You can't make a great horror movie without also making a few mistakes.
The final girl bursts out laughing during her big escape scene; the blood-spewing machine
malfunctions and saturates the entire set; the flesh-eating swamp monster trips over
his own tentacles and falls down a flight of stairs.
Sometimes these clips get relegated to the gag reel, while in other cases they're so
good they end up in the final film.
Either way, here's a look at some great bloopers that will change the way you see these horror
movies.
The Cabin in the Woods
Joss Whedon's 2012 entry into the horror genre was typically tongue-in-cheek, filled with
intentional, hilarious subversions of various scary movie tropes — including the epic
finale, in which a virtual encyclopedia of monsters escape from their cells and annihilate
the technicians who've been holding them captive.
But while the carnage of that last act was planned, one of its best scenes was the beneficiary
of a happy little accident.
Specifically, we're talking about the scene where actor Bradley Whitford is eaten by the
merman.
The scene itself was cool, but the best part is what comes after.
"Ah, come on…"
The blowhole shooting is hilarious.
But it's also not what the filmmakers originally planned.
With only the one scene to shoot, the effects crew decided to use their entire remaining
supply of fake blood.
So instead of a little burp of blood, the merman blew like Old Faithful—and kept on
blowing, until the blood ran out and the geyser-like effect was replaced by a farty red mist.
Effects master David LeRoy Anderson of AFX later said, "I love the wide shot in the behind-the-scenes
video where the blood keeps going and going, because it reminds me of that night, which
was just hysterical.
I kept thinking, 'How are they going to use this?
He's sitting there flapping like a fish, and it looks like a hose spraying blood everywhere!'
But the way they cut it together was perfect."
Scream
In 1996, Wes Craven's sendup of the slasher genre heralded the dawn of a new wave of smart,
sleek, self-aware horror films.
The special effects, however, were the same tried-and-true practical techniques directors
have relied on for years, including the use of corn syrup to simulate blood.
And in a movie where it seemed like someone was stabbed every other minute, things
were extremely sloppy and sticky on set by the time the film reached its thrilling climax.
This led to a hilarious unplanned exchange, when Skeet Ulrich lost control of the blood-covered
phone and accidentally winged it right at Matthew Lillard's head, leading to a very
genuine reaction from the surprised actor.
"Ahh.
F------ hit me with the phone, D---!"
Ordinarily, an outburst like that might have led to a shout of "Cut!" and a request to
do the scene again.
But according to the Scream DVD commentary, because Lillard was supposed to be playing
the doofy sidekick to Ulrich's cold-blooded psychopath, his reaction wasn't out of character.
Craven went ahead and kept it safely off the cutting room floor.
As it turned out, it was a wise move; not only did the line make it to the final cut,
it's one of the funniest moments in the movie.
Another of the funniest moments in Scream can only be seen in the blooper reel, though,
and it comes courtesy of the director himself.
Wes Craven, who also directed the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, made a cameo in
Scream dressed as Nightmare villain Freddy Krueger.
That was fun enough, but in one outtake, he a gift for physical comedy that fans wish
had made the final film.
Scream 3
The third entry in the Scream franchise was also improved by an on-camera mistake.
The exciting conclusion to Wes Craven's Scream trilogy is full of scripted suspense, but
one of its most action-packed fight scenes has a big blooper right in the middle.
According to an encyclopedic collection of Scream 3 trivia, the confrontation between
Neve Campbell and Scott Foley includes an actual, genuine stabbing, in the moment where
Sidney leaps over a bar and nails Roman in the back with an ice pick.
Foley was wearing a protective pad for the scene, but Campbell missed her mark and plunged
the pick into Foley's actual flesh.
No wonder his scream of surprise and pain seems so genuine!
The Descent
A terrifying movie in which a bunch of young women are stalked and slayed while exploring
a darkened cave system gets even more frightening when The Descent adds in a bunch of subterranean
monsters want to eat their delicious flesh.
That's why it's so funny on the blooper reel when one of the victims, whose face is all
deformed from unspeakable things, gives one of the humans an unexpected moment of romance.
"Love you.."
House of Wax
The 2005 remake of the '50s horror classic House of Wax starred WB heartthrobs such as
Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill, Jared Padalecki from Gilmore Girls…and socialite,
reality star, and night vision camera owner Paris Hilton.
