Sometimes the terror is in the details! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for those instances where something lurking in the shadows of our favorite horror flicks scared the bejeezus out of us! Given that we’re going to be delving into heavy plot points here, a SPOILER ALERT is now in effect.
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00:00 "Egg boy!"
00:02 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those instances where something
00:07 lurking in the shadows of our favourite horror flicks scared the bejesus out of us.
00:13 Given that we're going to be delving into heavy plot points here, a spoiler alert is
00:18 now in effect.
00:19 "Sam Hadfield is 150 miles away from here, now for God's sakes he can't drive a car!"
00:24 Number 10 - The Figure.
00:26 It follows.
00:27 "Do you feel any different?"
00:28 One of the rules of David Robert Mitchell's film It Follows is how those being stalked
00:33 by an unknown supernatural entity can put some distance between its pursuit via sexual
00:39 intercourse by passing on the chase to the person they're intimate with.
00:43 "Now, at this very instant, your soul will leave your body and you will no longer be
00:49 a person."
00:50 The ending shot shows Jay and Paul walking down the street, hand in hand after seemingly
00:55 killing the entity.
00:57 In the background, however, a figure can be seen, slowly following the couple.
01:02 Exactly who this is is entirely up for speculation, but the general consensus among fans is that
01:08 the entity is still out there.
01:18 Number 9 - Oblivious Tentacle - Jacob's Ladder.
01:21 "Hey Jake, Jake, come on baby, come on, dance with me, just one."
01:26 This sequence from Jacob's Ladder is not for the faint of heart, epileptics, or those with
01:32 a fear of crowds.
01:33 Tim Robbins' Jacob attends a party as the throbbing funk of James Brown blares in the
01:39 background.
01:40 "Shake, come on baby, shake, come on."
01:42 Also in the background, however, is a disturbing tentacle monster that's dancing with Jacob's
01:47 girlfriend, Jesy.
01:48 Nobody else seems to notice the tentacle except for Jacob, as Jesy's dancing with the monster
01:53 becomes more and more erotically charged.
01:56 The strobe lighting and claustrophobic setting only add to the scene's disorientation, as
02:01 Jacob's post-Vietnam hallucinations become worse and worse.
02:05 "I have never, I have never been so mortified in my whole life."
02:09 Number 8 - The Ghost - Lake Mungo.
02:12 "There is absolutely no rational explanation for what she saw on that phone."
02:22 It's one of the most effective background scares in horror cinema, if you know where
02:26 to look.
02:27 The final shot of 2008's Lake Mungo underlines the film's conceptual themes of loss, grief,
02:33 and the hereafter.
02:34 It does so via a haunting image of the young, deceased girl Alice, who still seems to be
02:39 haunting the family home.
02:41 "I think Ellie saw a ghost.
02:45 But she wasn't to know that it was her own."
02:47 This isn't the only time Alice appears within the film, but it's perhaps the most tragic
02:52 since it presents a scenario where her spirit might very well remain in the house for an
02:57 eternity.
02:58 Lake Mungo may be about attempting to carry on, but we'll never forget the look of Alice's
03:03 face in the window.
03:04 "Alice isn't here."
03:06 Number 7 - Blair's Noose - The Thing.
03:09 "If anybody interferes, I'll kill 'em!"
03:11 The object in this scene isn't attempting to hide itself too much, instead relying upon
03:16 the implications of its presence to unnerve the viewer.
03:20 Blair has gone beyond the pale after what he discovers about The Thing at US Outpost
03:25 31, becoming violent against his colleagues and ending up isolated as a result.
03:29 When he makes attempts to rejoin the group, the rest of the outpost are reticent.
03:33 "I don't want to stay out here anymore.
03:35 I want to come back inside."
03:37 Then, during one brief visit, a makeshift noose is seen in Blair's room, heavily implying
03:42 that the biologist will soon choose self-destruction over assimilation by The Thing.
03:47 "I'm alright, I'm much better.
03:50 And I won't harm anybody.
03:52 You gotta let me come back inside."
03:54 Number 6 - Club Sequence - Black Swan.
03:57 "Alright, come on.
03:59 We're not entertaining the dance."
04:00 This club scene from Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan possesses a vibe similar to that of Adrian
04:07 Lynn's Jacob's Ladder, at least within its claustrophobic presentation of a crowded dance
04:12 floor.
04:13 The overall effect here is almost psychedelic, as Black Swan inserts subliminal images that
04:18 meld creepily into the darkness of the club.
04:21 The White Swan appears, then disappears.
04:24 Thomas changes into Rothbart at one point, but the editing of Black Swan always makes
04:28 the viewer question whether or not they can actually believe their eyes.
04:32 "Nina!
04:33 Where are you going?"
