Winner Nov '99

Other Winners and How to Win!

• • •

Scariest Film Scenes

Posted by: Leda (LEDA74)

• • •

I know we already have a thread on scariest horror MOVIES, but I'd like to start a separate thread on which particular scenes scared you the most.

I put this in Horror/Cult because it seemed the most likely home....but when I say scared I don't necessarily mean conventional horror, rather I simply refer to those chilling scenes that linger on the brain after bedtime and keep you alert and watchful, staring at the ceiling. The ones that stop your hand as it reaches for the light-switch, and make you pause before going down to the cellar...

I'm going to select three of mine :)

The Fog (1980)

Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau) is alone in her lighthouse radio-station on a bright sunny day, listening to a tape of the day's promos. With her she has brought a piece of wood that her son found on the beach....it bears the word "DANE". She puts it on top of the tape player and turns away as the jingles play.

The wood begins to ooze sea-water, welling out of the cracks and dripping down onto the tape player, which breaks down. Abruptly the voice slows and cracks, and changes to a distorted, slurred muttering. Stevie turns around to see that the piece of wood now bears the words "6 MUST DIE"...and at this point the tape player explodes into flame, obscuring everything.

Talk Back

The Shining (1980)

Alone in the Great Hall of the Overlook, Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) takes a look at her husband's work-in-progress, his novel. With mounting horror, as she turns the pages she realises that every single one bears the same terrifying repeated phrase, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". It is only now that the disintegration of Jack's mind is revealed to her in its full.

Hellraiser(1987)

(This is a long one, but by far the most chilling IMO!)

Kirtsy Cotton (Ashley Laurence) has been locked into a hospital room with the puzzle box. For want of anything else to do, she begins to toy with it. As she runs a finger around the intricate designs, however, she jumps back as it crackles with electricity, flips up and over and twists around into the correct configuration.

Abruptly, the wall cracks from top to bottom and splits open, revealing a cobwebbed doorway. Kirsty approaches carefully, passing through the door to find herself in a stone passageway with only blackness at its end. She paces slowly down the passage as if in a dream.

The way is blocked by a huge misshapen beast that hangs by its feet from the walls. As it opens its eyes and sees Kirsty, it growls and charges down the passage towards her. She turns and runs for dear life as the beast closes on her.

Flinging herself through the doorway, she throws a glance back over her shoulder to see that the wall is restored, no sign of beast or doorway apparent, but she scuttles for the protection as a howling and pounding echoes from within the plaster. Grabbing for the puzzle box, she wrestles with it, trying to unlock it and dismiss the beast before it breaks through.

In the silence that follows, she turns with a frozen expression of abject horror as the lights dim and the tiles on the wall are outlined in silver light and smoke. The TV hisses with sudden static and the IV bag fills with deep red blood and bursts, splattering the wall.

Kirsty pounds on the door, hoping to be let out by someone, by anyone, but to no avail. Lightning flashes across the room, outlining and defining four nightmarish figures. And as one of the demons takes hold of her, she finally begins to scream...

- Leda

Talk Back