20 Greatest Opening Scenes In Horror Movie History

The Movie: Often cited as one cinema's first slasher films, Black Christmas is a yuletide take on The Babysitter And The Man Upstairs urban legend. Exploitative in the way that only a '70s movie can be, the tension begins with a series of threatening phone calls being placed from a deranged man who is hiding out in the attic that quickly escalate to cold-blooded murder, with sorority sisters being knocked off left and right.

The Opening Scene: As they are preparing to leave for the holidays, the sorority gets obscene phone calls from an anonymous, heavy-breathing man who threatens to kill them. Naturally, they ignore these death threats in favor of getting the sorority house in shape for the holidays - because everyone has so much on their plates during Christmas who has time to worry about whether a lunatic will make good on his threats to kill you?

John Carpenter was clearly influenced by the opening of Bob Clark's Christmastide slasher in crafting his more famous prologue, and indeed, the ragged first-person POV featured here preceded his film's by a full four years.