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- It: Chapter Two
- Warner Bros.
More so than any other genre, horror films have to grab their audience within the first few minutes to avoid anyone becoming lost or uninterested. Scary horror movie opening scenes are the pinnacle of the genre, and there are a few that really shock the viewer and not only convince them to invest their time in the film but throw them so completely off-kilter that it's impossible to guess what's coming next.
There are myriad ways to grip an audience and leave them wanting more, but the scariest first scenes in horror films all do something interesting and unique, whether it's establish a tone that presides over the rest of the film or simply offer a shock that's so upsetting the audience can't forget it. Each of these opening sequences is powerful in their own right, but they make for better viewing once you watch the rest of the film and know where the writers are going.
Are you brave enough to face the most unsettling opening scenes in horror movie history?
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The opening sequence of 28 Weeks Later is empty and silent, but it doesn't stay that way for long. The first six minutes of the film accomplish more in the way of establishing tone and subverting expectations than most full length features. In just two set pieces - a family dinner and a zombie strike - 28 Weeks Later establishes that the world is a wasteland, everyone left alive is paranoid, and there are no relationships worth giving your life for.
Though the infected are frightening enough, the audience learns to fear sound in 28 Weeks Later thanks to this opening scene. We come to understand the only moments of respite occur when the audio dips below audible levels; but as soon as the score kicks in, it's time to cover your eyes.
- Actors: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
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She's on the poster, she's in the opening sequence, her name is even over the title on the film's poster - everyone thought Drew Barrymore was going to be the star of Scream. In the 13-minute scene that opens the film, Wes Craven plainly lays out how the once firm rules of horror aren't just out the window, they've been gutted and laid to rest on the front lawn.
Barrymore's single scene threatens to overshadow the film, and Craven takes relish in twisting the audience's expectations. Barrymore is so famous that the viewers are meant to think she would at least survive the first few minutes. But since Scream is one of the first notable films to break the genre, Craven has no qualms about defeating our anticipation right off the bat.
- Actors: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Wes Craven
Does this scene set the mood?- 1Billy Loomis210 Votes
- 2Stu Macher193 Votes
- 3Mickey Altieri157 Votes
John Carpenter does many brilliant things throughout Halloween , but one of the first is introducing the audience to his boogeyman as a child. The opening sequence works as if it is its own short film - as many of the best opening sequences do - and manages to put the audience on edge by using the first-person camera perspective. This heavily stylized sequence takes the audience through the Myers household and ends with a vicious murder which changes the scene from an artistic opening to a pulpy climax that grabs your attention.
Like the film itself, this opening scene has garnered countless mimics over the years (even within the Halloween franchise), but it's never been topped. The image of a young Michael dressed as a clown and covered in blood is both stressful and unforgettable.
- Actors: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: John Carpenter
Does this scene set the mood?- 4
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Jaws is only Steven Spielberg's second feature film and it's clear from the onset that he knows exactly how to mold an audience. The first scene follows a teenage girl as she swims into the ocean - which is never a good idea in a movie about a rapacious shark - and gets chomped up by the titular creature. This scene is so full of misdirects and frightening imagery that it's embedded itself in our cultural consciousness since its release in 1975.
With its initial shark feasting, Jaws gives the audience exactly what they expect, and then turns the story on its head by refusing to address the jarring sequence in the following scene. The scene gives us a reason to be afraid and then spends the next act ratcheting up the tension with the implication that it could happen again. Spielberg is both giving and withholding in this masterful moment.
Even with the fairly gruesome incident, the audience never sees the shark, but we know it's there.
- Actors: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
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Wes Craven is a director who knows how to use an opening scene to his advantage. In the inaugural A Nightmare on Elm Street, Craven creates an ominous and surreal tone that the audience can't escape for the rest of the film. By opening the film with an oddly lit and strangely edited dream sequence, Craven is able to ramp up the unsettling nature of the story without having to explain himself.
Even though the audience spends the opening minutes with a character who won't make it beyond the first act, they also learn everything they need to know about the plot: There's a monster who lives in your dreams and uses your subconscious against you.
- Actors: John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Johnny Depp
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Wes Craven
Does this scene set the mood?The opening scene to The Stepfather features one of the all-time greatest shocks in horror cinema. The film opens with the titular stepfather washing blood from his body as he changes his appearance. It's not immediately obvious why it's upsetting, we just know that someone changing their look while covered in blood means they're up to no good.
