VFN’s Nine Mighty Fine Horror Moments
Whether it’s the gore, the jump-shock or the plain unsettling, Horror films prey on our primal survival
instincts. What makes the best horror films stand out is the quality of delivery in their scares.
So in anticipation of our debut Horror project (and in no particular order), we’ve compiled nine of our
favourite moments in cinematic horror…
1. “The Stuff Of Nightmares”, The Exorcist (1973)
Often lampooned but still one of the greatest films of all time, The Exorcist got the censors’
sphincters twitching with a fair chunk of its content. Understandably, the main controversy
surrounded scenes of a teenage girl violating herself with a crucifix whilst dropping more Cbombs than a Tourette’s Anonymous meeting, but the alleged use of subliminal imagery came a
close second.
The calm retort of Director William Friedkin was along the lines of “how can it be subliminal if
you know you’ve seen it?”. A fair point, no doubt swiftly followed by a two-finger salute and a
raspberry. Thankfully, the censors conceded and these ‘subliminal images’ largely remained
intact (with more present in the Director’s Cut, released at a later date).
Mighty Fine Moment: Despite being nothing more than a grimacing white face, Pazuzu’s
briefest of appearances is not so much “blink and you miss it” as “can’t stop seeing it when I
blink”. An expertly implemented technique that provides one of our most unnerving and lasting
horror memories.
Trivia: Pazuzu, the demon, is actually played by 5’1” actress Eileen Dietz.
2. “A Very Upset Stomach”, Alien (1979)
For a film that many class as a sci-fi, admittedly a bloody scary one, Alien actually blends two
horror staples; the unstoppable, stalking killer from the slasher genre and the innate fear of
infection from vampire and zombie lore.
It then ramps it up a notch by shifting the location to the remotest part of space - there’s no
local sheriff coming to the rescue here - and making the villain’s main modus operandi a
particularly sexual, penetrative act that imposes its dysfunctional offspring on its victim.
Despite now being considered a bona fide classic, Ridley Scott’s Alien struggled to get off the
ground as film companies shunned it for being too gory. Even when 20th Century Fox eventually
gave it the green light, it was under the caveat that the bloody violence was toned down.
Mighty Fine Moment: Obviously it’s the iconic ‘chestburster’ scene. Legend has it that none of
the cast except John Hurt knew what was going to happen, so their reactions are ‘genuine’. In
reality, the cast did know Hurt’s hideous love child would make an uninvited appearance at
dinner. They just didn’t expect the sheer amount, nor trajectory of the blood involved.
Trivia: It seems appropriate given HR Giger’s overtly phallic design work that some of the
Alien’s FX were created using shredded condoms and KY Jelly.
3.
“A Quiet Night In On The Sofa”, The Thing (1982)
Like an overly long journey on public transport, The Thing’s horror pedigree stems from our fear
of infection and discomforting mental states of paranoia and suspicion. That and the best hatand-beard combo since Santa Claus went on his Stag Do.
The Thing also does a great job of building a suite of believable characters operating in an
unbelievable situation, punctuating their confused terror with moments of comedy. This being
despite most of the cast having only a few dozen lines between them.
And then of course there’s Rob Bottin’s magnificently grotesque practical FX, like the result of
an LSD explosion at a Play-doh factory. He was only 22 years old at the time. Throw Ennio
Morricone’s electronic heartbeat of a soundtrack on top and all the ingredients are there for an
undisputed horror classic, despite it being a box-office flop initially.
Mighty Fine Moment: So many to choose from, but perhaps the film can be summed up in
microcosm by the brilliant ‘couch scene’. The growing tension and cunning misdirection bursts
into some crazily gruesome FX work. But the cherry on top is surely Donald Moffat’s vitriolic
summary of the incident:
“I know you gentlemen have been through a lot… but when you find the time... I'd rather not
spend the rest of this winter... TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!”
Trivia: Anyone else notice that, even though they figure 'The Thing' is highly contagious, no-one
seems to care about sharing the same knife to take blood samples?
4. “Scaring The Well Out Of You”, Ringu (1998)
Hideo Nakata’s low budget take on the 1991 novel of the same name became the highestgrossing horror in Japanese film history and paved the way for numerous spin-offs, sequels and
imitations. But unless he could be arsed to re-dub it, preferably with an upper-class English
accent for the ‘villain’, it was never going to be anything more than a connoisseur’s choice in the
West.
Inevitably, as Hollywood still attempted to ride the post-Blair Witch wave, an almost-faithful US
remake was produced four years later and it went on to achieve in excess of $120 million dollars
at the box office. It’s so annoying when that happens.
Regardless of your ability to read words and watch pictures simultaneously, the original is an
acquired taste; a slow-burner relying on suspense and an increasingly ominous tone to set up its
scares.
Mighty Fine Moment: Like an unfortunate drunk suddenly realising where they are, the damp
but relentless lady spirit, Sadako, drags herself from a well and somehow crawls into a
stranger’s living room. It was shot on low-res VHS, acted out backwards then played in reverse
to create a remarkably unsettling scene.
Trivia: The close-up of Sadako’s eye at the end of her trip, often used in the film’s promotional
material, is actually that of one of the male crew members.
5. “That Time Of The Month”, An American Werewolf In London (1981)
John Landis had previously cut his directorial chops on comedies such as Animal House and The
Blues Brothers, so his decision to create an ostensibly-conventional horror came as a surprise to
many. However, Landis had actually been trying to get American Werewolf made for nearly a
decade previously.
In an attempt to appease the comedy fan base, there was even studio pressure to hire Landis
stalwarts Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in the lead roles. Landis resisted and instead opted for
relative unknowns David Naughton and Griffin Dunne.
