Horror films are supposed to scare us, it's right there in the name of the genre, after all. The whole reason we line up to watch horror movies is to experience the safe thrill of being terrified by fictional objects on a screen. It's all totally fake, of course, but there have been times when the scares hit a little too close to home, and some of the scariest movie scenes have even managed to frighten the actors and actresses bringing them to life. Here are some iconic movie scenes that scared the pants off the actors in real life...
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00:00Horror films are supposed to scare us.
00:02It's right there in the name of the genre, after all.
00:04The whole reason we line up to watch horror movies is to experience the safe thrill of
00:09being terrified by fictional objects on a screen.
00:12It's all totally fake, of course, but there have been times when the scares hit a little
00:15too close to home, and some of the scariest movie scenes have even managed to frighten
00:19the actors and actresses, bringing them to life.
00:22Here are some iconic movie scenes that scared the pants off the actors in real life.
00:27Alien
00:28When a tiny alien burst out of John Hurt's chest in Alien, it scared everyone, including
00:32the cast.
00:33Although the special effects themselves were pretty shocking, the real magic of this scene
00:37is how surprised and terrified the cast appears.
00:39These horrified faces are genuine.
00:41John Hurt was taken aside during shooting and rigged up to a device loaded with rancid
00:45pig organs.
00:46The rest of the cast was brought in unaware of the device about to spray them with the
00:50organs, or why the film crew was wearing rain gear and protective plastic sheeting.
00:54The first take strategically brought the crew closer to the table by spurting only
00:58a small amount of fake blood.
01:00So when the next take left them all covered in blood, their faces expressed true, terrified
01:04surprise.
01:05There's a master where all five of us are like, and we're not acting.
01:12The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
01:14The 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is another example of a director
01:19strategically designing scenarios to elicit real terror from the actors and actresses.
01:24Director Tobey Hooper kept his star Leatherface, played by Gunnar Hansen, out of sight from
01:28the rest of the crew, so his mask would be a most horrifying surprise.
01:32Specifically, when Jerry runs into him for the first time in the kitchen, his high-pitched
01:36squeal is absolutely real.
01:38The Blair Witch Project
01:41This entire film seems to have been planned as an elaborate scheme to slowly push the
01:44cast into going insane.
01:46The directors of The Blair Witch Project gave the three cast members cameras, supplies
01:50for survival, and a place to meet up.
01:52From there, the three were essentially left alone in the woods.
01:55A few scenes from the movie are from when they were actually lost, trying to figure
01:58out the next meet-up point.
02:00Oftentimes, the directors would secretly follow the cast and break sticks or throw rocks around
02:04the unknowing campers.
02:05And every once in a while, if it was dark, you'd see this red beam, and you knew it was
02:10the Hackson Band of Goons running around again.
02:13Worse yet, the directors gave them less food every day to make them ragged, angry, and
02:17more on edge.
02:18And as the days went on, the filmmakers came up with new ways to torture their actors.
02:21And they were setting up, you know, sound loops of babies crying and kids laughing outside
02:26at 10 or 4 in the morning.
02:27Basically, it was just us running through trees and going nuts out there.
02:31After eight days of filming, it's safe to say that the cast no longer enjoys walks in
02:35the woods.
02:36Prometheus
02:37After Alien, you'd think actors would all be on red alert any time Ridley Scott makes
02:41a monster flick.
02:42But the actors on Prometheus evidently thought the directors' trickster days were over, allowing
02:46Scott to get in one more scare.
02:48In one of Prometheus' most infamous scenes, a biologist tries petting the world's scariest
02:53space cobra.
02:54It doesn't end well.
02:55Cut it off!
02:56Cut it off!
02:58A little later, his friends stumble across his corpse, and when they turn his body over,
03:01the monster shoots up out of his mouth.
03:07As you've probably guessed by this point, those screams are genuine, pulling pretty
03:10Much the exact same stunt he used more than 30 years ago, Scott replaced actor Rafe Spall
03:15with a dummy, loaded the alien puppet in its mouth, and connected the alien creature to
03:19a wire.
03:20He then told everyone on set to keep quiet and make sure the actors didn't see the storyboards
03:24for the day.
03:25When actress Kate Dickey rolled the corpse over, a crew member yanked the monster out
03:29of the dummy's mouth, causing Dickey to yelp an alarm.
03:31Even tough guy Idris Elba, who was standing nearby, let out a squeal of surprise.
03:36The Monster Squad
03:37The Monster Squad is a unique 80s movie that pits a group of kids against some of the most
03:41famous monsters in cinematic history.
03:44Of course, the scariest of the bunch is Count Dracula himself.
03:47Played by Duncan Regehr, this Transylvanian vampire wants to get his undead hands on an
03:51amulet that will help him conquer the world.
