I can think of it from only three horror films/episodes and one of those is an episode of Star Trek Enterprise the other two being John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness and another film I’ve just not been able to Google for.
The cliche (if that’s the correct way to describe it) has our heroes looking one way while in the background, someone runs right across the screen. Does it appear enough times to make it a cliche?
Interesting that you mention John Carpenter. In the movie you reference, and in most of his other movies, now that I think of it, he has that kind of shot – but with the other figure moving across the foreground, with a jolting musical cue. I’ve seen that in a lot of horror movies, but I think he popularized that particular technique.
Exorcist 3 (which was 2/3 of a fantastic horror movie, followed by 1/3 of a crappy one) used variations on this twice for great effect. Once was a character crawling across the ceiling, unnoticed by the other characters onscreen. The other was a nurse checking a room, finding nothing amiss, moving to check the one across the hall, and a killer suddenly stride out of the room she had just checked.
Damn, that’s what I was going to say. I’d have to say, that the ceiling crawling Bitch is the most disturbing moment in Cinema, ever (or at least to me.) It skeeved me to the bone.
I’d have to say that the “Vampire Zombie’s first Contact” scene in I am Legend is the latest and most effective use of this technique. Will Smith spotting and hand shielding his Army issue Carbine’s spotlight. Just a glimpse of a circle jerking group of dormant vampires in the corner. Pure Terror
One great example is in the otherwise-pretty-forgettable Clownhouse. Synopsis: insane murderers disguise themselves as clowns, sneak into a house, and skulk around menacing the three boys therein.
The scene takes place, as I recall, in the attic, where one of the boys has gone to check the fusebox. As he adjusts the fuse, the attic lights flicker, and the flickering lights momentarily highlight one of the scary clowns right behind him, silent and menacing. As the lights strobe a bit, the clown sprints into hiding, and the kid never notices. Really creepy.