Presented without commentary, because this scene pretty much speaks for itself.
From John Carpenter’s 1988 film They Live:
Category Archives: Scenes I Love
Scenes That I Love: The Witch Melts In The Wizard Of Oz
Horror Scenes That I Love: The Jack The Ripper Scene From Pandora’s Box
Since I reviewed Robert Bloch’s Night of the Ripper earlier today, it only seems appropriate that Jack the Ripper should play a role in today’s horror scene that I love.
In the 1929 silent German film, Pandora’s Box, Louise Brooks plays Lulu who, through a series of misfortunes, goes from being the mistress of an upper middle class newspaper publisher to living in squalor in London. Reduced to working as a prostitute, Lulu picks up her first client on Christmas Eve. Little does she know that her client is actually the infamous murderer known as Jack the Ripper. At first, Jack attempts to resist his urges by throwing away his knife but once they reach Lulu’s apartment, he discovers another.
This scene, which served as the film’s finale, was considered to be so controversial in 1929 that it was edited out of some prints, which had the effect of turning a tragic story about a woman forced into prostitution into a story about a woman who, following some bad luck, moves to London and is redeemed by volunteering for the Salvation Army.
Here is the original conclusion of Pandora’s Box:
Horror Scenes That I Love: The Old Man In The Woods In A Quiet Place
Since I reviewed A Quiet Place earlier today, it seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love is taken from that film.
In this scene, Lee Abott (John Krasinski) and his son come across an old man in the woods. The old man is looking down at the remains of a woman who we presume to be his wife. What he does next is a reminder of just how brutal and unforgiving life can be. When the man screams, it’s the first human voice that we’ve heard in a while. It’s also a cry of surrender and sacrifice, one that sets up the conclusion of the film.
Watch, listen, and don’t make a sound.
Scenes That I Love: Danny Meets The Grady Girls in The Shining
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is unique in that it’s a horror film that freaks me out every time that I see it. Even though I’ve sat through the film so many times that I now practically have it memorized, The Shining still scares me.
And, to be honest, a lot of that has to do with the daughters of Charles (or was that Delbert) Grady. Early on, we’re told that the previous caretaker, Grady, went crazy from the isolation and ended up killing his daughters with an axe. And yet, if his daughters are dead, what are they doing in the hallway of the Overlook Hotel, inviting poor little Danny Torrance to come play with them!?
AGCK!
Seriously, this scene freaks me out every time that I see it.
Horror Scenes I Love: Ghost Ship
Ghost Ship came out in 2002 and it was part of that very brief wave of Dark Castle Entertainment which began in 1999 with their remake of House On Haunted Hill and then petered out with 2005’s Gothika.
While not one of the better horror films to come out during the first decade of the new millennium, Ghost Ship was still entertaining enough to become a sort of guilty pleasure for horror aficionados.
Part of why some horror fans seem to enjoy this film, mediocre as it is through much of it’s running time, is the opening scene which takes on a grand guignol meets the Road Runner brilliance in its execution.
Just take a gander for yourself and try not to either vomit in disgust or smile gleefully at such a ludicrous gory sequence.
Scenes I Love: Predator “Jungle Shootout”
I recently reviewed John McTiernan’s classic scifi action Predator. It is a film that many kids both young and those young at heart loved watching on the bigscreen. The 1980’s some would consider the golden years of action filmmaking.
It was a decade where action instead of dialogue ruled. Where muscle-bound stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone dominated the box-office. Even with the resurgence and current renaissance of the action film genre, many still reminisce about the action flicks of the 80’s and how they truly didn’t make them like they used to.
If there’s ever a great example of just how over-the-top and testosterone-fueled the action films were of this decade of the 80’s (also known as the decade of excess) then one can’t go wrong with showing the uninitiated the jungle shootout scene from Predator.
One doesn’t need to be into guns to appreciate the majesty of this scene.
Scenes That I Love: “They Call Us Death” from Dario Argento’s Inferno
Earlier today, I watched Dario Argento’s underrated 1980 masterpiece, Inferno, on Retroplex.
I fear that, with all the hype surrounding the remake of Suspiria, people are going to forget about Argento’s original Three Mothers trilogy. Inferno was the second part of the trilogy and a loosely connected sequel to the original Suspiria.
In this scene, Mark (played by Leigh McCloskey) finally confronts the Mother of Darkness (Veronica Lazar). While this scene undoubtedly loses some of its effectiveness when viewed separate from the rest of the film, it still shows off Argento’s dream-like style.
Here’s the scene. Be sure to track down and watch whole film if you haven’t already:
Scenes That I Love: Happy Birthday, Sam Elliott!
Today is the 73rd birthday of the perennially underrated actor, Sam Elliott!
Sam’s been acting for longer than I’ve been alive. He’s been in a ton of good movies and he’s given some truly iconic performances and yet, with all that in mind, he still seems to be strangely underrated. At the very least, he deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance in last year’s The Hero. There’s some speculation that he might get one this year for his role in A Star is Born.
With all that said, most people seem to know Sam Elliott best for playing The Stranger in 1998’s The Big Lebowski. So, with that in mind, here’s a scene I love featuring Sam Elliott from that very film!
Sam Elliott abides.
Scenes that I Love: Harry Potter Confronts Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Since today is apparently Harry Potter’s birthday (Mazel Tov!), it seems like a good day to share a Harry Potter scene that I love. Here is Harry Potter confronting the sadly misunderstood Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2!
Enjoy!
(RIP, the great Alan Rickman)
Through the Shattered Lens 