10 Greatest Opening Scenes in International Horror Movies, Ranked

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Often, the opening scene of a scary movie is one of its most pivotal. It can lay out the entire mood and tone of the film in a few mere minutes. Here are the best first scenes of horrors from around the world. Whether they showcase bizarre, randy aliens like in The Untamed, or reanimated zombie deer like in Train to Busan, all these scenes captivate the viewer and keep them glued to the screen for the film’s whole harrowing (typically tragic) adventure.

10 'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale' (2010) — Finland

In the Nordic countries of Europe, people relish in narratives of “Santa Claus” that vastly differ from the one generally told in the United States. Often “Father Christmas” is viewed as a much more mischievous, even vengeful fellow. This region, and down into Germany, is also where the Krampus fables originated. In Finnish director Jalmari Helander’s horror-comedy Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Santa is not just a scamp, he’s a downright devious scoundrel with lethal intentions.

In the first sequence, an American exploration team is seen at the precipice of a massive excavation site in the Lapland area of Finland. This striking visual alone sets the tone for a film that is all about delving into uncharted waters (where, probably, these interloping Americans shouldn’t be). The leader, Riley (Per Christian Ellefsen), of the group, finds a tomb entrenched in the rock, and tells everyone that this is basically Santa’s crypt. They’ve unearthed the jolly one, and are about to bask in unmatched riches. A local kid, Pietari Kontio (Onni Tommila), spies on this greed-fueled debacle and immediately is terrified; he knows the dark truth about Santa… This is a great intro into the cautionary, twisty myth that is about to unfold; a “saving Christmas” story unlike any other.

9 'The Vanishing' (1988) — Netherlands/France

Gene Bervoets as Rex and Johanna ter Steege as Saskia in The Vanishing (Spoorlos)

When a loved one suddenly disappears “without a trace,” the anguish and frustration of the person left behind only gets worse and more painful as time creeps on. It’s the maddening “unknowing” that George Sluizer explores in The Vanishing, as he crafts a wonderfully anxious work of disquieting art. Of course, it all starts with the opening…

Sluizer sets the stage with an initial sequence rife with foreboding foreshadowing. The film opens with a happy Dutch couple, Rex Hofman (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia Wagter (Johanna ter Steege), traveling through scenic Southern France. They run out of gas, in a near dark tunnel, and Rex goes in search of more petrol. Saskia momentarily vanishes, instilling Rex with stark fear. She emerges from the shadows and they reunite, but this initial alarming moment really lays the groundwork for the upcoming, unrelenting dread that Rex will feel for the duration of the chilling film.

8 'Tumbbad' (2018) — India

A figure approaching an old building in Tumbbad

This Indian folkloric horror movie starts off with a really…"explosive" scene. Rahi Anil Barve’s film about the creation of the universe is enthralling the whole way through. Tumbbad examines themes of greed and the quest for the truth. But the real humdinger, is the first scene…

At the gates of a large stone castle, a young woman, Jyoti Malshe, waits to be granted entry as monsoon-like rains fall from the skies. She then treks through the courtyard and eventually comes upon what looks like an old man (Piyush Kaushik) in a red turban. Next, she’s seen in a nice dry room…vigorously, ahem, manually, bringing the elderly chap to climax, as he eerily moans with lewd pleasure. The sheer griminess and high ick factor establishes the tone of the movie: fated, dismal, and probably only getting worse. The old man is shot in shadow, in profile, and it’s extremely creepy. The business-like manner in which the young lady executes her task, facing away from the camera, is telling too. The opening ends with her staring at a demonic-looking stone statue — that holds a gleaming golden coin. The audience can then be sure that they will hereafter be taken on a mystical, covetous ride.

7 'The Host' (2006) — South Korea

Song Kang-ho and Ko Asung in 'The Host' staring with fear

Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho’s stab at the creature feature is an innovative, highly entertaining one. It’s loaded with political and social satire, and has some of the most epic monster scenes ever seen in this always-fun sub-genre. The versatile Song Kang-ho delivers a fine performance as Park Gang-Doo, a very unlikely hero. A great supporting cast and a coolly conceived, humongous creature make this an instant horror-comedy classic.

