October 25, 2024
The floor creaks, the music becomes eerie, and there is an uneasy silence. And bang! It’s a classic jump scare. This horror movie staple is instantly memorable when done well. With the help of Times movie writers, filmmakers, and stars, we’ve ranked the 25 jump scares that still captivate us every time. caveat
This article contains spoilers and may contain intense scenes that some readers may find disturbing.
No.25
“Repulsion” (1965)
“It’s easy to imagine a mirror-jump scare coming. In Roman Polanski’s hallucinatory thriller, a character appears briefly and disappears when Catherine Deneuve closes the closet door. That’s a knockout.” — Eric Piepenberg.
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No.24
“Get Out” (2017)
“Up until now, Chris had been unfazed by his white girlfriend’s wealthy family. He was ready to accept racism. But he was unfazed by the groundskeeper’s midnight sprint. The surreal jump scares deepen when it’s revealed that he’s been snatched by an old man who’s furious about losing his gold medal to Jesse Owens.” — Amy Nicholson
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No.23
Psycho (1960)
“Sure, the shower scene is iconic, but seeing the gruesome close-up of Norman’s mother’s fully clothed corpse as it rolls around still makes me scream.” — Stephanie Goodman
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no. twenty two
Phantasm (1979)
“The greatest of them all, the mirror-jump scare features multiple shocks, a devilishly charismatic villain, and a deliriously eerie three-act soundscape. The familiar synthesizer Let the metallic shrieks and growls haunt your dreams, lulling you into a sense of security.” — Jason Zinoman
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No.21
Seven (1995)
David Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker talk about the build-up to Seven
The reactions of Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and John C. McGinley as the rotting corpse gasps for air are so convincing that they are no strangers to the modern era of not being told that the corpse was an actor rather than a prop. created a myth.
As it turns out, the stars knew (sorry, Internet!), but the fact that the myth persists is a testament to the scene’s potential.
Director David Fincher credited screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker in an email, saying, “Andy wrote it, but it was a great idea, so I shot it.” .
When the police pulled back the dirty sheet, a decomposed corpse was revealed…
…Brad Pitt plays a detective who doesn’t quite understand what he’s looking at…
…and everyone is shocked when John C. McGinley’s SWAT leader leans in.
However, Walker said in an interview that it was Fincher and prosthetics and make-up guru Rob Bottin who turned his vision into a horrifying jump scare, and that it shouldn’t have worked out because it was absolutely expected. insisted.
“It was more of a build-up, an exciting, almost clichéd action scene that unfolded slowly,” Walker said. Their goal was to “subvert the audience’s expectations of cavalry riding in and take a circular saw to the face.” — Maya Salam
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no. 20
K-Fee Commercial (2004)
“This means that even though you know exactly when it’s going to happen, you still suffer from impulsive misdirection.” — Annie Aguiar
no. 19
Audition (1999)
“The moment you visit your new girlfriend’s apartment and find out she might be more interested in revenge and demolition than love or marriage.” — Janet Katouris
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no. 18
Candyman (1992)
“Candyman’s hook crashes through an open medicine cabinet in this clever twist on the ghost jump scare in the bathroom mirror. Scary!” — Mehcad Murphy
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no. 17
“Hereditary” (2018)
“This seems like an unlikely time for a jump scare. Usually it happens during a lull, but the fear was at its peak. But Ari Aster, in a terrible scare, It manages to give the audience a kick when they are feeling down and cringing.” — Maya Salam.
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no. 16
“It” (2017)
“Pennywise suddenly appearing from the screen could be a metaphor for the power of cinema to express our fears. Or maybe director Andy Muschietti just threw the scariest clown at us, fangs bared first. Either way, it’s a great scene.” — Elizabeth Vincentelli
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no. 15
“The Babadook” (2014)
Jennifer Kent talks about the soundscape of ‘The Babadook’
The bedroom door creaks open slowly. A collision of sounds like cockroaches. A gravelly voice that emits the dreaded “Babadook, dook, dook”. And her mother Amelia, who has become mentally unstable and trembles in her blanket.
In director Jennifer Kent’s “The Babadook,” the soundscape is both a classic haunted house and a modern nightmare.
This scene was meant to imitate how everyone feels when they hear footsteps approaching while lying in bed. “All the sound in that moment gets sucked out,” Kent said in an interview. “It’s like we became hyper-conscious. We wanted to draw the audience in and have them become her.”
Kent did not follow tradition and incorporated most of the sounds in post-production. “What I often do is make sure that the sound is there, that there’s enough ephemeral sound there to make sure the visual stuff is all working,” she explained. I did. “That’s why rhythm is so important. Film cuts are probably closer to music than many people realize.” — Maya Salam
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no. 14
“A Quiet Place” (2018)
“The slightest noise here could attract an alien killer, but this movie’s best stick-on-the-stick heart attack is visual. Behind a deaf girl (Millicent Simmonds), a beast appears in anticipation. We are now in her world, terrified.” — Elizabeth Vincentelli
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no. 13
“It Follows” (2015)
“The menace that constantly stalks Maika Monroe takes many forms, but this very tall version that appears in the doorway is the creepiest.” — Mehcad Murphy
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no. 12
Jaws (1975)
“It’s a very beautifully timed jump scare…just what Spielberg did so well.” — James Wan, director
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no. 11
“Smile” (2022)
“In a movie packed with slow-burn horror, this one stands out for its originality and surprise as a woman’s body is gruesomely rearranged by a supernatural virus.” — Janet Katouris
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interlude
Don’t underestimate the power of jump scares
Written by Jason Zinoman
After seeing Lon Chaney’s unmasked, monstrous face in the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera, nine-year-old Robert Bloch peed his pants and became obsessed with horror. It has become. He also grew up to write the novel Psycho, which the movie is based on. This movie captured fear so effectively that it forever changed the experience of showering for many.
