Urban Dictionary defines a jump scare as a technique used by unimaginative filmmakers
as a cheap method of frightening the audience,
and judging by a lot of comments on my last video, people tend to agree with this definition.
I agree that the jump scare has lost it's former glory;
not only are movies saturated with them, I think many filmmakers are using them completely wrong.
But where I disagree with a lot of people, is that I think there's still hope for the jump scare,
and people don't give them nearly enough credit for how amazing they can be.
So let's see what they can do.
And if you can't handle all the jump scares?
"Why you're nothing but a great big coward!"
*crying* "You're right, I am a coward!"
In it's simplest form, a jump scare is a jarring cut, usually accompanied by a frightening sound.
To illustrate this technique, let's look at an example that's not from a horror movie:
"Oh, I should...very much like to hold it again. One last time.
Now, what makes this more than a cheap jump scare?
What's important is that it not only scares, but it outlines a major plot point
that resonates throughout the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy.
With a jump scare, we see how The Ring can turn the kind Bilbo into an evil and terrifying creature.
A jump scare was without a doubt the best way to show the terrors of The Ring firsthand.
So now, for the rest of their adventure, that jump scare sticks with us,
and reminds us how high the stakes are, and how powerful the ring is.
Where I think jump scares are misunderstood, is that they're supposed to do much more
than just give us a simple startle.
A jump scare should add tension to the rest of the movie by making us distrust any moment where we feel safe.
After being startled once, we're put on high alert,
and with every long pause or dark shadow we experience afterwards,
there's a heightened suspense and alertness because now we question everything we see.
This is where many filmmakers use the jump scare wrong.
When used correctly the technique makes the calm moments of the movie scary too.
*T-Rex roar*
"I think it's ahead of us."
"It could be anywhere! With the fences down, it can wander in and out of any paddock it likes!"
A jump scare should function like real life:
once you get scared once, you're scared for the rest of the night.
There are great movies like 'The Witch', that use very subtle and infrequent jump scares.
They aren't scary themselves, but the quick cuts and change in sound
still add to the overral suspense of the movie.
"Boo!" *laughs*
The technique is done wrong when it's used too often,
and isn't punctuated with suspiciously calm and suspenseful scenes,
like when 'Silent Hill: Revelation' makes a jump scare out of literally everything, including a pop-tart.
Actually, I take it back.
You can use a toaster for an effective jump, but it's the great build-up that does the trick.
Another misunderstanding is that people don't know what makes a jump scare good.
Take this analysis of the technique from WatchMojo's video on the top ten jump scares of all time:
*WatchMojo narrator*: "It's a one-two punch of a scary face and a loud noise,
*cont.*: and that's exactly what makes a jump scare so effective."
This is a completely wrong way to analyze jump scares.
The most important part is not the scare itself, it's the thirty seconds of build-up before the scare.
Build-up is what separates the good jump scare from the cheap one.
Here's a simple example from 'The Sixth Sense':
the tent opens at the top left of the frame and moves to the bottom right, along with the camera.
This framing guides our eyes towards the bottom right, where a jump scare awaits us.
This is a jump scare that does't require a fast cut or even any jarring movement to be scary.
It was the build-up from the slow camera movement that did the trick.
Compare that to the laziest jump scare of all time: the bad guy showing up through the bathroom mirror.
There's no time for the build-up, and it's a huge cliche.
The predictable jump scare scenarios are giving the whole technique a bad reputation.
The best ones should go against our expectations, not appeal to them.
This jump scare in 'Insidious' feels so fresh because we unconsciously expected the scare
to come from the flashback, not from where she's telling the story.
Similarly with this scene in 'Jaws'.
We expected the scariest part to be when he found the tooth,
but there's actually something much worse waiting.
A good jump scare is a lot like a magic trick: it's all about the showmanship.
Let's use the 'The Prestige' and a jump scare from the original 'Poltergeist' to outline this idea.
*birds chirping*
"Every magic trick consists of three parts, or acts."
"The first part is called 'the pledge': the magician shows you something ordinary:"
"a deck of cards, a bird, or a man."
"He shows you this object,
perhaps he asks you to inspect it,
to see that it is, indeed, real."
"Y'know, unaltered."
"Normal."
"But, of course...it probably isn't."
"The second act is called 'the turn'."
"The magician takes the ordinary something,
and makes it do something extraordinary."
"Now, you're looking for the secret, but you won't find it."
"Because of course, you're not really looking."
"You don't really want to know."
"You want to be fooled."
"But you wouldn't clap yet, because making something disappear isn't enough.
"You have to bring it back."
"That's why every magic trick has a third act."
"The hardest part."
"The part we call...'the prestige'."
Let's face it, jump scares usually suck, but don't write them off just yet,
because when used right, they're pretty great.
And don't worry, I won't end this video with a jump scare.
Or will I?
Thanks for watching.