To her credit, the often dispassionate Hilton gives everything she's got to her performance
as a scream queen, shrieking as the script requires.
The screaming is intentionally annoying, but still not nearly as annoying as actual the
car alarm that went off during a scene in the woods, ruining the shot.
Scream 4
Acting can be magical when a director gets a perfect, believable reaction from a performer
— like one of abject terror in a horror movie, for example.
Or, you can just pull a prank on an actor on a set of a horror movie and scare him for
real.
On the set of Scream 4, Erik Knudsen was apparently supposed to open a door and find nothing there.
Instead of nothing, however, there was something — something actually pretty frightening,
especially if you're not expecting it.
"Ahh S---!"
Halloween
Star Malcolm McDowell is always an imposing presence who dominates every scene he's in,
whether he's playing the hero, an antihero, or a villain.
In Rob Zombie's 2007 version of Halloween, he plays Dr. Samuel Loomis, the former psychiatrist
of the crazed psycho, Michael Myers.
Myers eventually comes for Dr. Loomis, of course, and he cowers in fear in a darkened
house.
But when Myers smashes through the door to get him, McDowell seems taken off guard.
Apparently he didn't realize they were filming that bit yet.
"You must be f------ joking!"
That Halloween reboot must have been a pretty lively set to work on, because its blooper
reel offers up another goofy outtake.
What's so funny about being stabbed?
As far as actor Ken Foree is concerned, everything.
While Michael Myers repeatedly stabs him with a prop knife and fake blood audibly oozes
everywhere, Foree gets a case of the giggles that simply won't die.
Jennifer's Body
Oscar winner Diablo Cody wrote the screenplay for Jennifer's Body, which offered character
relationships a bit more complex than those in the average horror movie.
Over the course of the film, nerdy Anita, played by Amanda Seyfried, comes to both love
and hate her best friend, popular cheerleader-turned fatal succubus Jennifer, played by Megan
Fox.
Those mixed feelings physically manifest in a scene in which Seyfried screams accusatory
things at Fox's character…and then kisses her.
Or at least she tries to kiss her, as Fox is apparently so deep into her monstrous character
that she takes a bite out of her costar.
"I actually bit her.
I'm sorry."
The Witch
One of the most truly haunting horror movies in years was The Witch.
It features an atmospheric setting in colonial Massachusetts, and it's paired with the scary
premise that the witches of the Salem Witch Trial era just might have been real.
There's tons of weird stuff in The Witch, from dark woods to kidnapping to naked people
drinking blood to a goat named Black Phillip that a pair of creepy twins says talks to
them.
But what's not so scary, though?
Horses.
Particularly horses needing to go about their horse bodily functions with no regard for
the very expensive film production happening right in front of them.
"If you don't let me alone with ya, I'll wake mother and father this instant."
The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins deservedly won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as
cannibalistic psychopath Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
Famously, it was one of only a handful of horror movies to ever take home major Oscars.
Hopkins is one the best actors in the world, and as such, is quite versatile — he played
an American president in Nixon, and a repressed English butler in The Remains of the Day.
He even played Rocky Balboa once.
No, really, he did.
While his face and shirt were covered in blood during a twisted and hilarious outtake on
the set of The Silence of the Lambs, he brought his inner Rocky out for the world to see.
"This one's for you Adrian.
Not you, Pauly.
Let's go for it.
Rocky V. Let's do it now.
That goes on the F------ box."
Even cannibals need to laugh now and then.
Shaun of the Dead
Zombie-driven horror comedy Shaun of the Dead made a movie star out of Simon Pegg.
It also reunited the actor with his collaborators from the cult British sitcom Spaced, including
director Edgar Wright and costar Nick Frost.
They're all good friends and seem to share the same comedy hive mind, which means Pegg
and Frost frequently ad-libbed and goofed off on the set of Shaun of the Dead, ruining
takes but cracking up each other and anybody else in the vicinity.
"Oh ah over here over here over here…
Oh bullocks.
Ok, ah..
F--- it.
F--- off.
Back the f---- up."
Now, why don't Rick and the rest of the gang on Walking Dead just try that next time?
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