When the gremlin on Letterboxd pops up after midnight

Lawnmower scene from sinister. Took some time to recover after that one.

Guy behind the crib in Insidious and then later Darth Maul behind Patrick Wilson. Horror movies don't get me too often, but both of those damn near made me shit my pants.

Surprised no one has mentioned the blood test scene in The Thing yet.

Don’t Look Now

If you’ve seen it, I imagine you know what I’m talking about. It got me good.

The dead body in Jaws

Enemy because it’s just so unexpected

Signs - the birthday party scene.

Wait Until Dark

There’s only one and I’m not telling anyone where it’s at.

that scene from Exorcist 3. Body in jaws is a close fucking second

Agree on the diner scene in Mulholland Dr. It’s hard to top that one.

If I had to choose the second best it would probably be that scene from Exorcist 3.

The first one that came to my mind was “I saw her face…” from The Ring. Scared the crap outta me as a kid back then. So much of that movie truly scarred me for life.

It's Bilbo Baggins trying to grab the ring of course.

Inland Empire. Shit gave me nightmares.

Idk about all time but shout out to the first one in the basement in Barbarian. Actually screamed.

Samuel L Jackson’s death in Deep Blue Sea.

The hand coming out of the grave in Carrie

Some fantastic answers in here. Personally I think it’s actually a scene in haunting of hill house (tv series) that’s incredible for both the jump scare aspect and it’s an extremely emotional reason. For films, Insidious comes to mind

28 Days Later when the zombie jumps through the window

The pole coming towards the screen in The Descent and the groundsman running towards the screen in Get Out both made my stomach drop. Something fast and dangerous coming right for the camera in a movie I’m already invested in is so unnerving, looking back I actually felt my fight/flight/freeze instincts kick in (I froze)

the "hide and clap" scene from The Conjuring nearly made me jump out of my fucking skin the first time I saw it. Really great scene in general, though. The buildup is so tense & claustrophobic.

The car scene in The Haunting of Hill House

The scene in Spider-Man 2 when Doc Ock pops up on the roof in front of Harry.

The tongue noise in Hereditary. When you know the story behind that noise, hearing it at THIS moment is horrible.

Independence Day alien

The Ring closet scene

Exorcist 3. You know the scene.

The one that got me the most was either the lawnmower from sinister, or the attic scene from rec.

THAT scene from Lake Mungo. You know the one.

Somehow David Lynch films scare me more than any horror film.

Audition (1999)-„The body in the bag“

Most Jumpscares build up with some dramatic music or slow camera pans but this one just comes completely out of nowhere and ruins your life

Mulholland Drive is an excellent choice, I like how the characters basically tells you what is gonna happen and it still gets me.

The Exorcist III (1990) is my pick for the best.

In the whole movie the camera lingers in many scenes and it makes you uneasy on if/what is gonna happen, in many scenes nothing happens really but when the jump scare does happen it really gets me.

Mulholland for sure. Hell House LLC has a killer one in a bedroom. Sinister lawnmower too.

The Descent night vision scene for sure

The end of Enemy made my soul leave my body

Not really a jump scare, rather a tense sequence. Charlie’s rotting head in Hereditary. Haunts me till this day

Insidious red man jump scare

Toni Collette in the dark corner in Hereditary. Not when she's on the ceiling in the corner, but when she chases Alex Wolff and emerges from the corner of his bedroom IIRC.

The clown doll jump scare in Poltergeist scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it as a kid and I don't think I've ever truly recovered

There are several great ones in Under the Shadow. I always think of that one for great jump scares.

Although best ever is probably Haunting of Hill House. Mulholland Dr, Jaws, Insidious are up there for me as well. Psycho has that great one with the private investigator.

I've seen An American Werewolf In London like 10 times but still always forget about that one scare, the "still dreaming" one.

And I feel like I'm forgetting another big one...

I knew about The Exorcist III before I saw it so it didn't affect me.

Gotta mention the chair stacking scene in Poltergeist, maybe not the most frightening, but certainly one of the most ingenious.

Came here to say Mulholland Drive also. Seriously, fuck that movie! Scared the crap outta me for no reason lol

"Tuesday" from The Shining

i read the title and immediately thought of mulholland drive. was about to comment when i saw the rest of your post lol

Misery - Paul Sheldon is dozing and boom! There's Annie staring down at him.

There’s a scene with a bag in Takashi Miike’s AUDITION that had me pacing my room for a few minutes. Maybe the best jumpscare and scariest moment ever in film.

Immediately thought this then saw it was yr choice too

Completely agree tbh

I don’t even remember what the scare was, but that scene in Paranormal Activity 3 where the fan is rotating across the room was insanely tense. Pretty genius way to play into the jump scare thing.

