479. Alien - title spells itself out
: About a minute
Description: (self-explanatory)
Observations: One of Hollywood's most popular scary movies, and an opening you'll never forget. It's such an epic movie that they can spell out the title alone and that becomes memorable. Few films before it have ever achieved a title sequence that cracked cinema history in the same way, but after
Alien, a lot of other horror films made sure to make their title sequences memorable.
478. Friday the 13th Part III - Don't Let Your Imagination Run Away with You
: Under a minute
Description: As our van-ful of counselors (early 20-somethings) drive to the cabin, they pass by the scene of a horrible accident. Our main heroine, Chris, can't keep her eyes on the road because she senses something is wrong. Her best friend, Debbie, has to tell her to ignore the site. After all, they're going away to have a good time...
Observations: It just wouldn't be a
Friday the 13th film without moments like these. What was that noise? What's going on... over there? The series' formula thrives on these things. It's like half-foreshadowing and half-distraction. I mean, you tell me: are you as focused on what's going on where the characters are if they're focusing on what's going on half a mile ahead of or behind them?
477. Rosemary's Baby - The Fate of Terry Gionoffrio
: About 3 minutes
Description: After having gone out, Rosemary and husband Guy return to their new apartment building to find a crowd of people have gathered on the street. It appears someone has fallen from the building to their death. Someone they know: a young woman staying with Rosemary and Guy's next-door neighbors, Roman and Minnie Castevet.
Observations: It was a Hollywood rule that you don't show violence, sexuality, or blood graphically in an "A" picture.
Rosemary's Baby, and then-horror master, director, Roman Polanski decided that rule was made to be broken. This scene is without a doubt one of the first really bloody scenes shown in Hollywood cinema.
476. Bad Taste - The Aliens Show Their True Form
: More than 3 minutes
Description: As our gun-toting gang of freedom fighters descend upon the villains' homebase, some bullets fired close to the aliens' fallen leader make him do his species' version of skunk-spraying: he begins to mutate and squeal- as do the rest of his patrol. Now, after an hour in the film with aliens who look just like you and me, the rest transform into this ^ lovely creature. Now a chase ensues in the woods, the music score breaks out the icy synths and searing power guitars, and the main characters try to run the creatures down in their hot purple car... which soon will explode.
Observations: It's a cheap movie but the design of the aliens is great and this scene is ruled by the music, which is a-typically pretty and soothing instead of hard-rocking. It's just the kind of thing that makes director Peter Jackson such a unique player in the splatter film sub-genre.
475. Bones - City of the Dead Mythology Lesson
: About 2 minutes
Description: On her way home, Patrick's lovely young neighbor, Cynthia walks under a ladder. That's bad luck, as Patrick points out. This tip he shares with her leads her to share something with him: the house he's moving into is a conductor of negative energy from a second world and has the power to lift the veil off from the city of the dead. And that he'd better be careful, or something dangerous might get loose and take something from his world.
Observations: It's a lot of mumbo jumbo... but it's well-written and performed by the film's young couple who use this as an opportunity to flirt. She's serious too.
474. Child's Play 2 - The Doll Factory
: 10 minutes or more
Description: On the run from Chucky, Kyle and Andy find themselves trapped in the endless space of a huge factory warehouse. They can't seem to find their way out from a hall of product boxes and a maze of machinery. To make matters worse, Chucky knows where they are. But, as he keeps getting found and disappearing again... they don't always know where he is.
Observations: Really, this scene is made by how many different ways Chucky can be mutilated, tortured, sliced and diced, and put back together again. It usually lacks the fear and suspense the entire movie needs. But it's nonetheless a wonderfully creative series of scenes with damn good effects... On the doll. Not the random victim here or there (one of whom nearly ruins the scene during an eyeball socket puncturing that looks as bad as the film's other bad human death-scenes).
473. Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama - We Gotta Go
: Under a minute
Description: After a night of horror neither will forget, our lovey-dovey odd couple - the wholesome nerd boy and the tough-talking motorcycle chick - are in good spirits. And why wouldn't they be? They're both hot and single. When the film's monster is finally stopped, she informs him that they have to go before the police show up. When he asks why, blissfully unaware of much of anything, she mentions that there is no way to tell their story without letting the monster out again.