When the stepfather finally goes downstairs, the scene reveals a pile of chopped-up human remains in the living room. The audience is left with the knowledge that the character on screen is truly disturbed and undoubtedly our villain.
- Actors: Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Charles Lanyer, Stephen Shellen
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Joseph Ruben
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George Romero doesn't waste any time thrusting the audience into the depths of despair with his directorial debut. The opening scene of the film is one of the most economical in the history of cinema simply by the way it establishes that our main character is in the middle of nowhere. Does the unsettling music put you on edge? Totally, but even if there were no audio, it's clear that something is very wrong.
When Barbara and her brother drive to rural Pennsylvania to put flowers on their father's grave, they're confronted by a man who's clearly just crawled out of the ground. After he smashes her brother against a grave marker, it becomes obvious that Romero isn't messing around. The opening sequence introduces you to a fairly fun, albeit annoying character, and then dispatches him in about five minutes.
In Night of the Living Dead, anything can happen and anything can go wrong.
- Actors: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: George A. Romero
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Martyrs initially seems like it's separated into two stress-inducing sections that are intent on pushing the audience into an emotional downward spiral. But upon further viewings (if that's something you want to do to yourself), it appears this opening sequence is portioned into small segments crafted to wring as much stress out of you as possible.
The opening 60 seconds of the film are all you need to see to know whether you're in or out with Martyrs . A young girl, Lucy, runs out of an abandoned factory covered in blood and with her head shaved, screaming for help. The scene is masterfully filmed in a way that lets us know she's all alone in the middle of hell.
- Actors: Mylène Jampanoï, Morjana El Alaoui, Xavier Dolan, Juliette Gosselin, Patricia Tulasne
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Pascal Laugier
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There's nothing like seeing someone set on fire to really set a mood for a film. The 2013 remake/sequel/reimagining of The Evil Dead faced an uphill fight from fans who were rightfully suspicious of someone rebooting the beloved film, but the opening four minutes of this movie not only dispel any fears about whether or not the filmmakers are all in on the Sam Raimi classic, but also show that they won't pull any punches.
Without explanation, the movie opens with a girl being taken by a group of backwoods people and then being tied to a stake. There's an old woman screaming in the background, the girl's father is crying, and then there's the inevitable demonic entity.
- Actors: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Fede Alvarez
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The opening scene of It: Chapter One is inevitable not only for fans of the book but of the 1990 miniseries as well. Georgie, a little boy, is dragged into the sewer and eaten by Pennywise. As upsetting as that is, the sequel begins with a scene that cranks up the intensity of the first film.
Rather than rely on an overtly supernatural means for the first upsetting death in the film, Adrian Mellon and his boyfriend are harassed while attending a carnival in Derry. The bullying continues even after they leave. The couple is followed by a trio of homophobic teens who send Mellon over the edge of the bridge and into the river below. When Pennywise finally shows up, it's long after one of the most upsetting deaths in the entire series. The scene coats the film in a thick layer of dread that's difficult to shake even after the credits roll.
- Actors: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Andy Muschietti
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The opening two minutes of It Follows are a masterclass in horror. Without explaining anything, David Robert Mitchel pans his camera around a suburban neighborhood as a girl runs into the street, runs into her house, and then to her car before driving away from her home.
Upon first viewing, well-read horror fans expect a guy in a hockey mask to clomp after her, but we're offered nothing but empty streets, suspenseful music, erratic camera movement, and a terrified introductory character. These factors alone trigger audiences' instinctual alarm bells, heightened by the fact that we cannot pinpoint the source of the fear.
- Actors: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Does this scene set the mood?- 12
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The opening scene of The Exorcist doesn't explain the various sights and sounds that tell us something is very wrong, regardless of our lack of logical understanding. When Father Merrin finds a statue of Pazuzu in the African desert, he becomes rattled, making it clear that this statue is something to be afraid of, even though we don't know why yet.
The sequence ramps up with cacophonous noises and out-of-context visuals that grow increasingly out of sync without any semblance of a plot, serving to throw everything out of whack. It's clear that something bad is going to happen, but we don't know what, when, or why. As if a film about demonic possession wasn't scary enough, the opening scene essentially tells you that William Friedkin is going to do everything he can to effectively scare you.
