Horror films are supposed to scare us, it's right there in the name of the genre, after
all.
The whole reason we line up to watch horror movies is to experience the safe thrill of
being terrified by fictional objects on a screen.
It's all totally fake, of course, but there have been times when the scares hit a little
too close to home, and some of the scariest movie scenes have even managed to frighten
the actors and actresses bringing them to life.
Here are some iconic movie scenes that scared the pants off the actors in real life.
Alien
When that tiny alien burst out of John Hurt's chest in Alien, it scared everyone, including
the cast.
Although the special effects themselves were pretty shocking, the real magic of this scene
is how surprised and terrified the cast appears.
These horrified faces are genuine.
John Hurt was taken aside during shooting and rigged up to a device loaded with rancid
pig organs.
The rest of the cast was brought in unaware of the device about to spray them with the
organs, or why the film crew was wearing rain gear and protective plastic sheeting.
The first take strategically brought the crew closer to the table by spurting only a small
amount of fake blood, so when the next take left them all covered in blood, their faces
expressed true, terrified surprise.
"And there's a master where all five of us are like… and we're not acting."
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is another example of a director
strategically designing scenarios to elicit real terror from the actors and actresses.
Director Tobe Hooper kept his star Leatherface, played by Gunnar Hansen, out of sight from
the rest of the crew, so his mask would be a most horrifying surprise.
Specifically, when Jerry runs into him for the first time in the kitchen, his high pitched
squeal is absolutely real.
The Blair Witch Project
This entire film seems to have been planned as an elaborate scheme to slowly push the
cast into going insane.
The directors of The Blair Witch Project gave the three cast members cameras, supplies for
survival, and a place to meet up.
From there, the three were essentially left alone in the woods.
A few scenes from the movie are from when they were actually lost trying to figure out
next meet up point.
Often times the directors would secretly follow the cast and break sticks or throw rocks around
the unknowing campers.
"And every once in awhile when it was dark, you'd see this red beam and you knew it was
the hacksome band of goons running around again."
Worse yet, the directors gave them less food everyday to make them ragged, angry, and more
on edge.
And as the days went on, the filmmakers came up with new ways to torture their actors.
"And they were setting up sound loops of babies crying and kids laughing outside of your tent
at 4AM in the morning."
"Basically it was just us running through trees going nuts out there."
After eight days of filming, it's safe to say that the cast no longer enjoys walks in
the woods.
Prometheus
After Alien, you'd think actors would all be on red alert anytime Ridley Scott makes
a monster flick.
But the actors on Prometheus evidently thought the director's trickster days were over, allowing
Scott to get in one more scare.
In one of Prometheus's more infamous scenes, a biologist tries petting the world's scariest
space cobra.
It doesn't end well.
"Cut it off, cut it off!"
A little later, his friends stumble across his corpse, and when they turn his body over,
the monster shoots up out of his mouth.
"Ahh!"
As you've probably guessed by this point, those screams are genuine.
Pulling pretty much the exact same stunt he used more than 30 years ago, Scott replaced
actor Rafe Spall with a dummy, loaded the alien puppet in its mouth, and connected the
alien creature to a wire.
He then told everyone on set to keep quiet and make sure the actors didn't see the storyboards
for the day.
When actress Kate Dickie rolled the corpse over, a crew member yanked the monster out
of the dummy's mouth, causing Dickie to yelp in alarm.
Even tough guy Idris Elba, who was standing nearby, let out a squeal of surprise.
The Monster Squad
Directed by Fred Dekker and co-written by Shane Black, The Monster Squad is a unique
'80s movie that pits a group of kids against some of the most famous monsters in cinematic
history.
Of course, the scariest of the bunch is Count Dracula himself.
Played by Duncan Regehr, this Transylvanian vampire wants to get his undead hands on an
amulet that will help him conquer the world.
However, standing between the count and unlimited power is one 5-year-old girl.
As the heroes battle it out with the monsters, Dracula approaches the girl, lifts her up
by her chin, and angrily demands she hand over the all-powerful jewel.
