Blue Velvet (1982)
The Moment: Dennis Hopper makes his bow as Frank Booth, terrorising Isabella Rossellini while Kyle MacLachlan watches on helplessly from his hiding place in the wardrobe.
Why So Scary: Frank is as frightening as any horror movie villain, and the film takes a turn for the macabre whenever he arrives on screen. Perverse in the extreme.
Watership Down (1978)
The Moment: Take your pick from any of the gore-spattered battle scenes with various bunnies being ripped to shreds in unflinching detail. Hazel's death is probably the most heart-rending, but it's all pretty harrowing.
Why So Scary: If you had expected this to be a cuddly animated caper about a bunch of fluffy rabbits, you'd have been watching the whole thing through your fingers!
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
The Moment: Ophelia enters the chamber of the Pale Man, but neglects to stick to the rules and foolishly takes some food from his table. Sure enough, it isn't long before her pallid host has awakened from his slumber…
Why So Scary: Despite the very real horror of the Civil War setting, the Pale Man remains a fantastically scary monster. As Ophelia scrambles to escape his clutches, your heart will be doing its level best to crawl out of your mouth!
Casino (1995)
The Moment: Nicky Santoro meets arguably the worst end imaginable, as a squad of mob goons force him to watch them beat his brother to death, before burying him alive next to the corpse. Jesus!
Why So Scary: We know Nicky is a fairly sick puppy himself, but this is pretty extreme. The fear here isn't that the boys are going to die (that much is inevitable), but in just how horrible their end is going to be.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
The Moment: Thanks to Lotso's betrayal, the toys find themselves sliding on a wave of trash into the fiery core of a giant incinerator. When asked by Jessie what they should do, Buzz concedes defeat and simply takes her hand. Oh God, no!
Why So Scary: For one terrible moment it seems as though the toys are about to go up in smoke, only for the aliens to come to their rescue at the last minute. By this point however, there won't be a dry eye in the house.
Brazil (1985)
The Moment: Sam Lowry meets with his old pal Jack Lint, who has just emerged from another "job" at the Department of Information Retrieval. Despite the blood that clings to his white scrubs, he proceeds to play with his daughter and answer Sam's questions as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
Why So Scary: The scene is weighed down by the implied violence that has happened off-screen, while Michael Palin's smiling demeanour only serves to make things feel more uncomfortable.
Pinocchio (1940)
The Moment: The Pleasure Island sequence, in which all the naughty school-skipping children are transformed into braying donkeys and put to work by a terrifying slave-driver. Don't do drugs, kids!
Why So Scary: As cautionary tales go, this one is pretty graphic. Whatever happened to the poor boy wailing for his mummy?
The Adventures Of Mark Twain (1985)
The Moment: A truly bizarre interlude in which the young protagonists have an encounter with Satan, who demonstrates his take on the world via the medium of a claymation apocalypse. Erm, okay…
Why So Scary: Satan himself is a terrifying creation. Witness the way he crushes two citizens with the palm of his hand, their bodies instantly being replaced by little clay coffins. And this is aimed at kids?
Vertigo (1958)
The Moment: Scottie's sleep is disturbed by a horrible, guilt-driven nightmare, in which he finds himself inexorably drawn to the gaping grave of the deceased Madeleine Elster.
Why So Scary: Dream sequences are often quite unsettling, and this one is no different, the close up of the smirking portrait of Madeleine really cranking the creepiness up to fever pitch.
The Dark Crystal (1982)
The Moment: A Skeksis scientist attempts to drain a cuddly little Gelfling of his life-force, with horrifyingly efficient results. If you only know Jim Henson from The Muppets, you're in for a shock.
Why So Scary: The Skeksis aren't your usual cuddly critters, what with their skeletal appearance and penchant for cruelty. The Gelflings on the other hand are exactly the sort of cutesy creatures you don't expect to see chained to a chair and blasted with lasers!