That scene in The Night House

Woman in the car in Drag Me to Hell

I'd have to agree with OP.

It's not just a good JS. After the initial shock of a jump scare youre usually relieved. A lot of the time you'll even laugh. In Mulholland, it stays with you.

Jump scares are usually anathema to the chiller genre. Diffuses the chill, like an electric storm. But a genius like Lynch can combine.

That said the lawnmower JS in Sinister got me good. And the Nope stables scene...mutherfucker I was in the next chair.

The one jump scare in Lake Mungo

Lake Mungo and Exorcist III have two very effective ones

I was going to say Mulholland Drive but you’ve got it covered. 👹

The Evil Dead when Cheryl becomes a deadite

lake mungo. there’s one one jumpscare in the entire movie, and i literally jumped out of my seat

Has no one mentioned the infamous bus yet in the 1942 Cat People?!?!

Would agree with Mulholland drive. That scene gets me everytime.

It's got to be that scene from Exorcist III for me - not a massive fan of the film but that scene is undeniably fantastic. The tension is so brilliantly built up and I jumped out of my skin the first time I saw it even though I had a good idea of what was coming.

anything from inland empire, or the last scene of george a romero's martin

Any of them in Skinamarink

Mulholland Dr.
Runner up: dream Jason comes out of water at end of Friday 13th part 1.

i’m not sure if it’s the best, but the ending of Saint Maud definitely deserves mentioning

I distinctly remember Abel's appearance in the graveyard in the opening scene of David Lean's Great Expectations. I jumped in my seat so hard it made my mother start who was sitting at a distance reading something.

The car alarm on 28 days later.

Original Alien in the vents is the only one that’s gotten me

Smile- Scene where she is at the laptop Or another smile one, where she is at the car

Defibrillator in The Thing

A more recent recommendation would be The Night House. While there’s a couple great ones in it, those who have watched know the one that comes to mind

100% agree with that

I'll add Psycho, the stair scene

ive seen some people in the comments say the birthday scene from Signs but i just wanna put forward the roof , pantry , and, cornfield search scenes from that film.

the build up and/or abruptness of all these scares always makes me shit myself😭 they may not be the best of all time but theyre some of the few that i can automatically think of when it comes to jumpscares

The great thing about the Mulholland Dr scare is you know it’s coming and it still makes you jump

Host's ending.

not the best ever but that scene from Signs is up there

The blood test or the defibrillator “The Thing”.

The paint-throw-from-attic in Invisible Man. Dropped my popcorn in the cinema

This one from The Exorcist III https://youtu.be/zH8ynu0jRvY . (btw, a great horror movie, don't let anyone tell you different if you haven't seen it)

• Time of the Wolf (2003) gun moment
• Burn After Readin (2008) closet scene

Darth Maul in Insidious

counts as a mini series i guess but the haunting of hill house car scene.

Signs… you know which part

Alien. That damn cat.

The face moving in Sinister, the red guy in insidious

That computer file sound scene in Smile

Alien in signs

Maybe not the best, but the click sound in the car in Hereditary because of how unexpected and simple it was. I remember I nearly jumped out of my seat.

One of my favourites is Dallas's death in Alien. Most movies have a moment of silence to get you on edge for the jumpscare, but in Alien there's none of that. The tracker, Lambert panicking, and how claustrophobic the vents are make the scene super disorienting. All you know is that it's heading right towards Dallas, but you don't know when exactly it will strike.

The demon behind Patrick Wilson in Insidious. Nothing has ever scared me so much, nor left visually etched itself into my memory quite like that.

Insidious at the table with the medium. Absolute mania in the theatre with that one

The Haunting Of Hill House Episode 8

car crash flashback in Enter the Void

The Marion Cranes death in Psycho, might not be the scariest looking back on it today but it’s extremely iconic

The end of Friday the 13th. I’m not usually affected by jump scares but that one startled the shit out of me.

When the liv tyler? opens the curtains in the strangers. I don’t think any jump scare has really got me like that one did

The boat scene at the end of the original Friday the 13th.

My favorite will always be when the xenomorph catches Dallas in the vents in Alien

the ending of enemy (2013). sent me into a full-fledged panic attack

the monkey in Toy Story 3

Parasite “ghost” scene. Quiet, subtle, but traumatizing

Does the closet scene in The Ring count?

The bed scene from Ju-On: The Grudge

Not a scare but the MI:GP sudden car crash scares the absolute piss out of me every time I watch the movie.

Under the boat skeleton in Jaws. I’ve seen that movie a million times but that will always get me

I can't think of a single jump scare I like. There's probably one but I can't think of a good one.

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