10 Horror Movie Jump Scares That You NEVER Forget

9. Day Of The Dead - Reaching Out

Dawn Of The Dead Opening
Dead Films

What was supposed to be the concluding piece of George A. Romero's undead opus, Day of the Dead is often overlooked as an inferior entry to its more lauded predecessors. That is a damn shame because it's really, really good.

By the time the events of Day of the Dead takes place, the human race is all but wiped out. The film follows an underground bunker of survivors comprised of a few scientists protected by an increasingly bored and antagonistic platoon of Soldiers headed up by the scene-devouring Captain Rhodes. Naturally, being a Romero film, things go to Hell pretty quickly when humans can't get out of their own way long enough to survive the literal apocalypse waiting right outside.

Early in the film, the film's lead character Sarah seems to be reflecting on just how long its been. The audience suspects something is amiss when the music begins to grow louder as she approaches a calendar in an otherwise sterile, empty room. Panning through months filled with crossed out dates that personify how long she's been struggling, she is interrupted by hundreds of arms bursting through the walls to clutch at her, only to awaken from her nightmare with a start.

Right off the bat, this dream puts the audience on edge while simultaneously demonstrating the futility of the struggle that surely awaits this band of survivors.

Contributor

A former Army vet who kept his sanity running D&D games for his Soldiers. I'll have a bit of D&D, pro wrestling, narrative-driven video games, and 80's horror movies, please and thank you.