10 Horror Movie Scenes More Real Than You Think

Horror movie scenes they shot for real! The Exorcist, Evil Dead & more!

Evil Dead 2013
Sony Pictures Releasing

The talent that goes into horror movies has never fully been appreciated by the film industry.

So often is the acting, writing and filmmaking in this genre criticised for being cheap and lazy when, in reality, creating one of these pictures is a gruelling process that demands so much effort from everyone involved.

Plenty of horror flicks over the years have been made on a shoestring budget, with limited resources and on location. Consequently, as directors have tried to mine maximum scares out of minimum resources, this has often resulted in actors being put in precarious - even dangerous - situations.

While you might expect this from reckless indie productions that said 'screw it' to safety precautions in the 70s, even today with tight security measures directors often strive for realism, and actors can find themselves being pushed to the limit physically and mentally.

So, whether they were dangerous accidents that were left in the final cut or scenes where actors went above and beyond to make sure a moment was captured practically rather than with CGI, these are horror movie scenes way more real than you think.

10. It Chapter 2 - Jessica Chastain Felt Like She Was Drowning In Blood

Evil Dead 2013
Warner Bros.

Despite being A-list actors working on the sequel to one of the most successful horror movies ever made, the adult cast of IT: Chapter 2 were still put in sticky situations. James McAvoy in particular injured himself doing his own stunts, and took months to fully heal after production wrapped.

One difficult scene to film you might not know was actually shot for real though, comes in a sequence where Jessica Chastain's Beverly is nearly drowned in a pool of blood. As the bathroom she's in quickly fills with the red stuff, Bev struggles to avoid going under.

Now, you might have assumed this was simply filmed in a pool with the water's colour being changed via CGI in post-production, however the effect was actually achieved in camera with 5,000 gallons of fake blood.

As Chastain recalled, the sequence was rehearsed with regular water, but the eventual substance substituted for blood was much thicker, more difficult to act in and, of course, impossible to see through if she became submerged.

Fortunately, the actress was never in real danger, but she did say Bev's desperation in the film reflected her own while filming, as she struggled with the rising liquid and worried that nobody would know if something went wrong.

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Writer. Mumbler. Only person on the internet who liked Spider-Man 3