10 Heart Stopping Horror Movie Chase Scenes You Can't Forget

Where to start with this forgotten gem?

Final Exam rode the wave of slasher popularity that reached its zenith in 1981, with investors looking to snatch up any stalk-and-slash property to make a quick return. Consequently, Final Exam saw a total turnaround time of just five months, starting production in September and being in theatres by February.

Telling the story of a group of students staying on the deserted Lanier College campus, the film seems like standard slasher movie fodder as each of the students are stalked and meet grisly ends at the hands of an unknown, unmasked and seemingly motiveless killer.

When released, Final Exam seemed to fall through the cracks, getting lost amongst a slew of other college-set slashers released that same year. Although turning a small profit, critics lambasted the film for being too similar to 1978's Halloween. Sounds pretty forgettable, huh?

However, what people tend to skim over about this film is the epic chase sequence that serves as the surprisingly tense finale.

Although one has to sit through this relatively slow, reserved character-driven film to get to it, I assure you, the wait is worth it!

The 12-minute sequence sees final girl Courtney chased all over the vast college campus, with the knife-wielding killer seemingly behind every door and lurking in every corner of the frame. He never says a word, but, like any true slasher villain, he's always there and always one step ahead.

Chased from dormitory corridors, to a cafeteria kitchen, and onto a sweeping bell tower, the tension never abates. Slow and brooding the killer may be, but dumb he is not, and wonderfully suspenseful sequences have him using a dumbwaiter to gain access to poor Courtney and even playing chopsticks menacingly in the silent classrooms.

The killer's smarts are matched by the resourceful final girl, of course, and his ultimate defeat is both shocking and satisfying when it comes.