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Welcome to Part 2 of the The 30 Scariest Film Scenes Of All Time.

Be sure to read Part 1 to see what I’ve already covered.

If you’d like to buy any of these films from Amazon, just click on the Blu-ray/DVD cover image. I’ll also be sure to note titles available on Netflix Streaming.

***SPOILER ALERT:  Potential spoilers will be present given I’m covering key scenes from films listed, so keep that in mind before reading.

19. “Night Of The Hunter” (1955)

[amazon_image id=”B003ZYU3TQ” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Night of the Hunter (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Available on Netflix Streaming.

Robert Mitchum stars as the deranged ‘Reverend’ Harry Powell. He’s searching for money that his recently executed cellmate hid away during a robbery at his family’s farm. He shows up on their doorstep with the ruse of wooing the grieving widow, all the while searching for the money.

He kills her and begins terrorizing the children, thinking they know the secret. This leads to a tense scene where they take off down the river to escape his pursuit. It has a strange dreamlike quality, like a dark children’s tale.

 
18. “The Descent” (2005)

[amazon_image id=”B000JJ5F0W” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Dark caves and claustrophobia = ass clenching horror from start to finish in ‘The Descent’, which follows an ill-fated cave exploring getaway for a group of young women. The scariest scene is when they use the night vision on their video cameras to see their surroundings. We see one of the the women staring in panic at the camera. Someone says “there’s something behind you” , quickly followed by a cave creature attacking her from behind.

 
17. “The Vanishing” (1988)

[amazon_image id=”B00005NFZC” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Vanishing (The Criterion Collection)[/amazon_image]

This Dutch mystery has one of the most horrific endings ever. Rex is a man whose girlfriend has gone missing for years. Pleas to the media have borne no fruit. But then he hears from an man who claims he kidnapped her.  But he won’t divulge full details unless Rex is sedated and repeats her experience. He submits, tortured by the idea of never knowing her fate. He wakes up…and is buried alive. And that’s the end folks! Sooo upsetting.

16. “Marathon Man” (1976)

[amazon_image id=”B00005M2CO” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Marathon Man[/amazon_image]

Available on Netflix Streaming.

Dustin Hoffman plays “Babe” Levy, whose been captured by Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier) a Nazi war criminal (and former dentist). Szell is trying to extract information from Babe on some lost diamonds. He repeatedly asks “Is it safe”?  But despite Babe’s sincere pleas that he’s unaware of the diamonds whereabouts, Szell thinks he’s lying.

He drills through his teeth as Hoffman howls in agony.  ‘Marathon Man‘ remains one of the best and most disturbing paranoid thrillers ever.

15. “Martyrs” (2008)

[amazon_image id=”B004C00EM8″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Martyrs [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

This French film is so brutal that I could barely sit through. The scariest scene involves Anna, a teenage girl who saw her friend murder a family and die herself shortly afterwards. Her friend claimed they were responsible for abuse she suffered as a small child. Anna starts exploring the house. She soon discovers a torture chamber where she finds a disfigured woman writhing in agony. Then the woman is suddenly killed and Anna is abducted, destined to her friend’s same fate.  Before you watch ‘Martyrs’ be forewarned, it’s not for the squeamish and will haunt you for days afterwards.

14. “When A Stranger Calls” (1979)

[amazon_image id=”B000E1ZBIG” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]When a Stranger Calls[/amazon_image]

One of the best opening scenes ever. A babysitter gets a phone call from a man who asks  “Have you checked the children“? She tries to call the child’s parents, but to no avail. He calls again “Why havent’ you checked the children?”

She calls the police and they say they’ll put a trace on her phone line if he should call again. He does. She breaks down: “Look, you’ve scared me,” “Are you happy? Is that what you wanted?”

His reply: “No.”

Now hysterical,  she pleads: “Then what do you want?”  And his chilling reply: “Your blood. All over me.”

She hangs up the phone but it rings again and she screams. She picks up to hear the police dispatcher:  “Jill, this is sergeant Sacker. Listen to me. We’ve traced the calls… it’s coming from inside the house. Now a squad car’s coming over there right now, just get out of that house!”

She scrambles to open the front door and jolts from bumping into a policeman. The police discover the man killed the children, but escaped and is still on the loose. This scene is so good that the rest of the film can’t match it.

13. “The Strangers” (2008)

[amazon_image id=”B001D2WU8O” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Strangers [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

This horror flick maximizes long silences for unbearable suspense. The story involves a couple having a weekend getaway at a cabin. But they wind up victims to a bizarre home invasion by 3 masked villains.  The best scene comes early in the film where our heroine (played by Liv Tyler) is unaware that someone is lurking behind her. Check out this YouTube clip below and hear a theater audience’s panicked reaction.

 
12. “House Of The Devil” (2009)

[amazon_image id=”B002OVO17Q” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The House of the Devil [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Available on Netflix Streaming.

 
11. “28 Days Later” (2002)/”28 Weeks Later” (2007)

[amazon_image id=”B000VDDWEC” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]28 Days Later [Blu-ray][/amazon_image][amazon_image id=”B000VDDWEM” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]28 Weeks Later [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

The film that introduced us to running zombies, “28 Days Later” is full of gut churning fear. A frightening scene comes early in the film; protagonist Jim wakes up from a coma and finds London has become a ghost town. Searching everywhere in panic, he has no idea the city has been wiped out due to a virus that turns people into the cannibalistic “infected“. He wanders into a church and sees a pile of dead bodies. But then a body rises with a spine chilling gaze. The scene is straight out of a nightmare and will linger long in your memory.

The underrated sequel is equally terrifying with a traumatic opening scene. Don (Robert Carlyle) is fleeing from a house attacked by the infected. He left his wife behind in panic. He runs to take off in a boat a swarm of zombies are hot on his tail. Carlyle’s performance is superb; you see him overcome by fear and guilt. (Check out the full scene on Vimeo.)

So that wraps up the 2nd installment of The 30 Scariest Film Scenes Of All Time. Now go check out Part 3.

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