Happy Goat Horror

Dark bleatings everyone! I probably spend an abnormal amount of time reading and watching horror, and even more time thinking about what I’ve absorbed. Mostly, I tend to think about and rewatch my absolute favourite horror movie scenes of all time. I say “of all time”, but guaranteed, the second this article goes live, I’ll suddenly remember 10 more that I should have included. In any case, for this specific moment, here are my Top 10 Horror Movie Scenes!

Be warned, there will be some spoilers so if you see a title and don’t want to know, just skip over to the next one. YouTube links are embedded wherever possible in the images, so if you’d like to watch the scene, click to view!

Honourable Mentions

There are some absolutely iconic scenes that are always included in lists like this, and while some of these are at the top of my own list, I’m trying to avoid reiterating the same movies that I see everywhere else. My honourable mentions are the chest burster scene from Alien (of course!), the blood test scene from The Thing, and The Exorcist... er pretty much the whole thing!

I’m talking about the remake and what’s not quite the opening scene, but is always remembered as the opening scene anyway. You know, the bit where they wake up and the scary little girl is in their room, and then Luis gets chomped and goes full zombie, and then Ana has to escape through absolute carnage? Man, what a GREAT way to bring in the premise. The way it’s shot opens the world out from their bedroom to the entire planet in a few minutes, establishes the survival instincts and smarts of our protagonist, and sets the tone. I especially love that Luis is chasing her car initially and then just veers off when an easier snack crosses his path.

Pyewacket just has one of the creepiest performances I’ve ever seen, courtesy of Laurie Holden, who plays Leah’s mum. I’m very sorry that I was unable to find a clip of the scene in question. Leah, in a fit of anger, messes around with some demon summoning stuff to spite her mum, and later regrets it when she gets home to dear mummy to find that… er… well, the thing in her house that looks exactly like her mum most definitely isn’t her mum. Holy crap, that scene gave me chills. THAT’S NOT YO MOMMA, RUN FOOL!

There’s a single scene in this movie that was just absolutely glorious to me – such a GREAT idea to establish just how truly f***ed the characters are. Once again, I apologise that I couldn’t find it on YT. They’re locked inside the hospital and after being thoroughly spooked, decide they’re just going to break open the front doors to escape. But when they break open the doors, the doors just open out onto a corridor, instead of the outside. Oh lordy, that was sooooo scary to me when I saw it, and such a great idea for a deeply unsettling scare.

Another George Romero movie remake here with the 2010 version of The Crazies. If you’ve seen it, you probably know which scene I’m about to bring up. It’s the one where the main character is strapped to her hospital bed and this dude comes in and starts killing people in their beds with a pitchfork. I was quite firmly in the shoes of the main character when I saw this and was absolutely effing terrified by this scenario – I honestly can’t imagine much worse than watching someone do this and then lumber towards me. Eeesh.

The scene in question isn’t a scary one, it’s a funny one. It’s when Sex Machine realises he’s turning into a vampire and is trying to hide it. Tom Savini is so bloody funny in this role and I have loved this scene and thought of it fondly since I first saw it decades ago!

You know damn well which scene from Blade has made this list – it’s the iconic opening rave slaughter. I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched it. The fight choreography is outstanding and introduces Blade in spectacular fashion – it even manages to work his personality in.

And at number 4 we have another vampire film (and it won’t be the last!). What can I say? Either people who make vampire films are just awesome at giving us tremendous scenes, or I’m a real…. “sucker”… for vampire movies. In any case, of course John Carpenter’s Vampires is on my list, but it’s not the scene you think. You probably think I’m going to mention the motel slaughter scene, but that’s not my favourite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s soooooo good. Valek is a monstrous beast of the highest calibre. But the scene I adore is the staking scene. I just love how the vampire hunters are established in the beginning when they clear out that vamp nest. I loved the technique! You get the whole group dynamic, their mission, and a sense of the overall plot – plus lots of pissed off, hissing vampires.

I LOVE The Descent for its writing. I can’t find the scene I’m about to mention, sorry! It’s one of the few horror movies made in the last couple of decades that understands subtlety, utilises the “show, don’t tell” rule perfectly, and doesn’t treat the audience like a gaggle of idiots. There’s so much about the characters and story that we have to infer through little looks, costume elements, and dialogue, but my absolute favourite is the climbing scene when they have to cross the big gap. Rebecca goes first, and as she’s putting hooks into the rock, she notices an old-style one already lodged in there. The thing is, the cave is uncharted and unmapped, so whoever put it there didn’t make it out. It’s just two seconds of the whole film but the look on her face when she realises they’re all probably doomed is just perfection. I loved that this information was fed to us this way.

The slaughter scene where the vampires swarm Barrow is a thing of true horror beauty. I love everything about it; the soundtrack, the screaming, the framing of the shots, the lighting, the editing, and especially that overheard tracking shot of the carnage. It is glorious!

You know, I don’t think this scene will ever be topped for me. It’s the scene depicted in the image I’ve chosen, right at the beginning. The entire scene, from that first frame of one of the infected being aware of the group, is terrifying. There are zombies, and running zombies, but then there are these savage, shit-scary terrors. I maintain that I think I could survive regular zombies but if we get these rage things, we’re all doomed. The absolute horror of the little safe haven being invaded as the infected crash their way inside and start tearing everyone apart is both heart-breaking and stressful, and though you could think Don is an asshole for slamming the door on his wife and legging it, I totally understand. He had a split second to decide what to do and was absolutely terrified. The overhead shot of him fleeing to the river as the infected sprint after him, closing in on all sides is just… there are no words. It’s amazing, and so is that accompanying soundtrack!

What are your favourite horror movie scenes? I’d love to know! And I’d love to know what you think of my personal favourites.