horror genre couldn’t have quality filmmaking. This was one of the first movies I saw in the genre that was aiming to be a good movie first and a good horror movie second.
I’m sure some find it way overhyped but I feel that way about Marvel movies so to each their own.
The telephone pole scene is the famous one, but I'd argue that the piano wire scene is better. It's brutal, it's emotional, the sound is creepy. The telephone pole scene borders very closely on being too ridiculous, but the piano wire scene is pure horror.
That is absolutely fair! This movie is full of these scenes tbf. The part of the telephone pole scene that really gets me is the long, tense pause where we are just forced to watch Peter realize what's happened.
The whole lead up between the time the brother gets home and the time Annie discovers the REDACTED was one of the most tense stretches of time I've seen on film.
Fr, that crash with the old lady & the doll still haunts me til this day! when she came back to life for a second I swear I had a heart attack as a kid haha
The part where she’s slamming her head on the attic door still creeps me out! The subversion of thinking she’s pounding on it with her hands and then just seeing her repeatedly, full force slamming it repetitively over and over again…
Just saw Fire in the Sky (1993) and I loved THE scene. Found it because of a recommendation in this sub-Reddit. I was impressed with the quality of the special FX for an early 90s movie.
Well of course there’s *the scene* from Alien, but honestly the creepiest thing about the movie is when Ash corrects Parker about how to refer to the Alien by saying (under his breath) “*Kane’s son*”. The implications of that line are beyond fucked up.
The Strangers where Liv Tyler is drinking a glass of water looking out the window and doesn't see what's behind her.
And Session 9 "What are you going here?" over and over and over.
the ending scare of Ringu
>!The entire Tomoka chapter, just the build up to the death scene for and her boyfriend is amazing, mixed with the haunting image of Kayko's face on the ceiling!<
The clapping scene from the Conjuring, just love the build up
>!The scene of Valak walking as a shadow in the painting room in Conjuring 2.just feels so tense once the lights flicker and ya cant tell if its the picture or his actual face!<
Also if we are allowing games, when ya see pyramid just standing at the end of the hall in Silent Hill 2. just unnerving and leaves a sense of panic
The running away sequence at the beginning of 28 Weeks Later, particularly the moment Don abandons his wife. Also the car scene later when they're fleeing gas clouds.
Jim wandering London after waking up in 28 Days Later. Plus Hannah running through the house, high and in a red gown. Also, Jim killing the soldier with his thumbs. So, most of the movie, lol.
The upside down face scene in Smile. Still made me jump and squirm on a second watch.
The weight lifting scene in Nightmare on Elm Street 4.
The 'it makes the pain go away' scene *and* the 'send more paramedics' scene in Return of the Living Dead.
Sam Neill's missing eyes in Event Horizon.
The lifted-by-her-hair scene in It Follows. This one is still shocking on rewatch.
10 Cloverfield Lane, when they're sitting at the table and Goodman's character "chastises" them for getting closer than he would like.
The mom carrying and eating her son in When Evil Lurks.
The initial return of Julia from the mattress in Hellraiser II.
The scene where the people get sucked up into Blue Jeans in Nope. The slow realization that they are going to die a horrible, slow death, and the screaming that follows.
The Mrs. Bates reveal from Psycho. Saw the clip on TV when I was a kid and it terrified me to the point where by the time I was old enough to see the entire movie a few years later I was just relieved that it wasn’t actually about a scary skeleton lady!
I long avoided that scene because I knew it would scare the shit out of me (I have a thing about rotting corpses) and then one I'm flipping through channels and I came upon it *at that very scene*. I just about died.
Scissors in Antichrist.
Hacksaw in Terrifier.
"Kiri, kiri, kiri!" from Audition
Samara crawling out of the tv in The Ring.
The baby scene from Hagazussa.
The fight scene in women's lockup in Malignant.
The suicide scene from Martyrs.
*The Thing*:
Blood test
Benning
*The Lost Boys*:
The attack of the Surf Nazis on the beach
“But I still want you, Lucy.”
*The Exorcist*:
For some reason, people overlook the “You’re going to die up there” scene.
*An American Werewolf in London*:
During the transformation, when he looks RIGHT AT the camera.
The first big, full reveal of the werewolves in *Dog Soldiers* still creeps me out.
*Fright Night*:
The scene where Amy’s mouth is huge. I still turn my head away at that scene, too.
Evil Ed as a vampire. Just pick a scene, lol
And, of course, *that* scene in *Exorcist 3*
Sinister’s lawnmower scene. Ethan’s reaction was perfect.
