As Halloween approaches it seems only fitting for us here to commemorate it in a special way and being as movies are our thing, I thought to myself: Self, why not highlight past iconic horror movies scenes? Being the easy guy that I am, it didn’t take much to convince myself to go through and assemble a few for your perusal. What is to follow should be taken as gospel as I am the complete authority on the matter and rarely, if at all, wrong. Seeing as this is to be special, I have created a new writing template which consists of a digestible list totaling the very original number of ten. Yes, I’m a genius and also a kind one too as I will allow any who care to adopt this new internet writing method to do so with my blessing.
So what constitutes an iconic scene? One that has been seared into your mind. A scene that immediately pops into your head when somebody just mentions the title of the movie in question. Keep in mind, what follows are not scenes from horror movies that are the scariest or goriest ( psst…those are coming ), though at times…
As Halloween approaches it seems only fitting for us here to commemorate it in a special way and being as movies are our thing, I thought to myself: Self, why not highlight past iconic horror movies scenes? Being the easy guy that I am, it didn't take much to convince myself to go through and assemble a few for your perusal. What is to follow should be taken as gospel as I am the complete authority on the matter and rarely, if at all, wrong. Seeing as this is to be special, I have created a new writing template which consists of a digestible list totaling the very original number of ten. Yes, I'm a genius and also a kind one too as I will allow any who care to adopt this new internet writing method to do so with my blessing.
So what constitutes an iconic scene? One that has been seared into your mind. A scene that immediately pops into your head when somebody just mentions the title of the movie in question. Keep in mind, what follows are not scenes from horror movies that are the scariest or goriest ( psst…those are coming ), though at times you may see the synergy of an iconic and gruesome scene, these are just memorable scenes not easily forgotten. Now come my fellow flixisticates, let us journey into past cinematic nightmares and extrapolate the Top Ten Iconic Horror Movie Scenes.{{page_break}}
Being a teenager has baggage aplenty that comes with the territory like not being able to buy alcohol for yourself , being taken seriously by adults, and having delusions of grandeur when it comes to fashion but by far the one thing that is synonymous with it is the simple act of bullying whether participant or victim. Brian De Palma's chilling Carrie illustrates this quite well as Sissy Spacek stars as Carrie White, a teenage girl who not only has to deal with the usual trials and tribulations that all youths typically deal with but also come to grips with the fact that she possesses the power of telekinesis. Scorned by her whacked-out mother because of her "satanic" gift and bullied by her schoolmates, her civility and powers reach the boiling point when she becomes the victim of a prank involving pig's blood at the prom.
"They're coming for you, Barbara. They're coming to get you. Look, there comes one of them now!" And with that exchange of words between a brother and sister visiting the grave of a friend of their mother, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead began one of the most pivotal horror movements known to cinema, the birth of the cannibalistic zombie and impending apocalypse. Amazing to think that this movie made in 1968 spawned not only many sequels and remakes but a whole genre that is still being used today. From movies, to video games, to TV shows, this classic movie cemented Romero's place in movie history and pop-culture. Fantastic movie that, in my humble opinion, is his best and still unbelievably holds up today.
Steven Spielberg's Jaws had plenty of scenes that are memorable, like the beginning when you see a woman swimming , the ominous music comes in and she is finally attacked by the infamous shark or on the beach when everybody high tails it out of the water in horror to the shore but to me it wasn't serious business until you got to see Roy Scheider's Chief Martin Brody finally get a good look at the monstrosity they were dealing with, slack jawed, cigarette in tow and utter: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
I don't care what anybody says, this tiny cry for help by a part-man part-fly abomination in 1958's The Fly is not only an iconic horror scene but one of the most genuinely disturbing ones to boot. I remember seeing this the first time and getting beyond creeped out. While I could of put in its place a scene from Cronenberg's worthy remake, to me even though I enjoyed it a lot it lacked the punch of the original. Even now I can view this and hearing this cry at the end of the movie unnerves me.
Was there ever a doubt this would be on the list? Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance, writer/winter caretaker of the ominous and secluded Overlook Hotel, in Stanley Kubrik's The Shining is still one of his most powerful roles to this day. The descent into madness his character goes through is punctuated with him chasing his wife with an axe, chopping the bathroom door, peering in and delivering the now famous line. While this scene certainly is etched in my memory there are so so many more to enjoy in this movie that are way more subtle but just as enjoyable. Like most of the movies listed here, The Shining still stands the test of time.
You had to have known this was coming. The Exorcist is one of my favorite horror movies of all time and unlike the others on this list, it was really hard to pick just one iconic scene for this movie as in my humble opinion it had a mess load of them. Ultimately I had to go with Linda Blair's head doing what it is doing up there. I remember watching this as a teenager and being scared out of my mind when I first saw that. Hell, the whole movie was one of the first that lingered with me long after viewing it. This just landed on blu-ray and if you haven't added this movie to your collection yet, I urge you to do so as it's the best version yet.
Having a television showing no signal but merely static and a little girl saying "They're heeeere" comes in at number four. Poltergeist tells the story of a family dealing with what appears to be friendly ghosts at first but then take a decidedly darker turn. Great flick with memorable characters, this movie isn't a gore-fest or as dark as other prominent horror movies so you could be forgiven if you overlook it. But what it may lack in those departments it more than makes it up in overall chills and excitement. Though Tobe Hooper directed this movie with a Steven Spielberg script, I got the feeling that Spielberg had his share at sitting at the director's chair too as it has his cinematic vibe stamped throughout.
Before Ridley Scott's Alien turned into an action vehicle for Sigourney Weaver with its subsequent sequels, it was a certified balls out horror movie and no scene is as iconic as the one where John Hurt's Kane, awakens from an attack where his face was covered with an alien/face hugger. Seemingly alright and healthy after removal, during a meal with the crew he begins to choke and have a violent seizure until an alien creature bursts from his chest, killing him and running free. What follows next is a recipe still used today in most sci-fi horror movies.
I have to admit, the first I saw of Invasion of the Body Snatchers was this 1978 remake. I eventually found my way to the original, which is great, but my fondness of the remake with Donald Sutherland made me prefer this version over the original. Perhaps it was the more modern ( at the time of viewing ) take of the story but I can say for a certainty that the shrill pod scream of those who got replaced with their plant counterparts has stuck in my mind to this day. There has been even more remakes of this movie, most recently The Invasion with Nicole Kidman, but to me none have topped this from being the best version.
Last but not least is…
Before Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho premiered it was assumed that your safety in the bathroom was a given. Taking a hot shower was a haven, a zone that wasn't crossed, wasn't impeded. Here you chilled out and sang badly not bothered by anybody. That all changed in a heartbeat when Janet Leigh who plays Marion Crane, hides out in the now infamous Bates Motel after embezzling a sum of money from her employer and meets her gruesome demise in this iconic scene that forever after gave other directors the license to have women butchered naked while taking a shower.
