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Oftentimes, a horror movie is nothing but a bunch of cheap jumpscares. You know how it goes, the character is slowly walking into a quiet dim room, then they look at the mirror and bam, a loud, jarring sound blasts from the speakers as a ghost suddenly appears in the reflection. It's an effective technique if you want to spook the audience for a second.

But to truly traumatize them, to plant a nightmarish seed into their mind, filmmakers need to craft a tension that lasts for the entire script, chilling set design, costumes, and make-up as well as plenty of other details. It's difficult and expensive, but every now and then we get such a gem.

Interested in which productions have frightened people the most, actor Elijah Wood recently tweeted a question, asking everyone to share stills from the screen that continue to terrify them long after seeing the credits. Here are some of the replies he has received.

Image credits: elijahwood

#1

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Sanne H.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

FYI: Schindler’s List, in which Oskar Schindler tries to save as many jewish people as he can, by hiring them as “essential workers” in his factory.

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tuzdayschild
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is from Jojo Rabbit. He knows this is his mom by the shoes. She actively resisted the Nazis and this was herpunishment.

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But have you wondered that what makes horror movies scary might be... us?

"We are the monster," said James Kendrick, Ph.D., associate professor of film and digital media in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. Kendrick has authored three books: Darkness in the Bliss-Out: A Reconsideration of the Films of Steven Spielberg; Hollywood Bloodshed: Violence in the 1980s American Cinema; and Film Violence: History, Ideology, Genre.

He believes that the themes of horror films have changed and developed over the years to capture the zeitgeist and adapt to societal fears.

"Character and story, atmosphere and the monster. That’s all you really need," Kendrick said.

"Interesting, engaging characters in an effective setting pitted against some kind of monstrosity. That is the core of the genre, and anything and everything else grows from and functions to support those three elements."

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Mahayana
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think I cried for 5 hours straight after this scene. Just looking at it my eyes still get wet! The movie : Life is beautiful

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Sanne H.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fyi: The grand witch in her true form, in the movie adaptation of The Witches

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The audience must be able to relate to characters and empathize with them. The atmosphere must engage the audience and provide an effective platform for fear.

According to the professor, the 2017 film “Get Out,” written and directed by Jordan Peele, is a good example.

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Sally Horrocks
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For me it's the scene just after this. Once of the best film endings of all time.

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Deborah Harris
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was pretty ewwwy but the part that creeped me the most was her in her nightgown saying to the astronaut 'You're going to die' and then peeing herself

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“The film intelligently mixes its various horror conventions, including stalk-and-slash scares, fears about secret cults and medical horror, with both comedy and social satire to make a point about troubled race relations in our ‘post-racial’ nation,” Kendrick explained.

"The protagonist is an African-American who finds himself increasingly concerned about the intentions of all the white people around him. In effect, polite, wealthy white society becomes the film’s raging monster."

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Rachel Peterson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ugh! I'd forgotten this one... now will have a nightmare tonight...

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ComfyPanda
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope. I had nightmares of this movie as a child. That sound he made when he screamed. Still can't watch it as an adult. Please don't down vote me for this. Just relaying an experience I had as a small kid that to me was very traumatic.

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In the same way that characters and settings have developed throughout history, so has the monster. Kendrick pointed out that a great monster will capitalize on the existing fears of society and use these for a greater scare factor.

"The monsters are more often than not simply an extension or elaboration of what we fear due to our mortal condition. At the heart of horror is always the fear of death – physical or spiritual."

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iblewsheep
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YES YES YES!. EVERYONE points out the freaky twins. i thought this one was much more disturbing.

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Mark Berry
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A few seconds earlier the furry was going down on the dude.

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Potato Chimps
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the book the furry guy is even creepier. He's pacing the halls on all fours in his outfit and telling Danny he's going to eat him up in some pretty disturbing and lewd ways.

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Nicki
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agreed, this was the first Stephen Book that legit scared the sh!t out of me.

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idrow1
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I never really understood this scene, thought it was just weird and out of place.

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kkathleen517
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should read the book...yikes. Danny actually walks by the room, looks in and one dude was uh giving the other dude oral plessure, its extremely scary and disturbing. Its awesome lol

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Kristin
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was that bear giving the guy a BJ or what? I always wondered that - and yes, it is disturbing

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Ladi Fuller
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same here. It is not scary but it has you thinking about what is going on here.

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Verena Abt
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I found it funny! Especially the man in the teddybear costume. Couldn't take it seriously!

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G'ma B
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a big woossee! I just prefer to NOT see HORROR movies! The end!

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Deborah Harris
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Isn't this return to Oz? If so yep made me feel freaked and I was watching it with my daughter who was younger then.

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Fear is so effective because it is able to play with human empathy, Kendrick said. By using current trends, directors and producers are able to generate characters and settings that their audience can relate to.

"The best films, the ones that really stand out in our memory, are the ones that we connect with emotionally through characters and that we sense have a deeper purpose than just causing anxiety," Kendrick said.

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Wilson.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone showed me this to distract me from a break up years ago. Suffice to say, that night i went to bed horrified for completely new reasons!

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Consider the 2014 film 'The Babadook.'

"‘It is grounded in real, recognizable human emotions, which makes it as dramatically compelling as it is scary," Kendrick said. "The film is not so much about a shadowy supernatural figure lurking in the corner as it is about very real parental fears about inadequacy and conflicted love."

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Gemma jones
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that makes me question every time i watch it, so say you have a bit of skin you peel it off are you really going to carry on and oops my face is in the sink lol

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Also, despite the few successes in recent years, Kendrick believes today’s horror films are often dull and one-dimensional, relying on an increasingly tired set of visual and audio clichés.

According to him, they lack connection to the characters, the circumstances in which those characters find themselves, and any sense of social or cultural meaning.

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Malus Darkblade
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Watched this age 10. Scared the bejeezuz out of me. watched as an adult. Actually quite funny.

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Note: this post originally had 52 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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"If you don’t care for or identify with the characters whose mortality is at stake, it is just a hollow exercise in style," Kendrick said.

"We all fear death and are aware of our human mortality, and the best horror films engage that fear in complex and challenging and – yes – artful ways."