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The 11 Most Terrifying Video Game Reveals

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Have you ever been playing a video game that suddenly takes your adventure in an entirely unexpected direction? Every now and then a game manages to do something unpredictable, whether that thing is a major plot twist, a main character’s death, a startling reveal or a terrifying new foe, it’s always something no one could’ve seen coming. The horror genre is filled with games that managed just that; they did something we never saw coming or put us in an unforgettable situation.

Not enough games do this these days. This list is all about the moments many gamers won’t soon forget; the moment they realized nothing is certain, and anything could happen next. Here’s our list of the most startling twists and reveals the horror genre has thrown us so far.

Meet the Broken Neck Woman (Fatal Frame II)

The Fatal Frame series has a fair share of terrifying moments, mainly caused by the fact that you have to get pretty damn close to your enemies in order to vanquish them. But it wasn’t until Fatal Frame 2 when I had the pleasure of meeting the Broken Neck Woman when I realized just how crazy disturbing the game would get. The simple fact that she comes at you with her head hanging limply across one shoulder is scary enough but her introduction really took it to the next level. You see, I was just minding my own business, walking down a stairwell singing show tunes (as I always do) when my gleeful exploration was tragically cut short by an ear-piercing scream and a sickening thud. The woman’s ghost fell almost on top of me before quickly getting up and coming to tear my shit up. Yes, I screamed like a little girl.

Cozy Cabin in the Woods (Condemned 2)

Condemned has always been a very scary series of games but the second game was the one that casually took my hand and tossed me into one horrible place after another. This was a tough call because there are actually two fantastically scary sections in Bloodshot, but the winner goes to the cabin in the woods. I choose this because it had the best build up. You crash land in a snowy forest, finding clues and sending them to the smart chick who lets you know there’s might be a rabid animal on the loose somewhere nearby. It turns out the rabid animal happens to be a fucking massive grizzly bear intent on absolutely ruining your day. The second area is the Baby Factory. No, not the place where babies are made, everyone knows that’s what Storks are for, I’m talking about the broken down factory filled with explosive living dolls.

That Guy Has a Chainsaw (Resident Evil 4)

The last two Resident Evil games have treaded the fine line between action movie and horror game, with Resident Evil 5 sitting firmly in the former category. Resident Evil 4 however, showed it had a few tricks up its sleeve when at the very beginning it threw a chainsaw-wielding Ganado at you. I can’t tell you how many times I shrieked as I watched Leon get decapitated by a chainsaw I didn’t see coming. A close second from the same game would be the creeptastic Regenerators. I remember blowing off each of their limbs and feeling content with myself I turned around to do whatever it was I supposed to be doing at the time. Then, seemingly out of nowhere the same frakking Regenerator starts full-body pouncing at me, limbless I might add, until it tore out my throat. Good times.

Is That a T-Rex? (DinoCrisis)

DinoCrisis is one of those series that really deserves a comeback. Sure, the most recent Turok was pretty similar but it didn’t have zombie dinosaurs now did it? I’ll admit I wasn’t actually playing the game when I saw this, instead I was watching someone else play it, but seeing the T-Rex’s head break through the window scared the ever living hell out of me. Somehow, every other time the T-Rex made its debut manage to freak me out almost as much as the first.

Enter Pinky (Doom 3)

This has to be one of the best reveals in video games history, because it’s just so perfectly executed. The way the camera zooms out just enough to show you what it is you’re about to go up against. Then, just when you think it’s about to break through the door it fakes you out and rams its heavy pink ass through the window. That was one tough crippled monster, but it’s also one of the best things about Doom 3. Now… where’s Doom 4?

Low Sanity (Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem)

Slowly going insane in Eternal Darkness is definitely not a good thing. This is one of the first games to break the fourth wall so it can mess with the player playing the game, including making us think our TV is broke or our save files have been deleted. It didn’t just limit itself to those tricks, the game also turned levels inside out and gave you some pretty nasty hallucinations.

Would You Kindly? (BioShock)

I could talk about how amazing and revolutionary BioShock was but for a game with a lot of strengths, its story remains as one of the best told yet. It’s been out a few years now so I hope this spoiler doesn’t ruin anything for you, but remember all those suggestions you were given throughout the game that began with would you kindly? Yeah, that was a programmed trigger to get you to do whatever they wanted you to do. This was the Bruce Willis was dead the entire movie plot twist of the video game world. Oh, and our first encounter with a Big Daddy ranks in at a close second. Those dudes were tough.

Where Did that Dog Come From? (Resident Evil)

When you think of one of the most terrifying, most unexpected moments in a horror game the zombie dog jumping through the window in the original Resident Evil should be one of the first things to come to mind. The fact that anyone could still be talking/writing about it a decade and a half after the game’s release showcases just how great it was. Sure, cheap scares have become a staple of many horror games nowadays but this might just be the grandaddy of them all.

Welcome to the Otherworld (Silent Hill)

If the Fog World is the fun, easygoing uncle everybody loves than the Otherworld is that uncle’s evil twin brother with the misshaped nose and crazy eyes. Silent Hill might be known for its foggy town but the Otherworld is the unsung hero of the series, the more twisted and dangerous part of the game where anything goes. It’s also where we get to see Pyramid get his freak on with one of those mannequins in the second game. Even the music, scored by composer Akira Yamaoka, changes into something far more menacing when you enter this world.

