10 Best Horror Movie Opening Scenes Of The 2000s

Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers is a bona fide modern classic of the British indie horror scene, which despite a strong following has never managed to mount its sequel. A werewolf movie set in the Scottish Highlands, the film takes a squad of British Army soldiers on a training mission to survive against an SAS unit, where both teams find more than they bargained for. But first…

We join a happy couple on a camping trip, celebrating being alone together in the wilderness, giving each other gifts and getting down to business in their sleeping bags. This is all shattered when something hairy and growling invades their tent in the night, snatching the woman and eating her in front of her partner, while all he can do is look on in shock. Cut to the moon, a quick howl, and the titles card crunches in.

This is a classic, no frills, monster movie cold open from Marshall, and that’s what makes it so good. It’s simple, straight to the point and does all the job of setting up the monster and laying down the central mystery without any exposition whatsoever, while in the process establishing and then immediately killing off who we assume are going to be the main characters in the space of two minutes. Job done.