Observations: Why this scene? For a few reasons- mostly because this movie is really worth seeing. The actors, Linnea Quigley and Andras Jones (both cult-horror film veterans), have great chemistry together. All their scenes are a pleasure to watch. This one is extra satisfying because they both live to the end (they died in each of their claims to fame), and there are a lot of details to ponder. What
about the police? If they go looking for a killer, will they use fingerprints to detect these two? What might she, an admitted criminal, already be guilty of? What's "my place" really look like- is it anything like the idea you get of "El Ray" from the ending to
From Dusk Till Dawn? What about that can with the evil Imp inside it? It's lying right out on the ground... will the police inspect it; try to open it? If they do... he'll get out anyway. So, do our two survivors care? If he were free, would the Imp track them down? Will this couple last? Could he ever go back to his old life with his roommates dead and not be a suspect? There are enough questions to keep you thinking through 3 sets of the end credits. And the fact that I cared to ponder them means that these characters and this ending mattered to me.
472. Squirm - "Wormface"
: Under a minute
Description: Geri and Roger go fishing out on the lake. Geri was supposed to go with her close friend, cute redhead Mick, but he decides to leave. In his absense, Roger begins to get jealous and hostile. He makes a move to grab her by the arm, falls into the box of worm-bait they brought alone for fishing and hollers in pain. When he stands up, the camera sees that the worms are biting and crawling into his face.
Observations: Special makeup effects this spectacular and convincing were not the norm back in the mid-70's. This is in fact at least 2 years prior to Tom Savini's ground-breaking work in
Dawn of the Dead. Who did this scene, you may ask? Why, none other than the guy responsible for the world-famous
American Werewolf in London transformation scene. You heard right- Rick Baker. Long before the 80's made him famous, he was working with 70's schlock-masters Larry Cohen and John Landis. In between jobs with those guys, he did this Jeff Lieberman gem.
471. From Beyond - What Went Wrong?
: Around 2 minutes, maybe more
Description: Every Stuart Gordon film must have at least one pair of mad scientists. Here, Scientist #2 goes to visit Scientist #1 in an asylum, where the crazed Crawford Tillinghast tells stuffy Katherine McMichaels that while he was performing the experiment that got him locked away, the head of his mentor (Scientist #3) was bitten off by a huge fish that was swimming around in the air.
Observations: Lovecraft ideas are great, but not for horror movies. Almost every Lovecraftian horror film is a snooze and 4 halfs! That's why it is a remarkable feat that
From Beyond is not. As a matter of fact, Gordon and company pull out all the stops to make you believe these things could happen and love making you watch scientists discussing these bizarre abstract physics theories. Why? Because you know you'll actually see them in action! Crawford's dialogue here does in fact come to pass, like a prediction. You will see what he's talking about. I did and I had a blast!
470. Cat People - Irena Sees the City
: More than 5 minutes
Description: While waiting for her brother to return home, Irena goes out on her own to see all the sights of New Orleans- which from this film, looks like one of the most amazing places in the world.
Observations: And a good movie will do that, make you want to be where it takes place.
Cat People uses a lot of surreal fantasy to lure you into its' shocking bursts of gore and violence. These long montages of Irena going places she's never been to are the meat and potatoes of the whole film. Also worth noting is her performance- though that's not very important in this series of scenes. During the one you see pictured above, she is the smallest feature in every frame- shown walking from a great distance away or above her head. Here, she enters a very colorful church where her brother works looking for him. He's not there.
469. Piranha - Aerial View of the Resort
: Under a minute
Description: Speaking of heights... (self-explanatory)
Observations: Buildup is so important in horror. This is Joe Dante's first horror film and also his first feature film as lone director. And that almost makes it more impressive that he is able to get so much tone leading into the big Spielbergian danger scene you know is coming. But, unlike
Jaws, the savagery on display here would make that film cower in a corner and hire a therapist. For this scene, however, it's the stomach-dropping WOAH feeling you get as you ride this aerial gondola... It almost feels like you could fall. And thus far, the movie's been about what's going on under the surface. Now you're in the sky. Very few shots in the genre's history are able to recall your own personal survival instincts. But more important is how this film will employ several carnival tricks to keep us invested in it's pretty silly ideas. It's really good at getting our attention.
468. The Hills Have Eyes - Tarantula in the Trailer
: Under a minute
Description: One of the genre's most essential scream-queens, Dee Wallace, goes into the family's crashed trailer to get a jacket (because it's now starting to cool down) and finds a HUGE tarantula is pinning it down to the couch.
Observations: This unnerves her much more than it might a normal person. A sign of good acting. But the scene itself also functions as a reminder that there is danger all around and nowhere is completely safe. The creatures of the desert all seem to want a way in to these city-slickers' stuff. If only this were the last time one of them will be violated on their trip.
467. City of the Living Dead - A Cursed Bar?
: About 2 minutes
Description: Nobody wants to drink at Jonie's Lounge anymore. Everytime you do... something strange seems to happen. Mirrors shatter and the walls crack, and from out the cracks pour a really creepy fog.
