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A Beginner’s Guide to Jump Scares

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Jump scares get a bad rap. In the horror discourse, they’re often dismissed as cheap and tawdry ways to get audiences on the edge of their seats, like a bargain basement replacement for the psychological thrills of more “important” horror movies. But the fact is, jump scares are a vital ingredient in the horror pantry, and they can be used to propel artful masterpieces just as much as popcorn-munching chillers. 

A Step By Step Guide to Overcoming Jump Scares

However, even if you agree with that assessment, some people just aren’t built for jump scares. If you or someone you love is interested in seeing certain jump scare-focused movies but can’t control a viscerally negative reaction to those roller coaster thrills, I have prepared a three-step program to help teach you how to watch them and wean you onto the really gnarly nerve-janglers. (Full disclosure: I’m on step 3 with someone very close to me right now, and so far it’s doing the trick).

For the purposes of the following examples, I’m going to assume you are the horror fan who wants to eventually show a particularly scary movie to someone else, so we’ll refer to that person as the Scaredy Cat.

Step 1: Hop

Depending on where your friend/partner/family member/dark passenger is in their horror fandom, you may have to start them at the very beginning to build up some jump scare stamina.

First, we should start with true gateway movies, titles that are aimed specifically at children. There are quite a few scary moments in iconic children’s classics, so maybe they’ve already been exposed to some of them. Think Large Marge in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Fizzgig popping out of the tree stump in The Dark Crystal, or the screaming book in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (I don’t recommend giving J.K. Rowling any more money by paying to watch this, but if you’re a millennial or younger, you probably have a copy lying around or know somebody who does).

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If they haven’t experienced any of these delectable kindertrauma offerings as a child, then sit them down for some essential viewing. The filmmakers behind these kinds of movies intend to scare the audience, but only a little, couching these moments in off-kilter but more family-friendly aesthetics that will allow viewers to process their fear in a safe environment.

Step 2: Skip

Once that step is done, I recommend viewing some iconic horror shorts like David F. Sandberg’s Lights Out, Andy Muschietti’s Mamá, or Parker Finn’s Laura Hasn’t Slept. While these can be mighty scary, and in my opinion, frequently scarier than the feature films they inspired, they all tend to follow a certain rhythm. Make sure your Scaredy Cat is very prepared going in. Don’t try to have fun at their expense.

Have your Scaredy Cat try to focus on the way the short film is trying to scare them, how it builds tension continuously into one quick release. With shorts like this, there is usually just one jump scare at the very end, so they can rest assured that they will have as much recovery time as they need afterward. Also, knowing the run time of the short ahead of watching it can help them keep an eye on exactly when the scare is coming.

Watching a few shorts in a row can be an excellent guide to how filmmakers craft the scares that are dotted throughout their features, but in a bite-size package that’s slightly easier to swallow.

Step 3: Jump

If your Scaredy Cat has proven themselves willing and able to pass steps 1 and 2, it’s time for the final showdown. This is where you dip their toe into feature-length horror for adults. While this step will look slightly different for everyone, there are two routes you can take depending on what type of movie fan they are.

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Route 1: The Franchise

This is the route I’m using with my personal Scaredy Cat. If they are a completist who likes exploring the full breadth of a franchise, they might not be able to resist a horror series with slightly stronger continuity or more built-out lore, like Paranormal ActivityInsidious, and Scream. They might be scared by the movies, but it may also be difficult for them to resist the urge to find out what happens next. These franchises also usually have an escalation of scares as they go along, naturally weaning your Scaredy Cat onto scarier and scarier movies.

Now these franchises will inevitably have entries that are worse than others, but having the conversation about which are your favorites and why is also a useful tool for having them engage with the franchise in a way that isn’t solely about jump scares. Also, if Insidious is the franchise you choose, it’ll clue them into the James Wan style of jump scare, which is very common in modern horror and could come in handy for future movies.

Route 2: The Familiar Face

Another route would be to find a movie that stars or features an actor they love from something else. If they love Daniel Radcliffe, for instance, The Woman in Black is a very good place to start. Are they a Buffy fan? Maybe The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Well… maybe. Don’t @ me if that one doesn’t go well, this all depends on who they like. But seeing a star they enjoy might be the carrot that helps them get over the stick of jump scares.

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If you’ve completed all these steps and your Scaredy Cat’s heart hasn’t exploded, then they might just be ready to approach the big guns like The ConjuringIt: Chapter OneThe Descent, and [REC]. Jump scares still may never be their cup of tea. But at least they will have the tools to recognize when one is coming and the experience under their belt to know they can handle it when it does. 

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Brennan Klein is a millennial who knows way more about 80's slasher movies than he has any right to. He's a former host of the  Attack of the Queerwolf podcast and a current senior movie/TV news writer at Screen Rant. You can also find his full-length movie reviews on Alternate Ending and his personal blog Popcorn Culture. Follow him on Twitter or Letterboxd, if you feel like it.

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Misc

‘Death Becomes Her’ 4K Giveaway: Live Forever with This Cult Classic!

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We’re back with another killer giveaway! This Oscar-winning, campy Robert Zemeckis flick, shot by the always incredible Dean Cundey, has re-rocked the queer community with its recent Broadway adaptation. A few simple steps can put you in the running to receive this genre classic.

Enter Our Death Becomes Her Giveaway!

How to Enter:

Step 1. Make sure to FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM!

Step 2. LIKE the giveaway post!

Step 3. TAG A FRIEND who you’d like not to get old and decrepit with. 

Luckily for you, we’re not asking for a $200,000 check for an elixir that grants eternal youth and immortality.

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If the winner does not respond on Instagram within 24 hours, we will randomly select another winner.

