40 more of the scariest shots in horror
Back in February, our piece on the The 40 Scariest Shots in Horror became one of our most popular recent articles, and many of you (including Eli Roth!) demanded more. So in keeping with the noblest horror movie tradition, the sequel, we’ve compiled forty (40) more of the most bone-chilling single images we could muster. Check them out in the gallery below!
Some of these come from movies you’ve seen, others are deep cuts, but all of them slice to the core of what gives you the heebie geebies when the lights come down and the screen goes blood red.
Do you agree? What do you think are the scariest shots in horror movies?
Audition (1999)
Takashi Miike's masterpiece may also be his most difficult film to watch (and that's saying something). Revolving around a deeply-troubled young murderess (Eihi Shiina) who develops a fixation on a middle-aged widower (Ryo Ishibashi), the film culminates in a torture scene involving a (needless to say, unnecessary) foot amputation with piano wire that makes Misery look like a weekend at Disneyland.
The Babadook (2014)
Finding a contemporary horror film that transcends its genre roots to work entirely on a dramatic level is like finding a bloody needle in a haystack. Jennifer Kent's powerful directorial debut is all that and more, on one hand delivering on its supernatural premise of a pop-up book from hell, and on another presenting a portrait of emotional deterioration.
Black Sunday (1960)
Extremely lurid and sensational for its time, Mario Bava's cult classic is arguably the first major horror film to come out of the post-World War II Italian film industry. Bava drew major inspiration from the Universal monster movies of the '30s along with the gothic atmosphere of the Hammer Dracula while adding stylistic flourishes of his own. Barbara Steele's spike-mutilated visage has became iconic.
The Brood (1979)
This early example of body horror shenanigans from Canadian master David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Fly) featured tiny homicidal children born out of people's repressed rage. In one scene, we see the external birth process of Nola (Samantha Eggar), who proceeds to lick the bloody newborns free of blood.
Burnt Offerings (1976)
Dan Curtis was a TV ace ("Dark Shadows," "Trilogy of Terror," "The Night Stalker"), but when it came to feature films, he's best remembered for this haunted house yarn which memorably ends with Oliver Reed's tormented character doing an Olympic dive off a roof into the windshield of his car, all witnessed by his son!
Carnival of Souls (1962)
With its creepy church organ score and unvarnished visuals, Herk Harvey's $17,000 dollar wonder of a film slowly grew its audience as the decades went on before being anointed a bonafide classic. In fact, it is Harvey's pasty-faced ghoul that became something of a touchstone within the horror community. Simple, effective, scary.
Carrie (1976)
The world was first introduced to the startling imagination of one Stephen King with this movie starring Sissy Spacek as a 17-year-old outcast with religious repression issues… oh, and telekinetic powers. Horror tends to truly play in wide shots, which director Brian De Palma had firmly in check with this shot of Carrie slowly exiting the high school inferno she has left behind.
The Changeling (1980)
This effective little ghost yarn has earned many admirers for its classic haunted house vibe and a terrifically-rattled lead performance by George C. Scott. This image comes from the climax, when Melvyn Douglas becomes emotionally destroyed after learning a terrible truth about his heritage… though this shot may not be entirely literal in the context of the scene.
The Church (1989)
Michele Soavi's wild Italian horror concoction is a very loose threequel in Lamberto Bava's Demons series, but shares little thematically or otherwise with those films. Rather, it goes for the phantasmagorical approach with enough medieval creatures to make Hieronymus Bosch shout "Basta!"
The Conjuring (2013)
A lot of the films on this list hail from the '70s, and James Wan's old school throwback would feel right at home among those slow-burn chillers. The scene in which an evil spirit plays "the clapping game" with Lili Taylor was so effective it became a cornerstone of its marketing campaign.
Cujo (1983)
Another Stephen King favorite made its way to the screen courtesy of director Lewis Teague, later of Cat's Eye fame. This one concerns a mother and son (Dee Wallace and Danny Pintauro) who become trapped in a hot Ford Pinto as a rabid dog bitten by a vampire bat tries to kill them, any claustrophobic's nightmare.
Dagon (2001)
Stuart Gordon's Lovecraftian explorations have never felt more slimy than in this low-budget effort shot in a fishing village near Galicia, Spain. That's the lovely Macarena Gómez as Uxía, the maniacal mermaid of your dreams… or nightmares.
The Exorcist III (1990)
While both simultaneously inferior to William Friedkin's original and deeply flawed due to studio-imposed changes, William Peter Blatty's threequel has many sharp scenes of white-knuckle intensity. The best of the bunch has to be the extended segment when a hospital nurse's life is cut short, quite literally, and rather than showing the implied beheading, Blatty cuts to a statue of Christ missing its head that tells you everything you need to know about what went down between frames.
