Calling all horrors fans! This one’s for you.
We’re big fans of scary movies here at Her HQ, and when we sit down to watch a creepy flick, we’re looking for a jump-out-of-our, heart-pounding skin experience that stays with us for weeks.
To celebrate the release of Sinister 2 on 21st August (you can check out the trailer below), here are ten of the most terrifying movie moments ever…
1. Silence of The Lambs: Hannibal Lector escaping his cage
Hannibal Lector is one of the most captivating monsters ever captured on film. His scariest moment? His swift and ruthless killing of two guards before escaping his inescapable prison cage. The chianti-loving, fava beans-eating cannibal was on the loose, and we didn’t know where he was going to strike next. The stress of it.
2. The Shining: Wendy discovering Jack’s typewriter
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” If you’re not familiar with Jack’s work, let us tell you that Jack is far from a dull boy.
The Shining is one of the most relentlessly-terrifying movies ever made. And the look of horror on Wendy’s face after discovering her husband’s manuscript, followed by the chase scene up the stairs of the creepy hotel is one of the scariest things we’ve ever watched (with our eyes covered).
3. Insidious: The monster at the window
One of the most tension-filled horror scenes we’ve ever seen. Dad of the house, Josh, goes downstairs after hearing a noise. In the mean time, his wife Renai goes to check on their sweet little baby in her cot. The image of the monster standing behind said cot at the window is one that has stayed with us for months after we saw the film. Not cool, guys. Not cool at all.
4. Hallowe’en (1978): Michael Myers chasing Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis)
One of the most disturbing killers to ever grace the screen, Michael Myers is at his most terrifying in the original Hallowe’en movie directed by John Carpenter. Watching Laurie frantically trying to escape Michael’s relentless pursuit is the stuff legend. Truly terrifying.
5. Wolf Creek: Liz’s attempted escape from the torture shack
Responsible for turning us off ever visiting The Outback, this true-life tale left us with nightmares for weeks. Liz’s attempted escape and the gruesome murder scene that followed is one of the goriest moments in the film, and the most terrifying. *Scratches backpack trip to Australia from bucket list*
6. The Birds: Discovering the pecked-to-death body of Farmer Fawcett
We’re wouldn’t go so far as to say that we have a fear of birds after watching this movie, but we definitely don’t trust them. We don’t trust them at all. Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial brilliance shines throughout this movie, but the scene that stuck with us most was Mrs Bremmer walking in on the bloody remains of Farmer Fawcett and his gouged-out eyes. Not an image that can easily beforgotten.
7. Sinister: Ellison being followed by his demon children
Why are demon children so much more frightening than their adult counterparts? We don’t know why. They just are, and that’s what makes this scene utterly terrifying.
Ethan Hawke walks through his house of horrors with his possessed children in pursuit, before the camera pans to his wife in bed being watched by the most terrifying child demon we’ve ever seen in our lives. Epic stuff. We can’t wait for the sequel.
8. The Exorcist: Regan’s levitation
One of the all-time classic scary movie moments, and one that gets our heart thumping in our chest just thinking about it. This is one horrible scene that can never, ever be unseen. And it doesn’t get much better than that.
9. Paranormal Activity: Micah being dragged out of bed
We didn’t sleep for several weeks after seeing Paranormal Activity. And we really worried about anyone who did. Total nail-biting horror from start to finish, the most terrifying moment for us was watching Micah being dragged from his bed by an invisible force. What was dragging him? Where was he going? What was going to happen to him? Nothing good. That’s what was going to happen to him. Nothing good at all.
10. The Ring: Samara coming out of the TV
13 years after first watching this movie, the horror of Samara and that video tape still stays with us. And while The Ring is packed full of skin-crawling moments of terror, the build-up to seeing Samara climbing out of the TV is the ultimate scene stealer.
So there you have it, ten movie moments which truly terrified us to our core. Here’s hoping for lots more of those moments when we go to see Sinister 2 on August 21!
