In the run-up to Halloween, it is time (well, more time than it is the rest of the year we spend talking about horror, anyway) to talk about horror. But not just any horror – no, as we come up on a quarter-century into this godforsaken era, it seems about time to cast our eye back over brilliant horror of years and decades past.
Instead of focusing on specific movies, we’ve decided to pick scares – whether those are gory kills, spectacular spooks, or jumpscares that made you piss yourself just a little bit, we’re breaking it down in five-year increments to look at the scariest scenes in recent cinematic memory.
And, of course, while these are some of our favourites, what scares you is very much an individual thing – and these lists are not meant to be definitive, but an encouragement, no, an order to tell us about your most impressive, effective, and unforgettable scares. With that said, let’s get into it!
2000: Battle Royale
This moment in the notorious Battle Royale is one of the biggest “oh, shit” shocks in cinema – it instantly ups the stakes in the most brutal way imaginable, and drives home just how bad things are about to get. There’s a reason Battle Royale is still such an influential slasher to this day, and its inimitable nose for nastiness and the ability to deliver a short, sharp shock (pun, unfortunately, intended), remains nigh-on unbeaten, two decades later.
2001: Pulse
We’ve made no secret of how much we love Kiyoshi Kurosawa on this blog, and his incredible early-noughties tech horror, Pulse, is one of the most downright brilliant horrors in his back catalogue. This scene – the haunting visuals, the slow unfolding, the creature that hovers between supernatural and internet superhighway – it’s eerie, redolent, and remains just as freaky today as it did when I first saw it.
2002: Ju-On: The Grudge
This isn’t just the best scare of the year, but one of the best of the decade, the century, of all of horror. Ju-On: The Grudge has maintained a spotless reputation as one of the best ghost stories in cinema, and it’s this extended sequence that really sells that for me. From the glimpses of the ghostly Toshio in the lift to the distorted TV screen, it’s a slow, steady build to an almost unbearable level of tension, that pays off with the ultimate subversion: the creature isn’t hiding under the bed, it’s right there in it, with you. Outrageously, iconically brilliant.
2003: Final Destination II
There’s an embarrassment of riches to choose from in Final Destination’s slapstick horror back catalogue, but when I think of the true mastery of this franchise, I think of this scene from Final Destination II. The slow build, the growing threat, the utter gruesomeness of the payoff; it’s as much a joke as it is a scare, and it works well as both horror and comedy. The fact that this scene alone was used as part of the promo for this movie says everything you need to know about how good it is.
2004: Shutter
This particular scare from Shutter isn’t impactful just because it’s a great reveal (which it is) and an awesome, striking visual (which it also happens to be), but because of how it changes the way the entire film functions in retrospect. In this single scene, you come to realize that the ghost has been clinging to the main character (literally) for the better part of the entire movie’s runtime, and that realisation is downright chilling – it elevates this rape-and-revenge thriller into classic territory in the matter of about three minutes, and it deserves it’s spot here as a result (even if I did have to bump the photography sequence from the first Saw film from the list to accommodate it).
Be sure to check in over the next few days for the rest of the series in the run-up to Halloween! If you enjoyed this and want to see more stuff like it, please consider supporting us on Ko-Fi.
By Kevin Boyle and Lou MacGregor
(header image via the unaffiliated critic)
(header image via Reddit)
No But Listen 