Whats the best out-of-nowhere scary movie swerve?
What would you call the best ”pop-out” or ”gotcha!” moment in a scary movie? Greg To me, there’s one that towers above all: the final shocker in Brian De Palma’s Carrie, where Amy Irving kneels down before Carrie’s grave, the sugar-rush musical score swelling, the credits seemingly about to roll, and suddenly Carrie’s bloody hand reaches out of the ground, as if from hell, scaring the bejesus out of poor Amy, not to mention everyone watching the movie. The first time I experienced that moment, the day that Carrie opened in 1976, I was so terrified I literally stood up out of my seat in fear, and so did half the audience. The reason I was eager to answer this question is that even though a lot of people recognize Carrie as a classic and cherish that final funhouse jolt as much as I do, what isn’t so widely acknowledged is how much influence that moment had on the horror movies that followed. Simply put: before De Palma, no one had ever thought to stage a moment that unsettling as th
