SPOILER WARNING: The following article discusses important moments from many different movies (including the endings to a few), so proceed with caution as you read on.
The fear of the unknown is a very powerful tool in the business of fright, as many classic horror movies have proven. In fact, sometimes a movie’s scariest moment relies on sound to fill in the blanks or is cut out entirely, leaving it up to the audience to taunt themselves with images of what could have taken place. This also applies to many great sci-fi films, crime thrillers, and even a beloved animated Disney movie, as you can see from our collection of cinema’s scariest unseen moments below.
Arnold's Death (Jurassic Park)
In Steven Spielberg’s 1993 adaptation of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, chief engineer John Raymond “Ray” Arnold (Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson) heads to the maintenance shed alone to bring the place back to its proper order. When Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) goes to check on him, she is relieved when Arnold’s hand touches her shoulder, until she finds only his arm remains attached and the rest was likely devoured by the velociraptor that started chasing her a moment earlier.
The Children Attack Kreeg (Trick 'R Treat)
The best of the many twists and turns throughout Trick ‘r Treat, might be that Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox) was the bus driver who sent a group of developmentally challenged children to a watery grave. At the very end of writer and director Michael Dougherty’s 2007 love letter to Halloween, those same undead children appear at the curmudgeon’s doorstep to exact their revenge, which we only see play out in quick flashes of comic book-style animation.
The Creature Kidnaps Tricia (Absentia)
One of the most underrated and terrifying Mike Flanagan movies is his low-budget, 2011 dark fairy tale, Absentia. Its own most horrifying moment is when the story’s villain reveals itself to Tricia (Courtney Bell) in a blink-and-you-miss-it jump scare. This is the last we see of her, without ever knowing what this strange creature did to her or seeing the otherworldly place it may be keeping her, like it did with her long-missing husband.
Daniel Kills Eli (There Will Be Blood)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood — one of the best movies of the 2000s — concludes with a payoff to its title’s promise when now-wealthy oil baron Daniel Plainview (Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis) is paid a visit by his former enemy, fanatical preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). We see the bloody aftermath of Daniel striking Eli in the head with a bowling pin, but the moment itself can only be heard, which is unsettling enough.
The Empire Tortures Han (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back)
One of the most disturbing moments in all of the Star Wars movies occurs in The Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is rigged to a device that does not appear to be very comfortable — its malfunctioning parts emitting sparks notwithstanding. We cut to a close up of the man who sold out his friend to the Empire, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), forced to hear the consequences of his actions via Han’s bloodcurdling scream of pain.
The Entity Kills Annie (It Follows)
In one of the most striking horror movie openings in recent memory, young Annie (Bailey Spry) frantically tries to outrun an unseen enemy that forces her to drive to a beach where she awaits her impending demise. It then cuts to a shot of her lifeless body that very clearly implies the unspeakable brutality of her death, firmly establishing what makes the shapeshifting demon from this 2014’s It Follows one of the scariest modern horror movie villains.
The Entity Repeatedly Kills Kevin (Skinamarink)
Keeping certain elements literally in the dark is already what makes 2022’s Skinamarink a game-changer for indie horror. However, we are especially thankful the camera was not fixated on the moment the omnipotent being uses its time-warping ability to subject four-year-old Kevin (Lucas Paul) to multiple horrifying deaths. The looping footage of blood staining the carpet and a caption of the boy saying, “Mommy” — suggesting this otherworldly invader assumed his mother’s appearance — is heart-wrenching enough.
Fay And Everett Get Abducted (The Vast Of Night)
It is not until the very end of The Vast of Night when our protagonists, Fay (Sierra McCormick) and Everett (Jake Horowitz), receive the irrefutable evidence of extra-terrestrial visitors they had been searching for when a flying saucer appears overhead. Cutting from footage of townsfolk exiting the high school to a shot of Everett’s tape recorder sitting where the 1950s teens were standing is far creepier than showing them beaming up would have been and further solidifies co-writer and director Andrew Patterson’s 2020 alien invasion movie as one of the most unique of its kind.
Heather's Fate (The Blair Witch Project)
The shocking final shot of one of the most definitive found footage thrillers is filmed from Heather Donahue’s point of view, leaving the cause of her death a mystery. The many theories regarding what actually takes place during the ending of 1999’s The Blair Witch Project continue to keep fans guessing and keeps the film at a high stature of horror iconography.
The Hyenas Kill Scar (The Lion King)
Because 1994’s The Lion King is an animated Disney movie, it would be unwise to actually show its villain, Scar (Jeremy Irons), suffering an, otherwise, deservedly brutal demise. However, we do get a brief glimpse of it when the surrounding flames cast shadows of the hyenas’ attack on their former boss onto a wall of rock behind him.
