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Hey guys, sorry for absence from the forum lately... crazy times...

I'd like to know what your favorite blood-curdling screams from film or television are.

And nobody better say the Wilhelm scream! I'm talking about bone chilling, brutal screams!

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    Well welcome back! May 22, 2010 at 7:02

16 Answers 16

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Jaws: When the little boy, Alex Kitner, gets attacked and eaten near the beach. His underwater screams are beyond horrifying.

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The first time you hear the Ringwraiths in Lord of the Rings - Fellowship is a good one.

The Ring had some good screams in it from Naomi Watts - especially at the end.

Not that it's a scream, but a sound that disturbed me when I was young was from the Pet Cemetary franchise. One of the bullies at school gets pulled over by the zombified dad and when he flips the motorcycle over to play with him - the sound the kid makes is just horrible. I can still hear it. Disturbing.

Original Texas Chainsaw Massacre had some good ones from the main girl.

Jaime Lee Curtis in Halloween was great.

Hate to say it, but Blair Witch Project had some good male screams from the guy who goes missing.

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  • For the record, and Birdhousesound can back me up on this, Pet Cemetery had the only actor - the old duffer - who ever nailed a Maine Yankee accent onscreen. :-p May 22, 2010 at 18:11
  • NJ, you are soooo right. Ayuh - sometimes, dead is bettah. May 23, 2010 at 0:27
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Patrick Bateman screaming down the stairwell at the woman he just dropped a chainsaw on does it for me. Full of hate and anger which makes a nice change from fear I suppose.

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  • Definitely agree with this, totally different type of scream but awesome nonetheless.
    – JTC
    Nov 2, 2010 at 17:28
  • For some odd reason this sort of reminds me of the part of Silence of the Lambs where he's screaming and mocking the girl in the well. Sep 5, 2011 at 12:09
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I recall a lot of interesting yells, screams, and fear vocalizations by the character of Tetsuo in Akira. Impressive given the fact it's all in a vocal booth somewhere. +1, also, on Ms. Watt's pipes in The Ring.

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  • Thanks! The sound in the Ring was especially horrific. Like the first scene when it flashes the body in the closet... Ethan Van Der Ryn knows what he's doing!
    – Utopia
    May 22, 2010 at 20:30
  • @NoiseJockey Agreed with Akira. Hands down one of my favorite examples of really emotive and original screams. They get quite gutteral at times and really fit the emotion of the film. Considering we're around the same age, you're likely probably referring to the same English dub version I am. I posted my own response anyways since I had more to add about it. Apr 8, 2011 at 4:29
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I'm gonna have to give another vote for Akira. It depends which version though. There are actually two English overdubs.

The original, which is my personal favorite was released by Streamline Video which was later distro'd by MGM/UA. The second version is from 2001 and that one is by Pioneer Entertainment and imo, the english dubs just lack the emotion (despite the better sync). The characters lacked the vocal character and emotion of the original dub.

Who knows, maybe it was nostalgia and the Pioneer dub just didn't live up to my expectations.

While the noise floor on the original version is admittedly a bit high, it's understandable considering when it was done. The 2001 Pioneer version has better sync, but the voices just don't live up to it for me and the mix is heavily drowned in verb in all the wrong places.

It's mostly the screams and vocalizations from Akira that I remember and in the newer version they just seems to not be as unique or emotive to me, besides the mix being not so well thought out or all that realistic.

It's kind of interesting because apparently there has been a lot of debate about this in the Anime community; which I'm led to believe because there are comparison videos on youtube. And thus makes this an interesting example for just this very topic.

The comparison of the scream sequence from this scene starts at 1:59, which has one of the most memorable Akira screams Original@2:30, 2nd Version @3:18 ). You should watch the 1st comparison before the scream sequence I mentioned and then the one I suggested to see what I'm talking about with the mix being drowned in excessive reverb in the wrong places.

Enjoy!

[youtube]qjn3hHToUiU[/youtube]

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The invasion of the Bodysnatchers from 1978 really does it for me!

[youtube]GEStsLJZhzo[/youtube]

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Ever since I saw the movie as a kid, the screams of the men in The Lives of the Bengal Lancers while being tortured with bamboo under their fingernails has always turned my stomach a bit.

I also get the same feeling from Wesley's screams during The Princess Bride.

There's just something about a man screaming that's unsettling....

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  • @vcprod, Oh god, i was 8 or something when I first saw ThePrincessB. That scream used to absolutely KILL me.
    – g.a.harry
    Apr 8, 2011 at 12:57
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Van Ghog picture " The Scream ", it's stronger one!

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    Actually, "The Scream" is by Norwegian painter Wdvard Munch.
    – oinkaudio
    Nov 2, 2010 at 9:44
  • Sorry Edvard Munch
    – oinkaudio
    Nov 2, 2010 at 9:44
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Van Ghog picture " The Scream ", it's stronger one!

Uh, actually that's Edvard Munch:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

--jpf

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Time to revive this thread, since we just passed halloween. ;)

No Wilhelm for me (I'm tired of hearing it at this point), but I always loved the scream Goofy makes in the older Disney animations. You know...where there's a narrator and he doesn't ever talk. It was just an awesome vocalization.

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  • waaa-hoo-hoo-hoooey! :) Nov 1, 2010 at 15:34
  • @Steve - Right? Classic. Nov 1, 2010 at 17:13
  • You revived this thread for Halloween and you choose a Disney scream as being the best? Bah!
    – Utopia
    Nov 2, 2010 at 17:14
  • @Ryan - What?! It's a good scream! ;) Nov 2, 2010 at 18:02
  • @Shaun - I know, I know! Joking!
    – Utopia
    Nov 4, 2010 at 1:31
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Pris's death screams in Blade Runner always creeped me out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw72tIk4THc#t=4m32s

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Twin Peaks: During the final episode when Agent Cooper is wandering around the Black Lodge. He encounters "evil" Laura Palmer who says "Meanwhile..." and then lets out a series of terrifying screams. Creeps me out everytime I see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seUw1rPOIhw#t=0m49s

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Not sure if this counts, but Roger Daltry's long scream in the Who's 'Wont get fooled again' is impressive.

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Heath Ledger's scream in four feathers. At the end of the film he's fighting the prison guard, and screams right before he head butts the guy. My favorite of all time. Anybody know how that was done?

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Mark Hamill didn't do too badly at the end of Empire.

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It's got to be the Wilhelm no?

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