There’s endless innovation in play in the film industry and the horror genre continues to feature some of the most exciting new elements. Horror movies continue to resonate so strongly because audiences love to get frightened and lose themselves in the artifice of the experience.
Horror movies have a number of tools at their disposal to help them terrify viewers and the abrupt jump scare approach is one of the more common tactics. Jump scares have a polarizing reputation, and they can sometimes represent the lazier impulses of the horror genre. However, when done properly, a jump scare can generate unparalleled fear.
10 An American Werewolf In London Develops The Double Dream Fakeout
An American Werewolf in London set a high standard for cinematic werewolf stories and the movie's transformation sequence is perhaps its most famous moment, but it also contains a revelatory jump scare. A jarring monster stormtrooper sequence plays out as a coping mechanism for the horrors of Jack's werewolf attack, only for him to wake up and realize it was all a dream.
Jack is briefly consoled by a nurse before danger once again attacks and he wakes up a second time. The double dream fakeout has since been overdone, but An American Werewolf in London is arguably the strongest example of this trope.
9 The Exorcist III Is Responsible For A Legendary Jump Scare
The Exorcist’s first sequel is a jumbled misfire, but many horror fans consider The Exorcist III to be on par with the original. The film was written and directed by William Peter Blatty, the author of The Exorcist novel. The movie follows a detective's pursuit of a Zodiac Killer-esque serial murderer. A large part of the movie takes place in the psychiatric ward of a hospital, which is where its terrifying jump scare occurs.
After an extremely prolonged sequence of emptiness in a hallway, a demonic figure follows a nurse while holding scissors. It's gone down as one of the best jump scares in cinema and tops anything from the first Exorcist.
8 A Tale Of Two Sisters Makes Smart Use Of Space To Maximize Its Jump Scare
A Tale of Two Sisters is a 2003 South Korean horror film that develops into far more than a typical ghost story. The movie finds strength in the eternal bond between two siblings who struggle to accept their father's new wife. Committed performances help elevate A Tale of Two Sisters to new heights. In addition to being a psychologically harrowing story, it also contains one of horror's strongest jump scares.
A patient scene with Eun-joo, the new matriarch of the family, cleverly plays with empty space and reverse angle shots. These subvert savvy horror fans' expectations of how the scene will transpire.
7 Mulholland Drive Embraces Lynchian Dream Logic To Unleash A Monster
David Lynch isn’t conventionally a horror director, but his works contain some of the most disturbing images that have ever been committed to film. Lynch is endlessly fascinated by the power of dreams, which becomes a slowly suffocating theme in Mulholland Drive. In a seemingly unconnected sequence that becomes a cipher for the whole movie, a man recounts his dream to a friend in a diner as he attempts to recreate the sequence from his subconscious.
This culminates with the characters being convinced that a monster lurks on the other side of a corner. Lynch stretches the tension until the last possible moment and then the haggard creature reveals itself.
6 The Ring Reserves A Devastating Jump Scare To Show The Effects Of Its Evil
American remakes of foreign horror films can be hit or miss, but Gore Verbinski’s update to Ringu is not only seen to be on equal ground with the original, but its success is also responsible for the “J-horror” boom of the early 2000s. Verbinski’s gloomy version of The Ring doesn’t stoop to juvenile tactics and much of the movie’s horror is predicated on its nihilistic atmosphere.
This restraint adds greater impact to the movie’s one real jump scare, a moment that terrifies even those who are lukewarm to the film. The specific scare shows the horrific after-effects of one of the many victims of The Ring’s haunted videotape.
5 [REC] Embraces Found Footage Staples To Amplify Its Jump Scares
![Angela peeks around corners in [REC] Jump Scare](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/REC-Corner-Jump-Scare.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)
[REC] doesn’t just contain a powerful jump scare, but it’s one of the best found footage horror films of the 2000s. [REC] goes above and beyond with its claustrophobic horror story, which focuses on a quarantined apartment complex that begins to experience a strange infestation.
[REC] makes brilliant use of its handheld aesthetic, which leads to a terrifying jump scare towards the end of the movie. Angela uses her camera to scope out her new surroundings. She slowly investigates each corner of the room and the audience can sense that this process is going to conclude with a close-up creature.
4 Hereditary Uses One Huge Jump Scare To Punctuate An Emotionally Devastating Moment
Ari Aster’s Hereditary becomes a disturbing tale of the occult with plenty of demonic sacrifices, but the movie hits just as hard as a tragic family drama where fragile characters process impossible grief. A huge catalyst of Hereditary involves an irresponsible night out that results in a deadly turn of events.
Peter retreats to bed and ignores the decapitation of his younger sister, Charlie, paralyzed in fear over the future. It seems as if the audience will be spared the grisly sight of Charlie's death, only for an abrupt jump cut to showcase her severed head, covered in ants, which is more horrifying than expected.
3 Lights Out Builds A Creepy Concept Through Jump Scare Opportunities
David F. Sandberg's Lights Out initially made waves as an effective short film before getting fleshed out into a full-length feature. There's an incredibly simple premise to Lights Out, which involves an evil entity that only appears in darkness once the lights are off. These rules lend themselves to incessant jump scares. Whenever the lights flicker, there's genuine fear over the possible appearance of this murderous specter.
Lights Out continually increases its stakes and generates unique scenarios so the light concept doesn't hit diminishing returns. Many of these jump scares, including the confrontation in Diana's quarters, are highly effective.
2 It Follows Uses A Jarring Jump Scare To Cement The Strength Of Its Threat
2014's It Follows delivers a thoroughly threatening experience, but it also presents what feels like a truly modern horror story through its determined paranormal presence that selects its subjects through sexual activity. The parallels between the monster in It Follows and sexually-transmitted diseases are front and center, but the movie also creates genuine scares to fall back on.
It Follows begins with an effective cold open that depicts the dangers of the movie's creature. The whole sequence is tense, but it's capped off with a haunting visual of the victim, bones broken at impossible angles, as this terrifying introductory tableau.
1 The Conjuring Creates A Haunted House That’s Full Of Disarming Jump Scares
Love for The Conjuring’s connected cinematic universe has cooled down in recent years, but there are still more spin-offs and sequels on the way for the horror franchise that’s gone on to collectively gross over $1 billion worldwide. The Conjuring and its sequel are largely viewed to be the strongest in the franchise and benefit from James Wan’s meticulous direction and setpiece construction.
The Conjuring contains a number of well-done jump scares as Ed and Lorraine Warren dig deeper into the supernatural circumstances of the Perron family’s home. Bathsheba Sherman is the primary evil entity and her reveal is one of the film's biggest scares.