After the first scene, we were sold.
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00:00 It cannot be emphasised how pivotal the first scene of a movie is.
00:04 If the prologue doesn't draw you in from the get-go,
00:06 don't expect the film to keep your attention for the next two hours or longer.
00:10 But if the filmmakers craft an incredible opening act,
00:13 they're sure to have the viewer's undivided attention until the credits roll.
00:16 Creating the prelude of a horror can be a bit trickier,
00:19 since the genre can't help relying on the same tired tropes.
00:22 However, there are some horror flicks that begin with such an intriguing mystery,
00:26 compelling performance, or heartbreaking revelation,
00:28 we are immediately invested, knowing we are in for one hell of a ride.
00:32 I'm Tilly from What Culture Horror,
00:33 and these are 10 horror movies you knew would be good after the first 10 minutes.
00:37 Number 10 - The Host
00:39 There are countless movie monsters that were created after encountering a man-made contaminant.
00:43 The creatures from Chud, Godzilla, Them, and technically the Ninja Turtles,
00:47 all came to be after being exposed to pollution.
00:50 So when The Host begins with a scene of a scientist dumping chemicals down a sink,
00:54 it's clear this action will lead to the creation of the film's monstrous villain.
00:57 Even though we have seen this scene play out many a time,
01:00 The Host's prologue hits a lot harder,
01:02 due to the sheer volume of waste that the scientist disposes of.
01:06 He doesn't just empty a couple of bottles.
01:07 Instead, he dumps a whopping 200 containers of formaldehyde.
01:12 For the record, two tablespoons of this compound will kill a human being.
01:16 As the camera slowly pans across the room,
01:18 revealing the staggering amount of poison that's about to be poured straight into the Hans River,
01:22 your mind goes wild trying to comprehend what sort of behemoth these chemicals will create.
01:27 Number 9 - The Descent
01:29 The Descent centers around a group of spelunkers who decide to explore a cave,
01:33 only to learn it's inhabited by carnivorous humanoids called Crawlers.
01:36 Because of the premise, it's natural for the viewer to assume the scares in The Descent
01:40 won't start until the characters enter the cave.
01:42 So, when the movie begins with our lead, Sarah, in the car with her husband and daughter,
01:46 we totally let our guard down.
01:48 With no warning, the car crashes into another vehicle that happens to be transporting steel poles.
01:53 The collision causes the poles to fly into Sarah's car, impaling her husband and daughter,
01:57 killing them both instantly.
01:59 What makes this scene so shocking is the fact there's no build-up whatsoever.
02:03 Before we have a chance to process what's going on or who these characters are,
02:06 two-thirds of everyone on screen is killed off.
02:09 Although some viewers may have been daydreaming up until this scene,
02:11 it goes without saying that everyone was paying attention after this moment.
02:15 As genuinely unsettling as the Crawlers are, a lot of viewers were freaked out more by this opening.
02:20 Number 8 - Cube
02:21 In Cube, a man called Alderson awakens inside a bizarre cube-shaped room.
02:25 Each wall is adorned with a hatch-activated door, as is the floor and ceiling.
02:29 Upon opening any of these doors, Alderson sees it join onto an identical-looking room.
02:34 But after he takes one step into the next room, Alderson stops dead, figuratively and literally,
02:39 as we hear an alarming whooshing sound sweep around him.
02:42 After a few seconds, a grid-shaped pattern shaded in red forms across Alderson's clothes.
02:47 Before the viewer has a chance to comprehend what just happened,
02:50 blood begins oozing from lined streaks across Alderson's face,
02:53 while chunks of his limbs start breaking off.
02:55 Suddenly, Alderson's body splits into two, causing his whole body to crumble into cube-shaped blocks.
03:01 The camera then holds on the culprit, a razor-sharp grating, before cutting to the film's title.
03:06 We know absolutely nothing about this character, nor is he mentioned again.
03:10 He never interacts with the ensemble, nor does he speak,
03:12 and yet we are so curious about what we just saw,
03:15 it's impossible not to get completely invested in the story.
03:18 Number 7 - Midsommar
03:20 Because of Midsommar's 148-minute runtime,
03:23 it was imperative for Ari Aster to open with a mega-shocker to grab your attention.
03:27 Fortunately, Aster went beyond the call of duty by crafting a gut-wrenching prologue
03:31 that's sure to stay with you long after the credits roll.
03:34 In the first scene, Dani rings her neglectful boyfriend, Christian,
03:37 after she receives disturbing messages from her mentally ill sister.
03:41 Because Christian is having a drink with his mates, he dismisses Dani's calls.
03:44 But when he finally answers, he hears Dani howling hysterically.