With some particularly gruesome scenes and without the big names, the end product went on
to achieve acclaim and notoriety in equal measure, even becoming the direct inspiration for
(and workforce supplier to…) Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
And it’s still very funny.
Mighty Fine Moment: As if enduring his entire puberty in the space of a couple of minutes,
David Naughton’s ball-droppingly painful transformation into the Werewolf rightly set a
benchmark for practical FX.
Rick Baker’s decision to leave the FX duties on rival production The Howling to his protégé, Rob
Bottin, paid dividends. Allegedly, the Oscar committee decided to create the Best Makeup
category in 1981 specifically to honour his work on American Werewolf. He went on to win the
award another six times. The show-off.
Trivia: In a classic case of life imitating art, John Landis had a rather spectacular allergic reaction
to eating shrimp whilst directing the Thriller video.
6. “Enough To Give You A Heart A-stack”, Poltergeist (1982)
Steven Spielberg is alleged to have said “If E.T. represents ‘The American Dream’ then
Poltergeist is ‘The American Nightmare’”. Even if he didn’t, it’s not a bad analogy. Whilst he
directed the former, the Poltergeist director’s chair was left to Tobe Hooper of The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre fame. Spielberg assumed the role of Producer.
The result is a benchmark for mainstream horror that sprinkled Oscar-nominated gory FX
(beaten to the prize by E.T.) and genuine scares with all that unmistakable Spielberg ‘magic’.
Clearly he couldn’t help himself from getting at least one finger in Tobe’s pie on set. Which must
have been quite the spectacle for the cast and crew.
With Spielberg’s name attached and publicity-pumping talk of a ‘curse’ keeping the momentum
going, Poltergeist went on to gross a bazillion dollars worldwide and its popularity has never
really waned. A remake was inevitable. And shit.
Mighty Fine Moment: Diane Freeling is watched by her Teutonically-enhanced daughter as she
shoves chairs under the kitchen table. The camera follows as she gets cleaning products from a
cupboard. She stands up and shrieks as the camera pans back to reveal, after just a few seconds,
the chairs delicately stacked in a pile on top of the table. A simple but brilliant piece of practical
FX work.
Trivia: … well, almost brilliant. If you look closely as Diane Freeling bends down to the kitchen
cupboard, the toaster reflects the crew rearranging the chairs. Damn you, shiny surfaces, damn
you…
7. “Lake Who’s Stalking...”, Friday The 13th (1980)
The early 1980s saw some rich pickings for horror fans. In clocking up nearly forty million dollars
at the US box office from a half million dollar budget, Friday The 13th made even richer pickings
for the studios and ultimately provided one of the longest running legacies around.
With what now seems like the standard framework of all slasher horrors, Friday The 13th picked
up the genre baton almost directly from John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’, then took its MichaelMyers-on-steroids act on multiple tours of petrol station movie-bins across the world.
However, and without wanting to give too much away for those that haven’t seen it, the
legendary Jason Voorhees actually only makes the briefest of appearances in the original film.
Although we do get a copious dollop of Kevin Bacon in return.
Mighty Fine Moment: The “thank god that’s over – oh shit, no it isn’t!” technique seems clichéd
now through overuse in the majority of horror films, but one of the original and best comes
from Jason’s deformed salmon impression in Friday 13th. Its effectiveness is enhanced by the
sneaky use of the type of triumphant uplifting score that’s usually reserved for happy endings,
making us feel that everything is going to be just fine…
Trivia: Jason was originally going to be called Josh.
8. “Necesito Un Nuevo Par de Calzoncillos“, REC (2007)
Arriving fashionably late to the ‘found footage’ horror party that The Blair Witch kicked off,
comes this belter of a Zombie-flick-with-a-twist.
REC adopts the simple premise of a building being locked down due to an outbreak of an
‘unknown’ disease. But it soon becomes apparent that this is no mere bout of Montezuma’s
Revenge, as the panicking residents attempt to survive one of the more mental Zombie attacks
out there.
Fortunately, a camera crew got locked in there with them, so we get to watch the whole thing
pan out in real time. Yes it’s in Spanish, but who cares?
Mighty Fine Moment: The arrival of a skydiving fireman who forgot his parachute is great and
the final act is just downright unsettling. But arguably the best moment comes when the
survivors investigate the attic. The first-person view comes into its own as the camera pans
slowly round... you KNOW it’s coming. But the filmmakers know you know, so they play on this
to deliver a perfectly timed screamer.
Trivia: None of the actors in REC were ever given the full script and often only discovered their
characters fate on the day of shooting itself.
9. “Here’s To Swimmin’ With No-legged Women…”, Jaws (1975)
There’s not much to say about Jaws that’s not already been said. Steven Spielberg’s classic nails
our core fear of being prey rather predator using every cinematic technique in the book. From
the perfect score, to dolly zooms, to putting midgets in cages to bait man-eating sharks, it
propelled Spielberg to the top of the directorial food chain.
But with a rubber shark that was always breaking, a boat that was always sinking and lead actors
that were always fighting it’s a wonder the film was ever completed.
Even though a few extra takes were famously required in Editor Verna Field’s back yard pool,
completed the film was. It went on to gross over $100 million at the box office and earn 4 Oscar
nominations on its way to becoming the first ever ‘Summer Blockbuster’.
Mighty Fine Moment: The combination of sound and vision to portray the sheer primal brutality
of the attack on Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie) in the opening scene is a masterpiece.
Absolutely terrifying.
Trivia: A former stuntwoman. sports diver and wild animal trainer, Susan Backlinie went on to
become a Computer Accountant.
Honourable mentions go to:
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Johnny Depp’s demise in A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Jeff Goldblum’s vomit attack in the The Fly (1986)
The entirety of Eraserhead (1977)