The best horror films often know the best ways to pull at your heartstrings. Intensifying the effect of horror often relies on invoking other negative feelings. Appealing to other senses and generally “bad” emotions – like disgust, depression, hopelessness, and loss – often make these films more realistic and hard-hitting. While some horror movies incorporate the element of sadness into the main plot, others string you along on an emotional roller coaster ride.
Horror is a multifaceted genre that expands far beyond simple cheap jump scares. There are many ways to truly scare and shock audiences, and often, this involves appealing to their very human sense of pathos. This is especially true when viewers aren’t expecting what’s coming, leading them into a false sense of safety and the promise of a somewhat happy ending. Filmmakers can conjure up dread in a multitude of different ways, but including some sincere tear-jerker moments is often the best way to do so. Though there are some spoilers ahead, let’s take a look at some of the most emotional scenes in horror movies, ranked.
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8 Gage’s Death - Pet Sematary (1989)
Paramount Pictures
Every parent’s worst nightmare is losing their child, and the original movie adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary captures the feeling in a gut-wrenching way. Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) moves his family to the town of Ludlow, Maine, a sleepy place with a dark secret - the local pet cemetery, known to raise things from the dead. One afternoon, the Creeds and their neighbor Jud Crandall are enjoying a picnic together when a semi truck comes speeding up the road. Toddler Gage (Miko Hughes) chases a runaway kite, stumbling into the street where he quickly gets hit. As the music swells, a bloody shoe flops into view. Gage’s split-second death strikes a chord with anyone who’s ever spent time taking care of children, especially since Louis only turned his back for a mere moment.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Dan Sacrifices Himself - Doctor Sleep (2019)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Doctor Sleep incorporates themes of hope and recovery alongside typical true horror elements. The story follows the continued journey of Danny Torrance as an adult, picking up where The Shining left off. Wrestling with alcoholism and the trauma of his past, Dan (Ewan McGregor) struggles to find his purpose until he psychically connects with Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), a teenage girl with similar abilities. The two team up against the True Knot, a band of energy vampires who “eat what shines.” Dan returns to the Overlook Hotel with Abra, where he’s quickly possessed by its hungry ghosts. He breaks through the noise to tell Abra to run, and then goes down to the boiler room to finish the job as the hotel is consumed by flames. In Stephen King’s original novel, Dan escaped with his life, but his unfortunate death in the film still draws this chapter to a powerful close.
6 Insect Politics - The Fly (1986)
20th Century Fox
David Cronenberg’s version of The Fly is perhaps the most disgusting entry on this list. After a teleportation experiment goes awry, scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) finds himself slowly turning into a human-housefly hybrid, as his girlfriend Veronica (Geena Davis) watches in horror. As his transformation intensifies, Seth asks Veronica, “Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I.” Through labored breaths, his body puckered with growths; as his body continues to change, he talks about the brutality and lawlessness of the insect world. The audience literally watches his humanity fade, lost forever to his new nature. This scene solidifies that the person Veronica once knew is gone, replaced by a cruelly animalistic attitude. This deeply dark film has been called one of Cronenberg’s best works; a true example of body horror on steroids.
5 A Father’s Love - A Quiet Place (2018)
Paramount Pictures Studios
In a post-apocalyptic America, one family fights to survive in A Quiet Place. The impact of this film just goes to show that spoken dialogue isn’t always needed to create an atmosphere of fear – quite the opposite, actually. At the mercy of terrifying alien creatures who hunt humans based on sound, the Abbott family has learned to live life in complete silence to ensure survival. Father Lee (John Krasinski) reunites with his children Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Regan (Millicent Simmonds), who is deaf, at the film’s climax. He motions for them to get into his truck, where they’ll be safe. The creature attacks Lee, and Marcus yells for his dad, causing the creature to jump onto the truck with the kids inside. Lee understands what he has to do and signs to Regan in ASL, “Love you… I’ve always loved you”, before choosing to scream louder, sacrificing himself in the process. This tragic scene exemplifies a father’s love and devotion until the very end.
4 Dani’s Loss - Midsommar (2019)
A24
The perfect conditions for joining a cult include a need for a stable community, emotional charisma, and utter loneliness. So, it’s no wonder that Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) in Midsommar falls victim to the promising sunny smiles of Hälsingland. Before the film’s opening credits even start rolling, viewers catch a glimpse of the horrors to come. Dani’s sister, Terri (Klauda Csanyi), hasn’t answered her messages, worrying Dani sick, and we soon find out why. Terri died by suicide in their home, causing the death of their parents as well, after the house was engulfed in toxins. The slow camera pan out covers the shocking aftermath, with wailing stringed instruments in the background. Dani’s cries after she finds out the truth are truly haunting, setting up a sickeningly scary rest of the story. Midsommar has been called one of Florence Pugh’s best performances.
3 The Ending - The Mist (2007)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, The Weinstein Company, & Dimension Films
The Mist has been regarded as one of the darkest Stephen King adaptations since its release in 2007. In the aftermath of a storm, a small Maine town is besieged by a mysterious fog that starts to leak gigantic, long-limbed creatures. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son Billy (Nathan Gamble) fight for survival alongside a group of others. They all travel together until they discover that David’s wife, Stephanie, is dead, and their home has been ransacked. Seeing no way out, the survivors decide to end it when their car begins to run on empty. David takes it upon himself to shoot the others, including Billy. Screaming, he stumbles out of the van and watches an Army tank roll in through the mist. He slowly realizes that help was just a few moments away all along. This ending is absolutely bleak, as the film fades out and credits start rolling with a haunting choral backing track.
Stephen King Movies That Need a Reboot
2 Seok-woo is Bitten - Train to Busan (2016)
Next Entertainment World
Bong Joon-ho is known as one of the greatest horror directors in recent history, and for good reason. Before Parasite, another South Korean director, Sang-ho Yeon, freaked out audiences across the globe, Train to Busan revolutionized the realm of zombie movies. The story follows father Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) and his daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an) trapped on a South Korean locomotive during an uprising of the undead. Close to the film’s ending, they run into zombified passenger Yon-suk on the outside of the speeding train. Seok-woo fights him as Su-an shrieks, but he receives a bite in the process. He flings Yon-suk off the side of the train before whisking Su-an and Seong-kyeong into the engine room to show them the controls. Knowing that his work here is done, he bids his Su-an goodbye as she screams and emotional piano music emanates. Seok-woo’s life flashes before his eyes as his body starts to change, and he sacrifices himself by falling off the train.
1 Charlie’s Death - Hereditary (2018)
Hereditary is full of genuinely horrifying scenes, but the most jarring is the death of the Graham family’s youngest child, Charlie (Milly Shapiro). In the wake of their grandmother’s passing, the Grahams struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy, as strange happenings start to occur. One night, big brother Peter (Alex Wolff) is forced to take Charlie along with him to a high school party, where she eats cake containing nuts. Severely allergic, Charlie begins to swell up and Peter starts to drive her to the hospital. As her reaction worsens, they end up on a dirt road, and Charlie, struggling to breathe, rolls down the window. Peter swerves to avoid hitting a dead deer, and a telephone pole appears in the darkness. With a disgusting thud, Charlie is quickly decapitated. The sudden silence that follows this scene turns into Toni Collette’s ragged sobs as she cries for her daughter. Paired with an image of Charlie’s severed, ant-covered head, this scene will absolutely appear in your nightmares.
