# Movie scenes which almost gave you a heart attack (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934 "2003-03-20T23:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/41 "2003-03-22T08:37:31Z")
Perhaps I’m a bit strange, but nothing has scared the hell out of me more than… …Apocalypse Now. Y’know? When the tiger jumps out of the plants? And they start shooting? Causes me to require immediate medical assistance every single time. ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/42 "2003-03-22T08:58:25Z")
**big alex** beat me to it, but the scene in _Independence Day_ when they are doing the autopsy on the alien…everyone in the theater leans in a little and then BANG! jumps back. Even the second time (course that was when it was in the theaters, so I was 12). In _Alien_ when the facehugger first makes an appearance…that was intense. This one isn’t really the same type of thing, more of a “HOLY JESUS! LET ME FORGET THAT!” than “YIKES! Didn’t see that coming!” but the hobbling in _Misery_ And I’ll throw another vote for _Se7en_’s Sloth. I must admit being somewhat confused about everyone’s terror that _The Ring_ invoked. There were some jumpy parts there, but the body in the closet…the real fast edit was kind of a shock, then we (and nearly 1/2 the theater) laughed at it. But, whatever. To each his own. ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/43 "2003-03-22T11:31:13Z")
It’s really stupid, but there’s a scene in Gremlins when the ‘slimy’ Mogwai have just hatched, and the mother is sneaking through the house with a kitchen knife… and one of the Mogwai throws a glass against the wall! That gave me a scare, I can tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/44 "2003-03-22T12:15:09Z")
One more vote for Sloth in Se7en. _Shudder_ I watched it with my classmates, and every single one of them jumped. Most screamed. In the Sixth Sense, pretty much every dead person got a jump out of me. Especially the woman in the kitchen. The hanging people got a prolonged shudder. In Minority Report, when the Precog girl jumped out of the water and grabbed the man… I very nearly pissed myself. ---
**Author:** ![Tia3child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/54ee81/32.png) [@Tia3child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tia3child)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/45 "2003-03-22T16:56:04Z")
Not really scary but creepy was the scene in Nightmare on Elm Street 1 when the wall looks like somethign flimsy and you see the points of the glove sort of poke out of the wall. Another creepy one is in Jurassic park three that mother type person is looking in a giant glass with some greenish liquid and the raptor behind it on the other side blinks at her. That little kid in Pet Cemetary gave me nightmares. The scene in Unbreakable when the villin guy falls down the stairs and you hear EVERY BREAKING BONE as it breaks made me want to vomit. ---
**Author:** ![jeanster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@jeanster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeanster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/46 "2003-03-22T17:31:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AntaresJB \* > \*\*The scene in _Jurassic Park II - The Lost World_, where the girl goes to crawl under the fence (door? It’s been awhile) and the raptor’s head pops through and it screams at her. This scene actually made me **kick myself in the face**. > – I had my feet up on the seat in front of me (the theater was almost empty) and when that scene happened, I jumped, my body jerked, and my knee slammed into my nose. Wheee… it was interesting. \*\* The entire audience in the theatre screamed in unison at that scene when I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/47 "2003-03-22T19:46:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skip \* > \*\*The blod testing scene in **John Carpenter’s The Thing** when McReady is joking around when he puts the electrical wires in the blood and suddenly the blood _jumps out the dish_. When I saw it _everyone_ in the cinema flew into the air and all landed in unison. \*\* Yeah, that’s the one!!! I’ve seen the movie lots of times, and although I don’t jump anymore… I still flinch. Since you took my first answer, I’m going to go with a scene from [The Changeling](http://us.imdb.com/Title?Changeling,+The+(1980)). The whole movie is pretty tense/creepy, but the seance is some really good scariness. ---
**Author:** ![sonicsink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@sonicsink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sonicsink)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/48 "2003-03-22T23:01:02Z")
Ok I know this is lame, but I was a kid when I saw it…in Crocodile Dundee, in the beginning,when the reporter woman (forget her name) is at the shore of the swamp and she squats down and washes her hands,face whatever…and the croc pops out of the water and grabs her by the camera hanging on her neck.Aaahhh!! ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/49 "2003-03-22T23:18:13Z")
**- Vertigo, right at the end in the belltower, when a figure comes out of the shadows. A girl in the audience involuntarily let out a small scream when she saw that; I jumped up as well** I have to agree, for three reasons. 1. Shock factor, it was unexpected and she had a terrifying scream 2. Psychological factor: The guy must be severely traumatized 3. Innovative value: The credits occur less then 15 seconds after, utterly jarring us back into reality. Nothing is more freaky than sitting with a group of people who are scared as senseless as you are, and being forced to discuss it. