see all the horror movies on retroCRUSH's 100 scariest movie scenes list

This 1972 film was the first big screen appearance of “Bigfoot”. It was filmed documentary style utilizing the people of Fouke, Arkansas who had experienced the terror themselves to reenact their experiences. This technique was ahead of its time back then, though seems standard nowadays.

Much of the film is darkly lit and you get brief glimpses of the monster who was portrayed by a man in an ape suit. The supposedly scary moment was a scene where you are watching a man sitting on a toilet through the window when suddenly the monster’s hand comes into view against the window. I’m sure back in 1972 that sudden appearance would startle someone, the same as going through a funhouse, but with over 30 years of watching horror films it didn’t startle me at all. I actually got a bigger chuckle out of the guy jumping up with his pants down but his long johns were still up so you knew he wasn’t really going to the bathroom.

Still this was a fun retro look at the early 70s and what was a true story documentary piece based on the real people interviewed in the film.

3 out of 5 stars

Released in 1980, this film by director Lucio Fulci is also known as City of the Living Dead. The premise is that a priest has hung himself in a cemetary opening the Gates of Hell allowing the dead to rise. A New York City reporter and a young psychic are working together to close the gate before All Saint’s Day passes.

The scary moment per RetroCRUSH is an excellent scene where a young woman vomits her own intestines while crying blood. It’s a graphic scene that required the actress to consume a large amount of sheep intestines which she then regurgitated. The director’s penchant for close ups on people’s eyes helped make this a chilling scene.

Other moments in the film were scarier in my opinion. There was an early scene where the young psychic was trapped in a coffin. The reporter heard her screams and used a pitchfork to free her, but each strike brought it within a fraction of an inch from her face. Another gross scene was a windstorm of maggots that plastered against four of the actors.

To me the scariest moment of this film was a long lingering scene where a father attacked a young man for being with his daughter. The man pinned him against a drill, and shots kept switching back and forth between the spinning drill bit getting closer and more in focus, and the fear on the young man’s face. Finally he wasn’t able to resist any more and the drill bit is seen in close up going through his cheek into his skull. The sound effects continue as you see the other side of his head and then the bit press against his skin from the inside before bursting through. Not that was brilliant film making.

3 out of 5 stars

David Lynch’s first film was released in 1977 but began filming five years earlier. It took him five years to work on this project, initially under the guidance of the American Film Institute. Lynch has said that no one has ever written a review that captured his true thoughts behind this film’s meaning, and I’m not about to attempt to explain this distorted view of a tortured man who accidentally got a woman pregnant.

The baby is this film’s scary moment as it bleats while covered with maggots. Lynch has never revealed what he used to make the baby, but he experimented on a dead cat as part of the process of making this film. You can see what he did to that cat on the DVD of this film as it’s the background footage for the main menu. That was more disgusting to me than the baby itself.

You can see elements of this film in all of Lynch’s later films, though they never reached this level of distortion. While I admire Lynch for pursuing his vision, this film really has no redeeming qualities that would ever make me recommend it nor want to watch it again. The better thing to spend your time on is watching the interview with Lynch that lasts as long as the film itself and tells the process he went through to make it.

Rating 2 out of 5 stars

Released in 1980, this film was among the earliest of the slasher films of that time period. It was initially filmed in 1977 but deemed unreleasable, so reshoots were made including cast additions of Barbara Steele and Yvonne DeCarlo. The writers came up with a new story that resulted in only 15% of the original film being used.

The guy from retroCRUSH said that the tv commercial scared the heck out of him as a girl was doing laundry and someone breaks through the wall and grabs her. I’ll admit that the scene was creepy when the wall breaking was done. You saw a fork scraping out the plaster and then finally the hand breaks through. It wasn’t tied into the laundry like in the trailer though.

This film was pretty straight forward. Maybe I’m jaded because I watch so many thrillers and horror films and if I had seen this in the 80s I might’ve thought it scary. As it stands now though, it’s pretty bland even with a flash of boob during a sex scene. Even the dialogue revealing the plot of the film seemed as though it was an afterthought.

