20 Opening Movie Scenes That Are Totally Flawless

In the introduction, I made a point of saying I'd stay clear of the obvious picks, but come on - how can Scream not get a shout-out?

Its shock value is well documented at this point, considering how big an actress Drew Barrymore was at the time and how bold a move it was to kill her in the first scene, but even without the backstory Scream's opening is one of the best in horror history, and even today holds up as terrifying.

Barrymore plays high schooler Casey Becker, who gets a call in the dead of night from Ghostface and soon becomes scared for her life. It moves with relentless energy, with the tension building to an almost unbearable level before the inevitable happens and Casey's time runs out in particularly bloody fashion.

Whether you're watching it for the first time or the hundredth, Scream is a miraculous exercise in horror and tension, and though it's an undeniable classic, it's really never as great as that first infamous scene.