The count then reveals his red eyes and pearly whites, causing the 5-year-old to scream in
terror.
*HISS*!!
While it works perfectly for the scene, the young actress really was afraid.
It was the first time she had seen Regehr in his full vampire regalia, and the sight
of those fangs was more than enough to make her freak out.
The Godfather
Believe it or not, some of the very best scenes in The Godfather happened in the spur of the
moment.
For example, remember Vito Corleone's cat?
Director Francis Ford Coppola just found that feline wandering around the studio and decided
to put it in the scene.
And when Vito slaps Johnny Fontane across the face, that was Brando trying to shake
up actor Al Martino and put some life into the scene.
The legendary method actor was also doing a little improv in his final scene.
Moments before Vito Corleone falls down dead, he's playing with his grandson, Anthony.
Obviously, toddlers aren't exactly natural actors.
Since Brando needed to connect with the kid, he put an orange peel in his mouth and began
growling like a monster.
But this didn't sit well with the young actor playing Anthony.
"Ahhh!"
The kid was actually scared, forcing Brando to drop the game and comfort the kid.
It's a nice touch to a sad scene, a unique moment of improvisation that makes The Godfather
one of the all-time greats.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
While Richard Dreyfuss is the main character of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it's
Cary Guffey who steals the scene every time he shows up.
The adorable 4-year-old played the part of Barry Guiler, the little boy who's abducted
by aliens.
All his reactions seem so genuine … and that's because they are.
Throughout shooting, director Steven Spielberg was constantly coming up with ways to encourage
Guffey's performance.
For example, in the scene where the boy is smiling out the window at the UFOs, Spielberg
is off-screen, unwrapping presents for Guffey.
Later on, when Barry tearfully tells his alien friends goodbye, he's really crying because
Spielberg told him to imagine his friends leaving forever.
But perhaps Spielberg's most ingenious ploy comes earlier in the film, when Barry runs
into his kitchen and spots the alien rummaging through his refrigerator.
The space invaders are kept off-camera, and the whole scene plays off Barry's face.
In a matter of seconds, we see the boy go from fright to joy.
So what's he actually looking at?
Spielberg had makeup man Bob Westmoreland dress up as a gorilla and hide behind a cardboard
partition.
When Guffey ran into the room, the partition was pulled away and he was face-to-face with
a scary ape.
But then the director told Westmoreland to take off his mask.
Suddenly, Guffey recognized the makeup man and broke out into a big smile.
Spielberg explained: "Even though it was a trick, the reaction was pure and honest."
Really, that's a phrase you could use to describe almost every Spielberg film.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
There's no denying that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a childhood classic,
but honestly, it's one of the freakiest films ever made.
And that's all thanks to Gene Wilder.
Sure, his version of Wonka is hilarious and even occasionally soft-hearted, but there's
just something off about the guy.
You never know when he's going to truly lose his mind.
"You lose!
Good day sir!"
Of course, audiences weren't the only ones who found Gene Wilder's maniacal candy man
frightening.
As it turns out, the frizzy-haired actor also terrified his young co-stars.
While working on the film, director Mel Stuart liked to keep all the kids guessing, hiding
key details from them until it was actually time to shoot a scene.
For example, Stuart kept the actors away from the famous Chocolate Room until he was ready
to roll the camera.
So when Charlie and company step into Wonka's wonderland, their looks of awe are genuine.
But then there's the infamous boat scene, widely regarded as the scariest part of the
film.
Stuart didn't tell anyone what exactly was going to happen during that boat ride.
So when Wilder started going on about hurricanes blowing and the grisly reaper mowing, the
kids were scared out of their minds.
"And they're certainly not showing any signs that they are slowing!"
Actress Denise Nickerson, who played Violet Beauregarde, actually thought Wilder had gone
mad.
Really, that's a testament to Wilder's acting abilities, and while he's appeared in several
other iconic films, it's safe to say he'll always be best remembered for this candy-coated
creepfest.