A defining component of the cinematic horror experience is the immediate, heart-pounding fright that only a great jump scare can provide. The abrupt onslaught on the senses can sometimes be viewed as a cheap trick to startle viewers, but they can also be used to enhance truly great scary movies and leave lasting impressions on audiences, with such genre classics as The Conjuring and A Quiet Place among the many horror movies with jump scares which have excelled as respected, must-watch films.

Appearing in everything from psychological thrillers to horror comedies, slasher flicks, and even PG-13-rated scary movies, jump scares are a prolific feature of horror cinema due to not only their effectiveness, but their versatility. These 15 scary movies, ranging from old classics to modern masterpieces, are among the best when it comes to an effective, rewarding, and frequent use of jump scares.

15 'The Descent' (2005)

Directed by Neil Marshall

An underrated horror cult classic of the 2000s, The Descent is a claustrophobic, cave-dwelling film that infiltrates its audiences' minds by implementing tricks like jump scares with intelligence and precise execution. The film follows a group of women as they travel to North Carolina to embark on a cave expedition. However, when they find themselves trapped inside, they discover they are being hunted by a mystifying and haunting breed of bloodthirsty predators.

With copious amounts of blood and gore clashing with heart-stopping suspense and a taut horror story, The Descent is an effective and arresting example of simple horror cinema at its most pure. It contains several jump scares capable of truly rattling viewers, not only presenting an immediate and jarring shock, but hooking audiences deeper into the narrative as well.

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14 'Scream' (1996)

Directed by Wes Craven

Scream is one of the most famous titles in 90s horror and in the history of horror cinema as well, thriving as Wes Craven’s playful and refreshing spin on slasher movies and the genre at large. It centers on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a teenager who is targeted by a sadistic serial killer on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s horrific murder. As she is stalked by the murderer who continues to kill, she begins to realize the culprit may be someone close to her.

The film’s eagerness to engage with its own genre and address the tropes of slasher cinema is what has made it such an enduring icon, but its penchant for excellent and effective jump scares and memorable death scenes remains just as defining of Scream’s brilliance. It jampacks well over a dozen striking jump scares into its run.

13 'It' (2017)

Directed by Andy Muschetti

Recent years have seen horror movies surge back into mainstream popularity, with everything from psychological thrillers to monster flicks becoming landmark cultural triumphs. One of the biggest films the genre has seen in that time is 2017’s It, an adaptation of Stephen King’s esteemed novel that follows a group of outcast kids as they are tormented by a monstrous killer clown that preys on children.

With its engrossing narrative and its incredible young cast, It is among the best of the many film adaptations of King’s work as it modernized the tale for contemporary viewers while still amplifying the central themes the story explored. Using suspense and jump scares to enhance the viewing experience and strengthen the frightful tone, It is at the pinnacle of modern horror as a blend of compelling narrative and horror filmmaking techniques.

12 'The Beyond' (1981)

Directed by Lucio Fulci

Despite being met with critical disapproval upon release, The Beyond has come to be viewed as a cult classic of 80s horror and has developed a devoted following in the decades since it was made. The Lucio Fulci horror has also developed a reputation for its style – being a surrealist, Southern Gothic, and supernatural film that incorporated aesthetic ideas from giallo horror cinema – as well as its penchant for jump scares.

The premise follows a young woman who inherits an abandoned hotel in Louisiana and moves from New York City to refurbish the establishment, a plan that is thwarted as the hotel was originally built over an entrance to hell. A great movie for true horror fanatics, The Beyond thrives off the back of its hellish atmosphere and its many jump scares which keep viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the 87-minute runtime.

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11 'Talk to Me' (2023)

Directed by Danny and Michael Phillippou

Over the course of the past decade, A24 has made itself one of the most recognizable and captivating brands in modern horror cinema. That startling reputation was only enhanced with the release of Talk to Me, an Australian possession horror film that was a hit at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and has become an instant horror classic following a group of friends as their toying with an embalmed, spirit-conjuring hand leads to a terrifying supernatural force being unleashed.

It marked a very impressive directorial debut from Danny and Michael Phillipou, the twin brothers behind the hit YouTube channel RackaRacka. Talk to Me was heralded by critics, filmmakers, and fans as being one of the best horror movies the industry has seen in years and is loaded with jump scares which not only excel at frightening the audience, but add to the terror and drama of the story as well.

10 'Evil Dead II' (1987)

Directed by Sam Raimi

Even more so than its famous predecessor, Evil Dead II has come to be remembered for the perfection with which it meshed effects-driven visual horror with hilarious slapstick comedy and a tonally perfect lead performance from Bruce Campbell. However, it should not be forgotten how effective Sam Raimi could be with a great jump scare, which is something this iconic sequel shows in spades throughout its runtime.

Serving as both a sequel and partial remake of 1981's The Evil Dead, it follows Ash (Campbell) in his battle against the deadites as he finds himself holed up in a cabin with a group of strangers. Evil Dead II has 27 jumpy moments jammed into its snappy 85-minute runtime, making it one of the best jump scare movies in the history of horror cinema.

9 'Candyman' (1992)

Directed by Bernard Rose

Starring one of the all-time great yet criminally underrated horror movie actors in Tony Todd, the 1992 hit Candyman became a cult classic slasher sensation. The film follows a Chicago graduate student who decides to write her folklore and urban legends thesis about a ghost known as the Candyman, the knife-wielding spirit of a slave's son who some believe is responsible for a recent murder in the Cabrini-Green Homes public housing project.

The urban legend horror film has come to be celebrated in the horror genre due to Candyman's mounting sense of dread, its gory effects, its iconic titular character, and its penchant for great jump scares. One particular jump scare, involving a medicine cabinet, has never lost its edge and can still make audiences scream aloud today.

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8 'The Conjuring' (2013)

Directed by James Wan

The paranormal investigations conducted by Ed and Lorraine Warren have inspired films such as The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Nun, and more which take place within The Conjuring Universe. Staring with The Conjuring, the story follows Roger and Carolyn Perron (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor), along with their five daughters and a dog, who move to a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island. Within the first few nights of staying in the farmhouse, the Perron family experiences strange and disturbing encounters, such as finding their dog Sadie dead one morning.

The Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), who are asked to come to the house, later conclude that the spirit of Bathsheba haunts the house. Though The Conjuring consists of many well-executed and timed jump scares, the reveal of the evil entity of Bathsheba is considered one of the film’s most effective scares.

7 'Sinister' (2012)

Directed by Scott Derrickson

Sinister follows a true crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke), who moves his family to the fictional town of Chatford into a home which, unbeknownst to his wife and kids, was where the Stevenson family was killed by hanging. Ellison's plans to use the grisly history of the house to relaunch his career as a best-selling author quickly turns sour when he discovers a hidden stash of home videos that reveal the cursed truth of the past family's demise.

While Sinister 2 did have more jump scares throughout, the original film made more of an impression on audiences with its gripping intensity. In 2020, Broadband Choices conducted a study where it sampled 50 of the highest-rated horror movies based on sites such as IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes and measured the participants’ heart rates while watching the said films. The study deemed Sinister as the scariest movie ever made.