Tag Archives: best opening horror scenes

Give Me The Creeps: ‘Hanging Around’ From ‘Sinister’ (2012)

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There’s nothing like an effective creepy beginning scene to a horror movie.  Especially a scene that makes you feel uneasy, like if you’re watching a snuff film that you shouldn’t be. Fun Fact:  I loved the 2012 movie Sinister.  The sequel that came out in 2015, not so much.  But the original kinda blew me away, and in the horror world it actually attempted to do something a little different.  That’s a rare feat nowadays, and one of the things that I loved about Sinister was the opening scene.  No set up.  No warning.

I still remember watching this scene in the theater.  I squirmed in my seat a little and may have squeezed the hand of the person next to me (who may have been a stranger). Luckily for Sinister, the rest of the movie followed suit with the creepiness (lawn mower scene, anyone?) and we even got a satisfying equally creepy ending too.  Too bad Sinister 2 sucked ass, but at least we have the original to fall back on if we ever need to see how it’s done right.  I’ll be attending Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood this weekend and they will have a partial maze built around the Sinister universe.  If they’re smart, they’ll somehow incorporate this ‘hanging family’ scene into it. Now – fuck you, Sinister for giving me the creeps!

Holy Shit Horror: The Opening Scene In ’28 Weeks Later’ (2007)

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I’m not sure if the makers of 28 Weeks Later ever thought about giving away some promotional diapers at their screenings, because some of us could have used them during that opening scene.  No, I didn’t poop my pants everybody….but I do recall saying “Holy Shit!” after the 8 minute introduction was over.  Now, I’m not about to say that this sequel as a whole is better than Danny Boyle’s groundbreaking first from 2002, but the opening for 28 Weeks Later is easily on par with anything in 28 Days Later.

For those who have seen it, you know what I’m talking about.  And hopefully you share my enthusiasm as well.  If you haven’t seen it, the best I can do right now is provide a link from Youtube of the scene in full, but shown through the eyes of a camcorder.  You see, the copyright gods won’t let anyone put up actual clips from the movie, so this will have to suffice.  I can say that it’s some of the better bootleg footage out there in terms of quality, so we have that going for us.

Once the “In The House, In A Heartbeat” song kicks in, you know the rage-infested zombie shit is gonna hit the fan.  And when Don chooses himself over his wife and a random hungry kid, that’s when the reality of the situation sets in.  From there, we’re treated to a great zombie chase scene and then one of the best zombie water moments since Lucio Fulci’s infamous shark biting in 1979’s, Zombie.  This is how you do an opening sequence people, and luckily the rest of the movie didn’t dramatically fall off after this impressive little setup. So thank you 28 Weeks Later for your “Holy Shit!” moment and for almost (I can’t specify ‘almost’ enough) making me soil myself.  Now can we finally get 28 Months Later, please?

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Sunday Bloody Sunday: Opening Scene From ‘Re-Animator’ (1985)

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There’s quite the void of exploding eyeball death scenes in horror movies nowadays.  It’s a sad state of affairs indeed.  The pure joy of watching eyeballs explode out of someone’s head for horror effect produces a permagrin on my face for sure.  So this week on Sunday Bloody Sunday, I jumped into my horror time machine all the way back to 1985.  And I stop off at the memorable opening scene from the undisputed cult classic, Re-Animator.

Poor Hans Gruber.  Not the German terrorist in Die Hard.  But that doctor whose eyes just exploded.  This is the scene that introduced me to a whole other world of horror cinema.  I remember that my Dad had recorded Re-Animator off HBO for me and I was blown away when I watched it the first time as an impressionable 10-year-old.  So many memorable moments and memorable breasts in this movie, but the opening scene where Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) resurrects Dr. Hans Gruber is a big highlight for me. Those glorious exploding eyeballs and great opening credits with that Psycho rip off music.  Soak it in ladies and gentlemen.