Look again: The Marvel Cinematic Universe has more skin-crawling horrors than you might remember.
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00:00Look again! The Marvel Cinematic Universe has more skin-crawling horrors than you might remember.
00:06Werewolf by Night is an adventure in full-blown horror. This blood-splattered
00:10Halloween special even pays homage to early 1930s movie monsters like the Wolfman and Dracula in its
00:17opening scene. A standout production boasting incredible effects, it's shot entirely in black
00:22and white. This is gorgeous and also makes the sickening blood and gore more palatable,
00:27so even younger audiences can enjoy the gruesome thrills on offer.
00:31The hunt decides!
00:37House rules.
00:39Werewolf by Night is the MCU directorial debut of esteemed composer Michael Giacchino,
00:45who also arranged the haunting score. His distinctive style compliments star
00:49Gael Garcia Bernal perfectly. As Giacchino detailed in an interview with Discussing Film,
00:54Werewolf by Night is practically bursting with practical effects.
00:57This honors the horror movies of old, and also allows Bernal's skills to shine through.
01:02Giacchino remarked,
01:03"...it's always fun to watch a CG monster. But for this, this was such a personal story
01:08that I wanted someone real, someone that when I looked in their eyes,
01:11I was looking into the eyes of a human behind that monster."
01:14Such depth of humanity makes the werewolf's ferocious carnage even more gripping. You
01:19truly see the rage in Bernal's eyes. This grounds the unforgettable scene of his slaughter.
01:24Strobe-like lighting briefly allows the audience a second to breathe before more
01:28vicious slashes ensue. The moment is made even more scary when blood is strewn across
01:33the camera's lens. Moon Knight starts sending shivers down viewers' back in its earliest
01:38episodes. Without much insight into the Egyptian god Khonshu, fans are left to quake in the shadow
01:43of his mysterious power. This lack of knowledge extends to our leader, Stephen Grant, which is
01:49actually only one of the many confusing identities our protagonist possesses.
01:55"...That's not me."
01:58Grant is often bewildered by the strange events occurring around him, which translates into the
02:03audience feeling equally perplexed, and oftentimes scared out of their wits. Khonshu's pursuit of
02:08Stephen is an especially spine-tingling moment, as the god displays a relentless willingness to
02:13frighten the gift shop employee until he complies with his wishes. In a dimly lit storage facility,
02:18Khonshu appears to Grant, seeking to merge with him and become the titular Moon Knight.
02:23He frighteningly materializes between flickering lights before beginning his pursuit down a long,
02:28dark hallway. This sends Grant off screaming, but no matter how fast or far he runs,
02:33he can't escape. Khonshu doesn't give up easily. This scene features an interesting filmmaking
02:39detail used in older horror films. It highlights Grant's horrified scream with a freeze-frame
02:43reaction shot. It also illuminates Khonshu in bone-chilling detail as he towers over Grant,
02:48his voice booming in the close confines. These eerie details set Moon Knight apart
02:53from the rest of the MCU as a unique and ghastly journey into brain-bending horror.
02:59When Loki began its run on Disney+, it quickly consumed fans with new concepts,
03:03worlds, and details to discuss. Variants of our favorite characters, wacky alternate realities,
03:09and the grand and glittering multiverse are all on offer here. And then when Loki
03:13Season 1 comes to its end, it reveals one more trick up its sleeve.
03:17So it's all a game. It's all... a manipulation.
03:23Episode 6 for All Time, Always contains a breathtaking surprise — the casual reveal
03:28of Kang in variant form. This iteration refers to himself as He Who Remains. He informs Loki and his
03:34sarcastic blonde variant Sylvie that his death will bring an even stronger form to life, who is far
03:40more fearsome. Comic fans shudder with the realization that this will finally bring forth
03:44Kang the Conqueror, one of the Marvel Universe's most formidable villains.
03:51It feels like a fresh start.
03:54When Sylvie gives in to her anger and stabs He Who Remains, she fulfills his prophecy and sets
03:59this variant form free. His death allows the birth of the Conqueror, who will eventually
04:04stand poised to decimate the MCU. This makes He Who Remains' display of glee even more harrowing.
04:10He's stabbed, and he's happy about it.
04:13Helmed by experienced horror visionary Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of
04:17Madness mixes the usual fun of the MCU with a few genuine scares.
04:23Honestly, I hope not.
04:24Here, the grief-stricken Scarlet Witch, who has become consumed by the malevolent Darkhold,
04:29doesn't just go bad — she heads into ultimate villain territory.
04:34Run.
