# What Movie Scene Made You Jump Out of Your Seat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006 "2002-07-26T21:11:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/1 "2002-07-26T21:11:31Z")
Don’t know why I got to thinking about this. We saw **The Sixth Sense** the day it came out. Matinee, early afternoon. Not too crowded in the theater. Also, for what it’s worth, I don’t get spooked easily. Spoiler??? Do I have to put in a spoiler warning? The movie’s already been shown on network TV. The scene when Halley Joel / Cole gets up in the middle of the night to take a wizz. You see the thermostat going down so you can brace yourself knowing something’s about to happen. All the same, when the woman walks behind him past the doorway -holy crap. I remember feeling my eyes widen and a chill running down my arms. A few seats beside me, this big dude says loudly, “Shit man! Shit!” Had to see the movie once more during its first run and this time we went on a Saturday night and the place was packed. When the scene came up again the theater erupted, people screamed loudly and then afterwards gleefully and noisily had to discuss it with their neighbors. Great film. Great scene. Next. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/2 "2002-07-26T21:31:14Z")
Mine was at the end of “The Road Warrior” You know you jumped, first time you saw it. Admit it. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/3 "2002-07-26T21:41:23Z")
Wow, **minlokwat** , that was exactly the scene I was going to add before I even opened this thread. Couple others: -“sloth” in Se7en, when the guy wakes up - The hand from the grave at the end of Carrie - I just watched the rebroadcast of the TV version of The Shining and that part where the old hag grabs Danny from behind after he thinks he’s escaped startled the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/4 "2002-07-26T23:29:32Z")
My moment came during the movie “The Others” with Nicole Kidman. The atmosphere of the whole movie is filled with dark foreboding, and the tension is almost unbearable when Nicole is in the storage room with the furniture covered with sheets. You can almost see something out of the corner of your eye, or flickering across a mirror. Nicole was looking at pictures of the dead servants and I think she got a look at the new inhabitants of the house. It’s been a few months since I saw the movie so I could be wrong about which scene it was. But trust me, a lot of people in the audience gasped when the scene happened. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/5 "2002-07-26T23:51:21Z")
Jaws. I saw it in theatres back in the '70s and not only did I jump, the whole theatre jumped when the dead guy’s head fell down from the hull. Re: Road warrior. It’s sad that the effect from the ‘newsreel’ start of the movie (in theatre), clearly 16mm, jumping to the 70 mm color of the car racing down the highway, is lost in VHS/DVD, but it shure made me jump… ---
**Author:** ![Myrnalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Myrnalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrnalene)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/6 "2002-07-26T23:51:25Z")
Sloth in **Seven** caused the _entire_ theater to jump when I saw it and made the guy I was with scream aloud like a girly-girl. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/7 "2002-07-26T23:52:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jk1245 \* > **"sloth" in Se7en, when the guy wakes up** Well, that and the OP were my Top Two choices. Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TridCloudwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TridCloudwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TridCloudwalker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/8 "2002-07-27T00:23:41Z")
The one scene that never failed to make me jump…even when I knew it was coming was Fizgig jumping out of the hole and barking at Jen in The Dark Crystal. Two close seconds: Leslie Neilson locking the door to his house, spinning around and seeing the Ted Danson and girlfriend zombies right behind him in Creepshow. The hand coming up from the grave in the Father’s Day segment of Creepshow. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/9 "2002-07-27T00:36:27Z")
OOOOOHH!! Another one, possibly better than the two above. The dream-within-a-dream sequence in _An American Werewolf in London_. Dude wakes up from a nightmare in a hospital, soaked with sweat. The nurse comes in, calms him down. She walks to the window, opens the curtains. To reveal a Zombie Nazi, that subsequently kills her. My heart skipped 3 beats there. My GOD. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/10 "2002-07-27T00:38:51Z")
Someone remind me, please: I don’t remember what the sloth scene in Se7en was. I saw it a couple of times, but it’s been a while! The only ones I remember are…oh, the pound-of-flesh one, and the starving-in-bed one. And I don’t remember what those were! Thanks…I hate to forget a good scary scene. ---
**Author:** ![TridCloudwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TridCloudwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TridCloudwalker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/11 "2002-07-27T00:44:17Z")
Sloth was the starving in bed one. ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/12 "2002-07-27T00:58:13Z")
The first **Scream** film. No particular scene…I think Craven just did a good job on knowing how to play on audience tension. In retrospect, my freaking out was a little silly…but then again, I try to avoid horror films, so I was a little less prepared for the movie. Also, when I saw it for the first time, I was in Spain. They must not have horror movies there, because **everybody** in the theatre was freaking out at every “surprise” scene. ---
**Author:** ![flup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d07c76/32.png) [@flup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flup)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/13 "2002-07-27T00:58:19Z")
I don’t know if this made me jump out of my seat, but the scene in Fight Club about the chemical burn, where Tyler burns Ed Norton with the lye, is one of the best movie scenes ever made. It still makes my heart beat like mad every time I see it. The first time I saw the movie, when I saw the scene at the end with the cliup of the Ed Norton character burning himself, I remember saying out loud, “Jesus!” ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/14 "2002-07-27T01:25:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TridCloudwalker \* > \*\*Sloth was the starving in bed one. \*\* Ahh, thank you. Clearly I need to go find the scenes that match the sins… That _was_ a shocker. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/15 "2002-07-27T01:27:55Z")
The ones mentioned are better than these, but off hand: Halloween II, the opening scenes JLCurtis opens the 'fridge in a dark kitchen amid scary music … and a cat jumps out of nowhere on to the counter. The alien egg layer Alien (I) when it jumps up and latches on the Astronaut’s face ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/16 "2002-07-27T02:01:45Z")
In **O Lucky Man** , where Mick finds the patient crying and he pulls back the sheets and it turns out to be a goat-man. I expected _something_, but not that! ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/17 "2002-07-27T02:03:49Z")
**The Exorcist III** when the possessed person-type-thing heads into a hospital room with some shearers. In fact, that movie still rates as the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/18 "2002-07-27T02:38:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SkipMagic \* > \*\ ***The Exorcist III** when the possessed person-type-thing heads into a hospital room with some shearers. In fact, that movie still rates as the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. :eek: \*\* George C. Scott said that it was the scariest script that he ever read.🙂 🙂 He meant that in a good way of course. The scene that you mentioned freaked me out as well, but what unnerved me was the scene where Scott was in the rec room with all of the old people. I had a feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. When I saw the movie again, during the same scene I glanced up at the top of the screen and saw the old woman crawling on the ceiling and I jumped and banged into the person next to me. I also managed to spill my drink, my popcorn and their popcorn all over the floor.:smack: :wally :wally :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/19 "2002-07-27T03:02:07Z")
I don’t remember the context at all, but there was a scene in **Halloween** where someone or something scares the hell out of Jamie Lee Curtis, and it’s the first truly scary moment in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Pink\_Pussycat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Pink\_Pussycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pink_Pussycat)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006/20 "2002-07-27T06:56:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*Jaws. > I saw it in theatres back in the '70s and not only did I jump, the whole theatre jumped when the dead guy’s head fell down from the hull. > \*\* Yes, thank you! That was the first thing that came to MY mind. Also, that scene in **The Exorcist** when the fire lit itself in mid-air in the attic. (before they discovered anything was amiss.) -p. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-scene-made-you-jump-out-of-your-seat/121006.md?page=2)