10 Horror Movie Fakeouts We All Fell For
5. The FBI Raids Buffalo Bill's House - The Silence Of The Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs surely earned its Oscar nomination for Best Film Editing for one brilliantly executed moment during the movie's climax, when the FBI prepares to raid serial killer Buffalo Bill's (Ted Levine) home, all while agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) pays a visit to someone who knew Bill's first victim.
As the FBI ring the bell on "Bill's" home, he goes to answer the door and is greeted by Clarice. As director Jonathan Demme cuts back and forth between the FBI breaking into an empty house and Clarice talking to Buffalo Bill, it's clear that the FBI got the wrong house and Clarice has wound up in Bill's company all by herself.
It's one of cinema's all-time greatest WTF moments, ensuring that most anyone watching for the first time takes a sharp, involuntary intake of breath as they process the dangerous situation Clarice has found herself in.
The scene is such an outstanding example of parallel editing that it's regularly shown in film schools around the globe. If you want to get one over on your audience without making it feel massively cheap, this is how you do it.