- Actors: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: William Friedkin
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Audiences who weren’t aware that Don’t Look Now was a horror film upon walking into the theater were in for a rude awakening by the end of the three-minute sequence that opens the film. The scene is filmed with a natural setting but is edited to make you feel the surrealness of the moment. A man and his wife and children are playing outside and as the camera pans between the characters; the viewer gets the feeling they're watching several different films cut together to throw you off.
Like something from a nightmarish fairy tale, blood spreads across a film slide as a young girl naively plays with a ball near a lake. With no real soundtrack or music cues to speak of, the scene ramps up into a nerve shattering finale as Donald Sutherland (the girl’s father) runs into the woods to rescue her from an unfortunate incident. Seeing the girl underwater is nearly as jarring as the scene's transition to the next.
This opening sequence makes it clear this isn't a movie meant to be watched while you Netflix and chill.
- Actors: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Nicolas Roeg
Does this scene set the mood?- 14
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The opening scene of 1977's Supiria tells the audience exactly what they're in for. It introduces the viewer to Dario Argento's stylized dreamscape, putting them into a strange world that's both gorgeous to look at and horrifying to experience.
When the film's main character, Suzy, arrives at an airport in a downpour, the lighting is perfect, and the rain looks impossibly thick. It already feels like a nightmare, but when Suzy arrives at her new school, she's met by a terrified young dancer running into the night and screaming about being chased. Like Suzy, the viewer is given visual and emotional whiplash, something that doesn't let up until the final credits roll.
- Actors: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Joan Bennett, Eva Axén, Flavio Bucci
- Released: 1977
- Directed by: Dario Argento
Does this scene set the mood? - 15
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The opening moments of Us are already terrifying, but are better appreciated when you see the movie for a second time. Initially, the opening scene sets up an '80s dreamscape full of VHS tapes and an ad for Hands Across America. Our focus characters walk through a carnival and appear to be having a good time. Once you know what happens, however, it becomes clear that there is nothing innocuous about the carnival, and the character's actions are much more important than they seem.
Jordan Peele sets up the whole movie with this one scene, making it much more unsettling than we might have initially thought. A commercial mentions being tethered, the people living in the tunnels below must be experiencing incredible pain because of the actions of their above-ground clones, and there's the face that young Adelaide makes when she sees Red for the first time.
- Actors: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Jordan Peele
Does this scene set the mood?- 1The Lost Boys502 Votes
- 2Invasion of the Body Snatchers227 Votes
- 3The Goonies230 Votes
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Midsommar's marketing made much hay of this being a film where the horror exists in the daylight, but the opening scene takes place under the cover of night. It begins with a series of annoying phone calls and texts interrupting a group of friends trying to have dinner and ratchets up to some of the most upsetting imagery of any movie.
The opening uses the guttural sounds of grief as well as genuinely unsettling family drama to set the audience on edge and force them to experience unwanted emotions. It's a scene that rips us apart and dares us to keep watching.
- Actors: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Vilhelm Blomgren
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Ari Aster
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Opinions vary about this 1980s sequel to one of the best and most important horror films of all time. But regardless of what audiences think about Dennis Hopper, chili cook offs, and a very chatty Chop Top, this opening scene is memorable. Tobe Hooper establishes the tone, setting, and gonzo, anything-can-happen attitude of the film with two drunk-driving college kids getting flayed by Leatherface while harassing the host of a call-in radio show.
With this sequence, Hooper isn't just showing the audience that Leatherface is out and about in Texas, the director is saying that we cannot rely on our expectations from the original feature, and that he's not interested in repeating the success of the first film. It's a move that takes a lot of guts, which is something this movie has in buckets.
- Actors: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Johnson, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Tobe Hooper
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Who is speaking in the opening moments of I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House? Why are they talking about ghosts? Are they talking about ghosts? These are questions that are sure to haunt the viewer throughout the film. The opening sequence is so surreal that it's enough to throw viewers off for the rest of the narrative.
Oz Perkins puts the audience in a trance with the scene's near blackness and creepy VO where someone talks about cadavers and ghosts without actually telling them what's going on. The scene, like the rest of the movie, plays with the audience's expectations about what they're getting from a ghost story. It makes you question if there are ghosts in the movie or if Perkins is playing tricks on you.
- Actors: Ruth Wilson, Paula Prentiss, Bob Balaban, Lucy Boynton, Brad Milne
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Oz Perkins
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