10 EVEN MORE Horror Movies You Knew Would Be Good After The First 10 Minutes
1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
It's bizarre how Tobe Hooper's magnum opus didn't feature on the last two lists, considering it has the perfect opening.
People should be on the edge of their seats before a frame of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is revealed, thanks to the bone-chilling text crawl. The narration detailing the aftermath of Leatherface's killing spree sounds so convincing, it's easy to forget this 1974 picture is a work of fiction.
As the text concludes, the sound of a shovel scraping off dirt can be heard. Although this shot is in darkness, flashing camera lights momentarily light up the screen, revealing close-ups of bones and decayed flesh. These jump-cuts are so quick, it's initially unclear what's been shown, which makes the scene more unnerving.
After hearing scratching, cutting, and slicing for a full minute, the camera cuts to a heavily decomposed corpse, its face rotten to the bone. The camera pans back, showing there are two cadavers wired up to a cemetery monument, displayed like a twisted piece of art. A radio report can be heard in the background, discussing grave robbers in the area, giving critical context to how this abominable exhibition came to be.
Despite the fact the text crawl warned viewers of the horrors they were about to witness, nobody was ready for this level of grotesquery. Though there's no shortage of disturbing imagery in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it's challenging to think of anything as skin-crawling as this opening.