STEVEN SPIELBERG'S 10 SCARIEST MOVIE MOMENTS
Steven Spielberg's films are often full of wonder and told from a child's point of view, but look beneath the surface and there is often something scary, something sinister, something that puts you on the edge of your seat.
He's able to conjure suspense and create memorable moments just as Alfred Hitchcock did before him. Here's Steven Spielberg's scariest cinematic moments...
Duel (1971)
Duel originated as a US TV movie, but in Europe it was released theatrically and almost worked as a prototype for Jaws.
It was quite literally man (David Mann) vs machine, in the shape of a huge truck. If you drive, you can't help but think of Duel if you are driving in front of a large lorry.
In a film of expertly directed moments of tension between truck and car it is perhaps the scene where the truck smashes through a phone box with David Mann still in it that gets the beads of sweat going the most.
You think he is safe, he's not. And now the game of vehicular cat and mouse is no longer just a game, it's a matter of life and death.
FURTHER READING Jaws and Duel: Bonded By Blood, Sweat And Gears
Jaws (1975)
Where to start? Jaws still stands tall when it comes to inducing fear and terror in those who watch it. There are so many stand out scary moments, from Chrissie's opening attack, the estuary victim scene as the shark glides through the water, to Ben Gardner's head make us jump time and again.
FURTHER READING STAY OUT OF THE WATER: JAWS IS A HORROR MOVIE
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
For such a magical and hopeful film, again starring Richard Dreyfuss, it has one horror-inducing scene that wouldn't look out of place in Spielberg's later film - which he produced and wrote - Poltergeist.
The scene in question is when Barry and his mum are besieged by the aliens, and at this moment we don't yet know they are friendly. So, we get them trying to come through any gap they can, send kitchen utensils every where, set toys off on their own in a scene that is a heady mix of Gremlins meets Poltergeist. Signs essentially expanded this moment into an entire movie.
Again, like Jaws it is all done through suggestion, music and what you don't see. This scene never fails to put you on tenterhooks, and is Spielberg at his magical but malevolent best.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
At the climax of the first Indiana Jones we get ghosts flying around German soldiers, with the ghosts suddenly changing shape and lightning shoots through the soldiers.
And it doesn't stop there as we get melting and exploding faces, which is a wondrous mix of John Williams music and Industrial Light and Magic special that has given a whole generation of children nightmares. But, what an ending.
FURTHER READING: RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK: JAWS AND INDIANA JONES
Poltergeist (1982)
To many Poltergeist was Spielberg’s darkness to E.T.’s light, they both came out in the same month in the US in 1982. He served as writer on this and Producer, although it has oft been mooted he had a closer hand in direction as well, rather than Texas Chainsaw-helmer Tobe Hooper. But that is a whole other blog entry. Hooper's directorial stamp is all over this, but as writer and producer it was never not going to ooze Spielberg.
All horror films should of course be watched with the lights off but Poltergeist loves the darkness, especially when the strobing effects kick-in. Fittingly, it really drags you into the television.
The stand out scary moment for me is when the clown grabs Robbie and drags him under the bed, again, it is less that exact moment but more the build up to it. And we've all covered up a toy in our bedroom after we've sworn their eyes have followed us around the room. Toy Story this ain't.
FURTHER READING: Poltergeist: Just when you thought is was safe turn on your TV
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones, so screamed the posters for this follow up to Raiders that is in actual fact a prequel as it is set before Raiders.
We all screamed at the dark turn the film took when a man had his beating heart ripped from his body by Mola Ram before the victim was burnt alive in a pit of fire.
That film may have been a PG but it (and Gremlins, which was also executive produced by Spielberg) caused such concerns and debate that they led directly to the introduction of the PG-13 certificate in the US. And the first film released under that new certificate was Red Dawn.
Jurassic Park (1993)
If Duel helped pave the way to Jaws, then Jaws also shares plenty of DNA with Jurassic Park.
Both films are based on best-selling books, both became the highest grossing films ever, and both use their monsters sparingly. Both also showcase how Spielberg effortlessly stages a set piece and Jurassic Park delivers thrills and jumps aplenty.
Whilst the introduction of the T-Rex is iconic - and with its mixture of CG and practical effects - still holds up today, it is the velociraptors in the kitchen that has the audience teetering on a knifes edge and as quiet as a mouse.
We'll be safe...just as long as long as they don't figure out how to open doors.
FURTHER READING Jaws + Jurassic Park = The Perfect Double-Bill
Schindler's List (1993)
Spielberg is famous for his cranes and his showiness in putting memorable scenes and moments together, he turned his back on that for what is his most important film.
List is filmed in black and white, minus showy moments, almost documentary in style and is uncompromising.
Filmed and released the same year as Jurassic Park (he was overseeing the edit of the dinosaur film at night after filming) it is a monumental film that is an essential, but emotional watch.
It's here as it is scary because it is true, and happened. Full of imagery that provokes horror, the scariest moment chosen here is the sequence where a group of new arrivals are headed to the showers. We know what that means, the tension is palpable, and we share the sheer relief of those in the film when water shoots out of the shower heads...this time.
We all now what happened in the Holocaust, but Spielberg puts us in their shoes.
The Lost World (1997)
Spielberg may have jumped ship (or the bigger boat) on the Jaws sequels, but outside the Indiana Jones films this was (at the time of production) only his third sequel as a director.
We get more dinosaur time in the sequel, but it never really reaches the heights of the original, save for one stand-out sequence, which is still one of the most tense moments of the entire series.
That scene features Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and his daughter trapped in a double trailer with a an injured baby T-Rex.
As Goldblum deadpans, mummies very angry, and the trailer ends up being pushed over a cliff and our heroes dangling. Spielberg, as he so often and flawlessly does, raises the already raised stakes by having Sarah crash onto a glass screen, which begins to crack under her weight.
There is no music, just the cracking noises, and a phone that is about to slip off and smash through the glass. A perfect ticking clock as William's music is gently brought into play, heightening the moment to almost unbearable levels.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Whether it is the Orson Welles radio version, the technicolour death rays of the George Pal Big screen debut or the musical Jeff Wayne rendition, there has always been something unsettling about each incarnation of the H. G. Wells story, and Spielberg's is no different.
Set in present day, it takes its horror as much from the real world with huge echoes of 9/11 with its iconography, a surprise attack and people turning to dust as it is all unfolds as people stand and watch, unable to do anything about it.
Although that opening scene where the Martian rises leaves a horrible feeling in the stomach, I've plumped for the scene where the tripod rises from the water in front of a packed boat of people trying to escape.
It's the music, the noise, and tension rising moment upon moment that makes it a sweaty and uncomfortable experience. Even 30 years after the release of Jaws, Spielberg was still showing is why it wasn't safe to go back in to the water.
Words by Dean Newman
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