8 Most Unexplainable Horror Movie Moments

What just happened couldn't have really happened... could it have?

The Ring
DreamWorks

Horror movies, by their very nature, require viewers to suspend their disbelief, as they are routinely inexplicable. After all, would a couple of teens really wander into an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night only to split up when they first hear some frightening noises?

Of course, they wouldn't, but the average victim in a horror movie must exist in an alternate reality where horror movies aren't a thing. Still, suspending our disbelief only covers so much, as some scenes require more than a simple suspension of disbelief; some scenes either don't make sense, or they defy explanation.

That's not to say the scenes didn't work for the movies they were in, nor does it mean the movie itself wasn't extraordinary. All it truly means is that a rewatch of a film might make a viewer do a double-take after seeing a scene or moment in a horror movie that is never fully explained.

Once the credits roll, that's it, so if the scene in question remains unexplained, it tends to stick with the viewer. Did what happen really happen, or was it something unintentional on the part of the filmmakers? Either answer may be true in these eight films that contained some truly unexplainable moments.

8. The Random Sheep In 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'

The Ring
New Line Cinema

In the opening scene of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tina is walking through the boiler room while being stalked by a shadowy disfigured man we now know as Freddy Kreuger. While she's in the building, a sheep runs across her path, and leaves the shot, but doesn't reappear at any time.

It's small, and hardly the most mind-bending aspect of the film, but it piqued enough interest from fans to have people still talking about it decades later. What was the sheep for, and how did it get there? Did it represent something about falling asleep in the same way people 'count sheep' to pass out?

There was no indication, and viewers were left wondering what it was there for. Since the movie's release, fans have speculated that the sheep could represent innocence in Tina, and she was walking to her death in much the same way a lamb is led to slaughter.

Whatever it was supposed to represent may have been lost, but there is a rumor that the original script for the film states that "there is no reason for this," and the sheep may have been nothing more than a surreal visual addition to indicate Tina was in a dream.

Contributor
Contributor

Jonathan is a graphic artist, illustrator, writer, and game designer. Jonathan retired from the U.S. Army in 2017 and enjoys researching and writing about history, science, theology, and many other subjects. He writes for ScreenRant, CBR, NerdBastards, Listverse, Ranker, WhatCulture, and many other sites online. You can check out his latest on Twitter: @TalkingBull or on his blog: jonathanhkantor.com