What You’ll Win

  • 4K transfer of the original 35mm camera negative
  • Presented by Dolby Vision
  • The Making of Death Becomes Her: featuring interviews with Robert Zemeckis, writer David Koepp, Director of Photography Dean Cundey, Production Designer Rick Carter and Special Effects Artists Lance Anderson and David Anderson
  • Vintage Making-of Featurette
  • Photo Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer

Celebrate Pride with this gorgeous 4K copy of a bona fide cult classic! What are you waiting for? Your rejuvenation potion to kick in? Go on, do it, it’s the completion of your physical media collection! SEMPRE VIVE!

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Misc

Demon Twinks: Horror’s Deadliest Skinny Boys

Ranking the top 10 deadliest twink horror villains! From Corey Cunningham in Halloween Ends to Lee in Bones and All, these slim slashers bring terror with style.

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When one is ideating horror-related topics for Pride Month, it shouldn’t take too long for the phrase “demon twink” to pop into one’s head. Naturally, it took me three years to come up with this idea. I never said I was a genius. But once it got into my head, I couldn’t get it out. Twinks don’t have a reputation for being imposing or menacing. They’re usually young, slim, etc., and as such can be quickly written off.

But horror villainy is an equal opportunity business, and there are plenty of demon twinks to be had, if you know where to look. Twunks need not apply. So I took the time to do some exhaustive research and break down some of the deadliest skinny boys in the business (ranked by deadliness, of course – their body type is part of the foundation of this discussion but not attached to any sort of value judgment).

Warning: Some of these movies are whodunits, so there will be spoilers.

Top 10 Demon Twinks in Horror

#10 Orphan: First Kill (2022) – Gunnar Albright

Demon twink number 10 is low on the list because he doesn’t actually kill anybody during the events of Orphan: First Kill, but (VERY SPOILER ALERT) the fact that, prior to said events, he murdered his own kid sister and conspired with his mother to cover it up very much earns him a place on this list. That’s demonic as hell.

#9 He Lives by Night (夜驚魂) (1982) – The Stocking Killer

This Hong Kong movie is probably the least well-known of the titles on this list, but it shouldn’t be. Well, it is a touch transphobic, as are so many early post-Psycho slashers, so be warned. But the killer – whose mind snapped because of his cheating wife, leading him to murder women by strangling them with stockings – pulls off a heap of brutal, protracted, often beautiful murders, including one that I would accuse of ripping off Tenebrae if it hadn’t actually come out before the Argento classic.

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#8 Terror Train (1980) – Kenny Hampson

Kenny racks up a pretty solid body count for an early 1980s slasher villain, helping 10 people shuffle off this mortal coil. However, the flair that he has for changing costumes is not reflected in the kills, which can be a little samey, landing him a little lower on the list than he maybe should be.

#7 Scream VI (2023) – Ethan Landry

Like all Scream movies, the exact body count that each Ghostface is responsible for in Scream VI is a little unclear. However, given where he is at certain times in the movie, he could have perpetrated at least five of the New York City slayings, which is more than his dad (three, tops) or his sister (who maxes out at four). He’s also pretty clearly the Ghostface behind the notorious ladder scene, which results in one of the most gruesome deaths in the movie. Poor Anika. We hardly knew ye.

#6 Cutting Class (1989) – Brian Woods

See, this demon twink 1980s slasher killer has a more compact body count of 6, but he knows how to have fun with it. He’s out here baking people into kilns and inspiring Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving with a deliciously preposterous trampoline murder.

#5 Angst (1983) – K

K may not have a lot of meat on his bones, but what he does have to offer is an uncontrollable urge to torture and murder people. This bleak, shocking motion picture has a relatively low body count, because it primarily follows him tormenting one isolated family. However, the sheer intensity of what we do see cannot be denied, as is the intensity of the way K does everything in his life, including eating a sausage in what might actually be the most disgusting scene in the movie.

#4 Fade to Black (1980) – Eric Binford

When it comes to a small body count with flair, look no further than Eric Binford, who stages five spectacular murders inspired by classic films, namely Kiss of Death, Dracula, Hopalong Cassidy, The Mummy, and White Heat, all while trying to get with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike. Commitment to a theme will get you far in Pride Month, and we must all pay respect.

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#3 Bones and All (2022) – Lee

Lee’s onscreen kill count isn’t especially high, but he gets extra points for style (Slitting a dude’s throat in the middle of a hookup? This demon twink brings the drama) and for canonical cannibal murders that have taken place before the events of the story, including those of his father and babysitter. Plus, Timothée Chalamet is the ur twink of our day, and that is what pushes him so far toward the top of the list.

#2 Children of the Corn (1984) – Malachai

Although he does not figure very much in the opening scenes of the movie when the town’s children turn on the adults, Isaac’s second-in-command makes up for lost time once the main thrust of the story kicks in. In fact, he’s really the only person who commits proper, non-supernatural murders from that point on, and he takes to his job with terrifying gusto.

#1 Halloween Ends (2022) – Corey Cunningham

I know, I know. He’s not technically Michael Myers, and we’re all mad about that. This is something I’ve written extensively about for Horror Press in the past. But he is the primary killer in this movie, like it or not. He’d already get points for the accidental but spectacular murder of that beyond irritating kid he’s babysitting in the opening sequence (which I’ve also written about previously), but he later adds nine bodies to that count, as well as a homoerotic assist for a Michael Myers slaying. And some of those kills are pretty damn gruesome! This is a deadly, demon twink if there ever was one.

Runners-Up: Jesse Walsh from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Alex from My Soul to Take, Charlie Walker from Scream 4, Arne Johnson from The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Norman Bates from Psycho IV: The Beginning

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