Faust (1926)
While many people know F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, his version of Goethe's classic tale of the demon Mephisto's attempt to win the soul of the title alchemist is also chock full of frightening imagery. The shot of the devil towering over a town later became an inspiration for Disney's Night on Bald Mountain.
Freaks (1932)
The ultimate fate of swindling trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova), who conspired to marry then murder the circus midget Hans (Harry Earles) to get her hands on his large inheritance, is just desserts. Tarred, feathered and hideously transformed into a human duck woman, it is a case of the ugliness on the inside coming to bear on the outside.
The Hitcher (1986)
Rutger Hauer created one of the all-time great villains in the form of psychopathic drifter John Ryder, who is hellbent on making the life of Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) a waking nightmare. The unclear nature of Ryder's origin, his anarchic/suicidal MO and his plan to get caught only to break out again had an undeniable influence on The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Horror Express (1972)
British horror superstars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee made two-dozen pictures together, but this one has to feature the weirdest, most unique monster of the bunch. As in John Carpenter's The Thing, an alien being has taken shelter inside the body of a prehistoric creature, in this case being hauled as cargo aboard Trans-Siberian train. Once the creature begins running amuck, it drains the life force and knowledge of its victims, leaving behind images in their eyeballs. Oh, and it can resurrect its victims as zombies. Weird!
Hour of the Wolf (1968)
The title describes the period between 3am and 5am when "most births and deaths occur," and it is during this time that painter Johan (Max von Sydow) experiences the bulk of his torment in the form of demonic visitors and visions of his ex-lover Veronica (Ingrid Thulin). This piece of art horror was made by none other than Swedish grandmaster Ingmar Bergman.
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Vincent Price's Frederick Loren lures five unsuspecting saps to spend a night in a haunted house for $10,000 bucks cash. Sound too sinister to be true? It is. One of his employees, Nora (Carolyn Craig), gets a taste of a first-hand frightmare when the ghost of an old woman frozen in a gnarled pose glides across the floor in a totally unnatural way.
It Follows (2014)
David Robert Mitchell's premise of a supernatural stalker passed on via sexual encounters could have so easily slid off the rails into camp, but scenes like this in which the "Tall Man" appears behind Yara (Olivia Luccardi) are rendered so vividly they recall the best of John Carpenter.
Lair of the White Worm (1988)
Cinematic rabble-rouser Ken Russell (Altered States, The Devils) really let his freak flag fly on this one, ostensibly an adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel but littered with trademark Russell surrealism. If that looks like a heavily made-up Amanda Donohoe as a blue-skinned snake woman attempting to take a bite out of future Doctor Who Peter Capaldi, that's because it is.
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Although Richard Matheson's 1971 novel is much more explicit in its sexuality as well as thematic overtones of pragmatism vs. spiritualism, John Hough's film adaptation (scripted by Matheson) is dripping with ookie spookie atmosphere and gallons of fog juice. The imposing Belasco House, a.k.a. the "Mount Everest of haunted houses," is a character unto itself and, yes, it knows you’re here.
London After Midnight (1927)
A long-lost legendary horror film of the silent era, it still features one of Lon Chaney's most iconic make-ups as a mysterious man in a hat who is in actuality a Scotland Yard Inspector (also played by Chaney without make-up). This was one of Chaney's several collaborations with director Tod Browning (Freaks, Dracula) and only exists today in a facsimile version pieced together with publicity photos.
Neo Tokyo (1987)
The middle segment of this omnibus anime film first reached mainstream American recognition when it aired on a 1992 episode of MTV's "Liquid Television," where it scarred many a viewer with its hypnotic blend of ghosts, telekinesis and high-speed futuristic car races. The final scenes of driver Zack Hugh being torn apart by the vengeful spirits of those he's killed on the track is high-octane nightmare fuel.
The Orphanage (2007)
Filmmaker J.A. Bayona elicits real scares AND real emotion from this haunting story of a woman named Laura (Belén Rueda) searching desperately for her son Simón after vanishing in the orphanage she's recently reopened. Spirits and a troubling boy in a sock mask all play a part in putting together the puzzle, which leads to a tragic revelation.
Paperhouse (1988)
Dreams merge with reality in this startling surreal vision from director Bernard Rose (Candyman) as a young girl named Anna (Charlotte Burke, in her only film role) maneuvers in and out of reality as she suffers from a fever. A crooken house she has drawn manifests itself in her dreams, taking on a nightmarish appearance when summoned into a physical space. The imagery is jarring and evocative of the paintings of Andrew Wyeth.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Yes, the seemingly never-ending cycle of these films has put a bit of a damper on their potency… We're looking at you, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension! Oren Peli's original, shot on a shoestring budget over seven heavily-improvised days, was and is effective for relying on simple spookhouse scares with little-to-no artifice. The shot of Katie Featherston standing hypnotically by the bed staring at Micah Sloat with dubious intent is still eerie as all get out.
