Even before the advent of cable and streaming platforms that had no standards and practices departments, television could scare us to death. Classic series such asTwin Peaks andTwilight Zone, the commercial breaks and lack of swearing didn't get in the way - instead, there were fantastic storytellers behind these and other series.
Check out our picks of the scariest TV shows of all time. Because the types of fright presented in these episodes vary so much from suspenseful psychodrama to outright thriller, they are terribly disparate.
American Horror Story: "Halloween"
Gonzo, sex and violenceRyan Murphy have become so commonplace in the years since the first season."American Horror Story" (last time inRatched on Netflix) that it's hard to imagine a time when it would be even more shocking, all the more surprising. But the first seasonAmerican Horror Story" really turned out to be an unexpected whirlwind. And nowhere was this WTF-joy-worthy approach more evident than in the first season's two-part Halloween episode (retroactively subtitled "Murder House"). [Stefan's final voice] B this episode had it all - rubber man,twogrotesque, otherworldly children, a gay couple viciously murdered in their own home, a brutal school shooting, and more ghosts than any Halloween episode should reasonably fit, even if it's in two parts. ScreenwritersJames Wong andTim Minear, both veterans"X-Files", manage the melodrama and the monster properly, ensuring you choke as often as you scream (mostly in horror). These episodes will also set the precedent for future releases."American Horror Story" to always have an overloaded Halloween extravaganza. This Halloween would be a little less ghoulish without such an episode.
Amazing Stories: "Go to the head of the class"
Original seriesSteven Spielberg «Amazing Storiesis oddly overlooked, especially given the truly staggering amount of talent that has contributed to the series (including, in this case, the greatRobert Zemeckis), as well as how charming and vibrant many of the episodes were (and also that the theme music is incredible). While most episodes of the series were only 30 minutes long, Zemeckis' "Go to the Head of Class" episode was extended by 60 minutes. In this episode, a teenager (Scott Coffey), obsessed with horror films, tries to woo a classmate (Mary Stuart Masterson), casting a spell on his overbearing teacher (Christopher Lloyd).). Things go tragically wrong, leading to a chilling and hilarious episode that is universally recognized as one of the very best episodes of the series. Part of the fun is Zemeckis' reunion with the "Back to the Future”, not only with Lloyd, but also with the composerAlan Silvestri and with the screenwriterBob Gale (who worked on a teleplay withMick Harris andTom McLaughlin.). Also, they filmed the episode on the same notoriously fake Universal plot, which is a lot of fun. This episode, which perfectly captures what makes Zemeckis such an amazing director, from his desire for intrigue to wildly evolve into his sense of geography and spatial relationships, is a very special episode that should be more widely praised and discussed, especially because in in many ways, this foreshadowed Zemeckis' involvement in "Tales from the Crypt", which adopted a similar format and premiered a few years later (its episodes there are also fantastic).
Angel: "Billy"
In the spin-off "Buffy" there were many dark moments, but for complete horror, especially if you were a young woman whose crush onAlexis Denisof was not a small one at the time, memories of "Billy" are traumatic. Especially since Angel is to blame for everything (David Boreanez): in an earlier episode, Angel made a deal with the devil - well, devil's lawyers - by freeing a mysterious man from the hell dimension. Turns out BillyJustin Shilton) has the superpower to infect other men with an unstoppable rage towards women, and things reach a breaking point when Wesley (Denisof) becomes infected with Billy's blood and starts chasing Fred (Amy Acker).) through the hotel, a horrific distortion of the feelings he had for her earlier in the episode. Is notat all he, but...could it be? Of all the traumatic things that happened during "Angela, especially stands out this episode, when a good person turned into something so evil. (A worthy mention for Calvary, in which Borainez took a similar wicked turn.)
