With Halloween around the corner a new HMV study has been released ranking the scariest horror scenes of all time.
The spine-chilling head spin scene from The Exorcist was revealed to be the most frightening moment in the history of horror closely followed by the shower scene in Psycho.
Carrie, The Ring and Alien all featured in the top five, with The Shining, Silence of the Lambs and Saw landing in the top ten.
Ian Hunter, Professor of Film Studies at De Montfort University, offered some insight on how the genre has evolved: “Traditionally horror films were either about supernatural and primal fears or monsters that transgress what seem to be natural boundaries (the dead who live, humans who are also animals, and so on). Today, while such films still exist, the most frightening are perhaps about the terrors of everyday life and the worst monsters are versions of ordinary people – psychopaths, serial killers – who threaten our sense of rationality.”
Here’s the top ten scariest scenes in full…. if you dare watch.
The head spin – The Exorcist (1973)
The shower scene – Psycho (1960)
The hand grabbing the arm – Carrie (1976)
Girl coming out of the TV – The Ring (2002)
Chest burst scene – Alien (1979)
Grady Twins in the corridor – The Shining (1980)
The children being attacked – The Birds (1963)
Night vision scene – Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Man cutting off foot – Saw (2004)
The rocking chair – Woman in Black (2012)