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/50 "2003-03-23T02:31:06Z")
All those mentioned are fine for base shock value, but it’s a bit of a simple trick for film-makers. Just build up the tension and then have something jump out at you on screen. Been done a million times. For me it was [The Sweet Hereafter](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120255). [spoiler]The scene when the school bus falls into the ice. You start with a school bus travelling on a snowy mountain road. Behind the bus is a pickup truck. In the truck is a father following the school bus and waving at his children, who are in the back of the bus waving back. A very heartwarming scene. But then, the bus takes a turn too fast and slides down the hillside and comes to rest on the ice of the frozen river. You are watching from the point of view of the father up on the road. In the distance you see the bus sit there silently for a brief moment, then the ice cracks and the bus plunges almost in slow motion and silently into the icy water.[/spoiler] That one nearly gave me a heart attack, not a ‘start’, not a ‘jump out of my seat’ moment, no really, an OH MY GOD I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK! carry on ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/51 "2003-03-23T08:39:50Z")
Has anyone seen Ring 2, the Japanese one? There were several scenes that really disturbed me. There was a scene that involved poolside psychokinetic experimentation. The thing that got me was the doctor in the background slowly edging into the pool holding some electrical equipment and grinning insanely. ugh. I have to stop thinking about it or i’ll freak out. ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/52 "2003-03-23T08:50:03Z")
Has anyone seen Ring 2, the Japanese one? There were several scenes that really disturbed me. There was a scene that involved poolside psychokinetic experimentation. The thing that got me was the doctor in the background slowly edging into the pool holding some electrical equipment and grinning insanely. ugh. I have to stop thinking about it or i’ll freak out. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/53 "2003-03-23T17:03:07Z")
That would be … um (do I really want to admit this?) … **The Princess Bride** OK - here’s the deal - I was watching this in the theatre with some friends, and we came to the scene where Fezzic meets The Man In Black. TMIB is walking by a large boulder, and a rock suddenly smashes into the boulder. I jumped - my friends both jumped - and one of them managed to spill soda AND popcorn on ME. grrr… We all had a good laugh about it afterwards ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/54 "2003-03-23T17:23:06Z")
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, when the UFO leaves Richard Dreyfuss alone at the railroad tracks, then he scares the crap out of himself when his flashlight turns back on. ---
**Author:** ![deborak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@deborak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deborak)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/55 "2003-03-23T19:01:13Z")
_Final Destination_ …I think it’s the second death. The kids are outside, I think at a cafe, and the blond girl gets pissed and starts walking away. She turns around to say something, turns back and steps into the street, and BAM! is nailed by a bus. The scene is a close-up, so you don’t see the bus at all until it runs right over her. It made us all jump, then laugh hysterically. ---
**Author:** ![Corixidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Corixidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corixidae)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/56 "2003-03-23T23:41:00Z")
Mine’s already been mentioned, the bathroom-and-kitchen scene in **The Sixth Sense**. I twitched horribly when Cole was standing at the toilet and the figure passed behind him, and again when he walked into the kitchen and the woman turned around. Oh yes, and the scenes with the dead girl (the one whose mother poisoned her)?both got my heart going way over the top. I was 8 or 9 when **Alien** came out on VHS and we rented it. The alien-birth scene scared me so much, I hid behind two chairs and a sofa, and could only peek at the screen every few minutes after that. ---
**Author:** ![Sejal\_Traurig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Sejal\_Traurig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sejal_Traurig)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/57 "2003-03-23T23:52:32Z")
I thought that \*\*The Ring[/b had an even more frightning moment than the closet corpse… When the killer comes out of the TV and in the space of a millisecond crosses the 20 feet of floor to stand face to face with Noah… No movie baddie ever felt more unescapable than that particular moment ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/58 "2003-03-24T21:24:04Z")
Here is my formula for watching horror movies- 1. Place thumbs in ears. This helps with gross sound effects. 2. With thumbs still in ears, bring fingers around to cover face and peer between fingers. This allows for instant “eeek” coverage if something bad happens, and avoids possible nightmares later on. I love horror movies, but I’m such a scaredy-cat. I have actually had nightmares from _commercials_. ---
**Author:** ![six-o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@six-o](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/six-o)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/59 "2003-03-25T22:32:45Z")
How about the rape scene in Irreversible? Or the fight scene with the fire extinguisher… Absolutely awful! Six-O ---
**Author:** ![JB\_Lars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@JB\_Lars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB_Lars)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934/60 "2003-04-02T00:43:44Z")
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned the shot from Exorcist III where the nurse making rounds locks a door, and then from that same door comes someone with surgical scissors (hedge trimmers?). To this day that shot scares the bejeezus outta me, and I KNOW it’s coming! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-scenes-which-almost-gave-you-a-heart-attack-spoilers/162934.md?page=4)