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: A Tale of Dark Music
I waslittle too old forAre you afraid of the dark?when it came out, but I still watched it because I like fur coats. And I'm glad I did, because while most of the episodes were essentially condensed Goosebumps books, The Curse of Dark Music hit me in the face with some genuine fear. The child finds in his basement a red-eyed creature that appears every time he plays music, and constantly tries to lure him into a pitch-black back room for undoubtedly nefarious purposes. Essentially, thisIT Stephen King.if Pennywise was limited to one room in a country house and that would be hard shit to throw at teenagers watching Nickelodeon on a Saturday night. Plus, the ending is really scary (assuming you ignore the Midnight Society jerks who immediately try to undermine it). For the series "Twilight Zoneintended for children, Tale of Dark Music does a great job.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: A Tale of a Dream Girl
Of the many wonderfully frightening, child-scarred, self-contained stories in the original Nickelodeon horror anthology series,Are you afraid of the dark?only one of them had the cultural grit to influence one of our most celebrated, prestigious and culturally renowned horror films to date. I don't understand what I'm talking about? Google "The Tale of the Dream Girl" and"Sixth Sense" and have fun diving down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole. Despite the grim similarity of the two projects (thisearnestly !), "Tale of the Dream Girl" sticks to my bones and guts on its own merits. The episode concerns a young janitor named Johnny (Fab Filippo, great), who falls head over heels in love with a girl named Donna (Shanya Vaughan) he continues to see in her dreams. As a young, budding horror fan, I will always be grateful for this episode's courageous willingness to eschew a slight, visceral fear in favor of using this simple premise as the starting point for a tragically doomed goth-tinged romance; starter pack forEdgar Allen Poe, Guillermo del Toro and yes,Sixth Sense. The revelations contained in the "Tale of the Dream Girl" are surprisingly dark and beautiful at the same time, plunging into a deep sense of tragedy, fate, melancholic longing. It's chilling in its discouraging power and desire to make its younger heroes grow up and accept their fate, especially for a younger audience who may be more accustomed to happier endings in their family horrors. It's frightening and intense, and probablyare you afraid of the dark?half an hour. How do you like this turnShyamalan ?
Ash vs Evil Dead: Ash Slash
One of the highlights of modern horror history is the fact that"Evil Dead" Sam Raimi came back as a TV show (TV series) and it was...really great? Moreover, he actually conveyed a crazyatmosphere the original trilogy, and was also more than just a showcase for the square jawed killer of DedithBruce Campbell, Ash Williams. Case in point: "Ash Slash", the eighth episode of Season 2, is a crazy journey through a demon-infested insane asylum. The focus, of course, is the moment when the outstanding Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo)) a fight with a really intimidating puppet of Ash Williams, a skirmish that ends when Kelly - and I can't emphasize this part enough - chops off the doll's head with a shotgun. Simply spectacular.
Black Mirror: "White Christmas"
There are so many episodes on this listBlack Mirror", but in terms of being very upset, "White Christmas" is outstanding. A one-shot episode aired after the first two seasons (making it the last episode of "black mirrorreleased before Netflix acquired the series) looks like a Russian nesting doll. Installation is simple -Jon Hamm andRafe Spall - comrades who have lived together in a hut for five years, and this Christmas decide for the first time to talk about their past. But as everyone reveals a little more about themselves, it becomes clear that something else is going on here. Something I won't reveal here, but when you get to the final turn, youmaybe scream in horror. Unforgettable in the best/worst sense.
Black Mirror: Game Test
Almost every seriesblack mirror"runs on the verge of fear and science fiction. The Playtest is a major exception to this rule. After an extended introduction introducing us to the world-traveling Cooper (Wyatt Russell), who needs to make a quick buck in order to keep funding his adventures, starts the big thing in Dan Trachtenberg's episode: a virtual reality simulation based on Cooper's darkest fears. . And to be honest it'sscrewed up, with one of the darkest endings in historyBlack Mirror.
Bones: "Aliens in a Spaceship"
Bonestends to represent a lighter shade of criminal procedure, even when its characters, the brash FBI agent David Boreanaz and book anthropologist Emily Deschaneldiscover all sorts of horrific crime scenes and – how else can I put it? - bones. Everything is welcomed with a sense of humor, sincere friendship (and possibly romance!) and audacity. But in the second season of Aliens in a Spaceship, that sense of lightness is literally extinguished and buried in the dirt, instead it is a sharp and rapid descent into the most basic feelings of fear and despair.
Considering a particularly grim and brutal case of a serial killer nicknamed "The Gravedigger" who most recently buried and burned alive a pair of baby twin boys, Deschanel andT.J. Tine, our sharp detail-oriented lab researcher is caught and buried alive in a coffin. The resulting drama plays out in a gripping, survival two-handed mode in which both characters realize the existential hopelessness of their fate, figure out brief glimpses of a struggle with hope along the way, and uncover deep, dark secrets about themselves in the face of death. . The episode in particular provides a frightening, engaging display for Tine, who is allowed to step out of his "witty paranoid" performance mode to show the pains piercing through his heart. Does the episode end in a particularly happy, Hollywood mood? Of course have. But along the way, she plays like an atypical to the marrow, psychologically terrifying chamber piece at its best.