A jump scare is considered a cheap, easy, and vulgar horror fart joke. But that would mean losing a long and powerful legacy in a short amount of time. Of course, it can be crude, overdone, and stuffed, but it can also be sophisticated, mysterious, and emotionally integrated. And, as Cheney demonstrated a century ago, even the simplest things have power that should not be underestimated.
The stakes are high because success is dual. Either the jump scares create a shock or they don’t work. Therefore, emphasis is placed on novelty. You can’t just put another figure inside a rotating mirror and expect it to tremble. It’s been done too many times. To be truly unsettling, you need to subvert expectations and add misdirection, wild imagery, and disorienting sound cues. There’s more ingenuity in certain jump scares than there is in the entire movie. It’s not an easy feat to pull off, but the truly great ones are pure cinematic feats.
Jump scares have an advantage online, where context changes rapidly. They not only work independently from cinema, but sometimes also manage to find a more popular second life outside of cinema. In recent years, a canon has emerged that is deconstructed and debated by fans while still providing inspiration for filmmakers. In an ever more crowded genre, where all kinds of sudden camera angle changes, musical cues, or creepy imagery seem to be used to find new ways to shock, jump scares It’s getting more and more complex. At its best, it’s an ambitious set piece that functions like the centerpiece of a musical.
Director James Wan is a master of modern art, and one of his bravest examples is The Conjuring (2013), a haunted house movie in which Lili Taylor is frightened by the sound of applause in a basement. This cleverly surprising horror, patiently established over several scenes, contains no special effects or monsters. There’s a bouncing ball, two hands, and the oldest fear, the fear of the dark. The results are not only nerve-wracking; Like the most thrilling art, you begin to see old things anew while sorting out your sense of possibility.
no. 10
“Drag Me to Hell” (2009)
“Sam Raimi’s masterfully constructed bedroom shock combines classical violin and gory hijinks with a victim who may well deserve to be eaten by the worm. She has ruthlessly requisitioned the home of a Hungarian immigrant. ” — Amy Nicholson
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no. 9
“Shock” (1977)
“I’m running to hug my mom. There’s no way that can’t be healthy.” This much-copied twist by Italian master Mario Bava literally captures the fear of becoming a parent. ” — Jason Zinoman
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no. 8
Mulholland Drive (2001)
“David Lynch’s Terror is extraordinary because it happens in the daylight and we know it’s coming. A diner tells his companions that there’s an evil man behind the wall outside. Sure enough, , a dirty-faced weirdo pops out and shocks them and us.” — Eric Piepenberg
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no. 7
Paranormal Activity (2009)
“It has all the ingredients for a perfect jump scare: darkness, an empty bedroom, slow footsteps, and BOOM!” — Mehcad Murphy
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no. 6
Insidious (2011)
“I screamed when a red-faced demon suddenly appeared behind Patrick Wilson as the main character’s mother recounts an ominous dream. Sharp cuts, loud makeup, and strategically placed… Actors. A feast of horror made simple.” — Eric Piepenberg.
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no. 5
“The Exorcist III” (1990)
“A masterclass in pacing, lighting, choreography, and downright magical imagery has been put together in a clever sequel. Most of the jump scares are hectic and explicit. This one is still pending. The cheap shocks ensue. Here’s how it’s done in practice.” — Jason Zinoman
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no. 4
The Thing (1982)
“John Carpenter’s Antarctic Chiller is famous for its overwhelming horror and splatter gore. But when a comatose heart attack patient splits open from collarbone to navel to reveal his fleshy mouth, a defibrillator and panic attack I’d like to take some applause for the shock of brutally munching the hand of a fallen rescuer.” — Amy Nicholson
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no. 3
“Carrie” (1976)
Amy Irving talks about her scream in ‘Carrie’
Amy Irving’s hysterical screams at the end of this Brian De Palma classic upset the nerves of moviegoers forever.
In a dream, Sue Snell (Irving), the sole survivor of Carrie White’s (Sissy Spacek) prom massacre, lays flowers at her friend’s final resting place and sees a bloody arm (actually Spacek’s). ) pops out of the ground and grabs her. When she screams, Snell’s mother, played by Irving’s mother, tries desperately to quiet her down.
It was an emotionally intense scene to shoot, Irving said this month. “So I kept screaming and screaming and my mom was so angry. At one point, she called me Amy. It was really hard to see her daughter so upset. is.”
Irving was skeptical that the film would work when he read the script (“Is this it?” he thought) and attended his first screening. Then she watched it with the moviegoers. “The whole audience jumped out of their seats and were scared of the (expletive) from me.” — Maya Salam
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no. 2
“Descent” (2005)
“Brilliantly recreating our primal fear of deep, dark spaces, this nerve-wracking shocker traps a group of friends in an unexplored cave before unleashing their unholy fears.” — Janet Katouris
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no. 1
“Alien” (1979)
“When a facehugger pops out of a mysterious egg during a routine space mission, it changes the course of Ridley Scott’s films, both sci-fi and horror. It was a shock, then awe, but… , no one expected that to happen.” — Elizabeth Vincentelli.
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Bonus: Top 5 Non-Horror Jump Scares
Pee-wee’s Adventures (1985)
Mean Girls (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Lord of the Rings (2001)
“Resident Evil” video game (1996)
Citizen Kane (1941)