10 Most Iconic Horror Movie Opening Scenes Ranked

A strong opening is crucial for a horror movie, as some of the genre’s most memorable scenes happen right at the beginning. These iconic openings stand out for various reasons, and the examples below demonstrate what makes them great.

A great horror movie often starts with a scene that’s either incredibly frightening or subtly unsettling, hinting at the terror to come. These opening moments can be the most lasting part of the film, and when they become truly iconic, it’s something special.

Sinners (2025)

In 2025, two horror films, Sinners and Weapons, truly stood out. While Weapons quickly establishes its story, Sinners is even more effective at grabbing your attention and creating a sense of fear and mystery from the very beginning.

The movie Sinners opens with a mysterious man entering a church. He’s injured, with cuts on his face and carrying a broken guitar, immediately making the audience wonder about his story. Just as the preacher asks him to come forward, a sudden, startling image flashes on screen, creating a jump scare.

The preacher keeps urging the man to find redemption, and the film intercuts these moments with fast-paced scenes of vampires and other key events. The jump scares are perfectly timed and used sparingly, creating a thrilling and exciting movie experience.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Often, the most memorable movie beginnings are surprisingly straightforward. This is true for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and it actually helped the film succeed, especially considering its limited budget.

The movie immediately draws you in with its opening text. Learning it’s supposedly based on a real story is unsettling. While the film isn’t a completely accurate retelling of events, that sense of realism still makes a strong impact.

The movie starts strong with a compelling opening sequence. We see a grave being robbed – a decaying body is visible – alongside a radio broadcast detailing the frightening situation. The intense heat is also immediately noticeable, and plays a significant role throughout the film.

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later begins with a striking scene: the main character wakes up from a coma to discover a deserted world, hinting at a terrible event. But the follow-up film, 28 Weeks Later, actually has an even more impactful opening.

Okay, so the movie starts with Don and his wife, Alice, along with a few other people, taking in this young boy at their cottage. Big mistake! It immediately attracts a horde of infected, and they start swarming the house. While Alice is searching for the boy, Don is desperately trying to convince her to just leave with him, you can tell he’s really panicked.

Don suddenly panics and flees, abandoning his terrified wife. The scene then follows his desperate escape from the infected, filmed with a shaky, frantic camera style reminiscent of Boyle’s work, as he races to board a boat and save himself. The whole sequence is immediately powerful, emotionally affecting, and incredibly intense.

Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

Look, Zack Snyder definitely divides people. As a movie fan, I’ve seen folks either absolutely love his vision or really dislike it. But honestly, no matter what you think of his more recent stuff, I think his Dawn of the Dead remake is probably his best work. It’s a fantastic film, even if you’re not always on board with his style.

The 2004 film Dawn of the Dead is a remake of the 1978 classic, and many consider it to be an improvement. A particularly strong part of the remake is its opening, which follows Ana Clark as she returns home after a tiring workday.

It (2017)

Most people immediately think of the terrifying opening scene when they hear the name It. Whether you know the story from Stephen King’s book, the 1990 miniseries with Tim Curry, or the 2017 film starring Bill Skarsgård, that opening is truly unforgettable.

The 2017 film really delivered with a truly frightening scene – arguably the best part of the movie and even better than anything in the sequel. It features young Georgie playing outside during a rainstorm when his paper boat gets swept away down a drain.

While investigating, Georgie meets Pennywise the Clown, who lures him in with a friendly facade. The shift from friendly to frightening is incredibly well done, and Bill Skarsgård’s performance is completely convincing. The movie It: Chapter Two also starts with a fantastic opening scene.

Get Out (2017)

When Get Out came out, it became an instant hit, spreading quickly by word of mouth. It earned over $200 million and launched Jordan Peele as a major new talent in the horror genre. The film even surprised everyone by winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay – a rare feat for a horror movie.

The film’s strong start was a key to its success. The opening scene features a Black man walking in a seemingly safe neighborhood, and he quickly realizes a car is following him. This immediately creates a sense of dread and foreshadows trouble for him.

The more the car is followed, the creepier things become. When a man in a helmet attacks and abducts him, it’s deeply disturbing. This moment establishes a pattern of injustice directed towards Black men, hinting at the film’s overall theme.

It Follows (2014)

The beginning of the horror movie It Follows is exceptional – truly one of the best opening scenes in recent film history, in any genre. It starts with Annie Marshall running away from her house, glancing back at something we can’t see.

She waves off offers of help, gets in her car, and drives away. While that might not seem unusual, the unbroken, single-shot filming style creates a strangely unsettling atmosphere.

The scene cuts to Annie relaxing on a beach while she’s on a phone call. The shocking final image is of her body, horribly injured, washed up on the shore. The movie doesn’t explain what happened to her, but this disturbing scene immediately grabs your attention and makes you desperate to find out what will happen next, and to prevent it from happening again.

Jaws (1975)

As a movie fan, I always think of Jaws as the film that really kicked off the whole ‘summer blockbuster’ phenomenon, and it grabs you right from the very beginning. The movie opens with this seemingly normal scene of a woman swimming – it looks peaceful, just a typical beach moment, you know?

Many films typically establish a central character early on, or at least someone important. However, Jaws subverts this expectation by immediately introducing and then eliminating Chrissie. This creates immediate suspense as the audience senses an approaching danger.

The underwater shots heighten the tension as the character is violently dragged through the water. Her desperate cries for help fade as she’s pulled beneath the surface, and the sudden, chilling silence that follows is the most terrifying moment.

Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter’s Halloween is considered a landmark slasher film, and its opening is particularly famous. The scene is shot from the perspective of the stalker, creating a uniquely suspenseful and terrifying beginning.

The movie expertly builds suspense, showing someone arming themselves with a knife, moving stealthily in the shadows, and concealing their identity with a mask. When the violence begins, it creates a disturbing effect, making viewers feel uncomfortably connected to the horrific events unfolding on screen.

The beginning of the movie Halloween is fantastic, but what really makes it stand out is the shocking twist: the killer turns out to be a child. The scene where he’s unmasked by the police, revealing a young boy with a blank expression holding a bloody knife, is a truly terrifying moment and a perfect example of horror done right.

Scream (1996)

Almost twenty years after Halloween, a new slasher film arrived with an equally striking opening scene. Wes Craven’s Scream revolutionized the horror genre, beginning with a focus on the character of Casey Becker, portrayed by Drew Barrymore, and a mysterious masked killer.

Drew Barrymore was the most famous actor in the movie, which made it shocking when her character was killed off early. The film starts with a nearly 15-minute scene that slowly creates a sense of dread as Casey receives a phone call from a mysterious person who quizzes her about horror films.

The phone calls started escalating, and then I realized the person calling was inside the house with Casey – it was terrifying! A chase began, and honestly, I was on the edge of my seat, worried sick for her, but still kind of expecting her to pull through. When she didn’t… that’s when it hit me. This wasn’t like other slashers where you knew the main characters were safe. This movie was truly unpredictable, and anyone could become a victim.

2025-10-24 20:31