It Hurts Being a Necromorph (Dead Space 2)

When Dead Space 2 opened with something as fucked up as a man being painfully transformed into a Necromorph, I knew it was going to be a worthy followup. Seeing him stiffen up as the creature injected him with its Necrojuices, his hands clenching Isaac’s bonded arms as his skin tore and his eyeballs fell out of their sockets was, for lack of a better word, amazing.

SHODAN is Your Guide

If you didn’t think a game could beat BioShock’s plot twist or Eternal Darkness’ bleeding walls then think again because System Shock 2 did just that. This is a twist no one could’ve seen coming. You awaken on a labyrinthine spaceship, alone and hunted by hungry creatures. Your only lifeline is one other survivor, Janice Polito. For much of the game you’re trying to survive until you reach her office, the light at the end of this long and dangerous tunnel and the only safe place on the ship. But as soon as you enter her office the walls break apart to reveal SHODAN, the rogue AI from the first game that’s been your guide all along. This was unforgettable and I’ve never felt so betrayed and bewildered in a game before.

Gamer, writer, terrible dancer, longtime toast enthusiast. Legend has it Adam was born with a controller in one hand and the Kraken's left eye in the other. Legends are often wrong.

Interviews

“Chucky” – Devon Sawa & Don Mancini Discuss That Ultra-Bloody Homage to ‘The Shining’

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Chucky

Only one episode remains in Season 3 of “Chucky,” and what a bloody road it’s been so far, especially for actor Devon Sawa. The actor has now officially died twice on screen this season, pulling double duty as President James Collins and body double Randall Jenkins.

If you thought Chucky’s ruthless eye-gouging of the President was bloody, this week’s Episode 7 traps Randall Jenkins in an elevator that feels straight out of an iconic horror classic.

Bloody Disgusting spoke with series creator Don Mancini and actor Devon Sawa about that ultra-bloody death sequence and how the actor inspires Mancini’s writing on the series. 

Mancini explains, “Devon’s a bit of a muse. Idle Hands and Final Destination is where my Devon Sawa fandom started, like a lot of people; although yours may have started with CasperI was a bit too old for that. But it’s really just about how I love writing for actors that I respect and then know. So, it’s like having worked with Devon for three years now, I’m just always thinking, ‘Oh, what would be a fun thing to throw his way that would be unexpected and different that he hasn’t done?’ That’s really what motivates me.”

For Sawa, “Chucky is an actor’s dream in that the series gives him not one but multiple roles to sink his teeth into, often within the same season. But the actor is also a huge horror fan, and Season 3: Part 2 gives him the opportunity to pay homage to a classic: Kubrick’s The Shining.

Devon Sawa trapped in elevator in "Chucky"

CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Devon Sawa as President James Collins, K.C. Collins as Coop — (Photo by: SYFY)

“Collectively, it’s just amazing to put on the different outfits, to do the hair differently, to get different types of dialogue, Sawa says of working on the series. “The elevator scene, it’s like being a kid again. I was up to my eyeballs in blood, and it felt very Kubrick. Everybody there was having such a good time, and we were all doing this cool horror stuff, and it felt amazing. It really was a good day.”

Sawa elaborates on being submerged in so much blood, “It was uncomfortable, cold, and sticky, and it got in my ears and my nose. But it was well worth it. I didn’t complain once. I was like, ‘This is why I do what I do, to do scenes like this, the scenes that I grew up watching on VHS cassette, and now we’re doing it in HD, and it’s all so cool.

It’s always the characters and the actors behind them that matter most to Mancini, even when he delights in coming up with inventive kills and incorporating horror references. And he’s killed Devon Sawa’s characters often. Could future seasons top the record of on-screen Sawa deaths?

“Well, I guess we did it twice in season one and once in season two, Mancini counts. “So yeah, I guess I would have to up the ante next season. I’ll really be juggling a lot of falls. But I think it’s hopefully as much about quality as quantity. I want to give him a good role that he’s going to enjoy sinking his teeth into as an actor. It’s not just about the deaths.”

Sawa adds, “Don’s never really talked about how many times could we kill you. He’s always talking about, ‘How can I make this death better,’ and that’s what I think excites him is how he can top each death. The electricity, to me blowing up to, obviously in this season, the eyes and with the elevator, which was my favorite one to shoot. So if it goes on, we’ll see if he could top the deaths.”

Devon Sawa as dead President James Collins in Chucky season three

CHUCKY — “Death Becomes Her” Episode 305 — Pictured in this screengrab: Devon Sawa as James Collins — (Photo by: SYFY)

The actor has played a handful of distinctly different characters since the series launch, each one meeting a grisly end thanks to Chucky. And Season 3 gave Sawa his favorite characters yet.

“I would say the second one was a lot of fun to shoot, the actor says of Randall Jenkins. “The President was great. I liked playing the President. He was the most grounded, I hope, of all the characters. I did like playing him a lot.” Mancini adds, “He’s grounded, but he’s also really traumatized, and I thought you did that really well, too.”

The series creator also reveals a surprise correlation between President James Collins’ character arc and a ’90s horror favorite.

I saw Devon’s role as the president in Season 3; he’s very Kennedy-esque, Mancini explains. “But then given the supernatural plot turns that happen, to me, the analogy is Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, the character that is seeing these weird little things happening around the house that is starting to screw with his sanity and he starts to insist, ‘I’m seeing a ghost, and his spouse thinks he’s nuts. So I always like that. That’s Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneathwhich is a movie I love.”

The finale of  “Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesday, May 1 on USA & SYFY.

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