Boy Knows the World: And Then There Was Sean
«The boy knows the world» is a rewarding, surprisingly mature coming-of-age comedy series full of heartfelt life lessons, incredible comedic performances, and an irresistible tearful mentor as Mr. Feeney. William Daniels). And then in the fifth season, they decided to ruin the lives of their good young viewers by making a damn series of slashers. After Sean Rider Strong) put all his friends in jail for interfering with someone who isn't Corey ( Ben Savage) borrowed Topangi's pencil ( Daniel Fishel) (not a metaphor), the gang is locked up in a school with a killer in their arms. free (not a metaphor!). From cry before " I know what you did last summer”(up to the stuntmenJennifer Love Hewitt), self-aware genre tropes fly fast and furiously, resulting in an impressively nauseating, sickening, and blackly funny sprint through everything you know and love about slasher movies. Case in point: the first death, a pencil through a fucking kid's head, provokes Corey's joke! Complete sociopathic blackout! And this disengagement, this swing between tones, makes for an exciting and bold viewing experience even as an adult. He is full of genuine fears (an ad sings promising that his children will "die" with "knives" and "guns"!), incredibly stupid jokes (Trina McGeeget upset when someone dares to scream), and the revelation of the killer, which made me genuinely gasp because of his fit with the character and theme! And Then There Was Sean is a marvel of the multi-camera half-hour sitcom form. I have no idea how they got away with it.
Boys: Human female
It's hard to stick a genre label on something likeThe Boys ; An irreverent, often goofy dark comedy that views our most pervasive social ills through the lens of superhero satire. But if your show has so many squashed, impaled, or exploding heads that I need both hands to count them all, you're probably drawing in horror pretty generously too. And about,boys certainly does love some head trauma, but its most traumatic episode isn't about the viscera. It's about unchecked power in inhumane hands, translated through one stomach-churning plane crash scene that seems to stretch for an eternity. In reality, it’s just over five minutes and most of “The Female of the Species” is focused elsewhere. But every second of those five minutes is infused with oppressive dread, which evolves into a ghastly disgust so intense it feels like there’s a new center of gravity in the pit of your stomach.
With all due respect to Joffrey Baratheon, Gus Fring and the Kingpin, Homelander has to be the scariest TV villain of the 21st century because none of these guys have laser eyes, super strength and matinee.Anthony Starrwhere the idol meets the great. White grin and dreamy dead eyes. When Homelander crashes Queen Maeve's (Dominique McElligott) mission, you already know that things will probably go badly and tend to be creepy because when are they not with this guy at all? But damn it. Gross indifference to human life, even to a child's; unnecessary and excessive violence; the way he manipulates Maeve into becoming an accomplice; it's all so evil. It's all so… corporate. Because at the end of the day, Homelander is a corporate product and corporate ideas in general terms, and watching him casually calculate the logistics of the situation and immediately come to the firm conclusion that the most effective course is the most brutal... well, that's a real intuitive way. put the audience in the face. – face to face with the price of giving soulless, pure bureaucrats and businessmen all power. And of course, the fact that it's modeled after Superman himself, an idealistic vision of American greatness that is also undeniably a corporate product, offers just one more twist on this particular screw. Then no,"Boys" maybe not exactly a horror movie, but a few scenes in any show (series) have ever upset my spirit and my stomach as much as this one.
Buffy: Hush
Season 4 may not be the best seasonBuffy the Vampire Slayer, but it's home to several standout episodes of the series, none of them more than "Hush", which is considered by many to be the best episode in the entire series. In fact, this is the only episode for which the screenplay was nominated for an Emmy in the entire run. I don't know if I think it's the best, but without a doubt the scariest. Getting rid of the character voices not only tapped into one of the most primal, universal nightmarish fears, it also stripped the script of the show's signature witty dialogue and poignant gags, freeing up a lot of space forbuffy, to fully immerse yourself in it. the omnipresent foundation of its terrible roots. And then the Gentlemen hit us.
Dressed in formal suits, sickly-pale skin, numb grins and wide rotting teeth, the Gentlemen pick up every voice in Sunnydale, leaving defenseless townspeople to cry for help while demons collect their hearts. Definitely, gentlemen are one of the finest and scariest creature creations ever put on television, and as scary as they are in their basic design and function, theycooling watch in action, their fluid, graceful demeanor refuting in incivility about their intention. And no wonder, considering that one of our greatest performers of sentient beings,Doug Jones, portrayed the leader. Some fears and nightmares are universal - getting lost in the dark, your teeth falling out... and of course, that moment of certain death when you try to scream but nothing comes out.
