The introduction to any story marks one of the most important parts of the narrative, an opportunity to immerse audiences in the style and tone of the tale while signifying what sort of experience is to follow. This is particularly true of horror cinema. Whether it is a bloodthirsty body horror or a psychologically twisted thriller,those first five minutes present a golden opportunity to make an immediate impressionon viewers that lingers through the rest of the film.
It is no surprise that many of the horror films that have nailed their immediate introductions have secured a place in the annals of the genre’s history, even if the rest of the movie didn’t live up to their outstanding openings. Ranging from the bloody and bombastic to the methodical and menacing,the first five minutes of these horror films are nothing short of absolute perfection.
10’Final Destination' (2000)
Directed by James Wong
TheFinal Destinationfranchise has become one of horror’s flagship titles of the 21st century thus far, serving as a grueling, gruesome, and gripping phenomenon thatsuggests you can only cheat death for so long. While the films have become famous for their array of violent and creative death scenes, few horror fans have ever forgotten the opening minutes of the series’ original film.
The depiction of Alex’s (Devon Sawa) premonition of the plane crash isexecuted with palpable tension, an almost sickening precision and authenticity that envelops viewers in the film with an immediate fear of death. While opinions on the quality of the rest of the film may vary from one viewer to another, the first five minutes are a brilliant exercise in grounded suspense andextracting agonizing dread from finer details—the Maltesers rolling on the floor, for instance—that everyone must appreciate for its impact.
Final Destination
9’Suspiria' (1977)
Directed by Dario Argento
While a lot of horror’s greatest opening scenes thrive as petrifying snapshots of the terror that awaits in the rest of the film, some of the genre’s greatest pictures have used their first moments to establish tone and suspense with tactical precision. That is the case with 1977’sSuspiria, a giallo masterpiece fromDario Argentothat follows American ballerina Suzy (Jessica Harper) as she finds her time at a prestigious dance academy in Germany plagued by mysterious deaths and the lingering presence of an ominous force.
The film begins with Suzy landing in Germany amid a downpour, covering her building unease as her taxi trip—basked in vibrant reds, greens, and yellows—meanders through the forest and up to the imposing structure of the academy. With itspiercing feeling of haunted horrorperfectly amplified by Goblin’s unsettling score, the opening ofSuspiriastands asa divine example of mounting suspensethat also immerses audiences into the rich style of what is one ofthe most visually unique and astonishing horror filmsof all time.
8’Halloween' (1978)
Directed by John Carpenter
While it may appear to be relatively simplistic, the opening scene ofHalloweenis amasterpiece of perspective and suspensedefined by its methodical POV camerawork and its steady yet visceral journey through the eyes of a killer. It tracks a stalker’s expedition through a house, spying on a young woman and her boyfriend before entering the house, grabbing a knife, and waiting for the girl to be alone, then murdering her. Afterward, the killer walks outside, where he is unmasked by his parents and revealed to be only a young boy.
Rich with atmospheric dread and ominous suspense, theHalloweenopening isn’t just a visceral slasher scene, buta chilling insight into the nature of pure evil. This cold and unfeeling prologueexplores the bounds of Michael’s viciousnesswith suspense and shock value. It sets the tone for the pioneering slasher that follows, casting a sense of malicious dread over the viewer and immersing them into a story world defined by the maniacal savagery of its villain.
7’Ghost Ship' (2002)
Directed by Steve Beck
Derided by many as egregiously gory, special effects-laden, and a try at seafaring scares that ultimately lacks suspense,Ghost Shipisn’t necessarily a genre classic. However, the 2002 supernatural horror has cemented itself in the annals of cinematic history with its unforgettably brilliant opening scene.During a dance party aboard the MSAntonia Graza, an unseen passenger tightens a metal cable that snaps and tears through the stage and the dance floor, bisecting everyone in attendance except for a little girl who is too short to be sliced.
Building tension before delivering one ofthe most visually shocking and horrifically stunning moments in horror history,Ghost Shipintroduces viewers to a world of intense violence fueled by sharp CGI and an underlying sense of gallows humor. Sadly, the rest of the film wasn’t able to live up to the gory glory of the opening few minutes, butGhost Shipremains embedded in the minds of all genre lovers for that striking opening that leaves an indelible impression on all who watch it.
Ghost Ship
6’Midsommar' (2018)
Directed by Ari Aster
With one of the most brutal opening sequences in cinematic history,the folk horror instant classicMidsommarbegins with Dani (Florence Pugh) on the phone expressing her concern about her depressed sister’s disturbing messages to her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor). Out with his friends, Christian is dismissive of her as he plans to end the relationship soon. However, the night soon takes a sickening turn when Dani calls Christian again in tears, having learned that her sister has killed not only herself but their parents as well through carbon monoxide poisoning.
Brilliantly acted andallowed to unfurl with a weighted, lingering, methodical dread, the opening ofMidsommaris defined by its grounded suspense and, given Dani’s sister’s death is a known plot point of the movie, a sense of helpless agony as audiences can only watch the inevitable tragedy unfold. While it may not mimic the vibrant colors that define much of the film’s unusual eeriness,Midsommardoes boast the perfect introduction to Dani’s emotional turmoil, her and Christian’s failing relationship, and the oppressive dread that permeates throughout the film.
