To help celebrate the release of the new documentary on Shudder titled 'The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time' which hit the horror streaming channel today, we decided to make our own versions of a Top 10 list. Each of our writers will release their own 'Top 10 Scariest Moments' list and will publish them on a day that the new documentary airs.
We've discussed the rules as a team and decided that our Scariest Moments may not necessarily just appear in horror films but across all genres. We thought this might open it up a bit and make our lists distinct, although we do expect there to be some cross-overs.
Once we have completed our individual lists we hope to collate them and TRY to make a collaborative list and we will reveal in a special video on our Youtube channel, which you can subscribe to HERE.
First up we have writer Victoria Brown. You can check out her previous work HERE.
10. 12 Days of Terror – Crick Scene
This may seem like an odd choice but hear me out. '12 Days of Terror' is a 2004 television movie that used to play on the horror channel on a seemingly never-ending loop. It tells the true story of the 1916 New Jersey Great White shark attacks. I saw it before I ever saw 'Jaws' and it continues to scare me more. There is a scene where a bunch of kids are swimming in a crick when the shark attacks them and it still gives me nightmares – the claustrophobia, the underwater shots of the blood, the boy’s leg wound. Traumatizing.
9. Dead Silence – Henry
James Wan’s 2007 horror film 'Dead Silence' creeps me out because I bloody hate dolls and puppets. It tells the tale of an old ventriloquist named Mary Shaw who was falsely accused of murder, killed by a lynch mob, and takes her revenge out on anyone who screams when they see her by ripping out their tongues. Wan is amazing at jump scares and old Henry’s death scene where he sees the rotting, doll-like face of Mary in the darkness is just *chef’s kiss*
8. Ghost Ship – Opening Scene
Hands down, one of the best horror film openings ever. It absolutely floored me as a kid. It’s so gruesome and unexpected, I just love it.
7. The Woman in Black – Toy Scene
'The Woman in Black' is a surprisingly sad horror film, full of heartache and sorrow, but that doesn’t stop it from being bloody scary. There are some great jump scares in the film, but the one that gets me every time is when Arthur is playing with one of the dead child’s toys, a spinning contraption, and the Woman in Black’s eyes appear inside the toy. NOPE!
6. Hostel – Tendon Scene
I can do most kinds of gore and be completely unfazed but there is something so gruesome about this tendon cutting scene that makes me grab my own tendons and cringe. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.
5. The Descent - Night Vision Scene
If I could include the entire film I would, but the scene that stands out for me is the night vision scene where the girls realise they’re trapped. The jump scare with the creature makes my heart jump into my throat.
4. Hellraiser – Frank’s Retransformation
I was WAY too young when I watched Frank’s retransformation scene in 'Hellraiser' for the first time. It’s painstakingly slow, visceral, gory, gross…you have to see it for yourself. I love it.
3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Leatherface
Everything about 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' puts me on edge – the blazing sun, the close-up shots, the way you can almost smell what’s on screen – but what gets me every time is Leatherface’s introduction. It comes out of nowhere and his first kill is so fucking BRUTAL. It is not cinematic or slick, like one of James Wan’s films, but I love it for that – it feels terrifyingly real.
2. Stephen King's IT (TV miniseries) - Hiya Georgie
I fucking hate clowns. Tim Curry as Pennywise in the tv mini-series adaptation of It will always be the superior Pennywise for me, and it’s mostly because of this scene. The music, the voice, everything about it makes my skin crawl.
1. The Wicker Man - Finale
What makes 'The Wicker Man' so great – what makes most folk horror so great, actually – is that it’s set in the daytime. Scary things aren’t meant to happen in the daytime. Edward Woodward screaming ‘Christ!’ as he realizes he is being sacrificed haunts me because I thought he’d survive. It will haunt me forever. It is one of the best scenes in horror cinema.
Thanks for reading. Be sure to check back next Wednesday for another list of 'Top 10 Scariest Moments' from one of our writers.