04:36 It's a perfect storm of loud music, disorienting lights, and marvellous performances from the
04:42 actors.
04:43 "Where have you been?"
04:44 "To the moon and back."
04:49 Number 5 - Sister Sister - Midsommar.
04:51 "Well, she's my sister, and even you said that this email seemed different."
04:57 There are a number of easter eggs, subtle nods, and hidden meanings lurking in the background
05:02 of writer and director Ari Aster's take on folk horror from 2019.
05:08 One particularly effective example of this can be seen when Dani and her fellow students
05:13 are in the rural Swedish commune.
05:15 "Mum?
05:16 Mum?"
05:17 If one looks closely, the outline of Dani's deceased sister can be seen within a backing
05:26 line of trees.
05:27 What's even more disturbing is how said outline echoes the self-destructive nature of the
05:33 sister's death, further underlining Dani's detachment from nearly everyone around her.
05:38 "You are my queen.
05:40 Välkommen!
05:41 Skål!"
05:42 "Skål!"
05:43 Number 4 - Hidden Demon - Poltergeist.
05:47 "And can you tuck yourselves in, please?"
05:50 "No."
05:51 "Yes, we will."
05:52 "Thank you."
05:53 It's always fun for movie fans to muse exactly how many times they've watched their favourite
05:57 films before finally noticing an easter egg that was hiding in plain sight.
06:03 Tobey Hooper's Poltergeist is a perennial Halloween favourite from 1982, but even the
06:08 most ardent fans probably didn't notice this little tidbit the first time around.
06:14 "No!
06:15 No!
06:16 Let me go!"
06:19 It occurs when Jo Beth Williams' Diane Freeling is being attacked by the titular poltergeist
06:27 in her bedroom.
06:28 Eagle-eyed viewers, or those simply willing to pause the action, will notice a demonic
06:33 face that's inhabiting the formerly innocent framed family photo.
06:38 It's a great little extra, and adds just another layer of spookiness to this all-time horror
06:44 classic.
06:45 "No!
06:46 No!
06:47 Don't touch my baby!"
06:49 Number 3 - Michael Drives By - Halloween.
06:52 Alright, who told the serial killer to drive?
06:55 "Maybe someone around here gave him lessons."
06:57 Even funnier is that he seems to actually be a careful driver.
07:01 John Carpenter doesn't draw any attention to the presence of Myers in this scene where
07:05 Dr Loomis is talking to Haddonfield Sheriff Lee Brackett.
07:09 The famous Halloween theme is nowhere to be heard, but there, if you look closely, is
07:15 Michael Myers, driving by the pair mid-conversation.
07:24 It presents the shape as even more of a calculating menace, a knowledgeable killer that seems
07:29 to be playing cat and mouse with the entire town.
07:33 "I hate a guy with a car and no sense of humour."
07:36 Number 2 - Behind You - The Strangers.
07:39 "James, where are you?
07:42 That girl came back."
07:44 It's the ultimate invasion of privacy.
07:47 Someone is inside the house, and he's right behind you.
07:50 But you have no idea.
07:53 Fans of The Strangers can probably recall how creeped out they were the first time they
07:57 watched this scene back in 2008.
08:00 Liv Tyler's Kristen McKay is alone in a darkened house, and the phone call she's just put out
08:05 to her boyfriend James has been silenced.
08:08 "Will you just stay on the phone with me?
08:12 James?"
08:14 She lights a cigarette to calm her nerves, but what she doesn't know is that she isn't
08:18 alone.
08:19 Only the audience can see one of the titular "strangers" watching Kristen from the shadows.
08:25 And it's positively bone-chilling.
08:27 The silence and framing of the scene is super effective, and immediately ramps up the tension
08:33 and fear at play.
08:37 "James?"
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08:59 1.
09:00 The Librarian - IT
09:01 "Your hair is winter fire, January embers.
09:04 My heart burns there too."
09:06 Do you guys think it's scarier when a filmmaker draws attention to that creepy thing in the
09:11 background, or simply leaves it be?
09:14 We think, at least in this scenario, that it's definitely the latter.
09:18 How else could we explain how unsettling it is to see this terrifying librarian in the
09:24 background of 2017's IT?
09:26 "A boy should be spending his summer outside with friends."
09:29 This adaptation of the classic Stephen King story gets a lot right with the first chapter,
09:35 not the least of which is the scene when Ben Hanscom is in the Derry Library.
09:40 The librarian on duty is normal one moment, completely monstrous the next, and then back
09:46 to normal, without the movie ever making mention about how exactly many years said scene took
09:52 off of our lives.
09:53 "What on earth are you doing?"
09:55 Which lurking fear in the background gives you nightmares?
09:58 Let us know in the comments.
10:01 "Sure."
10:02 Did you enjoy this video?
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10:13 [music]