10 Scariest Final Shots In Horror Movie History

3. Psycho

It's difficult to watch Psycho with fresh eyes, stripped of its context and 40 years of pop-culture baggage. Just about every frame of the movie has been aped, parodied or referenced in some way, not least the final shot of serial killer Norman Bates proclaiming that he "wouldn't even hurt a fly", before staring dead into the camera while a skull is superimposed over his face.

However, even with all that media undermining the horror of this final scare, it's still an incredibly unsettling way to cap off the movie. Not only does it finally bring to light just how out of it Bates actually is (y'know, if dressing up in his mother's clothes and murdering all of his patrons didn't clue you in), but the look he shoots directly into the camera breaks the fourth wall in a way that shatters the comforting illusion that the horror the audience has witnessed is trapped within the confines of the movie.

Consequently, Psycho's final shot delivered an image that's not only one of the most memorable in the horror genre, but one of the most iconic shots in all of cinema.