It's a big scary world out there, but that's never stopped us from some additional big screen thrill-seeking. While some movies are scarier than the sum of their parts, we're getting a little more granular with this list. These are our picks for the 10 scariest movie moments of all time.
Right off the bat, I need to make clear my belief that no moment exists in a vacuum. Every moment is the product of the context laid down before it and the consequences that follow it. This might be doubly true for scary moments. A good scare needs the ingredients arranged correctly in front of it, the tension built, and a great scare will linger after it's left the screen. And just so we're on the same page from the jump here, I'm not talking exclusively about horror movies either. Admittedly, most of this list will be made up of that spookiest of genres, but a truly scary movie moment can creep up out of a dramatic chamber piece just as easily as it can in the middle of Slasher Palooza 7: The Blood Bathing. Sometimes more so.
The first thing we need to talk about where scary moments are concerned is the shortest of all scary moments, the jump scare. Built on an instantaneous release of tension, the jump scare is maybe the purest example of setup and payoff that cinema has to offer. There's a beautiful simplicity to these that when executed properly, give a dose of the unexpected just when you're starting to think the coast is clear. Some more recent favorites are the boy in the attic in "REC," the lawn mower scene in "Sinister," and the famous Texas switch of shock luring us in with a kid running to a guy. But my favorite types of jump scares don't turn the screws with tension, but with safety.
For the second half of our list, we delve into psychological scares. Starting with real fears, we look at movies tapping into well-known phobias like claustrophobia in "The Descent" or agorophobia in "North by Northwest." We then examine existential fears exemplified by films like "The Shining" and "A Ghost Story," capturing dread in universal truths about existence.
The list provides a deeper perspective on horror and film-making, showcasing the diverse ways in which films can unsettle their viewers. From jump scares to existential horror, these moments are a testament to the power of film to evoke fear and fascination.