Horror movies come in all shapes and sizes. There's psychological horror, so-called "exalted" horror, creature features, zombie features, ghost stories - you get the idea. While some movies rely on atmosphere and tone to create that creeping sense of dread, others use jump scare to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
What is a jump scare? Basically, any time there's an abrupt, hard cut and a LOUD, SHOCKING sound meant to startle the audience, that's a startle response. Sometimes it can be cheesy (like the "cat jumping out of nowhere" cliché, or relying on non-diegetic music cues to startle the audience), but when used correctly by a director who knows what he's doing, it can be scared. hugely effective (like the birthday party scene in Signs - you know the one).
People like to watch these kinds of movies because they want to jump out of their skin. To feel that intense fear and agonizing tension; it's like a 90 minute adrenaline rush. Movies are often criticized for using excessive jump scares. And while some rely too much on the "cheap" type of scares, there are plenty of quality movies that don't.
If you're looking for a good movie that doesn't come easy in the terror department, here are ten horror movies that are all basically jump scares (according to statistics gathered by Where'sTheJump.com).
10 Ghost stories
ghost stories, an anthology-style horror film from directors Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, follows Phillip Goodman, a professor who specializes in debunking psychics and examples of supernatural phenomena. He's been given three cases to investigate, and as you'd expect, things get weird.
Ghost stories originally started as a stage play; Dyson and Nyman used a wide variety of old-fashioned tricks to make audiences jump out of their seats in person, and wisely brought that old-fashioned feel to their film adaptation, wrapped in 21 jump scares. It's a wonderful throwback to the horror movies of yesteryear, with a truly unnerving atmosphere coupled with a gentle running humour, all told with a sly and knowing wink.
9 The spell 2
James Wans The spell 2 contains more jump scares than any movie in the connected Conjure universe, with 22 shocks over the course of its 135-minute runtime. Wan's films have been criticized by some who take issue with his over-reliance on shocking jump scares (particularly in his non-horror films such as Aquarius), but the seasoned horror director knows what to do with it.
Perhaps because of the length of the film (and the overall quality of the story), the jump scares The spell 2 don't feel cheap or overused. Wan - who unsurprisingly has another film on this list - ramps up the suspense to incredible heights, before finally hitting the audience with a perfectly timed shock of horror. Jump scares don't come any better than this.
8 The resentment
The resentmentthe American remake of the hugely popular (and terrifying) Japanese film Ju-On, stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as a nurse living in Tokyo who is exposed to "the grudge," a supernatural curse that is born when someone dies in a state of extreme anger or grief. The curse eventually claims and kills its victims before moving on to the next unlucky soul.
Director Takashi Simizu manages to recapture the eerie atmosphere and eerie imagery that made his Japanese original so popular (an entire generation will forever be haunted by that image of the meowing boy). But Simizu also leans more heavily into the shocking startle responses; the American remake has 23 jump scares, as opposed to the 15 in its more atmospheric original. It's not a perfect movie, and the original might beat it a bit, but The resentment is an early 2000s horror classic that will have you clutching to your chest for the entire 90 minutes of running time.
7 It: Chapter One
Andy Muschietti's adaptation of Stephen King's seminal novel follows a group of bullied teens who team up to kill a terrifying shape-shifting clown known as Pennwyise, played by the incredibly unnerving Bill Skårsgard. The film contains a handful of truly nightmarish sequences that linger long after the credits. At 23 scares, It: Chapter One really packs them. But given the movie's two hours and fifteen minutes of running time, the jerks don't feel nearly as over the top as that number suggests.
Funnily enough, the follow up - Chapter Two - contains just as many jump scares, but considering the film's almost three hours running time, the scares don't feel nearly as abundant.
6 Drag me to hell
After directing three consecutive Spider-Man movies, Sam Raimi took a break from the big Hollywood action movies and returned to his horror roots with the boisterous and terrifying Drag me to hell. The film stars Alison Lohman as Christine Brown, a loan officer who evicts an old woman (who happens to be an old witch) from her home and falls victim to a brutal, supernatural curse.
If you're a fan of the director's mix of over-the-top humor and gross horror, you'll find a lot to love in Drag me to hell. While the film has its detractors for its overuse of LOUD jump scares (of which there are 23), Raimi uses these shocks of terror to create a consistent atmosphere of high tension and fear, putting you right in the character's shoes. appears. .
5 Treacherous
Treacherous - which follows a family trying to rescue their comatose son from a supernatural realm known as "The Further" - squeezes 24 total jump scares into its economic runtime. The visuals in this movie really are the stuff of nightmares, and James Wan manages to pull off not just one, but two jump scares that go down in history as some of the best in horror movie history. (If you've seen the movie, you'll know exactly which one I'm talking about).
unlike The nun or The curse of La Llorona, Wan knows when to lean into the familiar jump scare and when to play it cool, resulting in a movie that feels very much like a twisted ride through a haunted house. His masterful control of mood and atmosphere is why James Wan is one of today's most successful horror directors.
4 The afterlife
Notorious Italian horror director Lucio Fulci gave the world one of his best films with the release of The afterlife in 1981, a film that was viewed generally unfavorably upon its initial release, but has developed a passionate and devout cult following in the years since. The gothic horror film set in Louisiana follows Liza, a young woman who inherits an old hotel that may or may not be a literal gateway to hell. The film is a surreal, gaillo-inspired descent into madness that is not for the faint of heart.
Not only does Fulci create a masterful atmosphere of unease, he doesn't skimp on the jump scares either. The 87-minute film has a total of 27 scares, which means that you make a jump every three minutes. If you have a weak ticker, you may want to stay away from this one.
3 Evil Dead II
Sam Raimi will forever be remembered for his contribution to the horror genre with The evil death franchise. While the famed director is already on this list, one of his "scariest" movies (at least in regards to jump scares) is also his best - and that's the classic Evil Dead II.
When Ash opens the Book of the Dead again, the gory, disorienting madness that ensues will leave you screaming and laughing in equal measure. But for all the humor, Raimi manages to cram 27 jump scares into the lean 84-minute film, making it one of the best - and most economical - horror offerings on this list.
2 The Haunting in Connecticut 2: The Ghosts of Georgia
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: The Ghosts of Georgia is a pretty standard haunted house movie: a family moves into an old house in Georgia and mysterious events begin to take over their lives. Although the movie was never intended to be a sequel to The ghost in Connecticut (hence the Georgia setting), the studio revamped the script to capitalize on that movie's success.
Unfortunately, The Ghosts of Georgia isn't very good. The movie was critically criticized when it was released, and the general public wasn't very kind to it either. But the movie earns its spot on this list because it contains about 32 jump scares that according to Where'sTheJump.comis more than any horror movie that has been released…well, ever.
1 Host (2020)
Rob Savage's surprise COVID hit Host was one of the first films to be released during the pandemic and shot entirely remotely. The film follows a group of friends who hold a séance via Zoom and are picked up one by one by the demonic presence they accidentally summoned. It's a simple premise, uniquely told, that takes full advantage of its limited resources with some very impressive results.
Host has about 23 jump scares, which means it doesn't set the record for most scares in a movie (as we've already seen, that award belongs to The Ghost in Connecticut 2), but only 56 minutes long, Host has more jump scares per minute than any other movie on this list, with one every two and a half minutes. If you're looking for a sleek, terrifying movie, you can't do much better than Host.
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