10 Most Paused Slasher Movie Moments

9. Stepping Out Of The Shadows - The Strangers

Cabin In The Woods
Universal Pictures

Bryan Bertino's The Strangers is a phenomenal horror that torments and terrorises its audience just as much as it does the couple who find themselves in the crosshairs of Man in the Mask, Pin-Up Girl and Dollface.

Part-slasher picture, part-home invasion movie, the sheer randomness of the heinous events of The Strangers is a striking and stark warning of just how erratic and chilling the world can be at times. Like a cat playing with a trapped mouse, this 2008 offering is a harrowing viewing experience that makes you uncomfortable in your own skin.

Part of twisted charm of The Strangers, of course, is in how delicate its delivery of terror is - and there is no finer example of that than when we realise that Man in the Mask is ominously lurking inside the cabin where Liv Tyler's Kristin is.

The use of lighting here is fantastic, with Man in the Mask barely visible as Kristin is utterly unaware that her would-be attacker is there. Even more impactful, the use of one continuous wide shot as Kristen potters around the kitchen here only adds ten-fold to the tension and unease of the viewer.

It's also here that many reached for the pause button, with us all keen to try and get a good look at the creepy figure menacingly watching from the shadows.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Chatterer of stuff, writer of this, host of that, Wrexham AFC fan.