10 Horror Movies You Knew Would Be Good After The First 10 Minutes
9. The Descent
The Descent centres around a group of spelunkers who decide to explore a cave, only to learn it's inhabited by carnivorous humanoids called Crawlers.
Because of the premise, it's natural for the viewer to assume the scares in The Descent won't start until the characters enter the cave. So, when the movie begins with our lead, Sarah, in the car with her husband and daughter, we totally let our guard down.
With no warning, the car crashes into another vehicle that happens to be transporting steel poles. The collision causes the poles to fly into Sarah's car, impaling her husband and daughter, killing them instantly.
What makes this scene so shocking is the fact that there's no build-up whatsoever. Before we have a chance to process what's going on or who these characters are, two-thirds of everyone on-screen is killed off. Although some viewers may have been daydreaming up until this scene, it goes with saying that everyone was paying attention after this moment.
As genuinely unsettling as the Crawlers are, a lot of viewers were freaked out more by this opening.