Which movie had the first-ever jump scare?
Ah, jump scares. Those heart-pounding, popcorn-launching moments we all love (or loathe) have become a staple in horror movies. Does a film even constitute as a horror these days without at least one excruciating moment that makes you leap out of your seat? What may seem part and parcel of a genre, however, has origins long before modern cinema’s slashers and creature features — journey with us as we delve into the fascinating history of the first recorded jump scare in film.
The art of scaring the pants off audiences dates back to the very early days of cinema, was before horror was even an established genre. Filmmakers were experimenting with the possibilities of their new medium, and the ability to provoke an immediate and visceral reaction from their audiences was clearly irresistible.
Interestingly, it wasn’t a horror film but a fantasy-adventure effort that introduced the first ‘proto’ jump scare to cinema. Georges Méliès, a pioneering French filmmaker, gave us this technique in his iconic 1896 film, A Trip to the Moon. While by no means a traditional jump scare, a sudden scene where a spaceship crashes into the eye of the moon was considered particularly abrupt and shocking by audiences at the time.
However, the first recognisable and intentional use of the jump scare as we know it now came a few decades later, during the era of sound films. This new element of filmmaking dramatically expanded the arsenal of techniques available to startle an audience, and one production cottoned on before anyone else on the possibilities to frighten. Cat People, directed by Jacques Tourneur in 1942, brought the classic jump scare to the forefront.
Cat People tells the story of a Serbian woman who believes she is descended from a race of people that turns into panthers when aroused or angry. This psychological horror introduces the jump scare during an intense scene where a potentially supernatural predator is stalking an anxious woman. The tension rises to a fever pitch, and suddenly, a bus roars into the frame (cleverly evoking the sounds of a wild cat) — a moment that has since been dubbed “The Lewton Bus,” named after the film’s producer, Val Lewton.
The Lewton Bus moment is regarded as the first modern jump scare because it introduced the concept of a ‘false’ scare. A major aspect of the technique is manipulating an audience’s expectations, building up tension and then releasing it with something benign just before hitting them with the real horror. Of course, horror films these days will use both; false and genuine scares, leaving modern viewers practically paralysed by fear of the next shocking moment.
Jump scares, for better or worse, have evolved since those early days, becoming more sophisticated and (some might argue) overused. While today they’re a controversial topic among horror fans and critics, with some seeing them as cheap tactics and others as essential horror elements, there’s no denying their significant role in horror cinema. More recent and critically acclaimed horrors like Get Out and Hereditary have been lauded for their ability to instil potent fear – without resorting to sudden loud noises.
From Méliès’s lunar surprise to Lewton’s rumbling bus, the history of the first jump scare offers a fascinating insight into the evolution of filmmaking – and filmmakers’ gleeful obsession with audience manipulation. Whether you’re a fan of the technique or not, the jump scare has left an indelible mark on the cinematic landscape, forever changing how we experience fear: whether in the theatre’s darkness or behind a cushion at home.
