13 Scariest Horror Movie Moments, #1

Tina Visits Nancy in A Nightmare On Elm Street

So I’m prejudiced. My #1 scene is from my favorite horror movie starring my favorite horror villain. That brilliant film is, of course, A Nightmare On Elm Street.

Oh, how I love thee! The premise, so original in 1984! The interesting characters! The creepy score and brilliantly filmed dream sequences! The truly terrifying villain, before sequels turned him into a parody! The sight of Johnny Depp prancing around in a mesh half-shirt!

If I could marry a movie, it would be this one. Let us remember when horror had standards.

Now, it’s one thing if a crazy killer is chasing you. You run or hide or shoot him or something. Then he’s gone, or at least you’re safe. But what if, WHAT IF, the only way to escape the killer was to never fall asleep? Holy crap, what are you going to do?

Well, the average human being can only stay awake about three days before going insane or dying from the stress of it (even when Freddy isn’t there) so there’s not much choice. You’ve got to try to convince the grown-ups that you’re in danger even though they won’t believe you, as your friends are butchered one by one in really cool ways.

Say what you want about my beloved NOES series; nobody can deny the films have the kick-assiest death scenes ever.

And the original, especially…oh the original! It starts out on the perfect note and never lets up. We’ve got a cast of likeable characters and my favorite ‘last girl’ horror heroine of all time, the sweet and innocent Nancy who turns out to be much stronger and more resourceful than she ever thought she could be.

Just listen to that music in the opening scene…brr! It’s a sign of things to come. Okay, it pains me to pick only one scene, but I’ve made the sacrifice.

After Nancy’s best pal Tina is butchered by the unseen Freddy (and dragged across the ceiling, spilling blood everywhere! It’s so cool!) Nancy decides to go to school the next morning to get her mind off it. It’s this scene, with Nancy in English class and the events that unfold beautifully, that deserves its place as #1.

Nancy looks a bit dazed, which is understandable. The sympathetic teacher pats her on the back, and asks some kid to read from Julius Caesar. This is where the brilliance starts. The boy’s voice starts out normal, then lowers into a scratchy whisper as he rasps “…I have bad dreams.”
Wonderfully understated creepiness. This means of course, that Nancy has fallen asleep.

She misses her friend dearly, but cheer up: Tina pays her a visit here! Zipped inside her bloody body bag, Tina whispers Nancy’s name at the classroom door and motions for her friend to follow her. Nancy does, only to see Tina’s body being dragged away by an unseen force, leaving a thick trail of blood behind…

Then there’s a hall monitor, in a suspicious green and red striped sweater…and Nancy meets Freddy up-close and personal for the first time, in the boiler room…

This is my #1 pick not only for the creepy-as-hell moments and beautiful mixture of ‘real’ and ‘dream-like’ qualities, but because it manages to last for several minutes and uphold greatness the entire time. Many scenes we remember are quick ‘boo!’ moments, but NOES delivers a long stretch of perfection.

And we haven’t even gotten to how this movie changed an entire genre…but we will.

And that concludes The Screamstress’s picks for the 13 Scariest Horror Movie Moments. Agree? Disagree? Please leave your picks in the comment boxes!