10 Most Paused Horror Movie Moments

10. Carved Patio Boyfriend - Scream (1996)

While the big horror movies of today tend to fit into often quite well funded and fairly refined categories, the '90s was still something of a wild west in terms of content and quality. Nonetheless, Scream rose out of the schlocky ashes of the '80s, stole all the tropes and turned the genre upside down, all on a budget of $15 million.

And one of the many reasons that budget was kept so wafer-thin was the clever use of camera, editing and simple practical effects. Which leads us into our first most-paused moment, straight from the movie's opening sequence. Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is home alone waiting for her boyfriend, and Ghostface makes the last house call of Casey's life.

To the shock of all, the big bad has her high school sweetheart gagged and bound on the patio, and Casey has to answer a few horror-themed questions in order to keep him alive and squirming. Spoiler: she doesn't.

We hear a squelch, we see blood, the boyfriend's head slumps to the side and the camera only rests on his body for a moment before we're pulled back to Casey, her face reflecting the horror outside. But what has Ghostface done? Multiple pauses show what might be a trail of guts, but, no matter how many times we freeze the frame, we still can't quite figure it out.