Into The Mist (The Mist)
The 2007 adaptation of The Mist is chock full of visually devastating moments, but Frank Darabont very effectively uses the unknown to his advantage in a scene when some of Food House’s customers try to see how far they can make it out while one is tethered by rope. For a moment, the rope starts to lose slack fast and David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and others struggle to pull their volunteer back in, only to find his lower half still attached. We can only imagine what the creatures did to the rest of the group.
Lecter Defaces Sgt. Pembry (The Silence Of The Lambs)
It is scenes like Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s (Anthony Hopkins) ingenious prison escape that make it clear why the Academy made a Best Picture Oscar winner out of this 1991 horror movie. We later discover that the cannibalistic psychopath managed to walk out unseen by wearing Sgt. Pembry’s face — a procedure that director Jonathan Demme chooses to keep offscreen.
Liz's Fate (Wolf Creek)
Even a merciless slasher like 2005’s Wolf Creek occasionally manages to be tasteful in what it chooses to show you, such as what torturous circumstances Mick Taylor (John Jarrett) most likely subjects Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) to. In her final scene from the Australian modern classic, the sadistic Outback hunter of humans renders Liz to a “head on a stick” by severing her spinal cord, and that’s the last we see of her.
The Lust Death (Seven)
In David Fincher’s highly influential 1995 detective drama, Seven (or Se7en), we never see John Doe in the act of committing his biblically-inspired murders and never need to, since the crime scenes are disturbing enough. We do, however, hear the first-hand testimony of a traumatized man (Leland Orser) used as a pawn in a murder inspired by lust, which is already a tough listen. Thus, placing Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) in front of the victim instead of showing her was probably the right call.
The Motel Shootout (No Country For Old Men)
Because this 2007 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, No Country for Old Men, already indulged itself in one intense shootout, there was no reason for another. So, instead, we discover Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) was killed by unknown assailants when Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) finds him at a motel after the fact in a devastating reveal from one of the Coen Brothers’ best movies.
Mr. Blonde Slices Off Marvin's Ear (Reservoir Dogs)
Quentin Tarantino movies are often criticized their extreme violence, despite the filmmaker actually being quite tasteful about what he chooses to show you. For example, during the infamous torture scene from 1992’s Reservoir Dogs — which even Wes Craven was too squeamish for — he deliberately shifts the camera away before Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) cuts Officer Marvin Nash’s (Kirk Waltz) ear off.
Nauls' Fate (The Thing)
Mystery is what makes 1982’s The Thing — John Carpenter’s faithful adaptation of John W. Campbell Jr.’s novella, “Who Goes There?” — a masterclass in paranoid storytelling. Yet, there are some things we would have liked to have seen, such as what happened to Nauls (T.K. Carter) near the end — a moment that was actually scripted and storyboarded, according to the Outpost 31 blog, but never shot.
Ottway Fights The Alpha Wolf (The Grey)
Most people who saw The Grey in 2011 probably went in expecting some “Liam Neeson vs. the Wolves” action, which does happen… but not until after it cuts to black, followed by a post-credits glimpse at the aftermath. According to The Moveable Fest, director Joe Carnahan did shoot the “man vs. creature” fight in question, but decided to leave it out, feeling it would undermine the Alaskan survival thriller’s themes of fate and acceptance.
Paul Becomes Possessed (Hell House LLC)
What makes 2015’s overlooked found footage thriller Hell House LLC a stirring take on haunted house movies is writer and director Stephen Cognetti’s smooth balance of dread-inducing pacing and an unnerving aura of mystery. A scene that brilliantly utilizes both is when Paul (Gore Adams) awakes to find a ghostly woman in his bedroom, who pounces on him immediately before the scene cuts. From then on, the formerly droll character is never the same again, suggesting his uninvited guest could be living inside him.
Sam Turns Emma Into A Halloween Decoration (Trick 'R Treat)
The opening segment of Trick ‘r Treat actually takes place at the chronological end of the cult favorite anthology horror movie, in which we get a taste of how seriously Sam (Quinn Lord) takes the rules of Halloween. When Emma (Leslie Bibb) begins to take down her decorations too early, the mischievous trick-or-treater decides to do some redecorating of his own. His work is revealed when Henry (Tahmoh Penikett) walks out and pulls a sheet off a ghostly display to discover his wife’s head on the stalk with a lollipop contorting her mouth into a disturbed grin.
The Shark's Attack On Chrissie Watkins (Jaws)
Jaws remains the crown jewel of shark movies because the fearsome aquatic predator is kept hidden for most of the film, which was actually due to frequent flaws with the mechanical beast. However, had things gone exactly as Steven Spielberg originally intended, the opening scene — in which Chrissie Watkins (Susan Blacklinie) is pulled to a watery grave by the unseen man-eater — might not have been so unforgettably horrifying.
