20 Most Intense Movie Scenes Ever

11. Sally Escapes - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's quiet, slow-building opening eventually gives way to a heart-stopping finale, in which sole survivor Sally (Marilyn Burns) desperately limps away from the Sawyer household, with the hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) and Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) in dogged, chainsaw-wielding pursuit.

After the hitchhiker is run over by a passing truck, Sally manages to escape in the back of a pick-up, which speedily drives off, leaving Leatherface to swing his chainsaw in the air like a madman before we cut to black and the film ends.

Tobe Hooper's direction superbly milks this sequence for maximum visceral impact, from Sally's maniacal laughing when she makes her escape, to the unforgettable final image of the chainsaw swinging around.

The less-is-more approach to sound also helps: the mere buzzing of the chainsaw is enough to get the pulse racing.