The opening scene of a horror movie often predetermines whether the overall structure of the said film will ultimately go on to reel in audiences or not. If we're being honest, (some) viewers can actually tell within the first 10 minutes if a horror movie is going to be worth their time. The significance of capturing a viewer's attention is found in the meat of an opening scene (the content, formatting, structuring, etc.). It sets the atmosphere and tone of a film.

Update October 4, 2023: This article has been updated by Federico Furzan with even more great openings in horror films.

Most opening scenes start off ordinarily, with the central character (or characters) in a completely normal state of mind: at home watching television, engaging in extracurricular activities (oftentimes sex), or just popping popcorn. Starting a film off in this manner reminds viewers of the fear in normalcy and how it can be easily shattered, setting the stage for the frights to come. A good opening horror movie scene often reminds us that, in all actuality, these characters could either be us, someone we know, or someone we love, and this sentiment sticks with us as we continue to watch. In this, filmmakers are able to utilize moments of suspense in order to reel us in.

These are some of the best opening scenes in horror history.

Spoiler alert

13 Scream (1996)

So, no one ate the popcorn.

In one of the best opening scenes of all time for Wes Craven's 1996 slasher blockbuster Scream, homage is paid to the 1979 classic When a Stranger Calls. From the start, we are introduced to Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore), a suburban teenage girl who's in the kitchen making popcorn. As she prepares for a night of scary movies, Casey receives a series of phone calls from a stranger that she first takes to be a prank.

In her continuous interactions with this strange guy, he makes her aware that he knows exactly who she is, along with the fact that he knows she's home alone. Ghostface ultimately kills Casey, but it's the way in which he kills her that is so horrific and unfathomable.

Related: How Scream Perfected the Art of the Cold Open

Once we notice that Casey's parents are arriving back at the family's home, we also see Casey less than inches away from approaching them in order to signal there's an intruder present. Already wounded by Ghostface, she's unable to speak and is struggling to walk. As Ghostface grabs Casey away so that her parents aren't able to see her, he finishes his pursuit and kills her. As viewers, we feel for Casey because she was so close to reaching her parents before facing her abrupt demise. Not to mention, Casey's mother listening to her daughter take her last breaths over the phone will stay in the minds of viewers forever.

12 Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter's Halloween is often considered the blueprint for the modern horror movie, so it makes sense that its opening scene would be the blueprint for how to start a horror film off on the right track.

The movie begins by taking us back to Halloween night in 1963 when a young Michael Myers brutally murders his older sister. In this fantastically executed long shot, we are walking through this scene with Michael from the villain's perspective. As the younger version of him appears to be in a zombie-like mental state, we see him grab a knife from out of the kitchen, walk up the stairs, place his mask over his face, and kill his sister. Emotionless, his cadence never shifts from an enraged state; he is calm from start to end. The terrifying nature of the villain is presented from the very start of the film and the franchise.

11 Dog Soldiers (2002)

A very simple and effective opening scene. Dog Soldiers opens with an unsuspecting couple camping in the woods, where suddenly they hear something outside their tent. Suddenly, a werewolf hand appears and drags them out, killing them as it cuts to black.

This is a classic scary opening, pulled out of any horror story. What makes it so effective is not only how quick it is, but the shakey camera and grain film print make it feel more dangerous. Instead of following the point of view of someone being tormented by turning into a werewolf, the audience gets to view the monster from the perspective of one of its victims and the terror that this mythical beast has when you don't know anything about it.

10 When A Stranger Calls (1979)

Babysitting is scary enough, but couple that with an unidentified man calling to calmly ask "if you've checked the children," and it has to send chills down the spine of anyone. Home invasion movies are beyond alarming because they're so relatable and realistic, and the fact that this is depicted so well within the first five minutes of When a Stranger Calls is perfectly scary, setting the tone for what's to follow. The thought of anyone not being safe, even in a home they are familiar with, is too much to keep the lights off.

9 It Follows (2014)

From the beginning, David Robert Mitchell's It Follows is unsettling. But it isn't because we haven't seen this situation before. On the contrary, it's part of the horror tropes that we've seen so much we feel safe in their presence. However, the director uses strange camerawork to make us feel disoriented in regard to the space.

A girl feels threatened, and she's running away from something. But the camera doesn't exactly show us what she's afraid of, and it doesn't go after her. We are evidencing something unique.

She gets in the car and leaves for the beach, but at the shore, she begs for her life. Still, we can't see who she's talking to. And then Mitchell jumps to a horrific shot in which her lifeless body lies broken in the sand, with her legs twisted up in unnatural ways. Whatever was chasing her caught her.

8 Ghost Ship (2002)

Unfortunately, people have mostly forgotten about 2002's Ghost Ship. But what we are sure they haven't forgotten about is the film's iconic opening scene. And hey, it's OK if that's the only thing you remember about it.

A party is taking place on an ocean liner. Guests are on deck, and they are dancing, drinking, and dining. The only child at the party is Katie, and she's sitting absolutely bored. But then the Captain offers to dance with her, and she gladly accepts. As they're dancing, someone tightens a wire cord on the ship, and after a few seconds, it snaps and whips across the party. The silence indicates there's something wrong. We only see Katie staring in terror as all the bodies start falling apart: the wire has cut everyone in half, sparing her because of her stature.