04:35When Wanda possesses a variant form of herself in an effort to infiltrate that variant's universe,
04:42it's an unpardonable sin against the multiverse. But it's when she kills Marvel's heroic Illuminati
04:48that things get dark. Wanda begins by imploding Black Bolt's brain by using his abilities
04:53gruesomely against him. She then unleashes more chaos by unraveling Mr. Fantastic,
04:58slicing Captain Carter in half with her own shield, and crushing Captain Marvel
05:02beneath an enormous statue. But Wanda saves her most vicious murder for last.
05:07Professor Charles Xavier, in his iconic yellow hover chair, announces that enough is enough.
05:12The two sidekicks proceed to face off on the Mental Plane. Xavier attempts to rescue the
05:17possessed Wanda, who's trapped in rubble. He gets closer and closer to reaching her,
05:22but then the sinister Wanda leaps out of a cloud of red smoke and snaps his neck,
05:26killing him instantly. This brutal death's up-close nature makes it all the more arresting.
05:32The wildly imaginative animated Disney Plus series What If... takes audiences through the
05:37complex layers of the multiverse.
05:39"...since when did dames fight like that?"
05:42The premise sets it up to be a mostly inconsequential narrative,
05:45which transports our favorite heroes and villains to new and exciting universes.
05:49The mysterious interdimensional being known as the Watcher is our guide to it all,
05:54explaining the stories of these variant characters and universes. He's safely
05:58obscured from the proceedings as an observer and narrator,
06:01bound to monitor their choices without ever interfering. But this playful idea
06:06enters scary new territory when it takes classic Avengers villain Ultron down a new path,
06:10where he not only successfully merges with Vision's body, but also obtains all six Infinity Stones.
06:17"...from here, I can see everything. No one can stop me now."
06:23Ultron's heightened abilities give him awe-inspiring power. He's so mighty,
06:27he ascends to a new level of consciousness, which allows him to hear the Watcher's narration.
06:32In one shocking moment, he becomes able to see through the story itself,
06:36turns his head, and locks eyes with the Watcher. This terrifies the Watcher to his very core.
06:41Audiences sympathize. It also feels like Ultron sees the viewers with his unflinching gaze.
06:46Ultron is rarely scarier than he is in this moment,
06:49when he becomes powerful enough to transcend fiction itself.
06:53Wanda's dark hole trip in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
06:57transforms the reality-bending Avenger into an implacable, revenge-driven godlike monster.
07:02The Scarlet Witch's dark turn showcases an abundance of grisly new powers,
07:06which are all put to use in her unstoppable pursuit of dimension-hopping teenager America
07:11Chavez. One ability is put on particularly flashy display when Wanda uses reflections
07:16in water to escape Doctor Strange's infamous mirror dimension. Director Sam Raimi builds
07:21the suspense to an agonizing peak as Wanda pulls defenseless guards to their doom through
07:26reflective puddles.
07:28This gruesome campaign of slaughter only ends when she sickeningly contorts her body through
07:34a reflective gong. When she emerges, she's broken and torn, crawling on limbs that bend the wrong
07:39way. But then, glowing with power, she wrenches her bones back into place, mends the cracks in
07:44her flesh, and stands up straight. Like the best horror movie monsters, she is inescapable.
07:49There's something truly terrifying about watching Wanda pull herself forward with an evidently
07:54broken spine. The fact that this is swiftly topped by the sight of her forcing said spine back into
07:59place says it all.
08:01Doctor Strange in the multiverse of Madness is a nonstop thrill ride of gory imagery,
08:05terrifying creatures, and utterly unstoppable evil. This is never more clear than when
08:10Strange possesses his variant's corpse and launches himself into battle.
08:14"...Who said they had to be living?"
08:18This reanimation puts Doctor Strange in an entirely new light and cements the film's
08:22horror bona fides. Zombie Strange is gross. His face is eaten away with rot, his limbs move like
08:28those of an old puppet, and his skin has grown gray and pallid. Then he ups the ante considerably
08:33by weaving the souls of the damned, who have come to condemn him for possessing the variant's body,
08:38into an infernal cloak which allows him to reach the battle.
08:41Director Sam Raimi's ability to incorporate a certain level of camp with utterly jaw-dropping
08:46horror makes his vision of an undead Doctor Strange into one of the coolest
08:50and most horrifying things to ever come out of the MCU.
08:55"...That wasn't a dream."
08:57Marvel's What If? adapts one of the most frightening versions of The Avengers by
09:01tackling Robert Kirkman's infamous Marvel Zombies comics in its standout episode,
09:05What If Zombies? This installment features a deadly plague which infects the superhero team,
09:10monstrously transforming them into flesh-eating zombies. Surprisingly,
09:14the episode entirely embraces the comic's gritty celebration of gore. Blood is spilled,
09:19noses rot off, and teeth are bared.
