Roll the Tape: 10 Horror Openings That Set The Tone

While I’d argue a movie can’t be judged entirely by its opening scene, it can absolutely be sunk by one.

With that in mind, I recently stumbled across a video from horror influencer PlanetChh breaking down what he considered a great horror opening, and just like that, the old gears in my brain started grinding. What are some of the best horror movie openings I’ve seen, and more importantly, why do they stick?

Now, I already know how this goes. Some of you will declare this list complete garbage. Where is this film? Why didn’t you include this one? Others will nod along like we share the same cinematic brain. And a fair number of you will land somewhere in the middle, politely disagreeing while judging me just a little bit.

This isn’t meant to be the definitive, carved-in-stone ranking of the greatest horror openings in film history. It’s simply a collection of openings I love, some because they’re personal favorites, others because they’re so slick, stylish, and perfectly executed that you can’t help but admire the craft.

The best part? This isn’t a lecture. It’s a conversation. I fully expect, and encourage, you to tell me where I got it right, where I went off the rails, and what films you would’ve thrown into the mix.

So, without further ado, let’s roll the tape on 10 horror openings that set the tone.

10. The Fog (1980)

John Carpenter again, because of course.

The opening, featuring John Houseman as an old sea dog telling a ghost story, does exactly what it needs to do. It sets the tone perfectly. It’s not flashy, but it’s effective.

It’s storytelling, plain and simple.

And sometimes that’s all you need.

9. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

“They’re coming to get you, Barbara!”

You could argue there isn’t a more iconic line in horror.

What starts as a routine visit to a grave turns into a nightmare, and ultimately one of the most important horror films ever made. The social commentary, the groundbreaking lead performance, and the raw brutality all still hit.

Also, thanks to a clerical error, it’s in the public domain.

So really, you have no excuse.

8. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

This might not be the strongest opening on the list, but it belongs here because this is the most fun Friday the 13th movie.

Tommy Jarvis digs up Jason’s corpse to make sure he’s dead. Logical horror movie decision-making at its finest.

Naturally, lightning strikes the metal post he just used to impale Jason, because of course it does, and just like that, Jason is back in business.

Sometimes horror doesn’t need to be subtle. Sometimes it just needs a lightning bolt and a bad idea.

7. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Yes, it’s a remake. And yes, it earns its spot.

Zack Snyder took the bones of George A. Romero’s 1978 classic and injected it with modern speed, chaos, and dread.

We start with Ana finishing a shift at a Milwaukee hospital. Little hints are sprinkled in the background, but nothing seems out of the ordinary yet. An emergency bulletin almost breaks through, but it gets turned off. Life goes on.

Until it doesn’t.

What follows is one of the most effective “everything just went to hell overnight” openings in horror. And these zombies do not shuffle.

They sprint.

6. The Thing (1982)

“Se til helvete og kom dere vekk! Det er ikke en bikkje, det er en slags ting! Det imiterer en bikkje, det er ikke virkelig! Kom dere vekk, idioter!”

That roughly translates to, “Get the hell away from here! That isn’t a dog, it’s some kind of thing! It imitates a dog, it isn’t real! Get away, you fools!”

If only the men of U.S. Outpost 31 understood Norwegian, or the guys from Thule Station were better shots, the nearly two-hour runtime of The Thing would have been a whole lot shorter.

Alas, MacReady and the crew weren’t fluent, and the Norwegians were apparently having an off day at the range, so instead we got one of the greatest sci-fi horror films ever made.

The paranoia, distrust, and confusion all start here.

And no, this won’t be the last time John Carpenter shows up on this list.

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

No lie, when I first saw this A Nightmare on Elm Street, it scared the absolute life out of me. I was about 9 years old, sitting at a neighbor’s house, watching it on VHS like I had any business doing that.

Freddy Krueger hit my young brain like a freight train. That fear eventually turned into obsession, and then into a deep appreciation for how clever and inventive the concept really is.

One day, I’d love to meet Robert Englund at a convention, mostly to tell him what he put me through, and then immediately thank him and shake his hand.

The opening is simple but unforgettable. A man in a grimy room assembles something awful, something that would become iconic: Freddy’s glove, all set to Charles Bernstein’s eerie, synth-driven score.

