10 Most Terrifying Horror Movie Swimming Pool Scenes

3. Cat People

The Faculty
RKO

Whether it's the 1942 version of the film or its 1982 do-over, Cat People features one of the most iconic, terrifying pool sequences in film history.

Being 40 years apart, these two pictures certainly have noticeable differences to them, yet one scene that both share features Alice - played by Jane Randolph in '42 and by Annette O'Toole in '82 - having an eerie encounter when going for a swim.

Bobbing up and down in the water, surrounded by darkness, Alice starts to see creepy shadows and shapes forming around her, as vicious snarls can be heard. Once our terrified swimmer shrieks in horror, it's Irena - Simone Simon in '42 and Nastassja Kinski in '82 - who is first on the scene.

Once out of the pool, a puzzled Alice realises that her robe has been sliced to ribbons, with it eventually explained how Irena is a descendant of an ancient race of cat people.

For whatever reason, the 1982 version of Cat People needlessly had Annette O'Toole topless for her big swimming scene, meaning it can't be featured here. What can be featured though, is the very brilliant, very 'stiff upper lip' version of this scene from 1942.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.