Ajump scare (also writtenjump-scare andjumpscare) is a scaring technique used in media, particularly in films such ashorror films and video games such ashorror games, intended to scare the viewer by surprising them with a creepy face or object, usually accompanied by a loud scream.[1][2] The jump scare has been described as "one of the most basic building blocks of horror movies".[2] Jump scares can startle the viewer by appearing at a point in the film where the soundtrack is quiet and the viewer is not expecting anything alarming to happen,[3] or can be the sudden payoff to a long period ofsuspense.[4]
Some critics have described jump scares as a lazy way to frighten viewers,[5] and believe that the horror genre has undergone a decline in recent years following an over-reliance on thetrope, establishing it as acliché of modern horror films.[6]
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Though not intended as a scare, the filmCitizen Kane (1941) includes an abruptwipe transition near the ending of the film which features a shriekingcockatoo. According toOrson Welles, this was intended to startle audience members who might have been beginning to doze off towards the end of the film.[7]
While editingCat People (1942),Mark Robson created the jump scare, in which quiet tension builds and is suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted by a loud noise, cut, or fast movement, startling the viewer. In the film, Alice is walking home along a deserted street late at night, and realizes Irena is following her. Alice begins to panic, running, and the silence of the night, the contrast between light and deep shadow, shots of the fearful Alice, and the intermittent clacking of high heels set up suspense: abruptly, a bus enters the frame with a loud unpleasant noise, scaring the viewer. The jump scare device is sometimes called the Lewton Bus after producerVal Lewton, who used it in subsequent films.[8][9] Prior to the 1980s, jump scares were relatively rare in horror movies; however, they (in particular the Lewton Bus) became increasingly common in the early 1980s as theslasher subgenre increased in popularity.[10]
Carrie, released in 1976, has one of the first modern jump scares.[11] The scene in which Carrie's bloodied arm abruptly emerges from the soil at the end of the film is credited as the inspiration for the use of a final jump scare in the 1980 filmFriday the 13th, to show that an apparently dead villain had survived.[12]
The 1979 filmWhen a Stranger Calls uses a form of jump scare to suddenly reveal the location of the antagonist to both the protagonist and the audience. Film writer William Cheng describes this as causing a "sudden vanishing of the protective walls surrounding the film's protagonist", in turn giving the viewer at home a sense that the intruder is also somehow closer to them.[13]
The 1980 filmThe Shining is known for its "misplaced" jump scares, whereby directorStanley Kubrick appears to subvert horror conventions with seemingly banal occurrences which coincide with a dramatic cymbal crash preceded by a tense orchestral build up. Such instances include the appearance of a title card announcing "Tuesday" or whenJack Torrance, the film's main antagonist, removes a sheet of paper from a typewriter.[14]
Several ofDavid Lynch's films use jump scares, such asMullholland Drive andInland Empire.[15][16]
The 2009 filmDrag Me to Hell contains jump scares throughout,[4] with directorSam Raimi saying he wanted to create a horror film with "big shocks that'll hopefully make audiences jump."[17]
Resident Evil is often cited as an early video game to use jump scares. The player, during the course of the game, walks through a hallway where the music begins to lower. About halfway through the hall,zombie dogs will suddenly leap through the windows and the music will peak in volume and intensity.[citation needed] However, the earliest known instance of a jump scare is the 1985Lucasfilm gameRescue on Fractalus!, wherein while the player is saving stranded humans on a hostile world, sometimes the supposed evacuee approaching the player's ship turns out to be a hostile alien who jumps on the ship's windscreen.[18]
The video gameDaylight was described as being a "vehicle for jump scares", and though reviewers praised its successful use of jump scares, they commented that as the game wore on jump scares alone were not a sufficient tool for scaring players.[19][20]
The 2014 video game franchiseFive Nights at Freddy's was described as "perfect forlive streaming" in part due to its use of jump scares.[21]
In 2004,K-fee (Kaffee), a German caffeinated energy drink company, released nine television advertisements that feature peaceful footage, such as a car driving through a green valley, or two people at a beach. A zombie or gargoyle then pops up on the screen, along with a loud, high-pitched scream, potentially scaring the viewer. At the end of each advertisement, the slogan, "So wach warst du noch nie.", which translates into English as, "You've never been so awake", (English Version is quoted as "Ever been so wide awake?") appears on the screen, simulating the effect the energy drink will have on its consumers. Four radio ads were also released such as a Christmas story and a meditation audio, both in German and English, with the last intended to expand the brand to the United Kingdom.[22] Three "less caffeine" commercials were released, featuring a man in a monster suit or a man dressed as a teddy bear, minus the screams. (The German Versions of the "less caffeine" commercials use the slogan "Jetzt auch mit weniger Koffein." Translated as "Now also with less caffeine.") (English version as, "Now, without so much caffeine.") These commercials received many complaints from German viewers, resulting in them ultimately being pulled from television. English commentator Rhys Production 11 interviewed two of the actors who starred in the commercials, Brad Johnson and his brother Adam Johnson,[23] who revealed that the company originally used puppets "to create scary objects". After this plan did not work, the brothers themselves starred in the commercials.[24]
YouTube prohibits jump scares invideo advertising. In August 2018, a video marketingThe Nun depicts theiOS device volume icon muting before the titular character appears with an incredibly loud scream. The ad was removed shortly afterward for violating the site's "shocking content policy".[25]
AnInternet screamer or simplyscreamer[26] is an image, video or application on theInternet that has a sudden change designed to startle the user,[27] typically using a scary face with a loud scream.
An early example of an Internet screamer isThe Maze (often calledScary Maze Game) by Jeremy Winterrowd in 2003.[27] Disguised as a computer game, the player is supposed to use their mouse to move a blue square along a given path without touching the walls. As the player progresses, the walls get smaller, making it more difficult for the player to avoid touching the walls, and forces the player to bring their faces closer to the screen. At first, if the player accidentally touches the wall, it will lead back to the start menu and the player has to start all over again. However, once the player reaches level 3, the walls get so thin that it becomes very difficult to avoid touching the wall, which is done on purpose to get the player more focused on the game and possibly to move closer to the screen. When the player reaches a certain point, whether they touch a wall or not, an image of the possessedRegan MacNeil (Linda Blair) from the filmThe Exorcist suddenly appears on the screen along with an edited sound effect of her screaming playing twice.[28]
After the rise of YouTube, Internet screamers gradually transitioned from chain emails toreaction videos where people filmed as they pranked others to click on an Internet screamer and recorded their reactions or using a character's screaming moments edited with jumpscare as it appears as though the character is reacting to a jumpscare. A prominent early screamer reaction video (a sketch bySaturday Night Live) was uploaded on YouTube in May 2006 by user "Can't We All Just Get Along?".[29] The video features a boy (Bobby Moynihan) sitting at a desk while playingThe Maze Game. In the video, the boy, initially confused, asks "Why can't I touch this?", however a picture of a scary creature appears with a big shout, the boy hits the screen and breaks the computer,urinates in his pants, and runs towards the person filming him, starting tocry. Since the upload, the video has been viewed over 25 million times.[30]Maze reaction videos were featured twice onAmerica's Funniest Home Videos.[30]
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