No I'm not done talking about it. Because I love this season! I think that a powerful movie opening can really set your film up for greatness. However tons of people do lists of greatest movie openings. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Lion King, and the Godfather being some of my favorites.
However since it's the season of the witch, I thought it would be more fun to look specifically at horror movies. However, I found that tons of websites have done that already as well. So instead of focusing on the amazing intro sequence to Jaws or Scream or The Ring. I want to focus on intro's so good they actually trump the rest of the film. I'm talking about Horror movie intros that are so well done, the movie basically blows its load right at the start of the film.
Darkness Falls
Easily the weakest film on this list. Darkness Falls was a horror movie that was basically about a demented tooth fairy.
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| No, Not this one. |
It sounds silly but it does a good job of playing on childhood fears. Basically this ghost/demon/creature comes into your room on the night you lose your last baby tooth. This creature hates the light so it waits in the darkest corner of your room. If you're asleep she won't bother you. But if you're awakened by her raspy breathing, then you'd better hide under the covers and shut your eye's tight. Because if you look at her, even for a second, she kills you on the spot. Even if you're fast enough to turn on the lights before she reaches you you're still screwed. You see, she never forgets and will wait for you in the dark until she has the opportunity to kill you again.
The movie starts off with a creepy backstory about this woman who loved to act as the tooth fairy and give children money for their baby teeth.
She was horribly burned and was basically allergic to the light. So, she stayed cloaked and wore a porcelain Mask so no one would ever look upon her horribly scarred face.
Aside from the fact that no kid would ever hang around an old lady with that fucking creepy ass mask on, it's a cool intro story. After you find out how she was tragically killed you understand why she haunts this town. The story begins with our hero loosing his last tooth. After a retelling of the story he goes to bed and is visited by the ghost. I don't want to spoil the whole sequence but we get to see how deadly and powerful this spirit is. And how pissed she gets when anyone looks at her. It's creepy, scary and fun all at once. I remember this intro really stood out to me as fantastic.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film is a paint by numbers horror movie full of cliches and stupid fucking characters. It does nothing new or special and it quickly destroys all of that goodwill created by the intro to the movie.
Honestly if this was a short film and only 15 minutes long, I'd say "Look out for this director" or "what an amazing short film, I can't wait to see what they do next." But nope, they follow up a truly creepy opening with a lackluster film that leaves you bored around the halfway mark.
It should have ended after this amazing shot. They boy hides himself in the bathroom with the light on. The thing breaks open the door and shrieks in pain as the light hits it. As the camera pans back from him hiding in the tub you see the creature right above the doorway. Just waiting there, hoping that the kid is foolish enough to get close enough to the bathroom door so it can grab him and drag him off screaming into the darkness.
Friday the 13th Remake
I have my issues with the Friday the 13th remake but it has it's moments. I wasn't really a fan of the way that the kills were pretty boring. And interesting kills are pretty vital to a slasher film. Also the way the white characters kinda just abandon both token minority characters at the same time without a thought. Maybe they were trying to say something profound about race relations but it really seemed like they just straight up ditched them and didn't really seem to give a shit afterward and it's never addressed again in the movie.
But the intro to the film was fantastic. So most people don't know, Jason didn't get his signature look till about the 3rd movie. The first movie didn't have Jason at all. The second movie he was wearing a potato sack on his head. Seriously a fucking potato sack.
The third movie he finally gets his Hockey Mask and Jason's iconic look is complete. The intro to this movie basically runs through the first two movies to get to the third. It starts with Jason's mother having already done her massacre a long time ago. One by one he takes out both kids who are having sex, and others doing drugs. But it's the way he kills that's so effective. he does it quickly and mercilessly. You barely see him it's almost like the forest itself is killing the kids.
The kills are so brutal and so quick its just an awesome scene. Also, he doesn't just come through and stab everyone, which is what he does the rest of the film. The variety of kills and just the pure energy of the scene make it seem like it was filmed by someone other that the guy who did the rest of the movie.
Evil Dead Remake
I love the original series. And I thought the remake was really well done. I loved the horrific practical effects that they used. The only thing negative I can really say about the film is the absence of Bruce Campbell.
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| Groovy |
But while the movie was really well done. That intro was everything I loved about the original movies. It starts off with what looks like it's going to be a nasty human sacrifice with this poor girl crying and begging for her life. I don't want to spoil what happens next but it is disgusting, bloody, awesome, even funny, and it totally sets you up for what sort of film you're watching. I highly recommend you check it out.
28 Weeks Later
I actually liked 28 weeks later quite a bit. It wasn't amazing like 28 days later, but 28 weeks later does provide us with one of the best openings to any horror film. In this sequel we start off after the plague is in full effect and people are hiding in their homes, hoping none of the infected find them. Remember these aren't zombies, these are fully mobile, fast moving, infected. Teeth gnashing and nails scratching. You don't want to fuck with these guys.
You notice the little bit of normalcy these people having making dinner, living in a house with all the windows and cracks blocked off so their's no chance of one of the monsters seeing them. You also hear the fear when they think they hear a person outside.
What's crazy is how in just a few minutes you feel that these people are totally secure in their home and that they are safe. All it takes is for one person to look out through a tiny crack and get spotted. A whole horde of them break the house into splinters and send everyone running for their life. It's such a tense and terrifying sequence that it's impossible to watch without your heartrate being jacked up by the end of it. You can feel the terror, and it's bad enough that you can understand how it could make a man abandon his family as pure panic take over his system.
It's just a great sequence to see, and the music is perfect. It's so unnerving every time I watch I can feel my heart rate rising. While I don't think the rest of the movie is bad, but this is easily the most memorable part of the whole film.
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