10 Best Horror Movie Openings, According To Reddit

While a good horror movie needs a solid and satisfying ending, whether it wraps up the events neatly or is vague yet clever, the opening scene is arguably even more important. If audiences aren’t invested right away, they’re going to turn the movie off, so they need to find the characters, premise, and tone compelling from the get go.

There are many ways to start a horror movie, from sharing an intriguing flashback to showing a minor character’s death, and fans have a lot of opinions about their favorite first scenes that they’re sharing in some threads on Reddit.

10 The Ring

The Ring may have been released in 2002, but its strong presence in the horror genre lives on, thanks to the unforgettable premise of a creepy video tape that kills people seven days after they watch it. Reddit user thisisgonnabegr9 loves the movie’s opening. The fan explained, “It starts out like some cliche teen horror movie, just two giggling girls in Catholic school uniforms having a sleepover, but it quickly becomes apparent that Something Is Not Right.”

After Katie and Becca watch the horrible tape, Katie is the first to die, making audiences realize that until someone figures out how to stop this curse, more murders are going to take place.

9 Scream

Out of the most iconic scenes in Scream, audiences will never forget watching Casey Becker make popcorn and answer the phone call from Ghostface. Reddit user Witchyloner wrote that “Drew Barrymore in Scream” is one of the most interesting horror movie opening scenes. The fan explained, “It was genius casting Drew in that part. She was a big name and I don’t think many people were expecting her to be killed first. Especially in the first ten minutes. The way it’s setup, the acting, the dialogue?? Perfection.”

All of these years later, this is still widely considered one of the most compelling ways to start this genre of movie. Every moment is scary and unnerving, from Casey talking about her love of horror movies to her realization that she is likely to meet a gruesome end like her boyfriend.

8 It Follows

Sometimes a horror movie will come along and really impress fans, as it’s clever and offbeat, and that’s exactly what happened with It Follows. One Redditor praised its opening scene, writing, “The way it opens to a nice upper class neighborhood and this girl comes running out of her house to get to her car while seemingly trying to avoid something that we the viewer can’t see. Then the scene transition of her sitting on the beach at night to her in the morning, dead, with her leg horribly snapped back.”

This scene is so successful because right off the. bat, it’s clear that something has gone terribly wrong, as instead of seeing a young girl going for a nice nighttime walk on her street, she’s attempting to escape something awful. The rest of the movie is just as compelling and unique.

7 Midsommar

Reddit user Slothstr0naut mentioned the beginning of Midsommar, writing  “I thought the opening scene of Midsommar was pretty horrifying. Really set the tone for the rest of the movie.” Reddit user NoticedSquid said that some people left the movie theater right after the opening as it was so intense.

Midsommar has many scary scenes, so it makes sense that fans would note that the movie is unnerving from the very start. Dani is concerned about her sister, Terri, and audiences learn that Terri and their parents have died as Terri released carbon monoxide in the house. This makes Dani realize that her boyfriend Christian doesn’t care about her, and she decides to go to the festival in Sweden that he invites her to. The entire movie is known for being very upsetting and horrifying.

6 Get Out

Reddit user mathsDelueze loved the beginning of Get Out, calling it “appropriately unnerving” and writing that it “sets the tone perfectly for what the film was going to be.”

When the movie opens, audiences see a Black man walking around a neighborhood, and after a car begins following him, someone exits the car and knocks him unconscious, taking his body away. A creepy song plays all the while. This suggests that something is horribly wrong and makes audiences wonder what’s going to happen next.

5 Jaws

Since Jaws is a classic horror movie, it makes sense that many would love the first scene. One Redditor praised the opening, writing, “That first kill is so iconic and so intense. Poor Chrissy just doesn’t have a chance. Plus, the way that the attack starts, stops, and then culminates in a vicious frenzy all while keeping what, exactly, is attacking Chrissy under wraps is brilliant.”

This scene is beloved since the audience doesn’t see the shark, and as is often the case with a dark house or middle of the night setting, it’s more terrifying to imagine what could be out there when it’s hidden.

4 Rosemary’s Baby

Reddit user Evodius thinks that Rosemary’s Baby has a great opening scene and wrote, “That creepy lullaby is just spinechilling.”

The New York City movie set is iconic as the movie was filmed at the Dakota Building, and right away, audiences see Rosemary and Guy moving into their new home. They hope that life will be wonderful here and they’re excited to live in such a gorgeous building, although the tone of the scene suggests that something more sinister is on the horizon. This scene shows the location well and makes audiences curious about what horrors await.

3 When A Stranger Calls (1979)

While the 2006 remake isn’t nearly as scary, Reddit user suz41382 loves the beginning of the 1979 horror movie classic When A Stranger Calls. The fan explained that “The fifteen minute phone call sequence in the beginning” is really great.

While a babysitter receiving a spooky phone call has become commonplace in the genre, at the time it was totally groundbreaking when Carole Kane’s babysitter character answers the phone and hears a random voice ask, “Have you checked the children?” While she assumes that it’s nothing at first, the suspense and eerie tone increases as the phone continues to ring. Audiences know that staying in this house isn’t safe and they’re eager to find out what happens next.

2 Urban Legend

There are many horror movies about college and Urban Legend is known for being a fun, cheesy movie. Reddit user Marty McRib liked the start of this movie, sharing, “Not a great movie but that opening had me looking in the back seat for years.”

The story begins with a college student driving in the pouring rain and stopping at a creepy gas station. The opening works because it has a red herring in a strange employee who scares the young woman but who is ultimately harmless. In a startling moment, she drives away and the killer murders her from the backseat, based on the famous scary story. This opening suggests that anyone is a victim and that, of course, the murders are going to take place based on urban legends.

1 Halloween

When thinking about the scariest way to open a movie, the beloved Halloween definitely comes up, with Reddit user The_Lotto writing, Surprised no one said Halloween. That POV shot at the beginning is classic.”

While Halloween could open with Laurie Strode and her friends walking home from school on October 31st, the movie takes its first scene one step further by showing Michael Myers as a kid, killing his sister Judith. It’s obvious right away that Michael is no ordinary child and that he’s a massive threat to society.

About The Author

Aya Tsintziras
(1757 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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