Modern horror movies have figured out new ways to scare us with sophisticated movie effects. But there is nothing like a good, old-fashioned monologue to ratchet up the tension, even in modern horror movies.
Here are four top speeches from modern horror movies:
1. John Milton's speech to Kevin Lomax in "The Devil's Advocate" (1997)
Milton (Al Pacino) offers Lomax (Keanu Reeves) one final temptation in the climax of this Faustian thriller. While critics debate whether this is one of the best or worst performances of his career, there is no doubt Pacino hammily devours this scene with ghoulish delight.
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"Who are you carrying all those bricks for anyway? God? Is that it? God? Well, I tell ya, let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He’s a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift and then what does He do? I swear, for His own amusement, His own private cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It’s the goof of all time. Look, but don’t touch. Touch, but don’t taste. Taste, don’t swallow. And while you’re jumpin’ from one foot to the next, what is He doin’? He’s laughin’ His sick, f— a— off. He’s a tight a—. He’s a sadist. He’s an absentee landlord. Worship that? Never! … Why not? I’m here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began! I’ve nurtured every sensation man has been inspired to have! I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him, in spite of all his imperfections! I’m a fan of man! I’m a humanist. Maybe the last humanist. Who, in their right mind, Kevin, could possibly deny the 20th century was entirely mine? All of it, Kevin! All of it! Mine! I’m peaking, Kevin. It’s my time now. It’s our time."
2. Katie's speech to Micah in “Paranormal Activity” (2007)
“No, you haven’t been having any progress, and you’re not in control. It is in control, and if you think you’re in control, then you’re being an idiot! Not a single thing you’ve done has helped, and I’m sorry, I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but the camera hasn’t helped and the stupid footprints haven’t helped; do you think that thing would have left footprints if it didn’t want to? No! It did it because it wanted to! It wanted you to find my photo, it can be anywhere, it hears what we’re saying right now.”
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This monologue from Katie, played by Katie Featherston, in “Paranormal Activity,” occurred as she frantically addressed her boyfriend, Micah. She berated him for thinking he can control the evil haunting their home. Katie was present in all of the “Paranormal Activity” movies in some capacity.
“The first time I saw 'Paranormal Activity 2' [2010] was with an audience, and I was terrified. I cannot watch either of the ‘Paranormal’ films, alone,”
Featherston told People after the sequel's release.
3. Jigsaw in “Saw” (2004)
“I want you to make a choice. There’s a slow-acting poison coursing through your system, which only I have the antidote for. Will you murder a mother and her child to save yourself? Listen carefully, if you will. There are rules. Let the game begin.”
This monologue is from Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell, to one of his contestants. After being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, Jigsaw decided he must help others appreciate the value of life. He did this by endangering their lives to see if they had the survival instinct necessary to make them do his twisted will. He viewed only the ones who obeyed him as being worthy of life.
4. Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs” (1991)
“You know what you look like to me with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you’re not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you Agent Starling? And that accent you’re trying so desperately to shed – pure West Virginia. What was your father, dear? Was he a coal miner? Did he stink of the lamp? And oh, how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings, in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out. Getting anywhere. Getting all the way to the FBI.”
Lecter’s character, played by Anthony Hopkins, is without doubt one of the most chilling to grace the big screen in decades.
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