10 horror films with lots of scares

The humble jump scare has become a staple tradition of modern horror film, with some films in the genre being particularly loaded with them. A “jump scare” refers to a sudden or abrupt camera cut, character appearance, or frightening situation that increases the viewer’s adrenaline, lulling them into a false sense of security before striking them with terror. While the biggest scares are memorable, some horror films have too many of them to count.

Jump scares often get a bad rap in the horror community, often being seen as a cheap way to guarantee some jitters without having to try too hard. Big horror film franchises like Insidious or the Annabelle
universe are particularly prone to relying on technique. That said, packing as many scares as possible into a single film makes for a moving experience, at the very least.

10

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

The film was released in 2018

A shining modern example of the power of Korean horror, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is an impressive example of scares done well. A found footage horror film, the story revolves around a YouTube channel team who decide to investigate a supposedly haunted abandoned asylum after two teenage urban explorers go missing there. Although their adventures start out planned, the real horrors of the place soon begin to catch up with the hapless creators.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum masterfully combines the eerie realism of found footage with the theatrical power of traditional scares. Black-eyed ghosts emerge from the shadows with ferocious rage, and the film gets quite creative with its framing device as the latest failed expedition of a ghost-hunting program.. Most importantly, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum it’s smart enough to create tension that leads to the scares, making it an effective slow-burn horror story and a heart-pounding scream fest.

9

Sinister

The film was released in 2012

Often considered one of the scariest scientifically sound horror films of all time Sinister certainly knows how to get the adrenaline pumping. The supernatural horror story starts slowly, following a true crime writer whose discovery of a cache of violent snuff tapes soon unleashes terrible dangers upon his new home and family. As he coolly investigates each disturbing tape, a sinister pattern begins to emerge in the footage.

It’s when the tapes kick in that the scares start firing one after the other, with the infamous lawnmower scene being one of the most nerve-wracking scenes in the film thanks to a sudden, jarring sound effect. Even those who don’t normally enjoy horror scares can appreciate the artistry with which Sinister shocks its viewer.

8

The Descent

The film was released in 2005

A totally unique horror experience, The Descent combines classic scares with claustrophobic environments for a uniquely unnerving package. The film begins with a heartwarming girls’ trip as a group of young friends go spelunking after a recent tragedy. Entering an unexplored cave system, it isn’t long before the group is attacked by “Crawlers”, an ancient species of subhuman hominid that evolved to live in the harsh conditions of the subterranean landscape.

The Descent It makes the most of its setting, using the dark twists of its fascinating cave system to create some truly chilling jump scares. It helps that the Crawlers’ creature design is disturbing enough to be genuinely shocking when they appear, regardless of how obvious a jump scare it might be. The moment when the group has to squeeze through a deadly narrow cave passage as the beasts attack them is a particularly harrowing scene.

7

The Banshee Chapter

The film was released in 2013

The Banshee Chapter It may not be the most well-known horror film, but what it lacks in notoriety it more than makes up for with some brilliant scares. Loosely based on the story by HP Lovecraft From beyond, The narrative revolves around a reporter who investigates the disappearance of her old college friend after he goes missing investigating the CIA’s MKUltra program. Before long, their curiosity is more than satiated by the appearance of dangerous supernatural creatures somehow related to the government’s secret project.

Combining real-world controversy with dangerous fantasy elements, The Banshee Chapter makes the most of its creative premise. The film is absolutely loaded with scares, all creatively created and almost impossible to predict. Even entering with the knowledge that The Banshee Chapter It’s a film full of scares, it would probably be difficult to avoid faltering all the time.

6

Drag me to hell

The film was released in 2009

As a horror director, Sam Raimi’s filmography is full of scares, largely thanks to his iconic evil Dead horror franchise. However, it’s 2009 Drag me to hell this takes the cake for Raimi’s highest percentage of scares, wasting no time sending his viewers through the hellish planes of the underworld. The film centers on a woman who is cursed by a mysterious witch to be supernaturally tortured before being sent straight to hell, making for an unbelievable thrill ride.

