Greatest Jumpscares of All Time.
by ntj-film | created - 18 Mar 2020 | updated - 15 Jul 2022 | PublicThese are, in my humble opinion, the most effective and downright horrifying jumpscares of all time.
Ps. Minor spoilers in description.
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1. The Exorcist III (1990)
R | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.
Director: William Peter Blatty | Stars: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller
Votes: 38,900 | Gross: $26.10M
The Nurses Station.
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 183,738 | Gross: $30.86M
1) Leatherface enters. 2) Leatheface meets Franklin.
3. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,887 | Gross: $13.78M
1) Defibrillator to the chest. 2) it's in the blood. 3) Blair comes out of the shadows.
4. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,510 | Gross: $39.75M
Canoe + Jason.
5. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,899 | Gross: $47.00M
1) Lee Brackett bumb into Laurie. 2) Bob's a swinger.
6. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,568 | Gross: $32.00M
"Mother" meets det. Milton.
7. Suspiria (1977)
R | 92 min | Horror
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé
Votes: 105,484
Beastly hand through the window.
8. Don't Look Now (1973)
R | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania
Votes: 62,347 | Gross: $0.98M
Redcoat revealed.
9. When a Stranger Calls Back (1993 TV Movie)
R | 94 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young babysitter, all alone in the house with two children asleep above, is bothered by a stranger. Unfortunately, the phone's dead...
Director: Fred Walton | Stars: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Jill Schoelen, Gene Lythgow
Votes: 4,131
Dark figure in the living room.
10. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,107,223 | Gross: $44.02M
1) Room 237. 2) Dicks journey comes to an end.
11. The Blackcoat's Daughter (I) (2015)
R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two girls must battle a mysterious evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break.
Director: Oz Perkins | Stars: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, James Remar
Votes: 26,022 | Gross: $0.02M
Kat attacks.
12. The Strangers (2008)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.
Director: Bryan Bertino | Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Alex Fisher
Votes: 143,688 | Gross: $52.60M
Sack-Head at the window.
13. The Fog (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
Votes: 83,038 | Gross: $21.38M
Father Malone comes out from the dark.
14. Session 9 (2001)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas
Votes: 62,917 | Gross: $0.38M
Hank sees someone in the dark.
15. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 206,754 | Gross: $33.80M
The grab.
16. The House of the Devil (2009)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery
In 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.
Director: Ti West | Stars: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig
Votes: 51,289 | Gross: $0.10M
Aren't you the babysitter?
17. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,277
The Bag.
18. It Follows (2014)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
Director: David Robert Mitchell | Stars: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe
Votes: 269,142 | Gross: $14.67M
Tall man enters.
19. Saw (2004)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Ken Leung
Votes: 466,912 | Gross: $56.00M
Guided by flash photography.
20. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 384,006 | Gross: $7.22M
The Hobo.
21. Inland Empire (2006)
R | 180 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
As an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Grace Zabriskie, Laura Dern
Votes: 62,192 | Gross: $0.75M
The Face.
22. REC (2007)
R | 78 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Votes: 196,782
Looking around the attic.
23. Black Christmas (1974)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon
Votes: 48,374 | Gross: $4.05M
Wrapped in plastic.
24. Prince of Darkness (1987)
R | 102 min | Horror
A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong
Votes: 49,987 | Gross: $14.18M
Double-up nightmare.
25. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,799,859 | Gross: $100.13M
Sloth.
26. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Director: John Landis | Stars: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher, Griffin Dunne
Votes: 120,582 | Gross: $30.57M
Attack on the moors.
27. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 951,348 | Gross: $78.90M
1) Facehugger. 2) Xenomorph meets Dallas.
28. Sinister (I) (2012)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Fred Thompson
Votes: 280,344 | Gross: $48.09M
Mowing the lawn at night.
29. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 659,712 | Gross: $260.00M
1) The Head. 2) Feeding time.
30. Poltergeist (1982)
PG | 114 min | Horror, Thriller
A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
Votes: 179,650 | Gross: $76.61M
The clown.
31. The Orphanage (2007)
R | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 163,640 | Gross: $7.16M
Hands off the jewelry.
32. Candyman (1992)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
Director: Bernard Rose | Stars: Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons
Votes: 100,185 | Gross: $25.79M
Medicin cabinet.
33. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
R | 107 min | Horror, Thriller
A traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd, Emilie de Ravin
Votes: 183,315 | Gross: $41.78M
Ploto attack.
34. Halloween II (1981)
R | 92 min | Horror
While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer
Votes: 101,734 | Gross: $25.53M
Michael's first kill.
35. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Votes: 77,793 | Gross: $21.72M
Voorhees smashes through the window.
36. The Devil's Business (2011)
69 min | Horror
At the house of their target, two hit men bide their time waiting for the kill, only to find death already arrived in the shape of black magic, devilish spirits and the occult.
Director: Sean Hogan | Stars: Billy Clarke, Jack Gordon, Jonathan Hansler, Harry Miller
Votes: 649
A story ends abruptly.
37. Banshee Chapter (2013)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Journalist Anne Roland explores the disturbing links behind her friend's sudden disappearance, an ominous government research chemical, and a disturbing radio broadcast of unknown origin.
Director: Blair Erickson | Stars: Katia Winter, Ted Levine, Michael McMillian, Corey Moosa
Votes: 10,888
The Face.
38. The Tunnel (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 94 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An investigation into a government cover-up leads to a network of abandoned train tunnels deep beneath the heart of Sydney. As a journalist and her crew hunt for the story it quickly becomes clear the story is hunting them.
Director: Carlo Ledesma | Stars: Bel Deliá, Andy Rodoreda, Steve Davis, Luke Arnold
Votes: 22,792
The monster on camera.
