I’ve seen a ton of horror movies over the years, which means at this point I’m pretty desensitized. I still get scared, but it is rare that I am covering my eyes awaiting the horrors on screen (and covering my ears doesn’t count because everyone knows loud sounds are just a cheap way to get screams — change my mind). These scenes, however, had me shaking in my boots.
Zelda (Pet Sematary, 2019)
On every list of “Best Horror Anythings,” you’ll find the scene with Zelda from the original 80s Pet Sematary. I do not find that scene scary in the slightest, probably because this was before my time and by the time I did see it, I was an adult. The remake though, had a Zelda that actually scared me. On one hand I feel bad because she was only monstrous because she was diseased, not because she was an actual monster as depicted in the original. I could totally see how a younger sibling would be scared by something they didn’t fully understand. And when you add in music, footsteps, loud banging and a scream, I was transformed into that little kid as well. I heard the fall and absolutely did not want to look into that dumbwaiter.
Biting Her Stomach (Anything for Jackson, 2020)
Did your mom ever give you “raspberries” on your stomachs, and on a scale of 1-to-Always, how much did you hate it? They’re ticklish, yes, but they’re also not very fun. Now imagine you’re a pregnant lady, kidnapped, and about to be bitten on your stomach by some demon monster. I didn’t really close my eyes here, but I grabbed by stomach in preparation for this raspberry of death. Anything for Jackson, except maybe for this.
Jeremy’s Purification (Apostle, 2018)
I hope y’all know as I was looking up these videos to add to this list, I viscerally cringed when this turned on. Jeremy — seen strapped to this table with his head partially shaved — is unfortunately at the mercy of a righteously-violent father of the girl he was about to elope/escape with. Daddy didn’t like that, so Jeremy here gets a nice little drill to the head. I feel so bad for him because he was such a good kid and almost got to freedom. But long moments of slow crunching and gargling screams is all he got instead. Honestly it hurts watching this back again.
Lawn Work (Sinister, 2012)
I think by now, everyone is familiar with the infamous “Lawn Work” scene. While all of the short home movies in Sinister made me fear for the future, this one in particular was rough. It’s the final home movie we see so we all know what kinds of horror to expect. Once the lawnmower starts, we all know what’s coming — we just don’t know when. Queue brilliantly-placed jumpscare!
Mother Buddha (Incantation, 2022)
So Incantation‘s Mother Buddha really isn’t scary, it’s more of what happens right before her reveal. Up until this point, we’re led through a series of chants and images to think about, all while following Ronan through her and her daughter’s cursed lives. Then Ronan tells us she lied and because we said the chants and thought the thoughts, we’re part of this curse now. The question I’m thinking is “I know this is a movie but do I really want to look at this statue? It’s not real… but, like, what if it is?” While you’ll only really be bothered if you have trypophobia, it did make me think twice looking at the screen.
“Look Under the Bed” (Skinamarink, 2022)
I know some of y’all like to hate on Skinamarink — and I get that — but Skinamarink messed me up bad! Again, I struggled looking up this scene because I really did not want to see it again. It’s dark. Everything is out of focus. You want to trust what you’re seeing is real. Are your parents going to kill you? What’s under the bed? When is the jumpscare coming? I just don’t want to watch this ever again and now I’m mad I wrote this article. I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight, so thank you for that!
What did you think of these movie moments? What horror movie moments scared you the most? Let us know in the comments!
While you’re at it, check out Shudder’s 101 Scariest Movie Moments of All Time.
