10 Best Horror Movie Opening Scenes Of The 2000s

One of the best horror comedies to come out of America this century, Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland has it all, going hard on the gore and horror with terrifying hordes of the undead (including clown zombies!) and many belly laughs per minute. It brings Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson together as nervy, neurotic Columbus and balls-out tough guy Tallahassee - the buddy pairing we never knew we needed - on their journey across the absolute state of the States to try and find somewhere they can call home.

Zombieland’s opening sequence does everything you could hope for from a post-apocalyptic zombie movie. Kicking off with a canted angle shot of the American flag and a broken synth version of the Star-Spangled Banner, Columbus narrates us into an America that has been overrun by zombies, showing the utter devastation of the country and introducing us to the rules that have kept him alive.

It sets the tone of the film, juxtaposing extreme gore with the inherent comedy of Columbus’ rules (eg. ‘Rule #3: Beware of Bathrooms’), it establishes the film’s aesthetic and style (including dynamic titles), and it gets us fully invested in Columbus' character before we’ve even seen him. And then the Metallica starts.

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” barrels in with its iconic bells and riff, and we are treated to two minutes of slow-motion heavy metal carnage as the titles roll. It's epic as hell - need we say more?