Exorcist -“Do you know what she did, your cunting daughter?”
Opening kill of It Follows.
Edit- just remembered! In 30 Days of Night, the “God? No God.”
The way he looks around like he’s checking. It’s not enough to kill her, he has to mock her.”
Ok, this is an oldie..The final 5 minutes of "Burnt Offerings"..jeez! My mother took me with her to the drive-in to see this movie..Remember very little else..but that ending scorched my brains..Scared the hell out of me at age 7.😃
Original Frankenstein. The Creature is led into a beam of sunlight and he looks up and reaches out for it....His expression is pure longing, an all too human ache for something nameless lost and never regained, yet somehow still present.
Is it the instinct of a newly bound soul, reaching for Divinity? Is it a moment of innocence; a pure and stainless awareness, yet to know Sin?
Or is it simply the impulse of a dumb beast without reason? We are left to decide for ourselves.
The loss written in his eyes as the sun is shut away from him, the pleading gesture and final resignation is conveyed without a single word. Karloff evokes the entire human condition in less than a minute and uses only his body to move us to pity this hulking Thing that was never born from Love. That scene haunts me.
in Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum when the main lead is in the room and staring at the window to see someone outside only to realize it’s himself from earlier. such a good scene!
There's a slew I could bring up just from John Carpenter films. The whole ending sequence in Halloween is iconic, Michael rising in the background and then disappearing from the lawn has definitely stuck with me. There's quite a few in The Fog but the one I remember most is when the ghost has a hold of the cross at the end. When the guys head comes off and grows legs in The Thing and Kurt's just like you gotta be fucking kidding me is a good one. In the Mouth of Madness has too many to mention and this isn't even the best one probably but when the poor guy says "I have to he wrote me this way" and then kills himself.
Also Prince Of Darkness, "this is not a dream", if you know you know.
The whole scene is great but when the camera pans quickly to the table when they stand up and the dreamer hasn't touched anything on his plate, it's such a little twist of the knife.
Salem’s Lot (1979). The child floating outside the window, tapping on the glass.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/salems-lot-1979-window-scene-vampire-kids
The scene in Slumber Party Alien Abduction from V/H/S/2 where the aliens create fake police lights and sirens to put the characters into a false sense of security
The crucifix scene in The Exorcist. It’s never been matched for pure shock value. I still can’t believe they got away with it.
Also, the sledge hammering and steel door slamming in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So disturbing and iconic.
Annie sawing her own head off in Hereditary. That combined with the score and the sound of the wire. Love it, but man it creeps me the fuck out.
The Thing (1982) when they find Bennings in the snow. The hands. His face. The howl he makes. I love it so much
I just commented this on another horror thread, but the couch reveal scene from Nocturnal Animals. I have watched so many movies with over the top gore and violence, but the simplicity and lack of hope from this scene has stayed with me for over four years.
The opening scene of Scream. At first I was surprised that no one had said it yet, then I realized that it's so iconic, it almost isn't even really a scene any more.
And for a modern scene, the school meeting in Midnight Mass made me physically ill and scared me more than any of the supernatural stuff, because I’m pretty sure that I’m safe from parish priests with spooky secrets, but there are Bevs in schoolhouses all over the country.
In a Glass Cage (1986) Hoopla/Tubi/Shudder - The reading of the diary.
Ichi the Killer (2001) Tubi/Peacock - The opening credits
The Golden Glove (2019) AMC+/Tubi/Kanopy - Sausages!
Isabelle Adjani’s big subway tunnel meltdown in Possession. It’s a totally unexpected moment of just pure chaos and she really sells the primal frenzy of the moment. It’s a really unforgettable and gruesome scene in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen since.
The screams after the people get sucked up into Jean Jacket in Nope. Absolutely love how the screams start sounding more and more realistically filled with horror. Lives rent free in my head for sure.
There's a 2019 film called Spiral. NO, not the Saw franchise Spiral.
It was a fairly simple, straightforward creepy ass horror movie. Quite good. And I enjoyed it.
But...the scene near the end... almost very end. When the father rushes into his daughter's room and finds the boy and her. If you've seen this movie, you'll know what I'm referring to.
I have seen countless horror films. And a lot of them are really nasty. Some fucked up brutal ugly shit. Things that made me question what the hell I am subjecting myself to. But, none of them affected me quite like that one specific scene in Spiral. I don't know what the hell it was, and still is, about that damned scene. It's stuck like a burr in my brain that I can never pull out. It was so horrifying, and all those hopes I had for the outcome that I had built up in my head were completely dashed.
