10 Horror Movies You Must Never Pause
The pause button absolutely ruins these horror movie moments.
Horror is a movie genre that can benefit so, so much from the unknown - from withholding what the audience wants to see until the absolute last and most opportune moment.
And beyond anticipation, it's an easy way for low-budget horror filmmakers to keep expenses crucially low, ensuring they make a healthy return on investment while spending as little as possible on costly effects.
But on the flip side, many horror movies just don't hold up to the intense scrutiny of viewers scrubbing through them with a fine tooth comb and examining every last frame of footage.
Horror movies are meant to be enjoyed for the ride that they are, but with modern tech allowing each of us to analyse every single shot of a movie in perfectly crystal-clear detail, we're able to examine their perceived flaws and truly see how the sausage is made.
In short, you're better off not pausing horror movies at revealing moments where a peak behind the curtain might be offered. But because curiosity is a killer, here are 10 freeze-frame horror movie moments which totally obliterated their mystique in the process...
10. That's Not Anne Ramsey - Deadly Friend
Even if you've never seen Wes Craven's 1986 cult fave Deadly Friend, there's a good chance you've seen the movie's most iconic scene, where the cybernetically enhanced Samantha (Kristy Swanson) throws a basketball at the head of surly neighbour Elvira (Anne Ramsey).
The impact of the basketball hilariously explodes Elvira's head into a gloriously bloody mess, and the sheer insanity of the practical gore effects ensures it's a clip you'll want to watch again and again and again.
But make sure not to linger on Elvira in the moments before the basketball makes contact with her face, because we're clearly not looking at actress Anne Ramsey.
After Samantha throws the basketball and we cut back to Elvira, Ramsey has been replaced with a rather crude mannequin that bares only the faintest passing resemblance to the actress.
The shot passes quickly enough in motion that it's not too easy to spot, but once you know there's a terrible blood-filled dummy head hiding in plain sight, you'll never be able to un-see it.