When making a horror movie, there are certain expectations from the audience that must be considered. If one takes too long to get to the horror elements, they risk boring their viewers and causing them to lose interest. The best way to combat this is to feature a kill scene at the beginning, a quick burst of adrenaline that sets the stage for what is to follow, buying the script time to introduce the plot and characters.
Opening kills have become a staple of the genre, so when the movie begins with someone alone at their house in the middle of the night, the audience knows what they are in for. Some opening kills are the most iconic in horror movie history: they often prove to be the most popular part of their respective movies.
The following entries contain spoilers.
'Scream' (1996)
Potentially the most iconic opening scene in horror, the original Scream opens with teenager Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) home alone, getting ready to watch a scary movie. When a call from an unknown number turns sinister, Casey finds herself tormented by a masked figure with murderous intentions.
Scream's opening scene became a template that each entry in the series would follow, with Scream 2's double homicide at a movie theater just as memorable. The back and forth between Ghostface and his prey creates a unique dynamic for a horror opening. It feels more personal than a hapless victim being suddenly murdered by a killer or creature they have never encountered before.
Scream is available to stream on Paramount+.
'Halloween' (1978)
The most influential slasher movie of all time, Halloween, chooses not to start with a victim but with its antagonist instead. The film begins on Halloween night in 1963, from the killer's POV, peeping on a woman and her boyfriend making out on the couch.
Soon enough, the stalker plunges a kitchen knife into the screaming teen, revealing that he is a young boy named Michael, kicking off his endless rampage. Placing the audience in the killer's shoes offers a glimpse into the mind of one of cinema's most notorious villains, who would go on to massacre dozens of people across four decades of films.
Halloween is available to stream on Shudder and AMC+.
'Jaws' (1975)
Forget about the rest of the movie; the opening of Jaws is enough to keep anyone out of the ocean forever. Free to enjoy the beach in a world where Jaws is yet to exist, Chrissie decides to go skinny-dipping. While enjoying her solitary swim, she begins to feel a presence lurking in the sea beneath her.
What makes Jaws so effective is that its killer great white shark is left off-screen for so long, building an almost unbearable sense of tension. This is best exemplified in Chrissie's death, as even though we never see the creature biting her, Susan Backlinie's performance and Stephen Spielberg's direction reveal all that we need to know about the horrifying scene.
Jaws is available to stream on AMC+.
'Wrong Turn 2: Dead End' (2007)
One of the most popular straight-to-DVD franchises in the 2000s and 2010s, the Wrong Turn series hits its stride with Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. When a reality television series decides to film in the backwoods from the first movie, the cast and crew soon fall victim to the inbred cannibals that live there.
Opening with cast member Kimberly Caldwell driving to the shoot, the former American Idol contestant accidentally runs over a local. Attempting to resuscitate him, her well-intentioned efforts result in her lips being bitten off before she is split in half by an axe. The gloriously gory kill sets the tone perfectly for this slasher sequel and remains one of the best deaths in the franchise.
'Ghost Ship' (2002)
This supernatural movie from the early 2000s is mostly overlooked these days, and for good reason, as the film is unremarkable. When the cast of salvagers, including the likes of Karl Urban and Julianna Margulies, discovers an abandoned cruise ship, they discover the terrible secrets kept within.
The highlight of Ghost Ship is its opening. Starting with a flashback to the ship's heyday in the 1960s, the cruise's nighttime festivities are ruined when a rogue wire cable snaps loose and slices through the crowd. Young Katie (Emily Browning) is the lone survivor as she watches the surrounding passengers literally fall to pieces.
'The Collection' (2012)
The Collector was already notoriously grizzly, so when it came time to craft the sequel, creators Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton knew they had to raise the bloodshed. Cue a nightclub massacre, where an assortment of traps appears from the roof and walls, creating crimson carnage as the clubbers are bisected, crushed, and reduced to mush.
Dunstan and Melton worked on the Saw series, and that franchise's influence is felt as new traps pop out of each new area to whittle down the survivors. The rest of The Collection reverts to a stalk-and-slash formula similar to the first movie, but its opening remains one of the most memorable sequences in horror for a long time.
'Cube' (1997)
One of the more unique horror movies from the '90s, Cube follows a group of strangers who awaken inside a weird structure. Unable to remember how they got there, each room looks the same as they move through them, eventually realizing that some contain deadly traps.
Predating Saw by seven years, Cube's influence is felt on that franchise. The movie opens with a man named Alderson all alone within the cube. As he enters a new room, a harsh sound is heard as the man seizes up. Red lines appear on his skin before he falls to pieces on the floor, having been caught in a razor wire trap. This quick sequence does a great job of setting the stage for what it is to follow while still keeping up the mystery of what the cube contains.
'Urban Legend' (1998)
One of the best non-Scream slasher movies to emerge from the '90s, Urban Legend features plenty of memorable death scenes thanks to its focus on the titular myths. The cast of university students, including the likes of Jared Leto and Michael Rosenbaum, provide plenty of entertainment before they are picked off.
The strongest death in the film is the opening, where Michelle is driving alone in the rain. Stopping for gas, a creepy encounter with an attendant causes Michelle to speed off into the night; the well-meaning worker left to scream, "there's someone in the back seat," to no avail. The killer soon reveals themselves in the back of Michelle's car, decapitating the young woman with an axe.
'IT' (2017)
One of the best adaptations of Stephen King's work, IT updates the terrifying tale for a new generation. Discovering that a creature disguised as a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) is murdering the children of their town, a group of young friends known as The Losers Club band together to stop the shape-shifting monster.
The catalyst for the club's mission is the death of 7-year-old Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott), the younger brother of group leader Bill (Jaeden Lieberher). Playing outside alone in the rain, innocent Georgie encounters Pennywise hiding down a storm drain. The monster persuades the boy he is his friend before devouring the young child.
IT is available to stream on Netflix and HBO Max.
'Final Destination 2' (2003)
If you have seen Final Destination 2, then you have never looked at a log truck the same way again. Just the sight of the cumbersome vehicle conjures images of the highway crash from this popular sequel, with its opening carnage one of the scariest car sequences ever.
Each Final Destination begins with a premonition, and part two's remains the best. When a log truck spills its cargo onto a busy highway, the wayward tree bodies smash into the cars behind. People are decapitated, crushed, and blown up as the logs show no mercy, creating one of the most terrifyingly realistic horror scenarios on screen.
Final Destination 2 is available to stream on HBO Max.