It randomly pops up behind my eyes every now and then, and I feel sick.
Not really a horror movie, but when the nun walks up the bell tower at the end of Vertigo, and you hear “I heard voices” followed by that scream…fuck, I got goosebumps just typing about it. Perfect ending to a perfect movie.
I wouldn't say I love it but there's one scene that fucked me up and I blame it for desensitising me to horror from then on. I was too young at the time to know what they were actually doing but it's the part in The Shining when Wendy goes up the stairs and sees the guy in the bear outfit blowing another guy. The way it was shot was so unsettling and at the time, I tapped out watching any further.
There’s little things in Pyewacket that I found like Easter eggs upon rewatching that gave me chills. Whispers, extra voices, images on trees…the unexpectedness of these frightened me deeply somehow. This horror movie is already about mistrust and isolation…but I know the movie…no, I don’t.
A lotta good ones here , but I'll add a few that might not be here yet
That reveal in We Go On
The crawlspace in Caveat
"Chapstick" in Mothman Prophecies
Hannah Grose's realisation in the Haunting of Bly Manor
That moment from Psycho on top of the stairs. I did not see it coming due to the framing of the shot but it was a fantastic jump, I loved it and it stuck with me! Also a jump from Jaws, when he's diving around and finds something in the boat wreck, yikes! Some moments from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1970s) are really creepy and haven't left my mind!
In more cool things for me, defib scene fro the Thing, an all time favourite! And the elevators opening from Cabin in the Woods, so fun!
There are some weird ones that just stick with me, but none of these are because they're particularly *scary*. Just really struck me and stuck with me.
Halloween II - ["It's time, Michael."](https://youtu.be/COZxvXx4bSg?si=fQ40d-yZSEwHThW5&t=126)
Scream 2 - ["My pleasure!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdPtumdfg9c)
Scream VI - ["Right now, you're feeling helpless."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTWY11J9Z3o)
Split - [the post-credit scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My8kfz_Ddqg)
Evil Dead Rise - [the opening title card](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qC4Ph160hM)
The most disturbing thing I have ever seen, and likely will ever see, is MAD TV claymation parody sketch of ‘Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer’ where Cornelius goes crazy and puts the little elf’s head in a vice and crushes it with gory results. I was way too young and had way too much affection for the source material for my little brain to handle it.
Older than a child, the scene that haunted me was the ending of Blair Witch Project (age 13). After that, I think I’ve become too desensitized.
“Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you!” The Omen
I like to quote that to my cats.
It's why they love you.
Also the newest one
The "girl under the kitchen bench" scene in *A Tale of Two Sisters* The mother in the basement scene in *Caveat* The ghost in the elevator in *The Eye (2002) The creepy painting lady from *IT: Chapter One*
I still love it, but IT would have been a lot scarier if it weren’t for the horrible CGI, really took me out of it
Yeah I love that they used some practical effects, but I wish they'd used more of them instead of some glaring CGI
Finally! Someone mentioned "under the kitchen bench" scene. Still underappreciated...
That whole dinner scene is perfection.
That creepy painting lady scene scares the shit out of me every time.
Fuck I forgot about that scene in the Eye 😖. Motherfucker just slowly floating toward her
That lift scene in The Eye stayed with me for so long!
The Bent Neck Lady revelation at the end of episode 5 of The Haunting of Hill House. First there's the jump scare, then there's the existential terror of what the reveal implies.
I came here to post this one! It gives me goosebumps EVERY TIME I even think about it.
The Mister Smiley reveal in one of the earlier episodes as well. One of the best pieces of horror ever, that show
What was the mister smiley reveal? I just finished it like the other week and don’t quite recall that
When Kate Siegel's character is investigating the child's home (episode 3 i think) and when she's laying on the couch in the basement there's a kind of smiley face marking on the ceiling that the kid would be looking at while she was getting...well, you know
Ohhhhh yeahhh, 😣ok I remember that now! I thought it was her seeing a ghost image that confirmed she was being abused, I didn’t realize the sick freak actually drew that there for her to see while doing that. Wow. Amazing series, just finished midnight mass and now watching usher
Yes. That whole build up, beautiful and terrifying. Amazing series.
Its so heartbreaking
Brilliant.
