1. The Spinal Tap scene in "The Exorcist": Yes yes all that demon possession, head turning, cross masturbating stuff that goes on is in fact very scary, but remember when Reagan's mom was still trying to figure out what was wrong with her? She sent her to a doctor and had to undergo the painful ordeal of the spinal tap. For me this was one of the most horrific scenes in the film as director William Friedkin shows us the procedure in almost clear view. Anyone afraid of needles would probably put this scene above all the other supernatural stuff in the film, probably because it's something that is very real.
2. Quint gets his in "Jaws": Much is talked about the boo! factor in Spielberg's masterpiece horror, but the scene that I always couldn't take was the end when we see Robert Shaw's Captain Quint go to his watery grave. It's not just shocking in the fact that he dies at the hands or mouth of the monstrous fish, but that he is a character we have come to like and adore. Quint is the toughest man in the film, but once those mighty jaws have him in his clutches, even he screams in terror. Spielberg would never kill off another lead character again in any of his films in such a gruesome way.
3. The Bride screams at the sight of the monster in "Bride of Frankenstein": An outlandish moment of pathos in a horror movie isn't seen very often, but after Elsa Lanchester's famous bride is brought back to life, and rejects Karloff's monster, we can't help but feel for the poor guy. Just goes to prove, horror movies have feelings too.
4. The hand coming from the walls in "Repulsion": Roman Polanski times his horror classic so well to give the right effect. At times it's almost as if we're waiting to be scared. In this moment near the end of the film, Carol is looking at the wall, which soon turns into a giant hand that grabs at her. She is soon surrounded in a hallway of hands grabbing her from the wall. It's a terrific moment of horror, in a metaphysical sense, and also a "GOTCHA!" sense.
5. The "You Eat Like a Bird" line in "Psycho":The moment we see Norman Bates, we know something is just a little off about him. My favorite scene is with him a Marion Crane as he watches her eat dinner. There is something off putting about this line that still creeps me out. Norman on the outside looks so wholesome and innocent, but the way this line is delivers makes us wonder about what's on the inside.
6.Allan Gray is looking at the world through a coffin in "Vampyr": The most famous scene in Dreyer's horror experiment comes when our hero sees himself dead inside a coffin. As it is taken away to be buried by the film's villains, We get a point of view shot from inside the coffin. It's as if Dreyer is giving us a sneak peak at what's in store when we all die. The images are disturbing because it does look like indeed we are the ones in the coffin!
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