10 Awesome Horror Movie Deleted Scenes You Won't Believe Were Cut
When the axe shouldn't have been swung.
Horror films are designed to make us jump, squirm and recoil, but sometimes the material that was nixed from the final cut is what does that most effectively.
There are a million reasons why scenes might end up on the cutting room floor, from the director seeking a tighter runtime, to the studio demanding an alternate age rating, but it's always disappointing when the best parts get the chop.
Some of the footage which has fallen by the wayside over the years has ended up among the special features on DVD and Blu-Ray releases. This was always the joy of home media launches, but thanks to our old friend the internet, deleted scenes, unused cuts and alternate endings are more accessible than ever.
From bonus kills to spider walks, these are the scenes that should have made it into the final cuts of your favourite scary movies.
10. Nightmare On Elm Street: Freddy's Expanded Origin
Any self-respecting horror hound will know Freddy Krueger's origin story off by heart. He was a creepy janitor who killed a bunch of kids, swerved justice in court but was burned alive by the townsfolk for his crimes.
One demon pact later, he becomes a knife-fingered killer who haunts his victims' nightmares, but there was supposed to be a little more to it than this.
In A Nightmare on Elm Street, that scene where Nancy's mother tells her daughter about Freddy's fiery fate was originally longer with more context about his crimes.
It turns out that all of the children Krueger killed were the siblings of Elm Street's current generation. This might seem like a minor detail, but its inclusion in the final cut would have made the film all the more tragic.
Not only have the parents already had to deal with the death of their children, they have to go through the same experience all over again.
Presumably the scene was shortened to trim the movie's runtime, but it would have added something to A Nightmare on Elm Street. At the very least, Nancy would have had another reason for wanting Freddy dead... again.