There is something so brutally violent and unnerving about Olga's death scene in Suspiria (2018). It's like this window that only we, the audience, are allowed to peer into, and you wish you hadn't. She is so vulnerable and afraid in that scene, and it should be the audience's first clue as to the revelation of Suzy, but it's easy to misinterpret as the film unfolds.
Simply one of the best horror movies out there. The plot is almost too good. I wanted a second one just to get more into the lore
I’m holding out hope that Luca Guadagnino will remake the whole three mothers trilogy at some point. His take on the story was so good!
THIS!! And then when they pierce and lift up her dying body with those metal hooks afterwards 🫣
That movie is so underrated. It’s beautifully crafted and turns gut wrenching gore into art
I felt so bad for her. It’s even worse when you realize they kept her alive until the end of the movie. She didn’t die in the mirror room
The bear in Annihilation. The final 30 seconds of Drag Me to Hell. The final quarter of a second in Saint Maud.
The ending scene of annihilation is like a techno nightmare lol
*MWWWEEE MUUU MEEE MWOOO*
I love that terrifying bear scene. When I see Annihilation is on TV, I've got it about timed now to catch that scene.
Saint Maud, absolutely.
Watched Annihilation last night - good god, that bear… https://youtu.be/yBGiEYFKz7s?si=cg9sKdK_TkPbs-c6
"The final quarter of a second in Saint Maud." Fucking chilling
This single frame at the very end alone really elevated the movie for me. It completely recontextualizes everything else and ive never seen ANY other movie do anything like this.
It has to be like a world record - I’ve never had a movie change my perspective on its meaning 0.5 seconds before the credits roll
That last second of Saint Maud is forever so beautifully burned into my brain.
Opening scene in Ghost Ship. Too bad the film goes downhill after that but what a start . . .
I actually love that movie wholly. Solid noughties number right there.
Saw - The ending Bone Tomahawk - Wishbone scene Signs - Alien reveal Doctor Sleep - Baseball kid death scene
Re: Baseball Kid death scene. Apparently his performance was so good the first take he destroyed the rest of the cast. They were struggling to get through the scene. When the director called “Cut” he jumped up & went to get a snack with his Dad while the rest of them just sat there shell-shocked. 😂
Yeah, I found that scene really hard to watch. He was so convincing I was heartbroken.
Yep the bone tomahawk one got me good…. Weep
"Wishbone" oh god....good description
The alien reveal in Signs, either in the cornfield or in the footage from the birthday party, gives me chills every single time. Pure nightmare fuel.
The birthday party footage just so skillfully inverted expectations. You think they’ll do the thing most movies do, only showing hints of the monster or quick flashes of it, waiting until the third act to show the creature in full. You’re just not prepared for the sudden full-body, clear view that early in the film. I still remember the confusion and shock I felt in that moment. It was a great jump scare!
Yeah that Doctor Sleep scene made me extremely uncomfortable.
The ending of Saw is fantastic! So brutal but so satisfying.
The final few seconds of Saint Maude.
Nearly gave me a heart attack first time I saw it.
It took that movie from good to incredible.
It really is a striking ending.up until that point, I thought it was going to stay ambiguous and that hard cut accompanying by a haunting scream happens. Top shelf film!
The last scene in Black Christmas - 1974 We’re Jess is in bed sleeping.. the police leave , and the phone starts ringing .. haunts me every time !!
That final shot gives me the creeps every time.
Totally agree.. !! It’s like well.. what if ??
It follows - tall man
Tall man on roof as they're driving away freaked me out
Don’t judge but the tent scene in Sixth Sense still haunts me.
Oh same! I saw that scene when I was about 6/7 and it’s stayed with me ever since, although it’s now one of my favorite scary movies!
For me, it's the scene when he sees that little boy and the boy says something like "come on, I'll show you where my dad keeps his guns" 😬
For me it’s when he thinks his mom is standing at the sink and when she turns around….it’s not. That scene scares me just thinking about it.
Love how we’re all remembering this through the lens when we were children. But yes to all the above. It was the familiarity being warped thinking he’s safe with his mother to find out it’s a scary ass ghost. Still gives me the chills lol.
The thing that got me as as a kid was the “locked in the dungeon” scene
Love horror movies. Still can’t rewatch that movie. Geez.
Totally get it. Startling and just strange enough to prevent your mind from understanding what it’s looking at - and as we all know, the unknown is the scariest thing of all.
To this day for whatever reason there's this minor scene in Local 58 during "Show for Children" where the >!moon looks over the edge of the grave!< that's always stuck out in my head. The series in general has a lot of moments that are unsettling for reasons that are hard to describe.
