What are some great examples of horror movies hiding things in the background?

Submitted by chazinabox t3_10nwap9 in movies

I'm currently researching for a project I'm working on about the technique of hiding things (ghosts, subtle imagery, etc) in the background of movie shots. I already know the more obvious stuff like Midsommar/Hereditary, Hill House/Bly Manor and was also super surprised when I found out there were hidden ghosts in a few scenes of Tár. I was wondering what some older or more obscure examples of this technique are that you guys love, it would be really cool to hear about them!

36

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

MissingLink101 t1_j6b942l wrote

Might not be quite what you're looking for but the boy standing in the corner in this scene from Insidious

20

Arfguy t1_j6ba90w wrote

There was a scene in Andy Muschetti's IT Chapter One where Ben is in the library and Pennywise is clearly watching him, but the presence of Pennywise is so subtle, I think a lot of viewers missed it.

24

MissingLink101 t1_j6ban16 wrote

Replying to chazinabox (#1,569,295)

I guess she's just pre-occupied and absent mindedly doing chores so not really paying attention.

I remember in the cinema you could hear half the people reacting with a whispered but shocked "did you see that?!" to whoever they were with. Was a cool moment!

6

Final-___X t1_j6bcau2 wrote

There's plenty of shots in Halloween (1978) where Michael is in the background of a shot and his mask illuminates his presence.

*Rosemary's Baby and Jacob's ladder have subtle background compositing of images if memory serves me correctly.

17

HardSteelRain t1_j6bccb3 wrote

Shadows and door moving slightly in Paranormal Activity

4

T-408 t1_j6bct2z wrote

Scream features a scene where Sidney is chased by Ghostface through Stu’s house. While Sidney is running from GF (Stu), there is a doll in the attic which bears a resemblance to Casey (Stu’s ex girlfriend who is killed early in the film). The doll is hung from the attic ceiling, much like Casey was gutted and hung from a tree outside her house. This is a very quick visual cue that Stu is one of the killers

25

garrisontweed t1_j6bhyn2 wrote

In The Descent you can see the creatures in the background early on.

44

Cake-Over t1_j6bkh71 wrote

1408 especially with the painting of the sailing ship on the wall.

8

Random_Belter t1_j6boba7 wrote

In Hereditary the cult members are standing around the house near the end. Some can't be seen unless you turn up the brightness. Also some of the cult members can be seen earlier in the movie as regular townspeople.

13

66towtruck t1_j6bwmha wrote

Tha Haunting of Hill House. Ghosts all over the place in the background but not really noticeable. I didnt notice them when I watched it the first time but there were scenes that gave me chills for reason I couldn’t understand. Later I saw an article that listed each scene that had a ghost in the background and I realized why I thought some of the scenes were super creepy.

14

DaikaijuSokogeki01 t1_j6c4jj0 wrote

Hideo Nakata's Ghost Actress has some great moments where the ghost is just lingering in the background.

3

profound_whatever t1_j6c9lyu wrote

Three Men and a Baby famously has an accidental version of this; a cardboard cutout in the background that some people think is a ghost.

The video game Until Dawn has figures in the background in certain cutscenes.

I think Lake Mungo and The Witch in the Window have moments like this too?

6

StudBoi69 t1_j6caaar wrote

The Eye (2002) - the reflection in the subway train

2

lemontrout85 t1_j6cq73o wrote

Replying to T-408 (#1,569,867)

Speaking of Casey, there's a nice bit of foreshadowing before the calls get nasty. What seems to an exterior establishing shot of the house, we see an innocent looking swing hanging from the tree swaying. 10 minutes later Casey's hanging from that swing.

7

AdmiralCharleston t1_j6cr8fq wrote

Ghostwatch and the inside number 9 Halloween special are the only pieces of media where I've been too afraid to look for the hidden details because of how subtle and terrifying they are

5

IAmSomnabula t1_j6cvjbj wrote

In Alien you can see the Xenomorph hiding in plain sight. It just looks like a piece of equipment in the cargo area.

11

Old_Understanding325 t1_j6cwqxs wrote

It took me over 25 years to spot it, but in Halloween 4 just after deputy Logan reassures Rachel that the troopers will be there soon you see Michael Myers's face in the background and then fade into the darkness when Logan turns in his direction.

It's very quick and subtle.

3

satluvscheese t1_j6d6aiq wrote

"Fear" 1996.... you can find a small version of a "Chucky doll" in Mark Wahlbergs room...it's on a shelf and not so hard to miss

1

charleyismyhero t1_j6dcyvt wrote

Replying to satluvscheese (#1,580,672)

So waaaaaaay back in the old days when that movie came out on VHS my family had heard the rumor and rented it one weekend. We found the spot and spent hours rewinding and FFW around and debating it. Finally gave up after no consensus and went ahead and finished the movie, (where the true culprit is officially revealed). Man, that was a fun night though and a great memory.

5

djangoman2k t1_j6dtn0o wrote

Lake Mungo did this super well. That's a very interesting horror flick you should definitely check out.

2

Doppelfrio t1_j6e5sn7 wrote

There’s a specific scene in Memories of Murder that had me freaking out

2

ey3s0re_christ t1_j6e7kv0 wrote

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows had the whole "Secret of Esrever" marketing campaign during the dvd/vhs release. It was like 5 hidden/subliminal images throughout the movie.

3

littleoctagon t1_j6ekcry wrote

There's a bunch of hidden stuff in The Conjuring. I seem to recall that the name of the ghost is spelled out in letters on bookshelves.

3

HagbardCelineHere t1_j6emre7 wrote

I'll give you one more off the beaten path, a little Australian found-footage movie called Lake Mungo has a couple of great twists in it, and does you the service of giving you a post-credits scene showing you everything you "should" have noticed the first time around.

2