# The Greatest Moments / Scenes in Horror



## Witterally (Apr 15, 2007)

I'm a big *re-*watcher of horror movies. And I don't always just watch the entire movie over again. About 2 years ago, I decided to just watch some really great _scenes_ in horror movies 1 after another. Since then, I've really been thinking about just-what scenes are the top greatest scenes in the history of the genre.

So I've been dying to start a topic on a board. We can all volunteer some examples of some of the greatest moments. But they can't be entire movies. Maybe together we can come up with some kind of semi-Definitive list.

The first scene I want to nominate... was _not_ kept in the finished version of the film. For some totally bizarre reason, Stuart Gordon decided to delete the *Dinner Hypnotism* scene (Dr. Hill hypnotizes Dean Halsey) from Re-Animator. It's a truly spectacular scene and it actually explains a lot of stuff that wasn't explained in the final version of the movie.

More, in no special order:

1. The Exorcist - The Exorcism Scene / "The power of Christ compells you!!"

2. Carrie (1976) - Mama's Crucifixion / "For the last time, we'll pray"

3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Chainsaw Chase (at Night) / "Sally, I hear somethin'. Stop! Stop!"

4. The Evil Dead - Dawn / The Final Shot, Bursting Through the Cabin Doors

5. Tenebre - The Killer's Accidental Murder / Anne Screams in the Doorway

6. The Howling - Eddie Quist's Transformation / "I wanna give you a piece of my mind."

7. Halloween (1978) - Dr. Loomis and Sheriff Brackett visit the Myers' House / "I met him 15 years ago..."

8. The Evil Dead - Cheryl's Possession / "Why have you disturbed our sleep..."

9. Hellraiser - Kirsty Meets the Cenobites / "The box! You opened it, we came..."

10. Alien - The Chestburster

11. Black Christmas (1974) - Sergeant Nash Calls Jess / "The calls are coming from inside the house!"

12. Scanners - The Exploding-Head Demonstration / "I would like to scan all of you in this room..."

13. Friday the 13th - Mrs. Voorhees' Decapitation

14. Rabid - In Surgery, Doctor Cuts Off Nurse's Finger

15. An American Werewolf in London - David's Home-Invasion Nightmare

16. Carrie (1976) - Bucket of Blood Falls, Prom Massacre / "They're all gonna laugh at you!!"

17. Fright Night - Jerry & Amy's Seduction-Dance at the Club

18. Friday the 13th - Mrs. Voorhees Reveals Her Secret / "Did you know that a young boy drowned..."


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

*John Carpenter's The Thing:* The Thing reveals itself in the dog kennel.
*Night of the Living Dead:* "They're coming to get you, Barbara!"
*Nightmare on Elm Street:* The bedroom blood geyser 
*Dawn of the Dead:* Biker raid at the mall
*Dead Alive/Brain Dead:* The lawnmower scene  
*Phantasm:* The silver sphere and the groundskeeper
*Creepshow:* Father rises from the grave
*The Shining:* "Heeeeeere's Johnny!!"

And, while the purists may rebel at me including these two movies, they just so happen to be two of my all-time faves:

*Killer Klowns from Outer Space:* "Pizza!"
*Bad Taste* "I've been reborn!"


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: "What'cha gonna do? Knock my block off?" , and inside the spaceship: the Klown-ettes with enlarging breasts.


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## Witterally (Apr 15, 2007)

Revenant said:


> *John Carpenter's The Thing:* The Thing reveals itself in the dog kennel.


Hmmm... I don't feel that that scene helped the film at all. I think it was built up poorly and was just stupid and unlikable. Plus- dogs are beautiful, innocent, wonderful creatures. I never liked the way this movie wanted to show them killed brutally like that. It wasn't scary, it was anger enducing. Which takes a viewer out of the movie and makes them much too critical of the movie. It's not enjoyable and it's only effective in making me and a lot of other people very upset at the movie.

I think a much more effective scene in that movie was the Blood Test scene. Much scarier, more tense, and even a little funny. It's memorable as a scare/jump moment, a tension-filled scene, and everyone _always_ quotes that "tied to this f***ing couch!!" line.

Also, the Defibrilator scene was a better FX moment too.



Revenant said:


> *Night of the Living Dead:* "They're coming to get you, Barbara!"


That reminds me:
19. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - Zombie-Karen stabs her Mother to death



Revenant said:


> *Dawn of the Dead:* Biker raid at the mall


20. Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Apartment Complex Raid / Wolly (?) Goes Nuts



Revenant said:


> *Phantasm:* The silver sphere and the groundskeeper


I thought about that one last night when I added this. Great addition. I should also add:
21. Phantasm - Tall Man on Main Street & the Ice Cream Truck



Revenant said:


> *The Shining:* "Heeeeeere's Johnny!!"


Great one. I should add:
22. The Shining (1980) - Wendy's Discovery / All Work and No Play... (a _very_ short moment that's over as soon as Jack starts talking  )



Revenant said:


> And, while the purists may rebel at me including these two movies


I don't know. I happen to think those are both *FINE* choices and I have lots of moments to add from both.

23. Killer Klowns from Outer Space - Puppet Mooney & the Klown / "Don't worry, Dave. All we wanna do is kill you."

24. Bad Taste - Bowl of Puke



Revenant said:


> *Bad Taste* "I've been reborn!"


Ooh, that's the only part of the movie I didn't like at all.


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Sickie Ickie said:


> Killer Klowns from Outer Space: "What'cha gonna do? Knock my block off?"


That was my original choice... believe me, it was a damned tough decision between the two!

Gawd, I love that movie... when I found the anniversary DVD with the behind-the-scenes stuff and the retrospective interviews with the Chiodos et al I felt like I'd struck gold!


