Media is created to share a human connection, to elicit emotions and feelings in the viewer or reader. These reactions come from both a collective understanding and individual experiences, and how one relates to the piece of media. Recently, u/ryleymyers posed a question in the r/AskReddit subreddit, asking, “What movie scene still gives you chills no matter how many times you watch it?”
Redditors happily shared some of their favorites, both for the excitement and scary thrills the scenes caused. Folks shared everything from classic moments from Jaws and Jurassic Park to stirring scenes in The Lord of the Rings and Casablanca.
All of the moments mentioned in the comments bring out the connections we share as a society, even if they are in situations that would never happen in the real world. Art is about the connection between humans and how we relate to one another. A character’s joy or fear being portrayed on screen, when done correctly, yields those same feelings in the audience.
As explained in Psychology Today, “Art concerns itself with life—the underbelly of it, the glory. The beauty, the mess, the truth. It says what we cannot say. Art’s subject matter is emotion; its purpose is expression. Thus, art communicates — artist to audience.”
Check out 20 of the most thrilling movie scenes according to Redditors below.
1. Inglorious Basterds
“The entire opening of Inglorious Basterds.” —u/Jensen0451
2. Interstellar
“‘Those aren’t mountains, they’re waves,’ from Interstellar, Miller’s planet scene.” —u/YARIZA-21
3. Jurassic Park
“When the paleontologists first saw the live dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.” —u/Berek_Halfhand
4. Saving Private Ryan
“Saving Private Ryan beach landing scene. Saw in theater loud sound system. Real life is much louder. 😳” —u/2krazy4me
5. Lord of the Rings
“Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!” —u/Riboflavin96
6. Casablanca
“Singing ‘La Marseillaise’ in Casablanca.” —u/DadOfPete
7. The Sixth Sense
“I see dead people.” —u/venussdoom
8. The Terminator
“The police station in The Terminator (1984).” —u/Stock-Temperature177
9. Platoon
“Sgt. Elias’s death in Platoon.” —u/PAGodzilla
10. Independence Day
“The President’s speech in Independence Day always gets me.” —u/LegOfwhat
11. Annihilation
“The alien replication / mimic scene from Annihilation. That whole sequence, combined with the very subtle Moderat track, is top-notch.” —u/OIF_Chef
12. Gattaca
“Gattaca. ‘I never saved anything for the swim back.’” —u/FiK-SiR
13. The Princess Bride
“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya…” —u/North-Cartoonist7991
14. Gladiator
“That ‘I shall have my vengeance’ speech in Gladiator.” —u/GingerChic13
15. Schindler’s List
“Oskar Schindler at the end of the movie. Lamenting the fact that had he not wasted money, he could have saved more people. Always chokes me up. (I was a teacher and showed Schindler’s List once I finished WWII.)” —u/CoachGDaddy
16. The Shining
“The way the camera focuses on the head of Jack Nicholson’s axe as he’s slamming into the door. That whole sequence from Redrum is just fantastic cinema.” —u/MyGoodApollo
17. Carrie
“The prom destruction scene in Carrie (1976).” —u/Jasons_Brain
18. Infinity War
“Thor arriving in Wakanda.” —u/RandomBloke2021
19. Jaws
“Jaws. The head that rolls out of the boat. I know it’s coming, but that just makes it worse.” —u/Spam-monk
20. The Dark Knight
“When Joker is first introduced in The Dark Knight.” —u/prefontaine76
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