The 10 Most Terrifying Horror Scenes of the Decade

The Void is both a love letter to John Carpenter and Lovecraftian horror, a totally thrilling, criminally under-discussed film that had a little theatrical release a couple years ago and made its way onto streaming shortly after. There are several scenes in The Void that are gruesome enough to keep one awake at night (many of which have not made their way onto the interwebs), but this stomach-churning body horror is perhaps the best summation of what makes The Void so great. It leans into the insanity of it all, embracing practical effects and producing something truly horrifying in the process. Movie monsters like these are hard to find these days, and with almost no budget, The Void creates something scarier than even the fanciest CGI.

Where to Stream The Void

The Witch is a masterpiece in its own right, but very few scenes in the film are outright “scary” in the traditional sense; the film succeeds more so in creating an overwhelming sense of dread and depicting a family’s descent into madness thanks to largely unseen sinister forces. This “Peek-A-Boo” scene, which sets off the events that will consume the remainder of the film, is brilliant in its execution, creating a simultaneous sense of comfort and unease as a seemingly innocuous activity takes place accompanied by a chilling score. Baby Samuel’s disappearance right before our eyes is so simple but incredibly effective when it comes to achieving total terror, terror we share with his sister Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) – especially when we find out what happens to him after.

Where to Stream The Witch

Jordan Peele has had quite the decade, and this scene from his latest film Us is proof why. What begins as something we all might assume to be harmless is marked by a frightful undercurrent of something terrible to come. Thanks to breathtaking performances from Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, a hair-raising score, and incredible, utterly creepy movement from the “tethered” family, this normal-turned-nightmare scenario is unforgettable. A family in the driveway? What’s so scary about that? Well, we’ll soon find out.

Where to Stream Us

One of the most pleasant surprises of the decade, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a brilliant, tense sci-fi thriller, one so tightly-written and beautifully performed it’s a wonder it hasn’t wound up on more “top 10” lists. As paranoid hermit Howard, John Goodman delivers one of the best performances of his career. The gradual unraveling of his character’s sanity as time passes in the bunker he shares with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) is nightmarish, and the culmination of the tension in the bunker is a bloody one. Michelle’s daring escape from Howard and the bunker following his murder of Emmett is a heart-racing one, equally as thrilling as some of the greatest slasher chases of our time.

Where to Stream 10 Cloverfield Lane

The Cabin in the Woods is a near-perfect movie and has its fair share of fun with its protagonists, monsters, and villains, and this brilliant, bloody scene is no exception. After the big twist is revealed to our remaining leads (Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz), they do what they must to survive – including turning the very monsters who have tried to kill them on the *humans* who are trying to kill them. I’ll never not get a thrill when that little elevator ding! goes off. Few horror movies have the guts to go all out the way The Cabin in the Woods does, and boy, is it a gory, gratifying romp.

Where to Stream The Cabin in the Woods

A Quiet Place is full of heart-racing, totally terrifying scenes, but none as memorable, anxiety-inducing, or well-performed as that bathtub scene. It’s undeniably one of the film’s best moments, thanks largely in part to Emily Blunt’s utterly believable performance. It’s near-impossible not to hold your breath as she tries her best to hold hers, as the alien grows ever closer and she seemingly has no way out. We buy every bead of sweat on her brow, tear rolling down her face, expression of fear and agony and restraint. And when she finally lets out that scream? That’s the kind of morbid magic great horror is made of.

Where to Stream A Quiet Place

Ari Aster’s Midsommar made waves earlier this year as the rare horror film that mostly takes place in broad daylight, in a seemingly easy-going, idyllic setting – but the happenings of this film are anything but. Midsommar‘s opening sequence is chilling on many levels, but the first ritual that Dani (the incomparable Florence Pugh) and her friends bear witness to – Ättestupa – is far and away one of the scariest and most memorable moments of the film. It’s absolutely brutal and unflinching when it comes to its depiction of gore, a shockingly mesmerizing sequence that sees two Hårga elders end their life cycle in a violent jump while the other Swedes look on, seemingly unfazed. Pugh, however, is anything but – and her reactions make it that much better.

Where to Stream Midsommar

This list wouldn’t be complete without Get Out, another of Jordan Peele’s incredible works that changed the entire conversation around horror this decade. The film is anchored by Daniel Kaluuya’s Oscar-nominated performance, and there is no better proof of all the acclaim than the famed Sunken Place sequence. As Kaluuya’s Chris is hypnotized by Catherine Keener’s Missy, his emotions seem to break free of the wall they’ve hidden behind for the majority of the film as he’s relegated to the Sunken Place. Rife with masterful metaphor and chilling imagery, this scene leaves no questions as to why Get Out is one of the best the genre has to offer.

Where to Stream Get Out

Annihilation is a marvel of a movie, the kind of work you return to over and over again to catch new things you may have missed, or simply immerse yourself in the singular atmosphere of it all. The duplicate dance sequence towards the end of the film is one of Annihilation‘s most memorable, for sure, but few set pieces in any film this decade have sent the chill down my spine that the screaming bear scene does. Already on edge thanks to Anya’s mounting paranoia and desperate antics, the mutant brings everything to a (literally) roaring head. When the bear opens its mouth and emits the voices of its victims, there’s hardly any other way to describe it but “nightmare fuel”. It’s the kind of scene that you can’t shake, a creation so morbid you can’t help but wonder who came up with it – and how.

Where to Stream Annihilation

Ari Aster has more than earned his two places on this list, and with his feature debut Hereditary, he created something truly unforgettable (no matter how desperately we may try to scrub some of these images from our minds). The unsettling film features a career-best performance from Toni Collette and equally stellar turns from Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro, and this sequence is a showcase for Hereditary‘s best. There are so many things that effectively terrify here; the shock of the accident itself, Peter’s non-reaction to it, and the discovery of Charlie’s body by Annie the next morning. It’s difficult to imagine any other recent horror that achieves what this sequence does. It’s diabolical and ghastly, inescapable and raw, grounded enough in reality that it becomes even more disturbing. Hereditary, as a whole, is once-in-a-lifetime-horror, the kind of film that seemingly comes together thanks to a hellish act of fate. And we’re so glad it did.

Where to Stream Hereditary