The very first scene of the film immediately clues audiences into the fact that it will have some scathing satirical commentary on the way humans behave in regard to nature, and our often unbalanced relationship with furry and slimy critters. The Host opens in a U.S. military lab in Seoul, where various experiments are being conducted. A pathologist flippantly instructs a lab tech to dispose of gallons of formaldehyde by…pouring them down a drain. As one most likely would infer, the chemicals interactant negatively with the aquatic life there in the Han River. Eventually, the mutant host, a mega amphibian Predator-looking thing, is born…along with an important lesson about the proper disposal of waste.

6 'When Evil Lurks' (2023) — Argentina

A woman crying while a man pointing at something beyond the camera in When Evil Lurks Film

Demián Rugna’s majestically shot When Evil Lurks is a hair-raising exploration of myth, horror folk, and an entirely new breed of demonic possession. It all starts with some gunshots ringing out in the night, as brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomón) are immediately put on alert.

Still part of the initial sequence, they venture out the next morning to the closest farmhouse, and discover some unsettling things. First, there is a mutilated corpse on the ground, a “cleaner”: a person who has a nifty knack for extricating unborn demons from their human hosts (called “Rottens”). They then find an elderly woman, María Elena (Isabel Quinteros) and her son, Uriel (Pablo Galarza), sequestered in a shed. Uriel is a Rotten…and things are about to get quite putrid indeed.

5 'The Untamed' (2016) — Mexico

girl surrounded by tentacled alien in The Untamed

What’s a girl to do when she’s in a marriage lacking intimacy, and her husband is cheating on her with her own brother? Why, find a tentacled alien entity to make sweet cosmic love to, naturally. That’s the basic premise of Amat Escalante’s weird and wild The Untamed, but that only scratches the surreal surface of this psycho-sexual exploration…of the heart.

In true sci-fi horror fashion, this genre-bending interplanetary love story kicks off with a spectacular bang. It opens with a shot of the night sky, punctuated with stars — that is then permeated by a comet/falling star of some nature. Once it hits the ground, action cuts to a woman, Alejandra (Simone Bucio), in the middle of an out-of-this-world climax. She’s sexing up the alien invader, and in a sadomasochistic manner, loving every minute. It’s quite compelling imagery that immediately sucks the viewer into this unique tale of forbidden desire, unmitigated chauvinism and homophobia, gender role fluidity, and the tragedy that living a lie can ultimately dispatch.

4 'Martyrs' (2008) — France

Morjana Alaoui sits handcuffed to a door in Martyrs

Writer-director Pascal Laugier’s revolutionary Martyrs is the kind of film that viciously grabs the audience in the first scene and never lets go. Part of the New French Extremity movement, it is extreme indeed, as it challenges expectations and surprises at every turn. So much so, it appears to even change genres several times throughout its riveting runtime.

The film opens in an abandoned slaughterhouse, where a small girl, Lucie, has been held captive and forced to endure horrendous forms of torture. She manages to escape this disturbing setting in a highly memorable fashion…but all this does is unleash a fury in her that will fester until she reaches maturity and goes on a quest to exact revenge. The grown-up Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï) appears to commit vile acts herself, but it’s eventually revealed that she was being groomed by a sick organization to become a “martyr”: a person tortured to the brink of death, so that they may have a near-death experience and glimpse the actual afterlife. Again, this film is brutally creative in a multitude of shocking ways, but it all kicks off with this darkly engaging opener.

3 'Train to Busan' (2016) — South Korea

A man covered in blood turns around while train passengers stand in front of him in Train to Busan

Director Yeon Sang-ho created one of the coolest zombie movies ever with Train to Busan. Piggybacking on the 28 Days Later trend of having extra speedy zombies, this whole movie is a pure shot of adrenaline. It focuses on a divorced dad, Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), who’s taking his daughter, Soo-an (Kim Su-an), on a bullet train from Seoul to Busan. Oh, the train is riddled with flesh-eating, infected commuters intent on murdering and devouring everyone in sight, so there’s that.

The opening sequence does a masterful job in setting up the eerie action in an eye-catching, freakishly foreboding way. A truck driver reaches a “quarantine” checkpoint, and an official casually mentions something about some sort of “leak” at a biotech plant. The driver knocks his cell phone down (don’t text and drive, kids), hits a deer, then just motors along. The mutilated deer violently convulses, is jolted back to life, and then stares ahead with creepily frosted eyes… It’s a bone-chilling way to relay the fact that things are about to get freaky.

2 'Wolf Creek 2' (2013) — Australia

John Jaratt as Mick Taylor in still image of Wolf Creek.

