There are horror movies that will shake audiences to their very core, leaving a lasting impression on viewers that will keep them up for nights on end. But even outside of the horror genre, there are crime dramas, fantasy movies, and even kids’ films that will do the very same.
There are scenes outside of horror movies that are truly terrifying for audiences, and as always, there a Redditors with some passionate opinions about the subject. Between baboons tearing space crews to shreds, a gruelingly realistic depiction of addiction, and a boat ride along a chocolate river, these movies have some of the most unexpected scares ever.
The Mask (1995)
The Mask sits in some kind of strange No Man’s Land when it comes to genre. It seems like a colorful and goofy Jim Carrey movie that kids would enjoy, but in reality, it’s much darker and completely unsuitable for children. One of the best examples of why comes when Stanley Ipkiss first puts on the mask.
Car_Roll_Mole details the scene perfectly, saying that it’s horrifying because “he’s screaming in pain and he’s scratching at the mask trying to get it off.” It’s exactly why The Mask should be rebooted as a horror.
Zodiac (2007)
Zodiac might not be a horror film, but it’s based on a real-life serial killer who sounds like a horror movie villain along the lines of Freddy or Jason. The Zodiac Killer murdered people in brutal ways and sent ciphers to newspapers in San Francisco in the 60s and 70s. While most of the movie follows the detectives and journalists trying to track down the killer, there are still scenes of the psychopath in action.
Of all the murders in the movie, Mcchickenrun thinks the scene with the couple at the lake is the scariest, claiming that it’s “unsettling and it just feels so real.” The sequence sees the killer toying with the couple while he’s dressed completely in black, and it’s the lead-up to the murder instead of the murder itself that’s so hair-raising.
Ad Astra (2019)
Ad Astra is one of those movies loved by critics but hated by audiences. One of the reasons why is because the film had several unnecessary moments just to keep it exciting. One of those moments is when Roy investigates a distress beacon and finds that a baboon killed the whole crew.
Jekkelstein sits on the fence, as they explain that they found the scene “super random and unnecessary but goddamn it was spooky.” The scene is one of the most terrifying moments found in a sci-fi movie since Alien.
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
When it comes to movies that are truly disturbing because of how surreal they are, there’s none more horrifying than Requiem For A Dream. The movie details drug addiction in a way that no other film ever has, and there are so many scary moments throughout its 100-minute runtime, but Merlinrising simply calls the ending of the movie “utter despair.”
The movie isn’t just about drugs. Every character in the movie is self-destructing in some way, and by the end, it doesn’t work out for anybody. After seeing the end of the Requiem, viewers will not only be put off drugs forever, but they won’t want to sunbathe ever again either.
Enemy (2014)
In the midst of all the sci-fi epics like Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and Arrival, director Denis Villeneuve made the micro-budget movie Enemy, and it’s one of Villeneuve’s best films. The movie follows a history professor who finds out he has a doppelganger, but the end of the movie is completely unrelated to the main narrative.
That’s exactly why taker2523 says that it “caught [them] off guard.” In the very final scene, the history professor looks in a closet only to find a giant, human-sized tarantula hiding in there. The tarantula is more scared of the human and shuffles backward, but it doesn’t make the moment any less horrifying.
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
Of all the movies with scary scenes in them, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is the most child-friendly. It’s full of singalong songs, chocolate waterfalls, and an eccentric lead character in a purple suit, but there’s an underlying sense of dread from the very beginning.
According to TheRealClose, that all culminates in the terrifying boat tunnel scene, where Willy Wonka stares intensely at his guests while all sorts of psychedelic visuals appear inside the tunnel. The Redditor “can’t believe it’s in a family movie.” With a Timothee Chalamet-led Willy Wonka reboot in development, it’ll be interesting to see if this strange, unexplained scene is expanded upon.
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984)
The whole of The Temple of Doom is much darker than Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the third adventure that is The Last Crusade was so family-friendly that it tried restoring balance to the series. But the second Indiana Jones movie isn’t exactly a horror movie, even if it does feature a cult leader ripping somebody’s heart out.
However, surprisingly, that isn’t the scene that m0ountainmermaid thinks is terrifying, but instead, it’s the bugs that infest the palace. The Reddit user explains that “those bugs still haunt [them].” The bugs consist of cockroaches and centipedes, and the creepy crawlies will send shivers down any viewer’s spine.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The first movie in director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is why the 12A rating exists in the UK, as it was too violent to be PG, but it was too family-friendly to be rated 12. But Spider-Man 2 took it a step further, and nfrcompletist thinks there truly are scenes of terror in the sequel.
The Redditor claims that the scene where Doc Ock undergoes an operation to have the tentacles removed “still makes me uncomfortable to this day.” The scene is Raimi at his finest, and as he came from a horror background, helming the Evil Dead series, it was great to see the director implementing that horror in his movies once again.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood stands out in Quentin Tarantino’s filmography in a lot of ways, especially as it’s generally much calmer than his other movies. But the tone suddenly changes for five minutes when Cliff Booth visits the Spahn Ranch, which has been taken over by the Manson family.
Based on this scene, Tarantino fanatic Wkr_Gls explains “I’d love Quentin to try a full-on horror movie.” And though some Redditors believe Brad Pitt didn’t deserve the Oscar for his role as stuntman Cliff, he does a fine job of building the tension.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
It’s hard to say what genre Mulholland Drive fits into, and it’s even harder to explain what the movie is about, as it’s so surreal and dreamlike. But director David Lynch goes into horror mode for just a few seconds when a monster jumps out from behind the back of a diner.
Sandwichsandwich69 says it’s “one of the best jump scares of all time because you are not expecting it one bit.” What makes the scene even more terrifying is that the meaning of the sequence and what the monster actually is remains completely unexplained.
