10 Horror Movies Too Scary To Watch Again

In all honesty, When a Stranger Calls deserves to be mentioned only for its spine-chilling opening scene; what follows is really not all that noteworthy in comparison.

It's frustrating that the film peaks so early. In fact, it was expanded to feature length from a 20 minute short entitled The Sitter (it's blindingly obvious while watching this film that it was only ever meant to be a short film, absent of character study, and frankly that's how it should've stayed). This scene is masterfully paced and unmatched in suspense, making it one of the all time great horror film openings.

Of course, what can be labelled the scariest movie ever made is completely subjective, however it seems to be universally agreed that the establishing scene of this film is undeniably terrifying. And if it's real-world horrors that frighten you as opposed to supernatural threats, all the better!

There is something inherently scary about urban legends such as this one, and the classic 'babysitter and the intruder upstairs' story is terrifying enough in concept alone. But the suspenseful accompanying score, Carol Kane's brilliant, wide-eyed performance, and the bloodcurdling rasp of "why haven't you checked the children?" down the phone all contribute to an unbearably chilling scene. It's so iconic that Kevin Williamson wrote Drew Barrymore's death scene in Scream as a homage to When a Stranger Calls.