Top 10 Horror Movie Scenes How They Were Filmed
#10: Attacked by an Invisible Man
“The Invisible Man” (2020) We’ve all seen those films with an invisible character. Oftentimes, actors are required to basically act by themselves, addressing an empty space. In 1933’s version of this film, the man was simply covered in bandages entirely, or partially covered in black and filmed against a black background. However, during the production of this 2020 film, more modern techniques were used. In order to gain a more realistic sense of movement, a stunt actor in a green suit was present for most of the interactions, giving actors something to react to. The green man was then erased in post-production. This may seem like an obvious technique. However, some productions still have actors mime the actions by themselves, most likely due to budget and/or time constraints.
#9: The Twin Effect
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“Us” (2019) There are countless films and shows where the same actor plays two parts, and sometimes interacts with themself. The timeless multiple screen effect was replaced in 2019’s “Us” by cutting-edge CGI techniques, thanks to the tech wizards at Industrial Light & Magic. The production used stand-ins, while the CGI artists pieced together the heads and faces of the actors and rendered them onto the doubles. The actors performed the scenes twice, but the finished product was an amalgam of the actual performance and some delicate CGI jigsaw effects. We’ve come a long way from the multiple screen effect, however memorable it was (we’re looking at you, “Back to the Future 2”.)
#8: Breaking Ankles
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“Misery” (1990) Anyone who has seen “Misery” can easily tell you what the film’s most memorable scene is: Annie Wilkes wishes to keep Paul Sheldon in her care for as long as possible, so she takes a sledgehammer to his ankles. CGI was not the greatest way to go back then, and the effect was created entirely using prosthetics. Molds of James Caan’s legs were created from gelatin and piping, providing hinges at the ankles. A tight shot was used to preserve realism, and the rest is history. Fun fact: the scene was actually toned down from the book version, which involved an ax and a propane torch. Yikes.
#7: Shark Attack
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“Jaws” (1975) Poor Chrissie. She chose the worst time to go for a swim. In the famous opening scene of “Jaws,” beachgoer Chrissie is attacked and subsequently eaten by the titular shark. Once again, this was an age devoid of CGI effects. The actress was actually a stunt performer wearing wired jeans and was pulled to and fro by divers below. Director Steven Spielberg was dissatisfied with her reactions and had the divers pull her down by surprise, hence getting the best-shocked reactions. The film had quite an impact on audiences, causing obsessions as well as a downward curve in beachgoing, notably one beach being evacuated due to a shark scare caused by some dolphins.
#6: Dance of the Broken
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“Suspiria” (2018) Let’s combine a creepy coven with a competitive ballet school and see what happens. You don’t want to cross these ladies, and also, you can’t sit with them at lunch, so don’t even try. In the film’s most traumatizing sequence, a ballerina dares to accuse the coven of the disappearance of a former student. In an attempt to escape, she is trapped in a room, and in a voodoo sort of way, uncontrollably mimics a dance with horrible consequences. The bone-crunching scene of distortion and horror was created entirely using practical effects. Prosthetics were expertly created for the dislocated jaw and bony stomach protrusions by artist Mark Coulier. Also… yuck.
#5: Taking a Shower
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“Psycho” (1960) This is a legendary scene and for many reasons. Alfred Hitchcock claimed to have made the entire film for this scene alone. It took 7 days to shoot, with Playboy bunny Marli Renfro standing in for Janet Leigh in the more revealing shots. They stabbed a melon for sound effects, and the blood was watered down Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Hitchcock said that the film was done in black & white to avoid the repulsiveness of red blood swirling down the drain. We’ve come a long way where that’s concerned, but we can’t argue with the poignancy of the contrast in color, with the pure white of the tub, and the gruesome dark of the blood. Classic cinema at its best.
#4: A Fountain of Blood
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“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) Practical effects often end up looking great, but the process isn’t always easy. In “A Nightmare on Elm Street”’s classic scene, Glen regretfully falls asleep and is sucked into the mattress (along with his television for some reason). Following this, a geyser of blood comes shooting out of the chasm left by his exit. For the scene, a rotating room set was created, with all items nailed into place. The room was turned upside down, and crew members poured the blood through, creating a vertical effect when the shot itself was reversed. However, they didn’t account for the lighting, and when the blood hit the lights, the crew members holding the rig were electrocuted. No one was injured, thankfully.
#3: The Needle Pit
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“Saw II” (2005) The “Saw” franchise is filled with sadistic, horrifying traps, some memorable, some not so much. In “Saw II,” character Amanda is thrown into a pit of syringes and that’s something that’ll make our skin crawl forever. The scene was filmed using actual needle chambers, with the needles removed and replaced with harmless fiber optic versions. The crew had to replace the needles on 120,000 syringes. The pit itself was lined with padding, making it far more safe and comfortable than anyone can imagine. For the scene in which needles are being removed from Amanda’s arm, a prosthetic was used. Somehow knowing how it was done doesn’t get rid of the uncomfortable goosebumps we have from this scene.
#2: Crawling Out of the TV
“Ringu” (1998) If there’s one horror scene from the late 90s and early 2000s that everyone remembers, it’s the girl climbing out of the TV. It was first done in the original Japanese film “Ringu,” and remade for the American version, “The Ring.” The creepy, dislocated movement effect of the girl (Sadako) walking was quite simply achieved by filming the actress walking backward and then playing it in reverse. In order to further the unease of the scene, a male crew member provided the close-up shot of Sadako’s eye, creepily peeking from behind that signature black hair. With this scene, a whole new, quite literal dimension of horror was introduced: one in which the horrors could break through the glass and say hello in person.
#1: The Spider-Walk, the Head-Spinning, & the Vomit
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“The Exorcist” (1973) We couldn’t pick just one: this film really contains a trifecta of poignant scenes. There’s a reason some cinemas felt the need to hand out vomit bags when it was released. Firstly, the scene in which Regan does a spider-walk down the stairs was filmed using a contortionist stand-in, supported by wiring. The head-spinning scene used a rubber likeness of Linda Blair, made to appear more realistic with some clever lighting techniques. The vomit was a mixture of porridge and pea soup, launched through a tube attached to the actress’s face. On top of all this, actors had to endure a refrigerated set, in order to have visible breath.
