Harry Potter: 10 Most Anxiety-Inducing Movie Moments

The moments that made us all sit on the edge of our seats...

Harry Potter And Bathilda Bagshot
Warner Bros.

The Harry Potter franchise is a strange amalgamation of genres and tones. At its core, the story is a fantastical coming-of-age tale. But there’s also mystery, humour, war, romance, and political corruption.

Elements of horror and suspense are also thrown into the mix from time to time, and as such, each entry in the series contains a number of anxiety-inducing moments. More often than not, these moments involve one of J.K. Rowling’s fantastical monsters, but the filmmakers also deserve praise for developing a terrific atmosphere to accompany such creatures.

This is particularly noticeable in the third movie – The Prisoner of Azkaban – which marked a tonal shift for the franchise and laid the foundation for the following entries. Having said that, there are still anxiety-inducing moments in the first two movies as well. Even The Philosopher’s Stone – which is easily the most child-friendly of Harry’s adventures – contains a number of scenes that are frightening for both adults and children.

Whilst the anxiety-inducing moments in Harry Potter are not overly prominent, whenever they do crop up, they certainly leave a lasting impression on the audience…

10. The Cave – The Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter And Bathilda Bagshot
Warner Brothers

Rowling created many interesting creatures for her wizarding world, and though the Dementors are probably the most unsettling, the Inferi are pretty terrifying as well.

Whilst attempting to steal Slytherin’s Locket from inside a magically-protected cave, Harry and Dumbledore are set upon by a horde of Inferi – dead bodies that have been bewitched by a dark witch or wizard. They have a zombie-like appearance and the sight of them crawling out of the black water towards Harry is more than a little disturbing.

To make matters worse, Harry is then dragged away by an Inferius and almost drowns beneath the water. He was literally in the arms of death during this scene and had it not been for Dumbledore’s timely recovery, Harry would have been lost to the watery depths of the cave.

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Love to read and write. Have an unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. Enjoy running up hills.