Channel Zero: "Ashes on my pillow"
Anthology seriesNika AntoskyChannel Zero, inspired by Creepypasta, never got the attention it deserved. This was partly due to a lack of star power, partly due to the fact that the show was probably airing on Syfy, but none of that justifies how one of the best horror shows of the last decade has gone unnoticed. Every seasonChannel Zero is based on different viral nightmares, and each of them is full of terrifying moments and surreal fears. Fear is, of course, intimate and highly individual, which means it could be Dom's uncanny chill.without end which suits you best, or perhaps the cannibal slaughter inmeat block, or maybe it was that monster with creepy teeth fromCandles bay.
For me it was the brutally violent and bizarrely charming killer clown Pretzel Jack from"Door Dream" which caused the loudest "No!" of all. Performed with incredible physical control by actor and actorTroy James., Pretzel Jack is the scariest clown since Pennywise, but he's no impersonator. A hallucinatory, otherworldly manifestation of a kid's imaginary friend gone wrong, Pretzel Jack is alternately cute and terrifying, and no more so than in the season four premiere episode "Ashes on My Pillow" in which he makes his big hit . debut by slipping into the darkest edges of the frame, impaling the dude with a screwdriver, and then bowing gracefully but grotesquely in deference to the protagonist. For my money, this is a great "monster" of all time intro that sets the stage for his complex emotional journey, confidently directedE.L. Katz and phenomenally performed by James
CSI: Serious danger
It is still incomprehensible thatQuentin Tarantino filmed a two-episode episodeCSI. But I'm pretty sure we weren't dyed with berenstein, and it really happened. The acclaimed director has made his mark on the popular procedural crime series with the introduction of the two-part Season 5 finale, featuring fan favorite Nick Stokes (George Eads) is kidnapped and buried alive, while the rest of the CSI team tries to hunt him down before he runs out of air. Tarantino said he wanted to direct the show (TV series) because he was a sincere fan who wanted to play with established stereotypes and storytelling structures.CSI, and as a result, 85 minutes of television were taught, in which 100% Tarantino is feltand 100 percentCSI.
After the panic-inducing episode of "buried alive" inKill Bill Vol. 2 Just a year before, Tarantino had once again terrified the public to be trapped underground. Laying a red herring in the wrong direction at obstacle after conflict, Tarantino weaves an unrelentingly tense and gripping episode with some of the highest stakes in the long run of the series, and at times it's downright horrendous. Tarantino and the cast absolutely reached the devastating moment of the realization that Stokes had been buried alive; the panic and primal terror of Stokes and the wide-eyed shock of his crew watching him through a live feed camera buried with him. And thisbeforeTarantino throws a swarm of fire ants into Stokes' glass coffin. Tarantino still hasn't directed a horror film, but almost all of his work contains elements of the genre, and while Grave Peril may not be the director's main work, it's a great reminder that few directors make better use of horror elements. just the right moment to get under your skin. -Hayley Futch
Dexter: Blinded by the Light
dexter - curious show (series). He was bloody, twisted, often violent, and the main character was a serial killer, but it was almost never scary. Of course it's shocking. Absolutely exciting. But scary? Not so much. That all changed in season 4, with the arrival of Arthur Mitchell, also known as the Trinity Killer. People who grew up on a constant diet ofThird Rock from the Sun,was quickly reminded that before he became everyone's favorite dumb alien patriarch,John Lithgowwas a theater trained drama actor who happened to play villains. And oh how he plays them. Trinity is intimidating, not because he's an insensitive psychopath, but because he's a seemingly compassionate, charming person capable of the unthinkable, and because Lithgow plays him so expertly, you can't help but want to love him. And that goes for Dexter as well, which ends up costing Rita's life.
But as awful as Rita's gruesome ending in the season 4 finale was, I was actually haunted by an earlier episode. More precisely, one scene, less than three minutes, in which every second counts. As part of a cycle of murders, Arthur kidnaps a woman and forces her to jump to her death. And it's just awful. First, he threatens to drop her children one by one until she jumps, and then when she begs him to at least push her, he tells her, "That's not how it works."She should do it.She must choose the end of her life. We may not know much about what she believes, but we know that Arthur is a man of faith, which means that his plan is not only to send her to her death, but also to send her soul to hell.