09:22"...That was your friend. Sorry about that."
09:24But the zombies aren't the most horrifying part of the episode. It's the disturbing way
09:28the Avengers turn on each other, even without the virus. Vision is the main antagonist of
09:33this installment. He holds Black Panther captive as a food source for his beloved.
09:37This stunning realization is truly stomach-turning. Just the thought of a zombified Wanda consuming
09:43the Wakandan royal is awful. The chaos-magic wielder has been turned into a flesh-eating
09:48corpse who still has distressing access to her powers, but seeing T'Challa's terrified face
09:52is way, way worse.
09:55WandaVision incorporates a myriad of television aesthetics over the course of its run,
09:59from cheery mid-century family hijinks to the lovable dysfunctional approach of 90s sitcoms.
10:04But things plummet into horror when Wanda turns around to answer a question from Vision,
10:09and is met with the awful reality behind her hex. She doesn't see her loving husband.
10:14She sees his corpse, reanimated to her will. This moment alludes to her reclamation of Vision's body,
10:20which we see in subsequent episodes. Wanda has seen this face before,
10:23and she hasn't managed to block it out entirely.
10:27"...No, we can't."
10:29It also portrays Wanda's fracturing mental state,
10:34which is weakening her spell. This jump scare is a quietly forceful way of making us
10:39and Wanda face reality, if only for a moment. Vision is an empty shell,
10:43sustained only by Wanda's abilities, which finally unravel in the finale.
10:48After massacring the Illuminati in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,
10:52the Scarlet Witch continues her undeterred pursuit of America Chavez.
10:56This sends the movie into truly classic horror territory. Wanda is the invulnerable monster,
11:01relentlessly chasing the hapless victims, who just can't seem to shake her. Things
11:05get especially horrifying when the Scarlet Witch chases our heroes through an industrial tunnel.
11:10She rips through door after door, limping from her injuries. This imagery brings Ultron's
11:15earliest form to mind. He too twitched and struggled to communicate his message.
11:19She's also barefoot and covered in blood, rendering her a truly primal image of fear.
11:24Wanda's glowing red eyes convey not only her massive power, but also her intense rage.
11:29The Scarlet Witch is channeling pure fury as she wrenches open barrier after barrier.
11:34To some fans, this makes her an irredeemable villain. To others,
11:38it's a horrible yet sympathetic act. But it's sure to scare the living daylights
11:41out of just about everyone.
11:45I warned you."
11:47In Spider-Man Far From Home, the emotional return to the MCU after the monumental events of Avengers
11:52Endgame, Peter Parker struggles to cope in a Tony Stark-less world. While traveling through
11:57Europe on a class trip, he encounters the manipulative Mysterio. This fiend traps Spider-Man
12:02in a dizzying dream sequence, where he comes face-to-face with his unresolved fears. They
12:06take the gut-wrenching form of Tony's decaying corpse, complete with a cracked Iron Man helmet
12:11and a swarm of spiders that crawl out of his skull. This unsettling image piques our most
12:16morbid interest, but it also offers bizarre and potent closure. We see Tony's death and
12:20funeral in Avengers Endgame, yet it doesn't seem quite real that he won't be returning
12:25for another film. His startling resurrection in Spider-Man Far From Home makes it clear
12:29that Tony Stark is really, truly, and completely gone, and both Peter and the audience must find
12:35a way to cope.
12:37If you were good enough, maybe Tony would still be alive."
12:42Marvel's Avengers Age of Ultron introduces the titular android in a truly dreadful way.
12:47Coming at the tail end of one of the team's more lighthearted moments, a victory party held at
12:52Avengers Tower, the festivities are abruptly cut short by ear-piercing feedback. Ultron stumbles
12:57from the laboratory, a broken puppet newly free of strings. His first act is to take over Tony's
13:03sentry robots, invade the Avengers' compound, and challenge Earth's mightiest heroes in their own
13:08home. Ultron's immense power can be felt even through the pathetically convulsing body he
13:13inhabits. He derives the Avengers as pitiful puppets, unable to challenge his might. As he
13:18struggles to hold his machinery together, you might find yourself shifting uncomfortably in
13:22your seat. There's just something about his eerie movement.
13:26"...I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me."
13:34This line still manages to chill the blood, even when you know Ultron doesn't get his way.
13:39It's one of the best bits of dialogue in the entire MCU, and its scariest ever moment.