Practical effects in horror movies manage to add a layer of realism that drags audience members into the terrifying setting or situation that the characters have gotten themselves into. With practical effects, viewers can almost feel the pain or bloodshed that is occurring as it all looks way too real.
While CGI has come a very long way to look as realistic as possible, it still seems like it cannot replicate the true grittiness of what practical effects can do. Some scenes use both, to enhance the gory effects while still replicating real-life situations, a perfect example of this is the pulling of the hangnail scene in Black Swan. Many practical effects from even older horror movies make viewers still cringe and feel uncomfortable today.
10 A Nightmare On Elm Street- Freddy In The Wall
A really good example of cringe-worthy practical effects is in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street. As Freddy Kruger first begins to haunt the teens on Elm, several scenes downright give viewers the creeps. One of the most notorious examples is when Nancy falls asleep for one of the first times and Freddy begins trying to claw his way out of the wall. The effects of his face pressing against it, watching her, is downright spooky and will make everyone think twice about a horrifying face appearing on the wall above their own bed.
9 Hellraiser- Ressurection
Hellraiser is never short on practical effects and body horror. After all, the Hellraiser movie is about torture loving demons coming to claim back a soul that escaped. All of the ritual scenes are utterly horrifying, but the resurrection scene in which Frank is brought back to life is by far the worst of the bunch. Not only is this character more of a villain than the bondage-obsessed demons trying to take him back, but he also is just super gross. He has a make-out scene shortly after resurrection with a very living woman, and it is just by far one of the grossest, goriest kiss scenes in movie history.
8 An American Werewolf In London- The Movies
An American Werewolf in London is by far one of- if not the best- examples of practical effects in a horror movie. After David and his best friend Jack get attacked by a werewolf, David wakes in a hospital to learn that Jack was brutally killed. Of course, he learns this by seeing the horribly mangled version of his friend who also warns him he will also be a werewolf and that he should probably kill himself to avoid it.
The brutal effects on Jack are horrifying and only get worse and worse as the movie progresses. He has this bit of dangly skin by his ripped open neck that is just grotesque and scaring and in the big movie theater scene, when David sees Jack and all of the ghosts killed by the werewolf, Jack’s body is totally decaying, with pieces falling off. Jack isn’t a scary ghost, but his appearance is the stuff of nightmares.
7 Alien- The Chestburster
The Chestburster in the original Alien is a classic practical effect that has since gone down in history and has been revisited by pretty much every Alien movie thereafter. This iconic scene shows the Chestburster do exactly as it is named, burst out of the chest of one of the crewmates in a totally gory fashion.
After the Facehuggers plant the eggs inside the bodies of the host, the eggs incubate and eventually burst when they are ready. The most horrifying aspect is that the host feels the alien within them shortly before its hatching time, and they are alive to watch as a tiny little worm with teeth rips them open seconds before they die.
6 An American Werewolf in London- Transformation
Piggybacking off Jack and his disgusting practical effects, the full moon transformation sequence in An American Werewolf in London is probably one of the most famous horror movie sequences of all time. This scene is by far the greatest werewolf transformation sequence, something that supernatural movies have been trying to replicate ever since.
Fans see as David becomes a werewolf, and just how painful the transformation actually is. They see as his nails and teeth grow and sharpen, how his bones shift and transform to fit the body of a werewolf, and how the hair all over his body grows follicle by follicle. This scene is utterly horrifying and so well done that it has become an iconic staple of practical effects.
5 The Fly- Metamorphosis
The Fly is another movie that is totally brutal and grotesque, as it might even make audience members gag. Jeff Goldblum stars as a scientist obsessed with discovering a way to create instant teleportation. Instead, he accidentally fuses the DNA of a fly with his own that causes him to slowly become fly-man, which had much different results than that of Spider-Man. The final reveal and transformation scene of this film shows Goldblum as a slimy horrifying mess that was so impressive, the special effects team won an Oscar for all their hard work.
4 The Thing- Kennel Scene
The Thing has been made a few times, however, the John Carpenter version from 1982 definitely reigns supreme in terms of practical effects. The kennel scene is by far one of the spookiest that is sure to still make viewers uncomfortable.
After hiding out as a dog, the Thing reveals itself when it is locked in a kennel with a number of other huskies. The dogs back away from the Thing, knowing it is not one of them and begin to bark frantically as the Thing tears itself in two. Dog fans definitely will go crazy watching this scene, as the Thing begins attacking all around it with its long tentacles that sprout from its grotesque body.
3 Pan’s Labyrinth- The Pale Man
Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is filled with practical effects and makeup to make for a super horrifying yet fantastical movie that will take its viewers on a dark adventure. The Pale Man is probably one of the most memorable characters in this film as he is just a large sack of loose skin with long black fingers and eyes on the palms of his hand. The Pale Man is part of a test the main character undergoes but is a very real threat and danger. He pulls a fairies head off and eats it like a grape. Pan's Labyrinth Pale Man is the stuff of nightmares, and one of the most horrifying monsters of practical makeup in any horror movie.
2 The Evil Dead- The Deadite
The Evil Dead series has some amazing practical effects and makeup that truly hone in on the campy feeling of the entire movie. The Deadites are all extremely grotesque and their shocking personalities make for stuff of nightmares. They shriek and laugh and smile like Cheshire cats, as they torment Ash throughout the small cabin in the woods. Their makeup make the dead look as though they are actually decaying, and each scene or gore and horror is amplified.
When Ash’s girlfriend, Linda, is stabbed in The Evil Dead the heel by a Deadite Cheryl, audience members can practically feel the pain the character feels as the blood oozes out, just before she becomes a deadite herself.
1 The Exorcist- Vomit Scene
The Exorcist is another amazing example of practical effects that are still scarier than anything CGI can do today. This movie puts viewers right there in the room with the possessed Regan, as she vomits all over the Priests that are trying to save her. She looks horrifying, as the makeup that was placed on the actress makes her truly seem as though she were possessed.
The Exorcist is super spooky, and though it is from the early 1970s, it still holds up as far as horror movies go and can still make any viewer uncomfortable and horrified. The practical effects in this movie made it legendary and it is still referenced today time and time again in horror and pop culture.
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1 Comments
I watch horror movies since I was a teenager and I switched from non-visible horror like >> The Haunting of Hill House to other supernatural movies to the classic slashers to 90s teen horror - to Asian horror and I am still very open to movies, I had never watched before...
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