×
s

The 10 Scariest Opening Scenes Of Horror Movies That Set The Mood Right

The main formula to a successful horror movie is to hold the attention of the audience since the very opening and these movies got it exactly right.

Scary

There are movies that begin with a mystery, some start with action, but some come roaring out of the gate. The best part of having an amazing opening scene of no matter what type it is might be one of the most important in order to make the audience keeping glued till the end. A bad or boring opening scene might make the audience leave the theater. These are the 10 scariest opening scenes to a horror movie.

1. When a Stranger Calls



 

Staying in a complete stranger's house is weird and scary enough, but what if someone keeps calling asking questions about circumstances that they don't even know that exists? And what if the person who is calling you is also watching you. The silence and the loneliness in the opening scene is only broken after the high-pitched ringing of a phone and that will run a chill down your spine. 

2. Night of the Living Dead



 

Without a doubt, this is a classic horror movie and it created a whole new idea of zombies and gave birth to thousands of recreations. The opening scene shows a long dirt road in black and white and a pair of brothers and sisters descending into a deserted graveyard as they place flowers on a grave site. Even though this movie has a lot of memorable scenes, the opening scene is the one that is etched in everyone's mind. 

3. The Twilight Zone



 

Similar to the classic show, this movie is an anthology and it is made up of four short movies. Even though the films are entertaining and give a similar feeling to the tv series, they do not hold back with the opening scene. It is called a prologue and directed by John Landis, it starts with two friends, played by Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks is seen driving late into the night while they are singing songs and looking for conversation. As they start talking about which is the scariest 'Twilight Zone' episode, Aykroyd looks at Brooks and says, “Do you wanna see something really scary?” Brooks says yes and the memorable jump scare takes place. 

4. It



 

Arguably 'It' is Stephen King's best and scariest works ever, the 2017 movie came quite close to being terrifying. The opening scene starts with two brothers having a nice moment as Bill gives a paper boat to his younger brother George for him to go and play outside. As the boat keeps flowing through the street, it falls inside a sewer and the nightmare starts. The audience is introduced to Pennywise, lures him inside the sewers and devours him. 

5. It Follows



 

It is a slow-burning movie that has one of the most exciting opening scenes to offer. It starts with a girl frantically running through her neighborhood as she is running from something that the audience cannot see. As she keeps running for her life, the audience still has no idea and has no choice but to wait. She makes a sad and chilling call to her father, as she reminded him how much she loves her parents. In the next scene, she is seen sitting on the beach with bright lights and then the film cuts away. 

6. The Hitcher



 

This opening scene has it all. Pouring rain, a long drive, and one hitchhiker, and it will almost make you think what can possibly go wrong? The opening scene builds tension with each passing second from Rutger Hauer revealing what he did to the last person who picked him up and asks, "Do you wanna know what happens to an eyeball when it gets punctured?” This scene continues as Hauer’s character holds a knife to the child's face and it will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat 

7. Black Sunday



 

This horror movie opens the scene that shows a black-and-white screen and many hooded figures with raised torches while they are waiting for an alleged witch to be executed. The movie starts with the fact that this killing is wrong and simply done based on false charges just before the actual death happens. As the executioner places the 'mask of Satan' on her, she curses the men and their kin and they place the spiked mask over her face.

8. 28 Weeks Later



 

The opening scene of the zombie apocalyptic movie's opening scene might be one of the best opening scenes of any scene ever. It shows a family having a meal and any movie lover can guess this is too good to be true. A young boy pleads to be let in. As the boy retells his story, one of the people who were eating begin to peak through the boards to see if anything else is out there and as she goes back for a look, a zombie smashes through the screen window and bites down on the woman’s arm. What happens from there is a horrifying chomping on humans haze s multiple bloodthirsty zombies plows through the home.

9. The Stepfather



 

Even though this movie is not the most memorable of the 80’s horror films, it does pack a lot of punches and mainly because of the performance of Terry O’Quinn. The opening scene shows a man washing the blood from his hands and shaving his beard. The scene looks seemingly normal and the audience does not suspect anything bad is going to happen. He is seen picking up some toys and making his way downstairs. As the audience follows him, they notice that all the pictures are tilted and there are bloody handprints all over the wall. The next scene jumps into the entire family getting brutally murdered, even a little child. It goes without saying that it is a great opening scene that will definitely keep the audience glued to the screen. 

10. Scream



 

The movie that redefined the horror genre has one of the best and scariest opening scenes ever. The Wes Craven-directed movie is good in its own merit, but it is the opening scene that sets the tone of the entire movie. The scene is pretty simple and shows a teenage girl who is home alone waiting for her boyfriend so that they can watch a movie. After that, she gets a call from a mysterious person and the brutal sequence of events starts and it also gives us one of the major iconic movie lines that say "What’s your favorite scary movie?”