Rating 3 out of 5 stars

Two movie moments from this film made the list of the top 100 scariest movie moments. I’m not sure that I agree with the assessment. Maybe I’m jaded, but the one moment (as seen in this picture) didn’t cause me to jump unlike the false moment earlier as the nurse startled a doctor awake which did make me jump. It could be that I knew it was coming since I read about it on this list (but I’d read about the false scare too, but it still made me jump.) The problem I have with this moment is that you don’t see the killing. It’s only implied.

The other moment that made the list is where the old woman crawls across the ceiling unnoticed. While a really cool image, I don’t really find it scary.

To me, the scariest moment of the film was when the possessed woman almost cut the head off of the policeman’s daughter. Seeing the blade around the daughter’s neck and how she’s pulled away at the last moment is the most scary moment of the film for me.

Rating 4 out of 5 stars.

Having completed the Bravo 100 Scariest Movie Moments and the Bravo 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments, I thought I should also tackle this list of scary movie moments.

Ones I’ve seen already are crossed off. Newly watched ones will be in green.

100. The Wicker Man (1973)
99. Return Of The Living Dead (1985)
98. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
97. Frankenstein (1933)
96. Blue Velvet (1982)
95. The Hitcher (1986)
94. Jaws (1975)
93. Creepshow (1982)
92. Confessions Of An Opium Eater (1962)
91. The Hills Have Eyes (1982)
90. Dumbo (1941)
89. Them! (1954)
88. Heavy Metal (1982)
87. The Shining (1980)
86. Night Of The Hunter (1955)
85. Altered States (1980)
84. Scanners (1981)
83. The Legend Of Boggy Creek (1973)
82. The Birds (1963)
81. Tombs Of The Blind Dead (1973)
80. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
79. The Crying Game (1992)
78. The Exorcist III (1990)
77. Event Horizon (1997)
76. The Shining (1980)
75. The House On Haunted Hill (1999)
74. Silent Scream (1980)
73. Gates Of Hell (1980)
72. Poltergeist II (1986)
71. Akira (1988)
70. The Evil Dead (1981)
69. Zombie (1980)
68. Freaks (1932)
67. Prince Of Darkness (1987)
66. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
65. Marathon Man (1976)
64. Poltergeist (1982)
63. The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
62. When A Stranger Calls (1979)
61. The Shining (1980)
60. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
59. Jaws (1975)
58. Psycho (1960)
57. The Exorcist (1973)
56. Psycho (1960)
55. The Godfather Part II (1974)
54. The Changeling (1980)
53. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
52. The Ring (2002)
51. Jaws (1975)
50. An American Werewolf In London (1981)
49. Trilogy Of Terror (1975)
48. The Exorcist (1973)
47. Eraserhead (1977)
46. Salem’s Lot (1979)
45. Poltergeist (1982)
44. Repulsion (1965)
43. Friday The 13th (1980)
42. Seven (1996)
41. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
40. King Kong (1933)
39. The Thing (1982)
38. 28 Days Later (2002)
37. The Cell (2000)
36. Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
35. Poltergeist (1982)
34. The Ring (2002)
33. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984)
32. The Evil Dead 2 (1987)
31. The Exorcist (1973)
30. Alien (1979)
29. Phantom Of The Opera (1925)
28. The Shining (1980)
27. Twilight Zone The Movie (1983)
26. Dracula (1931)
25. Halloween (1978)
24. Suspiria (1977)
23. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
22. The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988)
21. The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
20. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
19. Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
18. Nosferatu (1922)
17. Misery (1990)
16. The Thing (1982)
15. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)
14. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
13. Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
12. The Exorcist (1973)
11. Deliverance (1972)
10. The Shining (1980)
9. The Exorcist III (1990)
8. Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
7. Jaws (1975)
6. Un Chien Andalou (1929)
5. Poltergeist (1982)
4. Alien (1979)
3. The Shining (1980)
2. Carrie (1976)
1. Psycho (1960)

I like this list because it acknowledges actual scary moments so some films have multiple entries here, as opposed to the Bravo list which basically commented on multiple moments within each movie listed.

83 scary scenes viewed already, and 17 to go.