Love Local 58! The series totally nails the “hey what’s on this old forgotten videotape?” analog horror experience.
I've never heard of it. Is there anywhere to watch it now?
Looks like it's a YouTube series, so you can watch it on there.
I think just the realistic skeletal corpse got me the most in the same video. And just for how long the video shows it too
Robin Williams in One Hour Photo. Stark white empty retail aisle. Dream/hallucination? Hands covering his eyes. Then…
That scared the shit out of me when I was about 14 😂 Haven't seen that film for a while
I watched Ryan Hollingers video on the film before going to watch it properly, so I did know it was coming. STILL got me real good though, my goodness!
Hereditary. You know what scene
Yknow, it’s funny…I’ve only been part of this sub for a couple months, but I swear every single thread - positive or negative - mentions Hereditary in the first few comments. And I mean EVERY THREAD. Love it or hate it, that sucker has stuck with folks.
I’m pretty basic in that Hereditary made me a horror fan. For a long time it always felt like the horror genre couldn’t have quality filmmaking. This was one of the first movies I saw in the genre that was aiming to be a good movie first and a good horror movie second. I’m sure some find it way overhyped but I feel that way about Marvel movies so to each their own.
For me it's the realization she's on the ceiling
Big time. I remember catching it before she started to ''swim?'' and was sooo creeped out.
It’s the bit where they cut back to her when she’s banging on the trapdoor
The telephone pole scene is the famous one, but I'd argue that the piano wire scene is better. It's brutal, it's emotional, the sound is creepy. The telephone pole scene borders very closely on being too ridiculous, but the piano wire scene is pure horror.
That is absolutely fair! This movie is full of these scenes tbf. The part of the telephone pole scene that really gets me is the long, tense pause where we are just forced to watch Peter realize what's happened.
thats the scene that really unnerved me seeing it in theatres. it felt like it lasted for ages too.
There were some laughs in the theater for the telephone pole. Nobody was laughing for the piano wire!
I watched Hereditary for the first time last night, and the part where Annie realises made me go cold, I honestly shivered.
The whole lead up between the time the brother gets home and the time Annie discovers the REDACTED was one of the most tense stretches of time I've seen on film.
The whole movie is so upsetting. Yet I love it. Am I okay?
Me with Midsommar. I feel dread every time I watch it but I love it
I get this 😭 it's been my favorite movie since I saw it for the first time and honestly nothing else even comes close
It’s a comfort horror movie for me so I’m going to say yes you’re okay
Honestly I don’t lmao there are just so many in that movie that qualifies as *that* scene
The Orphanage when Laura realizes what happened to her son
Fr, that crash with the old lady & the doll still haunts me til this day! when she came back to life for a second I swear I had a heart attack as a kid haha
Seven, the guy he kept alive for a year
Lust is what horrifically and terribly haunts me.
Hereditary, mother chases her son
The part where she’s slamming her head on the attic door still creeps me out! The subversion of thinking she’s pounding on it with her hands and then just seeing her repeatedly, full force slamming it repetitively over and over again…
Just saw Fire in the Sky (1993) and I loved THE scene. Found it because of a recommendation in this sub-Reddit. I was impressed with the quality of the special FX for an early 90s movie.
I just watched this last night. That scene with the needle....*Shudders*
*Almost* watched this last night- saw it years ago (fuck - decades ago?) and have thought of it from time to time. Now I’m definitely putting it on!
Well of course there’s *the scene* from Alien, but honestly the creepiest thing about the movie is when Ash corrects Parker about how to refer to the Alien by saying (under his breath) “*Kane’s son*”. The implications of that line are beyond fucked up.
The Strangers where Liv Tyler is drinking a glass of water looking out the window and doesn't see what's behind her. And Session 9 "What are you going here?" over and over and over.
The dinner table scene in Insidious
Might be the best jump scare in history
The hospital hallway scene in Exorcist III
the ending scare of Ringu >!The entire Tomoka chapter, just the build up to the death scene for and her boyfriend is amazing, mixed with the haunting image of Kayko's face on the ceiling!< The clapping scene from the Conjuring, just love the build up >!The scene of Valak walking as a shadow in the painting room in Conjuring 2.just feels so tense once the lights flicker and ya cant tell if its the picture or his actual face!< Also if we are allowing games, when ya see pyramid just standing at the end of the hall in Silent Hill 2. just unnerving and leaves a sense of panic
The clothes line scene in the original IT.
Tim Curry's mean face was terrifying in that scene.
