10 Horror Movies You Must Never Pause

One of Poltergeist's most memorably horrific sequences sees Dr. Marty Casey (Martin Casella) envisioning himself ripping his own face off to reveal the skeleton beneath.

Though the actual skin-ripping effects are fantastically, disgustingly detailed, the very first shot of the sequence isn't quite so persuasive.

As Marty starts tending to the cut on his face, actor Martin Casella is suddenly replaced with a dead-eyed dummy, and the awkward placement of the hands touching the face make it obvious that somebody is placed below the dummy, peeling away at the face from above.

It doesn't help at all that this shot is so brightly lit, drawing even more attention to how rubbery and lifeless Marty's face and eyes look.

Thankfully for the rest of the sequence the bathroom is bathed in pulsing, dim lights, while the plentiful gore effects are impressive enough to distract from the not-remotely-lifelike face.

Fun fact: the hands tearing away at the face skin are actually Steven Spielberg's, who performed the scene himself due to the time and money involved in setting up and executing the complex sequence.