What makes scenes scary?

[ds21]

I'm not really looking for an answer here, I just thought it would be interesting to discuss.

Often, one scene in a movie might be raved about by others, but when I see it, I don't understand what's so scary about it.  On the other hand, other scenes completely freak me out, and others don't even bat an eye.

Even if we just consider jump scenes, there are certain jump scenes (like ones in Sixth Sense or [rec]) that scare the bejeeberz out of me.  But some (like ones in Alien and Evil Dead) just don't affect me at all.

Discuss.

[Doggett]

I think you need a sense of atmosphere. Which unskilled filmmakers seem not to realise...
You also need tension and not to waste it on jump scares

[Jack]

The face hugger jumping out of the egg in Alien is one of my all time favorites.  It's starts right at the beginning of the movie, we see computer screens, a weird helmet, this isn't some pretty, friendly ship like the Enterprise, this is an industrial ship.  Then the people wake up, we get to know the characters.  They're very realistic and we're immediately drawn into their world.  Then they land on an alien world, this is a horror movie, so you know this can't be good.  Then a few of them venture off across the inhospitable terrain, in their weird looking space suits, as wind howls around them.  This is bad enough already    The way the characters act lets you know that they don't do this stuff every day, it creates a good sense of tension.  Then they get aboard this weird alien ship, it's huge, there's a huge dead alien on this totally weird chair type thing.  We're completely ill-at-ease, working our way to the edge of our seats.  As if that's not bad enough, one guy splits off from the group and goes into this enormous cargo hold, with a weird laser barrier type thing over it.  There are all these sort of gross looking eggs in it.  This guy is all alone, he's got to be winched back up a long passageway if he wants to get out of here!  Then WHAM!!!  Oh man, they set you up, then they nail ya.

So it's kind of about making the viewer feel uncomfortable, then cranking it up a bit, then a bit more, then a bit more.  I think that's sort of universal. 

[AndyC]

Tension. That's it completely. It's building the expectation that something scary is going to happen. The best movies toy with you a little bit, giving you that anticipation a few times, then easing off, until they finally hit you with something scary.

Atmosphere goes hand in hand with that, and creating a mood. I'm reminded of Kubrick's Shining, where you see little Danny pedaling around the big, empty hotel that looks so much more intimidating from his point of view. The only sound is his wheels on the floor. All around him are doors, corners and places where something could hide. The tight shot restricts our view of his surroundings. Then he arrives at the forbidden door, finding it slightly ajar. The camera lingers on it, and we see Danny looking at it, and we think he might go in, or something might come out, then the scene changes, giving us a reprieve. On another occasion, he rides right around the corner and comes face to face with the two dead girls.

Something that I really enjoy is when some effort is put into making things subtly wrong. Something about the people or the setting just doesn't seem natural, but you can't quite put your finger on it. A few more recent horror movies have done a nice job of creating monsters that were not only creepy to look at, but moved in ways that were just wrong. The girl in the Ringu movies moves her joints in ways you wouldn't think they should move, and with a cracking sound that makes you cringe. But more than that, they actually filmed her walking backward and reversed the film, adding a more subtly unnatural quality to her forward gait.

[Paquita]

I really think it has a lot to do with music too.  I've heard a lot of people say Suspiria is the scariest movie they've ever seen, I really think it has a lot to do with the soundtrack by Goblin.  I always get really creeped out when I play Resident Evil, but if I turn the sound down it's not so bad.

[Doggett]

I think a lot of films from the far east have a great sense of atmosphere that western filmmakers don't know how to re-create. I saw Altered States when I was a kid and it scared me senseless as I didn't know how to handle the freaky hallucination sequences.

David Lynch is the master of scaring people with atmosphere and weird imagery, look at Inland Empire. It's the only film I've ever screamed in.

So it's kind of about making the viewer feel uncomfortable, then cranking it up a bit, then a bit more, then a bit more.  I think that's sort of universal. 

Bingo!