10 Horror Movies That Never Got Better Than Their Opening Moments

Dario Argento's Suspiria has one of the most famous horror movie taglines of all time - "The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of Suspiria are the first 92!"

Yet it's ultimately a far more prophetic quote than the marketing team surely ever intended, given that Argento's giallo classic is never stronger than in its richly moody establishing scenes.

Suspiria is a movie that makes the audience feel anxious from its opening seconds.

Seeing Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) take a taxi through the violent rain to a prestigious German dance academy, all while bathed in gorgeous neon lighting and backed by that unforgettable Goblin score - it immediately immerses the viewer in Argento's heightened, surreal world.

Juxtaposed with poor Pat Hingle (Eva Axén) being brutally murdered after fleeing the dance school, along with her friend no less, it adds up to one of the most hypnotic opens in horror film history.

The rest of Suspiria is certainly a mesmerising feast for the senses, even if it never quite reaches the entrancing intensity of those first 15-or-so minutes, and certainly ends much weaker than it begins.