Then we’re thrown into Tina’s nightmare.

At that point, Freddy wasn’t a pop culture icon. He wasn’t cracking jokes. He was just coming for you.

And that opening made sure you knew it.

4. Jaws (1975)

This movie fires on all cylinders, which is why it’s my favorite film of all time, any genre, no debate. At least for me.

The storytelling, character development, camera work, suspense, anxiety, that iconic score, and the shark all come together to form a true cinematic masterpiece. No offense to Peter Benchley, but this is one of those rare cases where the movie outshines the book.

The opening drops us straight into the ocean from the shark’s point of view before shifting to a laid-back beach gathering. People are drinking, there’s a little partying, and one overly confident guy is making his move. He stumbles his way toward a girl he’s been eyeing, and before long, they’re running toward the surf.

She reaches the water first, laughing as she sheds her clothes and dives in with ease, while he fumbles behind. Alone in the open water, she swims until something unseen moves beneath her.

What follows is pure nightmare fuel. A flawless opening to a flawless film.

3. Scream (1996)

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” A line that didn’t just make cinematic history, it helped launch a whole new era of horror: meta. It’s almost hard to remember a time when the genre wasn’t winking at the audience.

Say what you will about the sequels, but the original Scream was a game-changer. At a time when horror felt like it was running on fumes, this movie showed up, cracked open a cold one, and brought the genre back to life.

Director Wes Craven had already started playing with these ideas in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), but Scream is where it all clicked.

That opening scene, Drew Barrymore alone in the house, a flirtatious phone call turning into something far more sinister, builds into one of the most brutal and memorable kills in horror. The Jiffy Pop is going up in flames as her parents arrive too late. It’s as effective as it is unsettling.

Back then, as a young horror fan, I thought it was awesome. Now, as a parent of a teenage daughter, it hits a whole lot differently.

Tip of the hat to you, Mr. Craven.

2. Blade (1998)

The movie opens with a guy who screams “bad decisions,” rocking a backward Kangol and somehow thinking he’s got a shot with Traci Lords. Spoiler: he does not.

She leads him into a sketchy meatpacking facility, which is already a red flag, before they’re let into what looks like an underground rave. Music is pounding, people are dancing, and everything feels a little too good to be true.

It is.

After getting ditched, our guy notices a drop of something on his hand. It’s blood. Naturally, he tastes it, as one does when partying in a meatpacking plant. Moments later, the sprinklers kick on, drenching the crowd in blood as the truth is revealed. This isn’t a rave. It’s a feeding ground. Vampires. Everywhere.

He’s thrown to the floor and beaten. Things look very bad until he runs into a pair of black boots.

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a household name, Blade kicked the door open with an opening that’s still stylish, brutal, and effortlessly cool. It tells you right away this ride is going to get wild.

1. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

This is the one PlanetChh crowned as the greatest horror opening of all time. Do I fully agree? Not quite, but I get it. This thing has atmosphere in spades.

Never has the autumnal landscape of Haddonfield, Illinois, by way of real-life Utah, felt so downright eerie. It plays like a time capsule of the late ’80s and, for me, childhood in the Midwest. The wide-open farm fields at dusk, the lonely stretches of road, you can practically smell the wood smoke hanging in the air as the nights turn crisp, and that long, cold darkness of winter starts creeping in like an uninvited guest.

Like I said, atmosphere for days.

When it comes to the best opening in the Halloween franchise, I still have to give the crown to the original. That first-person POV of young Michael Myers stalking and killing his sister didn’t just set the tone; it changed the game. Halloween 4, however, may have the best opening of any sequel in the Michael Myers storyline.

Honorable Mention: The Toxic Avenger (1984)

This one makes the list because it marks the first time I saw my parents, especially my mom, instantly regret a movie rental.

Pre-internet, all we had was a poster and a tagline, and that was enough to sell it.

It did not take long for that decision to unravel. Nudity, sex, bullying, drinking and driving, and a cast of thoroughly unlikable characters. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Bozo. Then comes enough gore from a sadistic hit-and-run “game” to make my mother jump out of her Reagan-era pleated pants and shoulder pads to stop the tape.

That was my introduction to Lloyd Kaufman and Troma.