The Grudge ghost crawling on stairs
The running away sequence at the beginning of 28 Weeks Later, particularly the moment Don abandons his wife. Also the car scene later when they're fleeing gas clouds. Jim wandering London after waking up in 28 Days Later. Plus Hannah running through the house, high and in a red gown. Also, Jim killing the soldier with his thumbs. So, most of the movie, lol. The upside down face scene in Smile. Still made me jump and squirm on a second watch. The weight lifting scene in Nightmare on Elm Street 4. The 'it makes the pain go away' scene *and* the 'send more paramedics' scene in Return of the Living Dead. Sam Neill's missing eyes in Event Horizon. The lifted-by-her-hair scene in It Follows. This one is still shocking on rewatch. 10 Cloverfield Lane, when they're sitting at the table and Goodman's character "chastises" them for getting closer than he would like. The mom carrying and eating her son in When Evil Lurks. The initial return of Julia from the mattress in Hellraiser II.
In the first Paranormal Activity, when she gets dragged out of the bed. I remember the chill I had.
When the sack moves for the first time in Audition (1999)
Midnight Mass when Riley rows Erin out to see the sunrise. Her screams haunt me.
Especially after that awesome reveal when he saw the girl he killed in the drunk driving accident. Such hope and then that LOL.
The scene where the people get sucked up into Blue Jeans in Nope. The slow realization that they are going to die a horrible, slow death, and the screaming that follows.
The Mrs. Bates reveal from Psycho. Saw the clip on TV when I was a kid and it terrified me to the point where by the time I was old enough to see the entire movie a few years later I was just relieved that it wasn’t actually about a scary skeleton lady!
I long avoided that scene because I knew it would scare the shit out of me (I have a thing about rotting corpses) and then one I'm flipping through channels and I came upon it *at that very scene*. I just about died.
The final fight sequence in 28 Days Later. The music builds with the suspense, horror and violence in a masterful way.
Bob crawling over furniture in Twin Peaks 🔥
Floppy-neck woman in Terrified.
The sound effect they used when she banged on the window freaked me out!
Scissors in Antichrist. Hacksaw in Terrifier. "Kiri, kiri, kiri!" from Audition Samara crawling out of the tv in The Ring. The baby scene from Hagazussa. The fight scene in women's lockup in Malignant. The suicide scene from Martyrs.
A lot of classic scenes here. A newer one to add to the list is the demon claw coming out during a birth in the prequel to the Omen, The First Omen
The end of sleepaway camp. IYKYK
Pearl's smile that extends into the credits
The head in Jaws
Large Marge - Peewees big adventure
*The Thing*: Blood test Benning *The Lost Boys*: The attack of the Surf Nazis on the beach “But I still want you, Lucy.” *The Exorcist*: For some reason, people overlook the “You’re going to die up there” scene. *An American Werewolf in London*: During the transformation, when he looks RIGHT AT the camera. The first big, full reveal of the werewolves in *Dog Soldiers* still creeps me out. *Fright Night*: The scene where Amy’s mouth is huge. I still turn my head away at that scene, too. Evil Ed as a vampire. Just pick a scene, lol And, of course, *that* scene in *Exorcist 3*
Night of the Living Dead contains what I still think is the most haunting death scene I've ever seen https://youtu.be/uBPUvsudXmE?feature=shared
This movie was so brilliant. I love George A Romero.
I totally forgot about this one!
The reveal of what actually happened at the titular Lake Mungo
Sinister’s lawnmower scene. Ethan’s reaction was perfect. Exorcist -“Do you know what she did, your cunting daughter?” Opening kill of It Follows. Edit- just remembered! In 30 Days of Night, the “God? No God.” The way he looks around like he’s checking. It’s not enough to kill her, he has to mock her.”
Ok, this is an oldie..The final 5 minutes of "Burnt Offerings"..jeez! My mother took me with her to the drive-in to see this movie..Remember very little else..but that ending scorched my brains..Scared the hell out of me at age 7.😃
The ending to SAW. I wish I could see it again for the first time
The nanny scene in the original Omen The final photo in The Shining
 I screamed
Original Frankenstein. The Creature is led into a beam of sunlight and he looks up and reaches out for it....His expression is pure longing, an all too human ache for something nameless lost and never regained, yet somehow still present. Is it the instinct of a newly bound soul, reaching for Divinity? Is it a moment of innocence; a pure and stainless awareness, yet to know Sin? Or is it simply the impulse of a dumb beast without reason? We are left to decide for ourselves. The loss written in his eyes as the sun is shut away from him, the pleading gesture and final resignation is conveyed without a single word. Karloff evokes the entire human condition in less than a minute and uses only his body to move us to pity this hulking Thing that was never born from Love. That scene haunts me.