03:53However, standing between the Count and unlimited power is one five-year-old girl.
03:58As the heroes battle it out with the monsters, Dracula approaches the girl, lifts her up
04:01by the chin, and angrily demands she hand over the all-powerful jewel.
04:05The Count then reveals his red eyes and pearly whites, causing the five-year-old to scream
04:09in terror.
04:13While it worked perfectly for the scene, the young actress really was afraid.
04:17It was the first time she had seen Regehr in his full vampire regalia, and the sight
04:20of those fangs was more than enough to make her freak out.
04:24The Godfather
04:25Believe it or not, some of the very best scenes in The Godfather happened in the spur of the
04:29moment.
04:30For example, remember Vito Corleone's cat?
04:32Actor Francis Ford Coppola just found that feline wandering around the studio and decided
04:36to put it in the scene.
04:37And when Vito slaps Johnny Fontaine across the face, that was Brando trying to shake
04:41up actor Al Martino and put some life into the scene.
04:44The legendary Method actor was also doing a little improv in his final scene.
04:48Moments before Vito Corleone falls down dead, he's playing with his grandson, Anthony.
04:52Obviously, toddlers aren't exactly natural actors.
04:55Since Brando needed to connect with the kid, he put an orange peel in his mouth and began
04:59growling like a monster.
05:00But this didn't sit well with the young actor playing Anthony.
05:09The kid was actually scared, forcing Brando to drop the game and comfort the kid.
05:14It's a nice touch to a sad scene, a unique moment of improvisation that makes The Godfather
05:18one of the all-time greats.
05:20Close Encounters of the Third Kind
05:22While Richard Dreyfuss is the main character of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it's
05:26Kerry Guffey who steals the scene every time he shows up.
05:29The adorable four-year-old played the part of Barry Giler, the little boy who's abducted
05:32by aliens.
05:33All his reactions seem so genuine, and that's because they are.
05:37Throughout shooting, director Steven Spielberg was constantly coming up with ways to encourage
05:41Guffey's performance.
05:42For example, in the scene where the boy is smiling out the window at the UFOs, Spielberg
05:46is off-screen, unwrapping presents for Guffey.
05:49Later on, when Barry tearfully tells his alien friends goodbye, he's really crying because
05:53Spielberg told him to imagine his friends leaving forever.
05:57But perhaps Spielberg's most ingenious ploy comes earlier in the film, when Barry runs
06:01into his kitchen and spots the aliens rummaging through his refrigerator.
06:05The space invaders are kept off-camera, and the whole scene plays off Barry's face.
06:09In a matter of seconds, we see the boy go from fright to joy.
06:13So what's he actually looking at?
06:15Spielberg had makeup man Bob Westmoreland dress up as a gorilla and hide behind a cardboard
06:19partition.
06:20When Guffey ran into the room, the partition was pulled away, and he was face-to-face with
06:23a scary ape.
06:24But then, the director told Westmoreland to take off his mask.
06:27Suddenly, Guffey recognized the makeup man and broke out into a big smile.
06:31Spielberg explained, even though it was a trick, the reaction was pure and honest.
06:35Really, that's a phrase you could use to describe almost every Spielberg film.
06:39Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
06:41There's no denying that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a childhood classic,
06:45but honestly, it's one of the freakiest films ever made.
06:47And that's all thanks to Gene Wilder.
06:49Sure, his version of Wonka is hilarious and even occasionally soft-hearted, but there's
06:53just something off about the guy.
06:55You never know when he's going to truly lose his mind.
06:57You lose!
06:58Good day, sir!
07:01Of course, audiences weren't the only ones who found Gene Wilder's maniacal candyman
07:04frightening.
07:05As it turns out, the frizzy-haired actor also terrified his young co-stars.
07:09While working on the film, director Mel Stewart liked to keep all the kids guessing, hiding
07:13key details from them until it was actually time to shoot a scene.
07:16For example, Stewart kept the actors away from the famous chocolate room until he was
07:20ready to roll the camera.
07:22So when Charlie and company step into Wonka's wonderland, their looks of awe are genuine.
07:26But then there's the infamous boat scene, widely regarded as the scariest part of the
07:30film.
07:31Stewart didn't tell anyone what exactly was going to happen during that boat ride.
07:35So when Wilder started going on about hurricanes blowing and the grizzly reaper mowing, the
07:39kids were scared out of their minds.
07:41And they're certainly not showing any signs that they are slowing!
07:49Actress Denise Nickerson, who played Violet Beauregard, actually thought Wilder had gone
07:53mad.
07:54Really, that's a testament to Wilder's acting abilities, and while he's appeared in several
07:58other iconic films, it's safe to say he'll always be best remembered for this candy-coated
08:02creep fest.