10 Most Shocking Jump Cuts In Horror Movie History

Jennifer Kent’s haunting study of depression follows bereaved mother Amelia (Essie Davis) as she struggles to keep control of her misbehaving son (Noah Wiseman) years after the death of her husband. Her circumstances are only worsened when her son discovers a disturbing storybook about the titular monster. But reading this bedtime story doesn’t just give the child nightmares, it also invites the Babadook into their home.

Despite the trailers marketing this flick as a conventional haunted house affair, Kent’s film proved to be something refreshingly different. It was a slow-burn chiller in which the filmmaker teased out the terror by sucking us into the foreboding atmosphere while the tension and threat were gradually increased.

One of the most nerve-wracking sequences comes in the dead of night when Amelia is woken by a scraping sound at her bedroom door. We watch in horror as it slowly opens, and we catch a glimpse of something move inside.

Amelia hides under the covers, the monster’s raspy cries ringing in our ears. She peeks out to watch the creature crawl across the ceiling and descends upon her in a quick series of jump cuts which give the creature a jarring sense of movement.