While Drag me to hell is admittedly funny for the absurdity of its direction at times, that doesn’t mean it’s incapable of being genuinely scary. Raimi is the master of scares and he proves it tirelessly with Drag me to helldistorted images that attack without warning. The film’s grotesque hallucinations of the Romani curse give Raimi free reign to deliver some creepy, albeit ridiculously exaggerated, scares.

5

Nightclub

The film was released in 2021

A fascinating and forgotten horror story, full of atmosphere and scares, Nightclub is a master of two worlds, thriving on intellectualism and primal scares. The film focuses on a grieving widow whose husband unexpectedly commits suicide, leaving her only a cryptic note to remember her by. Before long, she discovers that her husband died with some terrible secrets, unearthing a deadly supernatural force in her investigations.

As creative as Nightclub With its paranormal entities and tense mysteries, it’s equally effective in simple scares to stir up fear. The couch scene and the sudden appearance of naked people running from the forest create powerful images that are not easily forgotten. Able to access intellectual stimulation and flight-or-flight responses, Nightclub It’s a pretty complete horror film.

4

The Conjuration

The film was released in 2013

In generalthe Conjuring the franchise relies heavily on jump scares, maintaining its broad horror appeal through the brute force of its surprise sequences. The first film in particular relies heavily on surprisingly spooky spectral sequences, kicking off a long line of spooky stories. In their debut appearance, ghost-hunting exorcist power couple Lorraine and Ed Warren battle a possessing demon who has his eye on a young family.

The film uses some fake scares to keep the audience on edge, with playful children or animals wrecking nerves long before any real demons appear. When this happens, it’s mostly the movement of household objects and loud noises that make up the film’s wide variety of scares, though some genuinely frightening ghostly encounters also appear in the mix. Even though The Conjuration may rely a little too much on jump scares, the sheer volume of them is impressive if nothing else.

3

Smile

The film was released in 2022

Another example of supernatural psychological warfare from a demonic entity, 2021 Smile leaves a rather unnerving impression. The film follows a therapist who suffers the shocking death of a patient, who commits suicide in front of her after claiming to have been harassed by a mysterious paranormal being. It doesn’t take long before the protagonist is also besieged by the terrible curse, which takes the form of several smiling faces that lead to the victim’s death.

Smile hits hard with some of the most terrifying scares ever put on screen, making the most of its creative premise. The fact that the entity can appear at any time with the appearance of anyone means that the viewer is never safe, and this tension is felt in every solitary second of the film after the inciting incident. The jump scare in which the hanging head of a mutilated curse victim swings into a car window is an especially captivating beat.

2

Dead Silence

The film was released in 2007

One of the first films from the mind of legendary horror director James Wan, Dead Silence is an invisible thriller full of well-crafted scares. Exploring the potential of ventriloquist dummies in horror films, Dead Silence tells the story of a determined man searching for answers about the mysterious murder of his wife, for which he was initially blamed. He tracks down clues about a mysterious figure in the history of his hometown, an old ventriloquist, whose ghost may be claiming the lives of the family who wronged her in revenge.

Dead Silence It may have a somewhat impenetrable narrative, but that doesn’t mean it can’t use scares and terrifying images to its advantage. The ghost of villain Mary Shaw is quite gruesome when suddenly inflicted upon the viewer, as James Wan often does as a horror director. It helps that the unnerving ventriloquist dummies that surround her are also good scare material, even if they are sometimes comical.

1

The Connecticut Haunting 2: Ghosts of Georgia

The film was released in 2013

If every horror film has a certain number of scares in its final version, it stands to reason that somewhere out there there must be the horror film with the most scares. This film could very well be The Connecticut Haunting 2: Ghosts of Georgia, which is at the top of the list wheresthejump.coma website dedicated to chronicling the art of scares. With an impressive 32 scares, the spiritual successor heads to The Connecticut Haunting It’s one of the scariest films of all time.

The film chronicles the supernatural experiences of a family who moves into an old Georgia house whose history as an Underground Railroad stop features some very real ghosts. Unfortunately, the film also proves that jump scares are not an indication of quality for a horror film, relying on the shocking and cheap nature of the technique rather than establishing genuine tension. Hopefully one day a more worthy one horror film as the current champion of jump scares in the future.