5’It Follows' (2014)
Directed by David Robert Mitchell
It’s common forhorror to open with a short story of a victim, a helpless and terrified character whose gruesome death signifies what is to come. Few films in recent years have executed this with the unforgettable impact ofIt Follows. It starts with a long take of Annie Marshall (Bailey Spry) running out of her house, circling the street in terror as she insists she is okay to her disturbed neighbors and parents, before fleeing in her car. Audiences have no idea what is chasing her, but the horror is palpable, and only amplified when Annie’s tearful message to her parents on the beach smash cuts to a grisly image of her mutilated corpse in the morning.
Those first five minutes are a masterpiece of immersion through mystery,an engrossing display of chilling terror that poses questions aplentyto the audience, each one more disturbing and confounding than the last. Delightfully,It Followswas able to use this platform of confounding fear to launch into the rest of the movie, which stands as one of the most innovative, socially minded, and admired horror films of the 2010s.
It Follows
4’A Quiet Place' (2018)
Directed by John Krasinski
Conjured byJohn Krasinski, theA Quiet Placeseries has become a certified blockbuster hit for contemporary horror. It exploresa world ravaged by aliens that hunt via sound, leaving the few survivors that are left to live in meticulous silence. The suspense and stakes of this setting are masterfully depicted in the opening minutes of the original 2018 film. It follows the Abbott family as they scavenge for supplies in agonizing silence, an excursion that goes horribly wrong when the youngest child plays with a noisy toy and is immediately killed by one of the aliens.
At face value, it is a profoundly shocking introduction, anunrestrained depiction of the rules of the worldthat emphatically states thatno one is ever safe. However, the depth and character work of the scene is equally powerful, establishing Regan’s (Millicent Simmons) deafness and her lingering guilt—she gives her brother the toy—that defines both her heartache and her complicated relationship with her father. Also functioning simply as an exemplary use of sound in building suspense, the opening minutes ofA Quiet Placeare among the most intensely immersive in horror history.
A Quiet Place
3’Scream' (1996)
Directed by Wes Craven
“What’s your favorite scary movie?” will forever be one of the most iconic andunforgettable lines in horror history. Operating as both a self-aware mockery of slasher cinema and a masterful embrace of the elements that make it so entrancing,Screamis almost solely responsible for ushering in a new era for the subgenre in the wake of the ‘80s. Itestablishes its greatness from its very first momentsas well.
Left at home alone, high schooler Casey (Drew Barrymore) is getting ready to settle in with a horror film before she answers a phone call that becomes increasingly menacing. As the tension ratchets up, audiences are pulled into the intrigue and macabre fun of the movie, with the terror of Ghostface’s attack immediately embedding the slasher villain as one of the greatest antagonists in the genre.Suspenseful and subversive,Scream’s opening prologue is the perfect introduction to the film that follows, a masterclass in rising tensions and tonal shifts that remains one of the most famous scenes in the genre’s history.
2'28 Weeks Later' (2007)
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Set in London as the infected have begun to die off and efforts to repopulate Great Britain get underway—leading to a predictably calamitous second outbreak of the rage virus—28 Weeks Lateris an admirable zombie horror that still pales in comparison to the series’ other installments. That said,the sequel’s agonizing opening sequencemight just be the best moment from the three movies. It begins as a band of survivors hiding out in a rural farmhouse realize their haven is being attacked by a swarm of the infected.
Amid the carnage, violence, and frenzied chaos, Don (Robert Carlisle) emerges as a character of tremendous intrigue, a husband forced to make an impossible choice as his efforts to fight off hordes of the undead lead to him having to leave his wife behind to save himself. The shot of himrunning down the hill as dozens of infected sprint after him is utterly heart-stopping, and by the time he has escaped in the boat as the sole survivor of the onslaught, audiences are checking their pulses in a cold sweat, thankful that the unrelenting intensity has finally abated.
28 Weeks Later
1’Jaws' (1975)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Jawsis arguably the greatest horror movie of all time, and it has arguably the greatest horror opening of all time. The iconic scene sees two teenagers split off from a beach party to go skinny-dipping in the surf, with the girl dashing into the sea while her boyfriend drunkenly fumbles with his clothes on the shore. The film’s masterful foreboding is on full display withPOV shots lingering on the girl’s kicking legsandJohn Williams’ immortal score. The suspense pays off with the shark’s attack, a ferocious and instantaneous attack that sees the girl scream for moments before being ripped under the water’s surface.
It is the perfect introduction to the film that follows, a taut and unbearably tense hunt for a gigantic, man-eating shark plaguing the small coastal holiday spot of Amity Island during the tourism season. Enriched bySteven Spielberg’s incredible ability to allow terror to fester in the audience’s imagination,Jawsis one of the most effective horror movies ever made, and itestablishes this impact from its exceptional opening minutes.