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## Death's Door (Mar 22, 2006)

Definitely *American Werewolf in London *- When David Kessler was trasforming into a werewolf. I thought was the best werewolf transformation on the cinema screen.

Hmmm....let me think -

*The Exorcism of Emily Rose *- The barnyard scene where they are trying to exorcise the demon out of Emily Rose.

*Pet Semetary *- The part where Gage severs Judd's tendons in his ankles.

*The Devil's Rejects *- The scene where the girl is running out of the motel room and gets smashed by an oncoming 18 wheeler.

*Poltergeist* - when Carol Ann is in front of the tv, They're here!

*Silence of the Lambs *- When Clarise is in the dark and Buffalo Bill is behind her with the night vision goggles. Also, "It puts the lotion on its skins. It does this whenever its told."

*The Sixth Sense *- when Cole is hiding in his makeshift tent and the girl appears and vomits.


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## Witterally (Apr 15, 2007)

Da Weiner said:


> Definitely *American Werewolf in London *- When David Kessler was trasforming into a werewolf. I thought was the best werewolf transformation on the cinema screen.


Really? I thought it went too slowly and lacked something. To me, The Howling's transformation will always be superior. It's scarier and has a lot more power. Especially when you watch it on the MGM special edition DVD in the 5.1 audio, the music actually begins to vibrate on the outside of your skin. Then, after Karen throws the acid on Eddie Quist and the camera cuts into the next scene, you can still *feel* the music and the sound of that scene buzzing on you. It's one of the greatest moments in horror for that very reason. The American Werewolf transformation basically has more expensive effects and decides to do it in the light. But it also lingers way too long and shows too much of what we're supposed to be afraid of in later scenes. The Howling works in reverse. So it's much more shocking and has a great resonance to it. I actually don't know how the American Werewolf transformation gets more fans and credit. I was _never_ a fan of it. They played it too much for discomfort. So it makes me just want it to be over as soon as it begins. And then it lingers, so, it just keeps going. Hard to appreciate the FX at a time like that.



Da Weiner said:


> *The Exorcism of Emily Rose *- The barnyard scene where they are trying to exorcise the demon out of Emily Rose.


Wow. Really? I didn't think this movie had that many fans who weren't just mainstream kids with no knowledge of what horror is. I haven't seen it yet. Maybe I should...



Da Weiner said:


> *The Devil's Rejects *- The scene where the girl is running out of the motel room and gets smashed by an oncoming 18 wheeler.


That sounds suspiciously like a scene from 2000's Final Destination.

25. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - The Dinner Scene / "_You've gotta make 'em stop!!!_"

26. Suspiria - Suzy Enters Elena Marcos' Room / "You're going to meet death now..." / and the Self-Destruction of the Academy

27. Scream (1996) - The Killers' Plan / "Remember, stay to the side and don't cut too deep"

28. The Evil Dead - Possessed-Shelly Attacks / "Thank you, I don't know what I would have done..."

29. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - Bobby goes looking for Beast

30. Ginger Snaps - Death Montage (Opening Credits)

31. Deranged (1972) - Mama's Final Words to Ezra

32. The Shining (1980) - The Drive up to the Overlook Hotel (Opening Credits)

33. Creepshow - Henry's Murder Fantasy at the Academic's Party / "Hell of a shot!" "Bullseye!"


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Revenant said:


> That was my original choice... believe me, it was a damned tough decision between the two!
> 
> Gawd, I love that movie... when I found the anniversary DVD with the behind-the-scenes stuff and the retrospective interviews with the Chiodos et al I felt like I'd struck gold!


Easily my fave B-movie of all time. I used to have life sized clown heads made by the Chiodos (shorty, fatso, slim, etc) then I had to sell them due to hard times. It broke my heart! Someday I'll have some back again!


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## Death's Door (Mar 22, 2006)

I liked "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" because it was based on a true story and definitely had its jumpy moments. After I went to see it and then read the reviews, a lot of people were dissappointed because of the court room drama which took up a lot of the movie. But factually, it was a story that the prosecution wanted to try the priest for the murder of Emily Rose. It's a scarier version of Law & Order but overall had some good scares in it.

In The Devil's Rejects, you kind get caught up with hoping the girl can get across the road because she is the last survivor of this murderous rampage. She has some close calls with other passing cars on the road so you automatically think someone will stop and help her and then without notice, she gets nailed by the 18 wheeler. There is somewhat a different feeling as it was in Final Destination. Same impact though.


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## Witterally (Apr 15, 2007)

Well, I still need to see Devil's Rejects. Don't know why I haven't yet. As long as it's better than House of 1,000 Corpses, I'll be happy with it. And the main reason I didn't want to see Emily Rose was because it sounded like a New-Millennium hybrid of Audrey Rose and The Exorcist. A pretty obvious one, too.

34. 28 Days Later - Waking Up to a Deserted London

35. Arachnophobia - Dr. Jennings In the Nest

36. Suspiria - Suzy's Arrival in Freiberg / The Airport, Taxi, Academy Woods

37. Gremlins - The Kitchen Scene

38. Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Roger Wakes Up / "We are down to the line..."

39. Brain Damage (1987) - Brian's Eyeball / Water-Bed Trip

40. Lucio Fulci's The Beyond - Liza and John Find Eibon / Face the Sea of Darkness / "We're back at the hotel!" "Impossible..."

41. The Omen (1976) - Mr. Thorn Looks for Damien's Birthmark

42. Halloween (1978) - Laurie Goes Next Door, to the Wallace's House


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Sickie Ickie said:


> I used to have life sized clown heads made by the Chiodos (shorty, fatso, slim, etc) then I had to sell them due to hard times.


Dude, hang on -- you're telling me these were _originals?_  As in, actually hand-Chiodo-made? No way.


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