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

3. THAT Nurse Scene - The Exorcist III

The Exorcist III
20th Century Forx

While 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic struggled to live up to the lofty heights of its 1973 predecessor, The Exorcist III is a truly magnificent movie. Veering somewhat away from the all-out terror of those first two films, the William Peter Blatty-helmed 1990 offering has all of the tropes of a classic thriller in addition to its sinister underbelly.

The Exorcist III follows George C. Scott's Lieutenant Kinderman as he delves into a slew of devilish murders that have all the trademarks of the Gemini Killer. Essentially the film's spin on the famed Zodiac Killer, the catch with Gemini is that he's actually been dead for 15 years.

For poor Father Karras of The Exorcist, he's back here as a catatonic mental patient who is possessed by Gemini and the ominous presence known as the Master; all while poor Karras is mocked for what happened to young Regan MacNeill.

To that nurse scene, then. This comes during the second half of The Exorcist III as we watch a nurse investigate a noise from a nearby room. Here, we get a jump scare at the reveal of a startled, sleeping doctor. Masterfully, just as we - and the nurse - start to relax, a chilling nun-like figure exits another room, immediately behind our nurse, with sheers pointed at the nurse's head... as the scene cuts to a shot of a decapitated statue.

This is such a brief moment, but genuinely one of the most jarring scenes in horror history.

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.