03:48 Now, what we hear is not an ordinary scream.
03:51 What we hear is a haunting wail coming from the depths of Dani's soul.
03:55 Because of her inhuman screeching, we know Dani has suffered an unbearable tragedy.
03:59 But nobody is ready for what comes next.
04:02 We then cut to Dani's family home, where we see her sibling lying beside her computer table,
04:06 with a hosepipe jammed down her throat.
04:08 As haunting as this visual is, it gets so much worse.
04:11 As the camera zooms onto the computer screen, we see she sent a message to Dani,
04:14 which reads, "Mum and Dad are coming too. Goodbye."
04:17 At this point, we understand she's filled the house with carbon monoxide,
04:20 resulting in the death of herself and her parents.
04:23 In that moment, you feel your heart break,
04:25 knowing Dani has lost her entire family in just one evening.
04:29 Although overly-shocking prologues can be gimmicky,
04:31 Midsommar's opening feels necessary,
04:33 as it warns the viewer they are in for a very, very uneasy watch.
04:37 Although most horror films open with an exceptionally frightening scene,
04:42 the ritual begins with...
04:44 five lads in a pub.
04:45 Which can be pretty goddamn terrifying.
04:47 But as two of the friends, Rob and Luke, head to the store to grab some booze,
04:50 they notice the cash register lying on the ground, bloodied and beaten.
04:54 As a group of robbers burst in from the back, Luke hides while Rob stays in the open.
04:59 When the thieves spot Rob, they order him to give them his belongings.
05:02 After Rob notices Luke has armed himself with a bottle,
05:05 he assumes his friend is going to save him.
05:07 But Luke chickens out, giving the robbers the opportunity to bludgeon Rob to death.
05:12 Because it's tempting for a horror movie to open with haunting visuals,
05:15 it's refreshing to see the ritual subvert expectations.
05:18 Even though this supernatural flick revolves around mythical giants and trickster gods,
05:21 the movie starts to feel like a straightforward drama.
05:24 But this decision isn't a detriment at all.
05:26 Instead of potentially alienating the audience with a long-winded explanation about Norse mythology,
05:30 the ritual begins by focusing on relatable characters who are caught in a grounded scenario.
05:35 Also, the squelching noise that Rob's cheek makes as the skin flaps open is guaranteed to curdle your blood.
05:40 Number 5 - It
05:42 As corny as the 1990 miniseries of It is, It lives in a warm place in many people's hearts,
05:47 mainly due to Tim Curry's scene-stealing performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
05:51 No matter how cheesy you find this version of Stephen King's story,
05:54 it's always frightening to watch the opening scene of Pennywise slaughtering Georgie.
05:58 But the It remake of 2017 quickly proved it would be devoid of camp,
06:02 and instead focus on brutal scares.
06:05 Although the scene in the original film cuts away before we saw Pennywise kill Georgie,
06:08 the gore is on full display here.
06:10 After Pennywise lures the boy closer, the alien clown sprouts multiple rows of jagged teeth,
06:15 which he uses to rip Georgie's arm off.
06:18 As Georgie tries to crawl away, Pennywise grabs him and drags him into the sewer.
06:22 Even though Bill Skarsgård's performance as Pennywise is what people remember about this moment,
06:26 everything in this scene is phenomenal,
06:29 including the eerie score, the mesmerising cinematography,
06:32 and Jackson Robert Scott's disturbingly believable performance as Georgie.
06:36 Above all, this scene demonstrated how merciless Pennywise is when it came to murdering his victims.
06:41 On top of that, It proved the film had no qualms with showing kids being killed,
06:45 which is usually a big no-no, even in the goriest of horror movies.
06:48 A Quiet Place takes place in a world where most of human civilisation
06:54 has been destroyed by aliens with hypersensitive hearing.
06:57 Knowing the slightest sound could get them killed,
06:59 our lead characters, the Abbott family, get through each day by living in silence.
07:04 Although A Quiet Place has a brilliant premise,
07:06 it's hard to convey it in a movie which, you know, has nobody talking.
07:10 However, the first scene perfectly demonstrates what kind of life these people are living.
07:14 More importantly, it demonstrates what happens to anyone who doesn't take precautions.
07:19 After the Abbott family find supplies in a store, the boy, Beau, tries to take a toy shuttle from a shelf.
07:24 His father, Lee, stops him, knowing the toy makes noise.
07:27 Beau's sister, Regan, feels bad for him and so, secretly, gives Beau the shuttle.
07:32 As the family make their way home, Beau turns on the toy, causing it to blare incessantly.
07:37 Lee sprints towards his son as quickly as he can,
07:40 while his wife stares in horror, knowing Beau's imminent fate.
