Summary
Instilling fear in audiences is an art in and of itself. Each horror film has its antagonist, whose only job is to strike fear in the hearts of viewers. Horror films can’t afford to have theirmonsters, killers, or beastshave a lukewarm reaction from audiences. The entire genre of horror depends on the antagonist having power over both the characters of the movie but also the viewers.
One of the most impactful ways to ensure an antagonist’s fear factor is by introducing them in a way that not only makes them terrifying but also memorable for years to come. Here are some of the best antagonist/monster reveals in the world of horror cinema.
In most cases, a monster reveal comes rather late into a horror film. Keeping audiences on the edge of their seats, guessing and wondering what exactly it is that the protagonist is running from, is half the thrill of a good horror movie. However,Longlegstook a very different approach. Longlegs is the name of thenotorious occultist serial killerthat FBI agent Lee Harker is trying to track down.
Longlegs doesn’t take things slow like other horror films tend to do, and instead begins with a terrifying teaser of the killer speaking to a young girl. The scene is framed with Longlegs' head cut off by the top of the screen, and when the audience least expects it, he suddenly bends down into frame, leaving audiences with a chilling first look at the occultist mastermind.
The Descentfollows a group of young women during a caving trip in the Appalachian Mountains. After a tunnel collapses and traps them with no hope of escape, main character, Sarah, and her friends attempt to find a way out. However, it becomes apparent that they are not alone in the unmapped caves as they begin to hear sounds and discover a massive pile of animal bones.
As the group gets out their camera with the night-sight setting on, they catch the first clear glimpse ofthe terrifying monstersthat inhabit the entirety of the cave system they are trapped in: the crawlers.
Even film buffs who haven’t ventured too far intoJapanese horror cinemahave likely heard of this specific scene inPulse. The film follows the story of ghosts slowly invading the physical world via the internet. One of the main characters, Yabe, is on the way home one night and notices a door sealed with red tape. As he ventures inside, the camera follows him from behind as he approaches a wall covered in red tape.
Just as Yabe pauses, the audience feels an eerie shiver as the soundtrack picks up and the camera cuts to the opposite end of the hallway with a terrifying ghost standing in the shadows. The ghost approaches slowly in an unnatural, eerie way, making her presence as an unworldly being clear to both Yabe and the audience.
At the climax ofThe Substance, a distressed Sue is struggling to keep herself together as Elizabeth, the original host, is deceased. Sue rushes home, disobeying the rules of The Substance and repeats the cloning process once again. Mirroring the first scene where Elizabeth wakes up as Sue in her washroom, Sue wakes up in the washroom, catching a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror before fully standing up.
That quick glance into the mirror reveals a verymonstrous version of Elizabeth/Sue, giving audiences just a split second to let the horrific consequences of The Substance’s misuse slowly settle in.
While Jigsaw, the infamous killer, remained anonymous for most of the film, he finally decides to reveal himself during the last few moments of the firstSawfilm. At this point, the audience believes Zep to be the killer; however, during the last tape that Adam listens to while Dr. Gordon tries toescape to get help, the real Jigsaw, John Kramer, slowly rises in the background, revealing that Adam’s only means of escape had gone down the drain (literally).
This is when the audience finally realizes that the “corpse” locked in the room with Adam and Dr. Gordon the entire film was actually the mastermind behind their imprisonment.
In the most famousInsidiousscene, Josh and his wife Renai speak to Josh’s mother, Lorraine, about Dalton’s comatose state. It is in this famous scene wherethe red demon, formally given the title of “The Man with Fire In His Face”, is finally revealed. As the camera switches back and forth between Lorraine and her son, Josh, in a sudden terrifying moment, the red demon is seen, peering at the camera from behind Josh’s shoulder. While Lorraine sees this demon and recoils in horror, Josh and Renai remain blissfully unaware.
Cast
The 1979Alienfilm isa cult classicfor a handful of reasons, but the one scene that stands out the most is the iconic chestburster scene. After Officer Kane is attacked by a spider-like creature (known as face huggers), he is unknowingly implanted with a terrifying surprise. While Officer Kane seemed to have fully recovered from his attack and is feasting alongside the rest of the Nostromo’s crew, he suddenly begins convulsing violently. While Ripley and the crew thought their nightmarish journey in space was finally ending, it had actually just begun.
In this scene, the iconic chestburster violently rips through Kane, escaping to lurk in the ship, planning the rest of the crew’s demise.