Phantasm (1979)
At the age of 25, Don Coscarelli created one of our most beloved horror franchises with the help of one tall man, a very small shiny ball and a $300,000 dollar budget. The legendary Angus Scrimm plays a supernatural undertaker bent on taking over the world via his minions and a silver ball that can drill into people's heads.
Phenomena/a.k.a. Creepers (1985)
Dario Argento's predilection for weirdness went full-tilt boogie on this blend of giallo thriller and supernatural stalk & slash. Jennifer Connelly plays a new arrival at a Swiss boarding school whose power to communicate with insects catches the eye of Donald Pleasence's wheelchair-bound entomologist. One razor-wielding monkey and a deformed homicidal rape baby later and you got yourself a movie-and-a-half!
Pi/a.k.a. π (1998)
Darren Aronofsky's directorial debut features Sean Gullette as a number theorist slowly driven to the brink of sanity through self-imposed isolation, headaches and paranoid delusions that may or may not be so delusional. It all leads to a scene where he alleviates all his problems with a simple drill-to-the-head move that leaves him blissfully at peace without any of that pesky "thinking" to bother him anymore.
Poltergeist (1982)
Although the debate still rages over who to credit with the ultimate success of this film - director Tobe Hooper or writer/producer Steven Spielberg - there's still some damn fine scares in this picture. This pop-up fright involving a huge skull with smoking white eyes threatening Craig T. Nelson is a doozy!
Race With the Devil (1975)
This scene, given a memorable shout-out/recreation in Joe Dante's The 'burbs, features Peter Fonda and Warren Oates as a pair of happy-go-lucky husbands vacationing with their wives on an RV road trip when they stumble across a satanic human sacrifice. The juxtaposition of the flaming pit/knife-wielding cult leader with the naked/smiling victim remains eerily memorable.
Salem's Lot (1979)
This scene, in which a newly-infected vampire Ralphie Glick (Ronnie Scribner) seeks to infect his brother Danny (Brad Savage), plays like a demented version of Peter Pan, with Ralphie floating and smiling outside the window. All those who claim Tobe Hooper could not have directed Poltergeist himself need only look at this scene, shot in reverse for maximum atmosphere.
Tales From the Crypt –
Perhaps the most famous of the five segments from this British Amicus production of the famous American EC Comics features Peter Cushing as a kindly man driven to suicide by his snobby neighbors (David Markham, Robin Phillips). When Cushing's character comes back to life a year later, he exacts "Poetic Justice" on the two via the gruesome Valentine seen here.
Tourist Trap (1979)
David Schmoeller (Puppet Master) made a mark with his debut film, which involves a deranged, telekinetically-gifted maniac (Chuck Connors) who likes to turn tourists into creepy living dead mannequins to do his bidding. Whether you're afraid of mannequins or not, you have to admit these things are pretty nasty.
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Capping off this four-part anthology was Australian George Miller, who at the time had only done the first two Mad Max movies. Here he was following up the likes of Steven Spielberg, John Landis and Joe Dante and yet his cinematic remake of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is hands down the showstopper among segments. The suspense truly goes into overdrive the moment John Lithgow's fear-addled airline passenger throws open his window to reveal a seriously gross gremlin.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
David Lynch's beloved TV show got a not-so-beloved prequel film that confounded expectations upon release but has since gone through vocal re-evaluation in recent years. Bleak through-and-through, this portrait of Laura Palmer's (Sheryl Lee) final days reaches a crescendo of terror when she comes to her house only to find Killer BOB (Frank Silva) giving her the leer to end all leers.
Vampyr (1932)
Silent film master Carl Theodor Dreyer (The Passion of Joan of Arc) took on the horror world with an amazing sense of foreboding in his washed-out visuals. This scene of Nicolas de Gunzburg having a vision of himself being buried alive has the kind of off-rhythm that only silent films really captured.
The Vanishing/Spoorloos (1988)
Although he's also responsible for the Americanized/bastardized 1993 remake starring Jeff Bridges, director George Sluizer nailed it with his original uncompromised Dutch version. When a man named Rex (Gene Bervoets) meets the guy who abducted his missing girlfriend (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), he'll go to any length to find out what happened to her which leads to him being, yes, buried alive.
Zodiac (2007)
Since David Fincher is most famous for his dark/brooding aesthetic, it's ironic that the most frightening scene in Zodiac takes place is broad daylight by an idyllic lakeside. The real life Lake Berryessa murder needed no droning synths or flashy camerawork to be a legitimately terrifying experience for the couple attacked, and that's precisely where the power of this modern masterpiece comes from.
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