10 Horror Movies That Open With One Amazing Kill

Despite being a self-aware homage to classic slashers, Scream is nail-biting from beginning to end... more so the beginning. When the serial killer, Ghostface, rings a high-schooler called Casey (Drew Barrymore) and chats about horror movies, she initially believes it's an innocent game.

Within minutes, the masked maniac has butchered Casey's boyfriend, hacked up her body, and hung her corpse on a tree for her parents to find.

Upon reflection, it's fascinating how terrifying this sequence is, considering how little gore there is. Though the bloodshed is intense, it's only shown briefly. 

Instead, the scene focuses more on slow-building tension and the escalating threat the horror-obsessed sociopath poses. Ghostface isn't seen at first, so he comes across as a disembodied force rather than a guy in a costume, making him far scarier.

Despite minimal screen time, Drew Barrymore gives it her all, conveying confusion, panic, and pure terror within a few minutes. For this reason, viewers genuinely care when she is, in the words of Ghostface, "gutted like a fish". 

Casey puts up one hell of a fight and is only moments away from escaping when Ghostface fatally wounds her, making her demise all the more tragic.