10 Scariest Horror Movie Mirror Scenes
Nothing is scarier than your own reflection.
It's probably fair to say that horror films are more reliant on cliches than any other genre, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.
Even so, there are certainly types of scenes audiences are fed up of seeing - case in point, the hilariously lazy, wildly overused mirror jump scare, where a bathroom mirror is typically slammed shut to reveal a monstrous presence in the reflection.
It's about as moldy and dull as horror tropes get, but every so often, a filmmaker dares to get a little more creative and give the mirror gag a neat makeover.
These 10 films, whether out-and-out genre classics or otherwise pretty terrible movies that got one scene right, all delivered legendary mirror scenes audiences won't ever forget.
From intelligent and stylish reimaginings of the typical mirror gag to films which actually used mirrors as a main prop in their story, these 10 scenes all found ways to do something different and surprising with a classic object from the genre.
The results ranged from intrigue to terror and disgust, along with a greater appreciation for filmmakers who continue to reinvent familiar ideas...
10. Redrum Is Murder - The Shining
What would this list possibly be without including Stanley Kubrick's inimitable horror masterwork The Shining?
The unforgettable scene in question is a payoff to young Danny Torrance's (Danny Lloyd) continued utterances of the phrase "Redrum" throughout the film.
After using his mother Wendy's (Shelley Duvall) lipstick to write Redrum on her bathroom door, his increasingly disturbed shouting of the word wakes her up.
While comforting Danny, she looks forward into the mirror to see Danny's scrawlings reflected back at her - Redrum is "Murder" backwards.
It's easy to take such a seemingly simple scare for granted nowadays, but between Lloyd's eerily somnambulant performance and Kubrick's typically exemplary shot selections, he ensures the revelation is absolutely bone-chilling.
The scene isn't merely creepy for creepy's sake, though: it foreshadows an axe-wielding, murderously deranged Jack (Jack Nicholson) coming after mother and son moments later.