10 Movie Moments That Made People Audibly Gasp In Theaters

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for multiple movies.

Movies can be entertaining in many ways, but it takes a unique scene to garner an audible gasp from an audience. From small-scale dramas to blockbusters, the best movies of all time are the ones that audiences can truly engage with. The reasons for a movie scene to have a significant impact vary, from gasping in awe to doing so out of sheer fear, but it’s undoubtedly one of the best things about the collective experience of watching a movie in theaters.

Praise is definitely due to any directors, writers, directors of photography, actors, and others involved in the making of a movie whose contribution has prompted a strong reaction from the audience. Of course, some scenes are clearly designed to have an instant impact, such as a major plot twist or a surprising death. Others, however, can leave audiences impressed simply because of how great they were.

10 The First Dinosaurs – Jurassic Park (1993)

The Incredible Brachiosaurus

Jurassic Park epitomizes the term “summer blockbuster” and teems with action, energy, fantastic imagery, and some of the coolest dinosaurs ever depicted on film. Of course, it adapts Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel about a wealthy entrepreneur and a team of scientists creating a theme park with de-extinct dinosaurs. However, the dinosaurs run wild and cause mayhem. The scene in which the audience and the film’s protagonist share the experience of seeing a dinosaur for the first time is epic and almost takes the breath away. It’s one of the most magical moments in cinema history.

9 Captain America Wields Mjolnir – Avengers: Endgame (2019)

MCU Fans Had Been Waiting Years For This

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Since Captain America ever so slightly moved Mjolnir in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, MCU fans eagerly anticipated the moment he would wield it properly. That moment happened in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, prompting audiences worldwide to gasp in amazement. It happened during the epic final battle with Thanos. The Mad Titan has Thor on the ropes and is about to strike a fatal blow using the God of Thunder’s Stormbreaker until Mjolnir hits him out of nowhere. At that point, the hammer flies back to its wielder, none other than Captain America. It’s fantastic, as is the subsequent beating Cap gives Thanos – albeit not for long.

8 Costigan’s Death – The Departed (2006)

This Death Came Out Of Nowhere

Martin Scorsese’s The Departed primarily follows Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, a police officer going undercover in the mob, and Matt Damon’s Colin Sullivan, a mob spy going undercover in the police. When the situation comes to a head at the movie’s climax, Costigan has Sullivan held at gunpoint and promises to expose him and ruin his life. As the pair exits an elevator, Costigan is shot dead by fellow cop James Badge Dale’s Barrigan, who reveals himself as a friend of Sullivan’s and another mob informant within the police. It’s a gasp-inducing moment followed by an equally shocking reveal

7 Annie Beheads Herself – Hereditary (2018)

A Truly Sickening Gasp-Inducing Scene

Ari Aster’s Hereditary is one of the most terrifying films ever. The sense of dread never dissipates, as a family is relentlessly tormented by a demonic entity when their secretive grandmother passes away. In the movie’s final scenes, the family’s matriarch, Toni Collette’s Annie Graham, is possessed and takes her own life in one of the most shocking ways imaginable, by using a piece of piano wire to slowly and graphically decapitate herself. After an audible gasp, audiences worldwide felt sick at the horrifying scene. The next gasp came when Collette wasn’t included in the list of nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

6 Darth Vader Appears – Rogue One (2016)

One Of The Best Darth Vader Scenes

Rogue One takes place immediately preceding the events of Star Wars, whereby the movie’s heroes manage to transmit the schematics of the Death Star to the Rebel command ship at the expense of their lives. It seems like a sad end but a heroic one. However, it’s not the end at all. A Star Destroyer intercepts the Rebel fleet, and a mysterious figure boards the Rebel command vessel. Familiar breathing is heard, and a red lightsaber reveals an imposing figure in the darkness: Darth Vader. Star Wars fans surely gasped collectively as Vader proceeded to kill a horde of nameless soldiers effortlessly​​​​​​ in one of Vader’s best scenes.

5 The Chestburster – Alien (1979)

A Bloody, Gruesome, And Explosive Death

Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi horror Alien introduced audiences to the terrifying Xenomorph, an aggressive and deadly extraterrestrial. In the movie, the crew of the Nostromo space tug find themselves up against the creature and are made aware of its presence in the most shocking way. After encountering a Facehugger, John Hurt’s Kane is unknowingly impregnated with a baby Xenomorph. While the ship’s crew is eating dinner before going into stasis for their return to Earth, Kane starts convulsing and screeching in agony, which culminates in a Xenomorph violently bursting from his chest, spewing blood everywhere.

4 Norman Bates Was The Killer – Psycho (1960)

Bates’ Mother Was Dead After All

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Based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel, the iconic psychological thriller Psycho centers on Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates, the shy owner of a motel who secretly poses as his deceased mother to kill people. Throughout the film, it’s suggested that Norman’s mother is still alive and is the one committing the murders, but the reveal of the truth is a moment that makes audiences gasp. Norman appears, posing as his mother, and lunges at Vera Miles’ Lila Crane before being subdued by John Gavin’s Sam Loomis.

3 Quint’s Graphic Death – Jaws (1975)

A Brutal Death For A Surprise Character

Jaws is a brilliant film that relies primarily on suspense, but that suspense leads to some genuinely frightening scenes – none more so than the death of Robert Shaw’s Quint. Quint is the experienced and grizzled shark hunter and the most confident regarding successfully killing the movie’s shark. However, he’s the first to die, and it’s brutal. With his boat half-submerged in water, the shark leaps onto the stern, and Quint slowly slips towards it. He ends up in its mouth, and a sickening bite to his torso makes blood squirt from his mouth. He’s then devoured. It’s one of the most shocking deaths in cinema history and a real gasp-inducer.

2 Those Aren’t Mountains – Interstellar (2014)

The Ocean Planet’s “Mountains” Are Actually Colossal Waves

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar follows a team of astronauts into space in search of a new home for humanity after ecocide results in global famine on Earth. The first planet they arrive at is an ocean planet and one of three orbiting Gargantua, a supermassive black hole. Upon their arrival, they head towards what they believe are mountains. However, Matthew McConaughey’s Joseph Cooper surmises they aren’t mountains – they’re waves caused by the black hole’s gravitational pull. That realization is shocking, as the waves in question make skyscrapers look like dog kennels, and everyone who watches Interstellar gasps in disbelief at the astronauts’ predicament.

1 Buffalo Bill’s Basement – The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

A Palpably Tense Scene With Gasp-Inducing Moments

Based on Thomas Harris’s 1988 novel, the psychological horror thriller movie The Silence of the Lambs chronicles trainee FBI agent Clarice Starling’s attempts to catch the serial killer “Buffalo Bill.” With the help of brilliant psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter – a cannibalistic serial killer himself – she finds Bill’s home. Once there, a palpably suspenseful scene unfolds. Clarice ends up in Bill’s basement, where he kills the lights and stalks her silently. As he reaches out to touch her, audiences see his hand through his night vision goggles and surely gasp in fear. Of course, the cocking of his pistol allows Starling to locate him and shoot him, but not before some severe tension.