2005’s Wolf Creek, which apparently was very loosely based on some unsolved murder cases in the Outback, set the gold standard for terrifying serial killer movies of the new millennium. The Greg McLean-directed sequel, Wolf Creek 2, upped the ante in several scary (and darkly humorous) ways, and helped redefine just how fast-paced a horror movie can be.

The entire film is an anxiety-inducing nail-biter. The opening scene sets the immensely unsettling tone, in an albeit snarky, fun way. Reprising his role as the sadistic killer Mick Taylor (the now legendary John Jarratt), the villain of this story is stopped on a sunny stretch of barren Australian road by two smarmy, condescending highway cops. They look down on the apparent hick for his crude way of speaking and unsophisticated demeanor. That is, until he surprises them by inventively sending them both to early graves. It’s a scene laced with dramatic irony, as the audience just knows these smug buggers are going to be dealt with.

1 '28 Weeks Later' (2007) — United Kingdom

Robert Carlyle running in 28 Weeks Later

Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later turned the way people thought of zombies completely on its (disembodied) head. The smash-hit film was obviously due for a sequel, but even the staunchest fans weren’t ready for the follow-up to begin with one of the best horror sequences of all time. Mark your calendar for Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later.

It all begins with a couple, Don (Robert Carlyle) and Alice (Catherine McCormack), hiding out in a remote cottage, with some other survivors of the initial “Rage Virus.” Unsurprisingly, they aren’t as safe as they thought they may be. Yes, a kid shows up, unintentionally leading a new horde of zombies who descend on the cottage and unleash their horrifying rage on them (apparently they never heard the phrase “take a chill pill”). In a heart-wrenching sequence (of unbridled, non-stop action, by the way), it becomes clear that Don and Alice can’t save the dang kid, and Don desperately cries for Alice to abandon him. Naturally, she doesn’t, and Don makes the now-forever-plagued-with-guilt decision to high-tail it out of there on an escape boat. It’s savage. It’s brutal. It’s unforgettable. It’s just the beginning.

Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving? Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky

Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you're not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.

🏕️Jason

🔪Michael

💤Freddy

🎈Pennywise

🪆Chucky

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

Something feels wrong. You can't explain it — you just know. What do you do? First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.

ALeave immediately. I don't need to understand a threat to respect it. BStay quiet and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it. CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again. DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I'd rather know what I'm dealing with. ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong? Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.

ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people. BA quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight. CIn my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what's already in there. DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things. ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you'd expect is a threat.

NEXT QUESTION →

What is your most reliable survival asset? Every survivor has a quality the villain didn't account for. What's yours?

APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence. BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out. CPsychological resilience — I've faced my worst fears before. They don't have the same power over me. DEmotional steadiness — I don't panic. Panic is what gets you caught. EScepticism — I don't underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through? Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.

AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer. BThe invisible — a threat I can feel but can't locate, watching from somewhere I can't see. CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me. DThe unknowable — something ancient, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself. EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it's too late.

NEXT QUESTION →

You're with a group when things start going wrong. What's your role? Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn't.

AThe one who says "we need to leave" first — and means it, even when no one listens. BThe one who stays quiet, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does. CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to. DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed. EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off.

NEXT QUESTION →

What's the horror movie mistake you're most likely to make? Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.

AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn't, but I can't leave them behind. BAssuming I'm safe once I've found a hiding spot. That's when it finds me. CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy. DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I'm dealing with. EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That's exactly what it wants.

NEXT QUESTION →

What's your best weapon against something that can't be stopped by conventional means? Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.

AThe environment itself — I use the terrain, the water, the geography against it. BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn't expect. CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon. DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on. EImprovisation — I use whatever's at hand, however unconventional. Creativity over brute force.

NEXT QUESTION →

It's the final scene. You're the last one standing. How did you make it? The final survivor always has a reason. What's yours?

AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me. BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it. CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most. DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed. EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it.

REVEAL MY VILLAIN →

Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated Your Best Chance Is Against…

Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.

Jason Voorhees

Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.

He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn't strategise, doesn't adapt, doesn't outsmart. He simply pursues.
Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.

Michael Myers

Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it's too late for anyone who isn't paying close enough attention.

But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
Michael's power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.

Freddy Krueger

Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.

You are harder to destabilise than most. You've faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven't looked away.
The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
Freddy's greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.

Pennywise

Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.

The Losers Club didn't survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the dark — is Pennywise's worst nightmare.
It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.

Chucky

Chucky's greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it's already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.

You don't have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

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