10 Best Horror Movie Opening Scenes Of The 2000s

Everyone has somewhat forgotten Signs in the 23 years since its release, perhaps due to the better films M. Night Shyamalan has put out since, or perhaps because he has become known for his stinkers. In any case, Signs was big news at the time.

The story of priest Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his family, who are faced with a slow, sinister alien invasion that begins with one big message, had everyone talking, and Shyamalan’s ability to build tension and plant small, swift, terrifying images was the reason why.

And that big message is perfectly captured in the opening scene. Graham and his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) awake suddenly in their dark and empty house, and rush from room to room, searching for children who aren’t there. In a panic, the pair rush outside into daylight and sprint into the adjacent cornfields, where, after a frantic, panic-inducing search, they find the children and, in a shot that pulls away into a long overhead, a massive pattern of crop circles.

It’s a pulse-pounding sequence that gives us goosebumps, but aside from the sheer spectacle and creep factor of the scene, it also deftly establishes the main characters, the setting and the central conflict without barely a word of dialogue!