6 of 7

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 7

his girlfriend but doesn't say whether she's alive or what he did to her. He simply tells the boyfriend that if he really wants to know what happened to his lover, he has to show him. There's a powerful sequence when the boyfriend has to make the decision. He's searched for his lost love for a long time and now, maybe, he has the chance to finally find out what happened to her. But he doesn't trust this man, and he doesn't know what will happen to him if he agrees. His overriding obsession to learn the truth of that day at the petrol station when she disappeared colours his decision and he says yes to the kidnapper's demands.

The scene that follows is my tenth scariest moment in horror cinema. The kidnapper gives the boyfriend a drink which puts him to sleep. He awakes in darkness. He fumbles for the lighter in his pocket, which eventually produces a flame. The dim light shows him exactly what happened to his lost love, and simultaneously his own demise. He's lying in a coffin, buried in the ground, left to die. There's no escape and no one's going to save him. The effect on the viewer is harrowing and long-lasting.

#9 THE EXORCIST III (William Peter Blatty, USA, 1989)
The Exorcist, my favourite horror film is, as you'd expect full of great scary moments. I've kept myself down to just two moments in my top ten but I've had to include this brilliant scene from the second sequel.

Directed by The Exorcist novel and screenplay writer William Peter Blatty, Exorcist III was his retort to John Boorman's sequel, which he hated. It tells the story of a police officer who - having investigated the events of the first film, including the mysterious death and beheading of the film director who fell from Regan's window - falls onto another religiously-inspired murder plot. Seeing chilling similarities between these new events and what went before, he's drawn to Father Karras who is now holed up in a mental institution.

The scene that never fails to deliver is more a jump-out-of-your-seat moment than the scene in The Vanishing. It takes place in a hospital where some strange goings-on have taken place. In the middle of the night, the only nurse on duty is doing her regular checks on the hospital beds. There is a security guard on duty so it seems safe. The camera just watches down the corridor. The security officer walks out of sight for a moment. The nurse heads back to the reception station. Again, everything seems fine but now she's well and truly alone. We've seen her entering

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• ...
• 7
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about The top ten scariest movie scenes ever?
We want to hear your view. Write now!