Observations: This makes the 3rd scene on our list so far inspired by Lovecraft (
Bones was the first). As I've mentioned previously in my Fulci reviews, the guy was not a big fan of women. That makes him and Lovecraft a perfect pair, as the literary legend hated women as well. This scene is memorable based on its' sheer freakiness alone. It's so damn bizarre, in fact, that there's just no way that crack in the wall isn't sexual. The rest of the movie is obsessed with sex too; other scenes have girls who want to marry their fathers, fathers jealous that their daughters have sex, and a town-wide obsession with an alleged sex maniac (all old, 40 to 60-something aged, men screaming angrily at a young 20-something boy) who has a fling earlier on with a blow-up doll. If this crack in the wall has anything to do with a vagina, I shudder to think where the fog comes from.
466. Halloween II - Empty Hospital
: 5 minutes or more
Description: Where is everyone? Even Laurie Strode is gone. Only driver Jimmy and nurse Jill are left. Which means, of course, they have to split up. Unfortunately, this will not end well for one of them.
Observations: I've previously accused the
Halloween franchise of ripping off
Friday the 13th, and I think that's a fair accusation. But one thing these movies got right, in the case of this movie at least, was the great feeling of mystery that comes from wide empty spaces and just one potential victim walking around in them. It's like a lone chess board piece. You would think that being alone, they would seek out others, but then the script gives them a job or environmental element to keep them isolated. Anyway- this slot is dedicated to the great hospital setting of
Halloween II and that feeling of each person having more room to be alone in while waiting for some sign of life to appear (which never does). One thing these 2 should have asked themselves- if everyone's gone, why are all the lights off and the cars still in the parking lot?
465. Opera - Fans and Admirers
: About 3 minutes
Description: Betty's first night onstage, in the lead role, is a huge success. Now she's being bombarded by people moving in and out through her dressing room as though she lived on the freeway. And every successful person has to have an admirer. Betty has many- one of whom has been watching her before she took the stage. She's visited by not 1- but 2 creepy guys, her friend the wardrobe mistress, and her Texan boyfriend (the stage manager). One of these people might be killing people in her name. In the meantime, the woman whose injury made it possible for Betty's career to take flight sends her a sinister gift- a large bottle of a very sickly liquid she expects Betty to wear.
Observations: What would an Argento movie be without disorienting camera angles and shots of people glaring menacingly? One of my favorite, and I think one of Argento's best, is over the hole of a sink as Betty pours out the disgusting "perfume." Another detail to watch for: during a conversation, the camera stays on the door after it's (and we're) shut out. It's saying; pay attention. Whether this is a red herring detail or not, Giulia really hates Betty's director.
464. Sisters - Happy Birthday, Danielle...? Dominique?
: 4 minutes or less
Description: How many one night stands are sweet enough to buy you a Birthday cake? Well, Margot Kidder's character returns the favor by brutally stabbing the poor man to death. I guess that'll teach you to wake someone up from their sleep with a gift.
Observations: One of the most vicious onscreen murders of the 70's. Certainly for its' time, this is
Psycho shower scene legendary. Also the director of
Carrie (which will feature prominently on this list in days to come), Brian DePalma out-gored this with
Dressed to Kill but the thing that makes this scene still shocking is that you really see the victim struggling instead of screaming. That and you can see where the cuts are happening and a piece of his body is coming apart and hanging off of him. In close-up. Yum...who wants a slice?
463. Dust Devil - The Edge of the World
: 1 minute or less
Description: After driving for nearly half the movie, main character Wendy and her hunky hitchhiker-with-no-name finally arrive at their destination: a huge canyon. It's a breath-taking sight, but he just won't shut up.
Observations: If the scenery here (including Robert John Burke-
hubba hubba) weren't stunning enough, this scene also uses his blabbermouthiness to propel their relationship forward. This transcends from a moment of existential journey into a love scene (of sorts)... basically just because she doesn't want to hear him speak. Many men think they're profound and she isn't impressed by that. In a previous scene, it creeped her out. But, against her better judgment, she continues seeing him and they enjoy the night together before she splits after he turns into a razor-toothed, claw-fingered demon. But they shared this one magical moment together. Which wouldn't have been magical had she not plugged up his mouth with her tongue.