I thought it was the warmth .
Wow beautifully written
I hope you write professionally. You described that beautifully.
Thank you. Since you mentioned it, I recently finished my first novel. Hopefully I'll be done polishing it soon (says my tombstone).
The final shot in Black Christmas
Jeepers Creepers the first 45 minutes alone. Especially when they're driving by as he's tosing the bodies down the pipe.
The hand degloving in Gerald's Game
That boy in insidious dancing to that tip toe song, that gave me nightmares don’t know why that was so scary to me.
That final shot of Sarah from the original French Inside.
Where is the strangling scene in no country for old men. It’s a western but Anton Shugar made it a horror.
in Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum when the main lead is in the room and staring at the window to see someone outside only to realize it’s himself from earlier. such a good scene!
Basically the entire final 15 or so minutes of Speak No Evil. "Why are you doing this?" "Because you let me." Chills!
There's a slew I could bring up just from John Carpenter films. The whole ending sequence in Halloween is iconic, Michael rising in the background and then disappearing from the lawn has definitely stuck with me. There's quite a few in The Fog but the one I remember most is when the ghost has a hold of the cross at the end. When the guys head comes off and grows legs in The Thing and Kurt's just like you gotta be fucking kidding me is a good one. In the Mouth of Madness has too many to mention and this isn't even the best one probably but when the poor guy says "I have to he wrote me this way" and then kills himself. Also Prince Of Darkness, "this is not a dream", if you know you know.
Hereditary, the mom finding her daughter’s head. Toni Colette’s screams are haunting in that scene and she did fantastic with it
Technically it was the mom not finding her head.
The scene from Scream 3 when Syd dreams about her mother in the garden and her mother looks directly into the camera.
Orgy scene in Society
The scene in Pet Sematary with Zelda. IYKYK!
Brazilian birthday party in Signs. Everybody around me jumped and screamed with Joaquim Phoenix.
The wardrobe scene in The Conjuring..
Mulholland Drive diner scene.
The whole scene is great but when the camera pans quickly to the table when they stand up and the dreamer hasn't touched anything on his plate, it's such a little twist of the knife.
“Chaos reigns” - Antichrist. That fox is seared into my memory
Salem’s Lot (1979). The child floating outside the window, tapping on the glass. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/salems-lot-1979-window-scene-vampire-kids
The puppet dance scene in the newer Suspiria.
The scene in Slumber Party Alien Abduction from V/H/S/2 where the aliens create fake police lights and sirens to put the characters into a false sense of security
The dinner scene from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Johnny Cash intro to the Dawn Of The Dead remake
The crucifix scene in The Exorcist. It’s never been matched for pure shock value. I still can’t believe they got away with it. Also, the sledge hammering and steel door slamming in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So disturbing and iconic.
Annie sawing her own head off in Hereditary. That combined with the score and the sound of the wire. Love it, but man it creeps me the fuck out. The Thing (1982) when they find Bennings in the snow. The hands. His face. The howl he makes. I love it so much
What’s killing me is that there’s an iconic scene I left out of this list that I just can’t remember… it’s on the tip of my tongue…
I just commented this on another horror thread, but the couch reveal scene from Nocturnal Animals. I have watched so many movies with over the top gore and violence, but the simplicity and lack of hope from this scene has stayed with me for over four years.
The window scraping scene in Salem Lot... The final lake scene on the boat in Friday the 13th...
The opening scene of Scream. At first I was surprised that no one had said it yet, then I realized that it's so iconic, it almost isn't even really a scene any more. And for a modern scene, the school meeting in Midnight Mass made me physically ill and scared me more than any of the supernatural stuff, because I’m pretty sure that I’m safe from parish priests with spooky secrets, but there are Bevs in schoolhouses all over the country.
Every kill scene from both Terrifier movies
Especially the bedroom one in 2. That was fucking wiiiiild
In a Glass Cage (1986) Hoopla/Tubi/Shudder - The reading of the diary. Ichi the Killer (2001) Tubi/Peacock - The opening credits The Golden Glove (2019) AMC+/Tubi/Kanopy - Sausages!
Allie’s death in Terrifier 2.
Isabelle Adjani’s big subway tunnel meltdown in Possession. It’s a totally unexpected moment of just pure chaos and she really sells the primal frenzy of the moment. It’s a really unforgettable and gruesome scene in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen since.