7 Final Destination (2000)

Yes, it's hard to pick one. The Final Destination franchise relies heavily on the intros that show average people going through a deadly accident. All of them work the same way, just like the Scream movies work with Ghostface reaching out through a phone call before murdering someone.

However, we'll stay with part 1. Part 2 has the highway scene, which is definitely grisly, but the one with the plane hit hard. After all, don't we get that same feeling when we board?

In the scene, the group of students boards a plane. It's like any other flight. It's just that minutes before, Alex was in the bathroom when a John Denver blasted through the speakers. A bad sign. Then, on the plane, his tray doesn't work. After take-off, an accident occurs, and everyone dies on the plane. But as it turns out, this was all going through Alex's mind as he fell asleep before taking off. In panic, he stands and starts saying the plane will blow up. Of course, we know what happens soon after he and some others get off the plane.

6 The Silence of The Lambs (1991)

Jogging in a secluded area never looked more frightening.

The beginning of The Silence of The Lambs looks rather typical and ordinary, and that itself is the creepiest aspect of all. As Clarice (Jodie Foster) is sprinting through the woods in a setting that appears to be an everyday morning run, the choice of musical score, close-up camera angles, and foggy surroundings leaves the viewer to wonder what could possibly happen next. The thematic perfection of the opening is especially significant: Clarice runs headfirst toward work in an effort to run from her own personal nightmares. In this excellent example of a film score doing the heavy lifting, the pivot from subtlety to a more theatrical escalation prepares viewers to be on high alert.

5 Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead is one of the best zombie films ever made, and it can hold up beside the George A. Romero film that inspired it. The film's style and tone are original, and this can be witnessed early on with the quite long opening scene.

Related: Scariest Final Shots in Horror Movies of All Time

Ana finishes her shift at the hospital and arrives home to her husband. The following morning, one of the neighborhood kids enters the room and kills Luis. Seconds later, he becomes a zombie. Ana locks herself up in the room (an overhead, great shot) and manages to leave through the window. As she gets in the car, she realizes the whole neighborhood is in crisis: fire, screaming, and people running. Ana turns on the engine and leaves. A great shot shows her car on the road as the camera pulls back and shows the chaos in the city. When Ana's car goes over a cliff, it abruptly hits a tree, and then the credits featuring Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around start.

4 Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Tim Burton's reimaging of Sleepy Hollow certainly begins with a bang. Everybody knows the legend of the Headless Horseman, but within the first few minutes of this film, audiences know this will be an entirely different take on the material. Following a very dramatic signing of a legal document, it cuts to the inside of a carriage with Peter Van Garrett (Martin Landau) riding inside.

Yet his driver is quickly beheaded by the Headless Horseman. While Van Garrett gets outside the carriage to escape the attacker and runs into a cornfield, he is quickly discovered and decapitated with one clean swing of the sword. The opening immediately established the Headless Horseman as an elemental force, more similar to a slasher movie villain than his traditional folklore counterpart. With a jack o'lantern covered in blood before it fades to black to the next scene, this opening sequence almost stands as a great short film on its own.

3 Jaws (1975)

As humans, we evolved out and away from the ocean without any gills, so we should probably stick to land. Besides, from the looks of this film, sea creatures are beyond tired of us invading their space.

Steven Spielberg's classic film Jaws shook audience members to their core from the very start. Jaws successfully made people afraid, not only of sharks but of the water itself. The generally frightening aspect of the opening is not just the demise of Chrissy but the buildup from the shark's angle combined with the classic minimalist score from John Williams.

While viewers are strategically placed underwater (through a series of camera angles), we see Chrissy floating at the surface as the shark makes its way towards her. It's terrifying because we all know the inevitability of what's to follow.

2 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

It would probably be an honest statement if someone had said they'd never been more disturbed in life than when watching the opening scene of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Before the film begins, we are brought to a black screen, with a narrator explaining what we're about to see. Using a 'ripped from the headline,' documentary-style approach, which still has people asking today if The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was real, the opening sets the gritty, realistic stage for what's to follow.

We are immediately exposed to a series of still images, flashing lights, and the world's most awful sound. It's easy to identify someone is chopping up humans. Right after, we get the great pull-back shot where we can see a corpse propped up on a tombstone, holding the dead body of a child. From a single perspective, it feels as if viewers are plunged into a hostile, terrifying environment, and the fear barely lets up after this masterpiece of an opening scene.

1 A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinski's A Quiet Place starts with a scene that will leave you awestruck. We witness a family scavenging through an abandoned town. They're in complete silence, only signaling each other with their hands. Apparently, if they talk, the danger arrives.

One of the small children takes a toy space shuttle from the abandoned story. His dad had warned him against taking it because of the sound it could produce, but then his sister retrieved it and gave him back the toy without the batteries. However, the kid takes them.

As they go through a bridge, the father realizes the kid is not with them. He stayed behind because he was playing with the toy. Suddenly, it begins producing the normal sound a toy makes, and Lee starts running to save his child. Right before he's able to reach him, a creature snatches the kid and takes him.

Now, that's a way to begin a film.