462. Phenomena - Lost Tourist / Opening Credits
: More than 2 minutes
Description: Vera is a foreigner (most likely an Italian) lost on a wide open road in the mountains of the Swiss Alps after separating from her tour group and missing her bus. On this highly overcast day, the wind is really whipping and she's not wearing heavy clothing. Which makes the fact that an ominous Bill Wyman tune is blasting away on the soundtrack all the more inconvenient. As she stands there and fiddles with her yellow camera, we go into the trees for a broody, wide single-shot to give us an idea of the geography that surrounds her. It's a lot of road... and one house. Walk the road for a day? Or walk a few minutes to get to the house?
Observations: This scene, more than any that spring directly to mind, really remind me of a
Choose Your Own Adventure book. I'm sure you can guess which of her options is the most dangerous (the most obvious). But whichever you would choose, there's no denying this is a great opening. Great setting. Great music. Very effective, evocative, and chilly.
461. Sleepy Hollow - A Brilliant Plan, Except...
: 3 minutes or a little more
Description: Unbeknownst to the beautiful young Katrina, her Stepmother is not happy with the conditions laid out in her father, Baltus's will. This leads her to confess a string of very lurid ax murders, diabolical scheming, and backstabbing. How very soap opera! And her reign of terror is not over yet: she needs Katrina dead if she wants everything.
Observations: Watching this movie's Headless Horseman chop everyone's heads off gets a little boring pretty quickly. So, that's why this spike in the climax is very amusing to me. Other than the fact that it's a post-
Scream woman with a sharp weapon chopping people up left and right as opposed to shooting them (and Miranda Richardson's performance here puts
Roseanne's Laurie Metcalfe to shame), this woman's fill-in-the-gaps flashback-backstory is so full of trashy intrigue, that it's hard not to love this scene. One of the victims is dispatched in a cornfield (this immediately recalls the music-video-y
Children of the Corn sequels with their flashy slash scenes). I was going to do another slot for the earlier scene where the Headless Horseman asks the little girls to be quiet and one of them breaks a stick on purpose... But this one brings it back.
460. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - All Neon Like
: About 1 minute
Description: Miss Van Deusen moves some random survivors into the ship's restaurant / dining room while Mr. McCulloch stalks the deck hand with a flair gun.
Observations: If I were going to search through the movies in this franchise for themes (which is going to happen anyway, just wait), there wouldn't be many scenes that involve neon. Since these are usually camping-in-the-woods movies, there are 2 scenes I think it important to mention. First is - and remember that I just brought up the camping thing - the diner scene from
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning. Except for a diner, where in these movies do you see neon? In a trailer park. And on this movie's ship- since there are no scenes of the characters driving away to go pick something up to bring back to the cabins (apart from
Part III and
Part VI: Jason Lives), you need a car to drive by neon and the characters aren't able to escape from a car. This is the other scene I think it important to bring up. Because it's very 80's, but also because colors cause reactions. Here, the color du jour is magenta.
459. Black Christmas - Isn't Santa Naughty?
: Less than a minute
Description: The movie's remaining selection of potential victims volunteer to go do charity work for underprivilaged children. The boyfriend of Margot Kidder's best friend is very angry to find out that Margot is taking her away to go skiing instead of going with him for a weekend of sex.
Observations: Why this scene? Simple, really. Margot's character is the movie's token foul-mouthed bitch. So, it's highly amusing to watch her have to tell someone else to watch themselves around other people. Especially since, later in the film, she looks around the room and drops a bomb: "you think I drove her away?" She's talking about the film's famous plastic-bag victim.
458. I Know What You Did Last Summer - Soon
: Less than 1 minute
Description: Helen wakes up in the morning to find that someone's been in her room, cut her hair up, and written a threat on her dresser mirror: "Soon."
Observations: Even though this film isn't nearly what it could have been, a scene like this is a classic regardless of that fact. It sure isn't the hair factor. Writing threats like this and "you're next" on people's personal belongings is a very 90's, very
Fear Street - trashy teen pulp novel - thing. Then there's Sarah Michelle Gellar's crazed reaction.
457. Gremlins 2: The New Batch - Gizmo Multiplies / The New Gang
: Around 4 minutes
Description: Gizmo multiples after a broken water fountain spews on him. But unlike the first film, these new Mogwai take one look at Gizmo and decide that they have no use for him and that he must be disposed of.
Observations: This movie is very indulgent when it comes to its' depictions of chaos. And this new breed of Gremlin is smarter. So much so, that all the new ones end up registering as individual characters. Which is what makes this scene quite good. They have an interesting system between each other and a kind of hierarchy, dictating orders among each other. Also, the way they laugh as Gizmo is trapped in the wall goes beyond the schoolyard bullying it might seem the scene is inspired by. Kids are not maniacal- these creatures are.
