I love horror movies. Not that it makes me sleep any better, because I don’t. And I’m a person that scares easily. It’s often the silent moments that you don’t really see what’s scaring you, that make a film scary. And then there is those jump scares. Some movies overuse them and that I don’t like. But there are many movies, horror and non-horror films, that used them so well. Often at moments you’d least expect them to happen. And that’s when a jump scare is most effective. I created this list of great jump scares in movies.
Shark attack – Deep Blue Sea (1999)
In a movie about killer sharks, there will most obviously be some shark attacks. But I think we all know which shark attack I mean here. While giving a somewhat epic speech to his fellow survivors, and being warned about standing to close to the water hole, Samuel L. Jackson is being attacked and eaten alive. The most surprising kill, since he was the biggest name in the cast, but also a pretty hilarious and over-the-top kill.
The tongue click – Hereditary (2018)
When you watch a film with the sound of, you know exactly how a jump scare works. It’s a key component. Most often very loud noises. And if you watch “Hereditary” ’s big scare with the sound off, it’ll seem like nothing is happening. The scenes shows Annie in her car, when she suddenly here’s tongue clucking coming from the backseat. And still it seems like nothing, just wait when you see the actual scene. One of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen.
Face of fire - Insidious (2011)
A fine example of misdirection. The scene begins with Barbara Hershey’s character describing a nightmare. Snapping back to the real world, Patrick Wilson’s Josh sits unaware as the red-faced demon appears behind him. Did not see that coming.
Night vision – The Descent (2006)
Who thought spelunking was a good idea? It seems exciting, but not if you’re claustrophobic. If you’re not that, this trip still wasn’t a good idea, since there are strange, creepy, night creatures living there. And we see one earlier in the movie, from afar. But that’s not as scary as the scene where one of the girls turns on night vison mode on her camera. As a viewer you are emotionally invested in the arguments going on and trying to follow the camera, with already obscures by night vision. It swings from person to person. When it swings back to find a creature standing behind Rebecca and we were completely unprepared.
Hand claps – The Conjuring (2013)
Like “Hereditary”, this is a movie that doesn’t overuse jump scares or loud noises when it comes to them. And it’s also one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. And this scene in particular scared the bejesus out of me. In this scene, the scariest moment in the film plays us brilliantly. There is the slow lure down the staircase, the bouncing basketball, the exploding lightbulb, and then a moment of silence before the out-of-nowhere hands reach in for a quick clap-clap. Ugh, even writing about gives me the chills.
Need a bigger boat – Jaws (1975)
The movie’s biggest strength is hardly ever showing the shark we all know there is. I think we’re about 45 minutes into the movie when we catch a glimpse of the shark. But it’s the moment when the three men are on the Orca and Chief Brody is throwing chum into the ocean. His face is away from the water and all of a sudden the shark pops out from it. We feel what’s Brody’s feeling: fear!
Bilbo’s scary face – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Where did this come from? It’s Frodo and his uncle Bilbo having a nice heart to heart. But when Bilbo sees the One Ring around Frodo’s neck, he loses it for a second and tries to grab it. Super scary and a non-expecting scare.
The man behind the wall – Mulholland Drive (2001)
Two men are sitting in a diner, when one of them, Dan, shares this terrifying dream he’s been having. About a man behind a wall, just outside the diner. He decides to go and see it for himself and we all think, it’s just a dream. But suddenly, that man appears from behind that wall. Our hearts stopped!
Home video – Signs (2002)
When Joaquin Phoenix’ Merril is watching a news feed on the TV, I didn’t expect to have one of the biggest jumps scares ever. Merril is sitting inside a small closet while watching a news report, about a home video that was send to them. We see a group of kids at what seems to be a birthday party, they’re screaming, but we don’t know what for. Then the camera, a bit blurry, goes to a little alley and we see an alien walk by. Merril’s reaction is exactly ours: shocked!
The coughing man - Se7en (1995)
After already being exposed to gross crime scenes, we haven’t seen the worst yet. Detectives David Mills and William Somerset approach the set for the sin ‘sloth’. A scene covered with air fresheners you would normally hang in your car, presents us to a corpse that was seemingly chained to the bed and starved to death. When one of the agents approaches the body, it all of a sudden starts coughing. He isn’t dead after all.
The ‘mother’ - Psycho (1960)
It’s old school but it has stuck with me for so many years. It is so creepy when it’s found out that the actual mother died and is sitting as a skeleton in her chair and Norman Bates’ ‘mother’ appears and starts screaming. I still think about it sometimes when I’m in my basement.
Jason in the lake - Friday the 13th (1980)
People are mistaken when they think Jason Voorhees was the killer in “Friday the 13th”. It was his mother Pamela Voorhees. But at the end of “Friday the 13th” we catch a glimpse of Jason, when final girl Alice is sitting in a boat on the lake, when suddenly Jason jumps out of the water and grabs her.
Kitchen cabinets – Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
The first film already scared the sh** out of me, this sequel had one scene that I just can’t get over. When Kristi is sitting in her kitchen, just out of nowhere all the kitchen cabinet’s open. I think, if I ever watch it again, I will fast forward this scene.
The clown – Poltergeist (1982)
Clowns freak me out anyway, so whenever it’s in a horror movie it adds up to the anxiety I’m already feeling. And just when you think the clown is under the bed, the son’s gets back up only to find out it’s right behind him. Gets me every single time.
The demon – The Exorcist (1973)
While “The Exorcist” is overall a super scary and unsettling movie, it doesn’t contain many jump scares. But there is one brief moment, that made me jump up from my seat. In a blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment, Regan briefly sees the true face of the demon and it scared the hell out of me.
The white figure – The Exorcist III (1990)
When the original film didn’t have many jump scares, the third installment in the franchise had the biggest of them all. One of those unexpected moments, where the situation seems not so special. Out of nowhere, with no lead or build-up in tension or sound, a white figures chases a nurse with an ice pick. We don’t see the nurse actually being killed, but this moment really gave me the chills.
89/ 100: A League of Their Own (1992)
89/ 100: Signs (2002)
90/ 100: The World’s End (2013)