39. Grave Encounters (2011)
Not Rated | 92 min | Horror, Mystery
For their ghost hunting reality show, a production crew locks themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital that's supposedly haunted - and it might prove to be all too true.
Directors: Colin Minihan, Stuart Ortiz, The Vicious Brothers | Stars: Benjamin Wilkinson, Sean Rogerson, Ashleigh Gryzko, Merwin Mondesir
Votes: 64,024
The female inmate.
40. Pet Sematary (1989)
R | 103 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist
Votes: 115,079 | Gross: $57.47M
Gabe attack.
41. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
R | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Sam Neill, Jürgen Prochnow, Julie Carmen, David Warner
Votes: 79,363 | Gross: $8.95M
Disfigured cop on the couch.
42. Isolation (2005)
R | 95 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
On a remote Irish farm, five people become unwilling participants in an experiment that goes nightmarishly wrong.
Director: Billy O'Brien | Stars: John Lynch, Essie Davis, Sean Harris, Marcel Iures
Votes: 7,993
Shooting the calf.
43. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,161 | Gross: $232.91M
Spider walk down the stairs.
44. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,475 | Gross: $2.40M
Demonic Scott sits up.
45. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
R | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Searching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie
Votes: 142,600 | Gross: $73.65M
A speech cut short.
46. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,871,997 | Gross: $534.86M
Window smack!
47. Shock (1977)
R | 93 min | Horror
A couple is terrorized in their new house haunted by the vengeful ghost of the woman's former husband, who possesses their young son.
Directors: Mario Bava, Lamberto Bava | Stars: Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, David Colin Jr., Ivan Rassimov
Votes: 4,679
Running child becomes mustache man.
48. The Treatment (2014)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A police inspector haunted by the childhood abduction of his brother becomes obsessed with the disturbing case of a dangerous serial kidnapper
Director: Hans Herbots | Stars: Geert Van Rampelberg, Ina Geerts, Johan van Assche, Laura Verlinden
Votes: 9,981
Seeing the killers face, through hole in floor.
49. The Howling (1981)
R | 91 min | Horror
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone
Votes: 40,223 | Gross: $17.99M
How much is that doggie in the window.
50. The Ring (2002)
PG-13 | 115 min | Horror, Mystery
A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman
Votes: 375,167 | Gross: $129.13M
"I saw her face"
51. You Are Not Alone (2014)
96 min | Horror, Thriller
Natalie is a college graduate visiting her hometown over the 4th of July. The night she arrives, she is stalked by a sociopathic killer.
Director: Derek Mungor | Stars: Krista Dzialoszynski, David O'Brien, Mary Mikva, Keenan Camp
Votes: 249
The stalker reveals himself.
52. Host (II) (2020)
Not Rated | 57 min | Horror, Mystery
Six friends hire a medium to hold a seance via Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong.
Director: Rob Savage | Stars: Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova
Votes: 39,502
Flash photography.
53. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Not Rated | 95 min | Horror
The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much more than expected as it moves deeper inside the nightmarish old building.
Director: Jung Bum-shik | Stars: Oh Ah-yeon, Wi Ha-joon, Yoo Je-Yoon, Park Ji-ah
Votes: 15,473 | Gross: $0.12M
The contortionist.
54. Horror in the High Desert (2021)
82 min | Horror, Thriller
In July 2017, an outdoor enthusiast went missing in northern Nevada. He was never located. Friends and loved ones recall the events and, for the first time, talk about the horrific conclusion to his fate.
Director: Dutch Marich | Stars: Suziey Block, Eric Mencis, David Morales, Tonya Williams Ogden
Votes: 3,902
When you find what you went looking for.
55. #Screamers (2016)
85 min | Horror, Mystery
When an internet company decides to investigate a series of 'Screamer' videos, they are confronted with havoc and hell they could never expect.
Director: Dean Matthew Ronalds | Stars: Tom Malloy, Christopher Bannow, Griffin Matthews, Abbi Snee
Votes: 1,290
Don't enter my house.
56. Cold Ground (2017)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
1976: Two young journalists leave for the French-Swiss border to investigate a strange case of cattle mutilations and record testimonies for a TV channel. Yet, once they get there, the ... See full summary »
Director: Fabien Delage | Stars: Doug Rand, Philip Schurer, Gala Besson, Maura Tillay
Votes: 6,641
There be monsters.
57. V/H/S/2 (2013)
R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his house and find collection of VHS tapes. Viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be dark motives behind the student's disappearance.
Directors: Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sánchez, Timo Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard | Stars: Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, Adam Wingard, Hannah Hughes
Votes: 44,003 | Gross: $0.02M
The man in the closet.
58. My Little Eye (2002)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five people are offered one million dollars to spend six months together in an isolated mansion, with cameras watching their every move.
Director: Marc Evans | Stars: Sean Cw Johnson, Kris Lemche, Stephen O'Reilly, Laura Regan
Votes: 12,897
Something in the attic.
59. Evidence (III) (2012)
R | 78 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Ryan makes a documentary on his friend, Brett, and his first time camping, until a mysterious figure in the woods starts hunting them.
Director: Howie Askins | Stars: Ryan McCoy, Brett Rosenberg, Ashley Bracken, Abigail Richie
Votes: 5,341
There be monsters part II.
60. There Are Monsters (2013)
90 min | Horror
There Are Monsters is a feature length horror based upon the apocalyptic premise that the world is being taken over -slowly, quietly and efficiently- by creatures that look exactly like us.... See full summary »
Director: Jay Dahl | Stars: Kristin Langille, Guy Germain, Matthew Amyotte, Jason Daley
Votes: 435
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