10 Horror Movie Shots That Will Send A Chill Down Your Spine

6. Man In The Mask Watches On - The Strangers

The Exorcist III
Rogue Pictures

Bryan Bertino's directorial debut, 2008's The Strangers is a constantly unnerving experience, particularly upon a first watch.

With this feature, Bertino introduced the world to the trio of Man in the Mask, Doll Face, and Pin-Up Girl; a triumvirate who look to terrorise people merely because they were home.

In the case of this first Strangers picture, it's Kristen (Liv Morgan) and James (Scott Speedman) who find themselves as the unlucky couple in the crosshairs of the film's sinister sorts. Specifically, these on-the-rocks lovebirds are at James' family summer house when they hear an ominous, initially gentle rapping, rapping at their front door.

The first knock is 'merely' just someone at the wrong house, looking for the wrong person, though it would soon become apparent that this visitor is indeed one of our central antagonists. By the time we realise what's happening, James has left the house in order to buy some cigarettes, and it's here where The Strangers delivers its most unsettling shot.

As the unaware Kristen tries to ring James, the audience slowly spots the presence of Man in the Mask lurking quietly in the shadows. With that, The Strangers fully sets its stall out, and horror hounds knew that it was going to be a long night for Kristen and James.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.