Despite making movies with a comedic bent across an array of cinematic genres, acclaimed filmmaker Edgar Wright is an unabashed horror film enthusiast who often imbues his movies with startling jump scares and terrifying set-pieces. In specific, Wright's movies Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End, and his most recent offering, Last Night in Soho, often subvert horror movie tropes in daring new ways that mortify viewers when they least expect it.
From violent death scenes, atmospheric chase sequences, freaky zombie transformations, heart-pounding jumpscares, and more, Edgar Wright's scariest cinematic moments offer a little something for every bona fide horror fan.
Pete's Zombie Shower Reveal - Shaun Of The Dead
The way in which Wright fools with the audience's expectation regarding Pete's zombie transformation is truly masterful. Foreshadowed visually through the use of the medicine cabinet, Wright again fools viewers into thinking Shaun's strict flatmate is merely ill despite being bitten by a zombie earlier in the film.
Before Shaun goes to rescue Liz, he uses the loo and hears a noise in the bathtub. The tension and suspense mount as he slowly ambles to the shower and quickly yanks the curtain back, finding the zombified Pete in towering close-up. The musical sting drives the jumpscare home with great effectiveness.
Philip's Car Transformation - Shaun Of The Dead
Wright delivers one of the most harrowing moments in Shaun of the Dead immediately following one of the most touching scenes. After butting heads the whole film, Shaun's disapproving step-father Phillip finally opens up, accepting Shaun for who he is and apologizing for being so cruel.
Just as tears begin to well, Wright drives a stake of terror into viewers as Philip suddenly animates as a flesh-starved zombie ghoul inside a packed, claustrophobic car with nowhere to escape. It's the brilliant tonal shift from heartfelt drama to riveting horror in a split second that makes the scene so unnerving.
Tuxedo Zombie Jump Scare - Shaun Of The Dead
Wright's trailblazing zombie-comedy Shaun of the Dead has funny sight-gags and horrifying jumpscares galore, many of which often play in the same scene. Early in the film as Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Fost) kill a zombie in the backyard and return to watch the news, Wright lulls the audience into a false sense of relief before a one-armed zombie in a tuxedo suddenly appears and attacks them in the living room.
Aside from the false sense of security right before, it's the quick hand-held whip pan to the blood-soaked zombie that comes as such a jolting surprise, punctuated by Shaun and Ed's petrified reactions. It's funny and scary at once, a hallmark of Wright's style.
Martin's Decapitation - Hot Fuzz
Despite satirizing the conventions of American action movies, Hot Fuzz also functions as a hyper-gory slasher movie whodunnit. One of the most alarming moments comes during the mysterious killer's first vicious onslaught, which comes as a jaw-dropping shock at the beginning of a so-called comedy.
In a stakes-setting standard of abject carnage to come, the hooded killer knocks on the door of a famous actor named Martin Blower and in one swift blow, brutally chops the man's neck four times and decapitates him in the doorway as a fountain of gore erupts. Notice the symmetry of how Wright introduced Eve Draper the exact same way moments before, allowing the killer's arrival to seem totally harmless before it quickly goes south.
Leslie's Pruning Shear Death - Hot Fuzz
Wright has a preternatural understanding of when to deliver a top-drawer scare, which often comes following a major dramatic or emotional moment in his films. In Hot Fuzz, Nick finally uncovers the vast conspiracy in Sandford by talking to the town florist, Leslie. Just when the audience is forced to listen to a gravid moment of exposition, Wright blasts them with a dose of unforeseen violence.
In addition to the masterful timing, it's the brilliant framing and camera movement that makes Leslie's death so gnarly. An elaborate camera move pulls Nick into the foreground through his police cruiser, rises above the car, where the killer suddenly appears from a blind spot and quickly jabs a pair of pruning shears into Leslie's throat.
Alien Confrontation In The Beehive - The World's End
Although The World's End is largely a tale of renewed friendship, the stellar alien invasion movie subplot has no shortage of freaky iconography. One of the scariest moments in the film comes when Gary and his pals enter The Beehive during their Golden Mile pub crawl, where an entire throng of alien beings suddenly have their eyes and mouths light-up in a soft blue glow.
The aliens expose their true nature as a means of recruiting the humans to join their cause. Just as Guy slams the fire alarm, all of the aliens light up their facial orifices in unison, giving an unsettling and otherworldly vibe nobody was expecting. The way Guy bellows and extends his arms out as a phantom adds to the terror.
Sandie's True Identity - Last Night In Soho
Wright's menacing psychological fantasy film Last Night in Soho is littered with one surreally nightmarish moment after another. However, one of the biggest diegetic shocks to the system comes when Sandie's true identity is revealed, forcing the audience to reassess everything they thought they knew about the story.
After leaving London, Eloise speaks with Mrs. Collins and learns that she in fact was Sandie all along, and is very much alive. The frightening revelation further sends Ellie into a horrific spiral as she is confronted with the truth.
Alarm Clock Jump Scare - Last Night In Soho
The most effective jumpscare in Wright's career comes in Last Night in Soho when he presents a duplicitous dream within a dream. Ellie envisions a strange man approaching Sandie's bed at night as she sleeps. When he is about to strike, Ellie lunges forward and suddenly awakes in her bed.
Just as Ellie reaches out to shut off her alarm clock, the same man from her dream immediately appears in front of her in one of the most heart-skipping moments in the film. Wright's tricky dream within a dream couldn't be more terrifying.
Sandie's Fate - Last Night In Soho
While there are a number of unsettling imagery Ellie projects in the film, none are more upsetting than the way in which Sandie's murder plays out in front of her. After bringing Jack back to her flat, a glimpse at the ceiling reveals Sandie being accosted by Jack with a knife. In one of Wright's filmmaking trademarks, when the hallucination moves from the mirror onto the bed to become a waking nightmare, the terror quotient spikes dramatically.
Ellie witnesses Jack repeatedly stab Sandie to death on the bed, which in effect kills part of her own warped psychological state. Trusting Jack one moment, only to watch him brutally impale her alter ego the next, is genuinely mortifying.
Final Ghostly Assault - Last Night In Soho
Foreshadowed a few times such as in the hall of mirrors and the early chase sequence through Soho, the climactic assault from scores of ultra-violent apparitions provides one final exclamation mark of terror in Wright's latest film. Upon escaping Mrs. Collins and hiding in her room, Ellie is accosted by all the vengeful spirits of Sandie's former male clients.
Of course, Wright once again fools with expectations and subverts the whole scene when the ghosts turn around and demand to kill Sandie instead, pulling the rug out from under the audience in the film's petrifying climax.