Tooth Fairy Bites Lounds' Lips Off (Manhunter)
Brian Cox gave a fantastic, pre-Anthony Hopkins performance as Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann’s Manhunter, but he may not be as scary in this 1986 adaptation of Red Dragon as Tom Noonan’s serial killer known as the “Tooth Fairy.” He demonstrates to tabloid journalist Freddy Lounds (Stephen Lang) how he got his name by putting a dirty pair of dentures in his mouth, leaning in for a kiss, and — after the camera cuts away — gnawing his lips off.
Werdegast Skins Poelzig Alive (The Black Cat)
Legendary horror movie icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi share the screen in 1934’s The Black Cat — not as Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula, but as rivals in a deadly game of wits. The conflict comes to a head that is sickening by even today’s standards when Lugosi’s Dr. Vitus Werdegast slices the face off of Karloff’s Hjalmar Poelzig, but at least it’s only implied in the shadows.
"What Have You Done To His Eyes?" (Rosemary's Baby)
A whole genre of horror movies about motherhood exist now, but 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby remains the most renowned of the bunch, particularly for its subtlety. For instance, we never actually see the devil-spawn Mia Farrow’s title character gives birth to, but we know from her vocal concerns over his eyes that he does not appear to be human.
"What's In The Box?!" (Seven)
The ending of Seven boasts one of the most iconically shocking finales of all time with the reveal that a box John Doe (Kevin Spacey) has delivered to a remote desert location contains the head of Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) — the wife of Mills (Brad Pitt). Yet, contrary to popular belief — as a Yahoo! retrospective recalls — the inside of the box is never shown, but the implication is so devastating and so strong, it’s a hard image to shake, even if it only exists in the viewer’s mind.
The Westchester Incident (Logan)
One of the best X-Men movies takes place in a future in which the X-Men no longer exist, as the result of a mentally fragile Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) losing control of his telekinetic abilities. According to ComingSoon.net, director James Mangold had planned to open 2017's Logan with a depiction of what is dubbed the "Westchester Incident" before opting to keep things focused on Hugh Jackman’s title role. This is, arguably, what keeps the tragic event a legendary topic of the superhero movie genre.
The Xenormorph Kills Lambert (Alien)
The Alien movies are known for their viscerally brutal deaths, but the death of Joan Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) is not one of them, taking place mostly offscreen. However, according to Strange Shapes, multiple ideas for how the Nostromo navigator could meet her end were thrown around — including becoming a cocoon for another Xenomorph or accidentally getting in the way of Parker’s (Yaphet Kotto) flamethrower — ultimately meaning that whatever you want to come up with could be the truth.
The Engineer Base Massacre (Prometheus)
We still have many unanswered questions about Prometheus such as exactly how the Engineers became nearly extinct. There is evidence of what occurred on on LV-223 — such as their fossilized remains spread across their base and a recording of them being pursued by an unknown enemy — but it does not add to a clear description of events, leaving this mystery regarding Ridley Scott’s 2012 Alien prequel up in the air.
O'Neill Assaults Whitehead In The Tent (A Field In England)
Director Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England from 2013 is a wonder to behold for its surreal visual set against a 17th Century backdrop, but perhaps its most unsettling scene is shielded from us by the flaps of a tent. Whitehead’s (Reece Shearsmith) agonizing screams provide the only clue of what sadistic alchemist, O’Neill (Michael Smiley), is doing to his prisoner from inside, but it becomes even more hauntingly mysterious when Whitehead emerges from the tent flashing a bright grin.
The S.S. Venture Massacre (The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Even director Steven Spielberg is not a big fan of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, but the 1997 sequel to his beloved blockbuster does have a few chilling moments. For instance, when a ship carrying the abandoned park’s T-Rex and its child crashes into a San Diego harbor with no human survivors on board, it puts some pretty gnarly pictures in your head.
"This Was No Boat Accident" (Jaws)
Some of the best examples of how Jaws maintains a brilliant aura of mystery do not even have a shark present, such as when Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) examines the remains of what is assumed to be a boating accident. We never see what is in the pan when he removes the sheet, but his shaken demeanor is all we need to know that it’s not pretty.
"What Is That?!!" (The Blair Witch Project)
The Blair Witch Project is one of the most essential examples of “the less you know, the better horror” and there are key reasons why throughout. One such iconic scene sees Heather (Heather Donahue) and Mike (Michael C. Williams) frantically fleeing their camp from an unseen attacker — a moment the actors were not prepared for — during which Heather repeatedly yelps about something she spots in the distance. Whatever she saw is left for us to imagine.
The fact that we have so many offscreen moments to reference here should be enough proof that we are most afraid of what we can’t see.
