10 MORE Horror Movie Openings That Get Worse The More You Think About It
9. Urban Legend
Cult classic horror Urban Legend undeniably peaks in its brilliant opening scene, which brings to life the infamous "killer in the backseat" legend, where someone gets into their car and fails to clock a murderer hiding in the back of it.
Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) stops at a gas station, where she's visibly uncomfortable while talking to a creepy-seeming attendant, played by the inimitable Brad Dourif.
The attendant coaxes Michelle out of her car and apparently tries to attack her, so she pepper-sprays him before speeding off, seemingly having averted disaster.
Except, the attendant then screams at her, "Someone's in the back seat!"
Alas, however, she is already long gone. Cue Michelle driving away as an axe-wielding killer appears in the back of her car and speedily kills her.
It's a fun sequence which giddily toys with our expectations, not least because it challenges our preconceptions of what's "creepy" and what isn't.
Dourif's poor character was simply trying to help, but got judged hard by both Michelle and the audience due to his appearance and demeanour.
Granted, there might've been a better way for him to help get Michelle to safety, but it's pretty sad that basically everyone thought the worst of him. Then again, this is the guy who voices Chucky, so the filmmakers clearly knew what they were doing.