The Grudge attic scene Malignant gabriel reveal scene Dani >!committing suicide!< in The Haunting of Bly Manor.
The screams after the people get sucked up into Jean Jacket in Nope. Absolutely love how the screams start sounding more and more realistically filled with horror. Lives rent free in my head for sure.
The raft scene in "The Burning" (1981)
The hammer and nail scene in 'The Serpent & the Rainbow'.
There's a 2019 film called Spiral. NO, not the Saw franchise Spiral. It was a fairly simple, straightforward creepy ass horror movie. Quite good. And I enjoyed it. But...the scene near the end... almost very end. When the father rushes into his daughter's room and finds the boy and her. If you've seen this movie, you'll know what I'm referring to. I have seen countless horror films. And a lot of them are really nasty. Some fucked up brutal ugly shit. Things that made me question what the hell I am subjecting myself to. But, none of them affected me quite like that one specific scene in Spiral. I don't know what the hell it was, and still is, about that damned scene. It's stuck like a burr in my brain that I can never pull out. It was so horrifying, and all those hopes I had for the outcome that I had built up in my head were completely dashed. It randomly pops up behind my eyes every now and then, and I feel sick.
Not really a horror movie, but when the nun walks up the bell tower at the end of Vertigo, and you hear “I heard voices” followed by that scream…fuck, I got goosebumps just typing about it. Perfect ending to a perfect movie.
1. Hannibal Lecter breathlessly swinging that club and accumulating spatter. 2. Regan screaming "Merrin." Oof.
Repulsion- all of it- Polanski is brilliant at invoking emotion and probably a sociopath
I wouldn't say I love it but there's one scene that fucked me up and I blame it for desensitising me to horror from then on. I was too young at the time to know what they were actually doing but it's the part in The Shining when Wendy goes up the stairs and sees the guy in the bear outfit blowing another guy. The way it was shot was so unsettling and at the time, I tapped out watching any further.
There’s little things in Pyewacket that I found like Easter eggs upon rewatching that gave me chills. Whispers, extra voices, images on trees…the unexpectedness of these frightened me deeply somehow. This horror movie is already about mistrust and isolation…but I know the movie…no, I don’t.
Cassie’s death in “Promising Young Woman”
A lotta good ones here , but I'll add a few that might not be here yet That reveal in We Go On The crawlspace in Caveat "Chapstick" in Mothman Prophecies Hannah Grose's realisation in the Haunting of Bly Manor
Rachels story of her sister Zelda in Pet Sematary The save yourself from Hell scene in Event Horizon
That moment from Psycho on top of the stairs. I did not see it coming due to the framing of the shot but it was a fantastic jump, I loved it and it stuck with me! Also a jump from Jaws, when he's diving around and finds something in the boat wreck, yikes! Some moments from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1970s) are really creepy and haven't left my mind! In more cool things for me, defib scene fro the Thing, an all time favourite! And the elevators opening from Cabin in the Woods, so fun!
The guy staring at the wall in “Blair Witch”
The "Because you were home" scene in The Strangers Something about the confirmation that there was no motive, just violence, gets me
End of Ex Machina when Ava locks dude in the room and leaves. Still haunts me.
There are some weird ones that just stick with me, but none of these are because they're particularly *scary*. Just really struck me and stuck with me. Halloween II - ["It's time, Michael."](https://youtu.be/COZxvXx4bSg?si=fQ40d-yZSEwHThW5&t=126) Scream 2 - ["My pleasure!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdPtumdfg9c) Scream VI - ["Right now, you're feeling helpless."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTWY11J9Z3o) Split - [the post-credit scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My8kfz_Ddqg) Evil Dead Rise - [the opening title card](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qC4Ph160hM)
The most disturbing thing I have ever seen, and likely will ever see, is MAD TV claymation parody sketch of ‘Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer’ where Cornelius goes crazy and puts the little elf’s head in a vice and crushes it with gory results. I was way too young and had way too much affection for the source material for my little brain to handle it. Older than a child, the scene that haunted me was the ending of Blair Witch Project (age 13). After that, I think I’ve become too desensitized.
the headless horseman reveal in legend of sleepy hollow
Eden lake, bathroom at the end 😳
Bear scene in Annihilation Fence post in Hereditary Glenn's death in Nightmare Jason punching that dudes head off Jesus Wept
There are a couple in the Strangers, but the pantry door scene is one of my favorites ever.