07:43 Just as Lee is about to reach his son, an extraterrestrial bursts from the forest and slaughters him.
07:49 The scene is, in a word, perfect.
07:51 After a couple of minutes, we know how this world works,
07:54 understand the family's dynamic,
07:56 and above all, are made aware of what happens to those who fail to keep quiet.
08:00 Number three, The Ring.
08:02 Let's be honest, most remakes are terrible, especially when they're horror.
08:06 Even though The Ring was hyped beyond measure,
08:08 a lot of people were worried it would tone down the scares of the original for Western audiences.
08:12 But the beginning of The Ring proves it knows how to set up a chilling premise.
08:16 Instead of showing us the footage contained in the video or anyone being killed,
08:20 the intro focuses on two teenagers, Katie and Becca, discussing the cursed tape like it's a ghost story.
08:25 When Katie admits she's watched the video, we realise things are about to go south fast.
08:30 Even though an inferior film would show Katie suffer an over-the-top death with unconvincing CGI,
08:36 the scene would keep everything grounded with simple imagery.
08:39 Katie sees her fridge door open by itself,
08:41 then she spots a puddle of icy water on the floor.
08:44 She then notices the knob of her bedroom door is dripping.
08:47 After she opens it, she sees the cursed video playing on her TV before the scene cuts to black.
08:52 Even though this scene is a whopping seven minutes long and has no blatant scary visuals,
08:57 it keeps you gripped from beginning to end,
08:59 simply by using subtle camera work and a focus on atmosphere.
09:03 Number two, Scream.
09:04 Despite the fact that Wes Craven is synonymous with the horror genre,
09:07 he struggled to make a hit after A Nightmare on Elm Street.
09:10 After New Nightmare and Vampire in Brooklyn were shredded by critics,
09:14 no one was expecting much when Craven announced he was directing a slasher called Scream.
09:19 Thankfully, the first few minutes of Scream proved Craven was back in his element.
09:23 The film opens with high schooler Casey talking on the phone with a mysterious caller.
09:27 When she discovers the caller is a serial killer waiting outside, she realises she's in serious danger.
09:33 Because Casey is portrayed by Hollywood star Drew Barrymore,
09:36 viewers assumed she was the lead character, meaning she would survive the ordeal.
09:39 After all, you're not going to kill off an A-list actor in the first scene, are you?
09:44 But that's exactly what Scream did.
09:46 Although the posters and trailers gave the impression Casey was the final girl,
09:50 the opening scene ends with her disembowelled corpse hanging from a tree.
09:55 Not only was this scene brilliantly shot, perfectly paced and deeply unnerving,
09:59 the casting choice was a masterstroke.
10:01 After we saw a big name like Drew Barrymore get killed off ten minutes in,
10:05 viewers realised no character was safe from getting the chop,
10:08 which kept us on our toes throughout the whole movie.
10:10 Number one, Jaws. One second.
10:13 That's how long it takes Jaws to get your attention.
10:16 After hearing just a sliver of that John Williams ominous score
10:19 while the camera pans across the sea floor from the shark's viewpoint,
10:22 you can't help being transfixed.
10:25 As mesmerising as the opening credits sequence is,
10:27 it's the following scene that's responsible for making an entire generation afraid of going into the water.
10:33 While teenager Chrissy is enjoying her swim in the sea without a care in the world,
10:36 the camera keeps strategically cutting underneath her.
10:39 Every time we cut to the shark's POV, the camera edges closer to Chrissy's dangling legs,
10:44 highlighting the predator is drawing near.
10:46 As Chrissy is suddenly jerked downward, the contentment on her face dissolves
10:50 and is replaced with immediate terror.
10:52 As she tries to swim to safety, her body is pulled in the opposite direction,
10:55 proving she's now in the maw of the shark.
10:58 After another bit of helplessly thrashing, the unseen beast drags Chrissy's flailing body downward,
11:02 sending her to a watery grave.
11:04 You know what's the most impressive part?
11:06 This scene left viewers petrified of sharks, even though we never see one.
11:10 By using tactical camera work, a magnificent score, as well as a pulley to cause the actress to flail around,
11:15 this scene freaked us out and made us desperate to see what happens next.
11:20 And that's our list. What horror movie grabbed you in the first 10 minutes?
11:24 Let us know down in the comment section below.
11:26 If you enjoyed the video, don't forget to like and subscribe
11:28 and swing on by our channel again if you want to catch more creepy content.
11:32 I've been Tilly and this has been What Culture.
11:34 Thanks for watching and look after yourselves.
11:36 Until next time, ta-ra!