When it comes to horror movies, the jump scare has practically become synonymous with the genre. It’s the go-to tool in terrorizing, and for good reason – there’s something about a well-timed “Boo!” that never fails to fluster at least one audience member. But this method is so commonly invoked nowadays that you’ll often feel jilted if it’s a real jolt you’d wanted.

So to help you skip the heaping piles out there here’s a list of top five jump scares that are leaps and bounds above the rest.

No. 5 The Thing – The Blood Test scene

While most folks might consider the defibrillator scene in The Thing to be the ultimate shocker, arguably the blood test scene, later on, hits even harder because of the tough hack it has to follow. One of the key components to really good jump scare is the build-up – and what better way to get your pulse racing than seeing a man’s head disembody itself and transform into a spider-creature? Add to that a hearty dose of apprehension in wondering who are infected and what will happen to the infected blood when it gets burned, and it’s clear the timing of this scene really makes it a winner.

No. 4: It Follows: Don’t Open the Door (the Tall Man scene)

What’s great about this scene is how successfully it utilizes the camerawork of a conventional jump scare against you so that even the seasoned horror fan can get caught off guard. Given that the walking dead could probably outpace the film’s walking undressed demon, the only jump scare one expects here is in the frame cuts. Suspense is heightened by the monster’s proximity at that moment, however, its attack m.o. makes you believe you’ll at least be able to see it coming. So when the door is opened and only Jay’s friends are revealed to have been knocking, you think the teased freak out moment was just a fake-out. Big mistake.

No. 3: Final Destination 2: The Kitchen Scene

Here’s what you know: This is a horror movie, its title is basically “Death”, the guy on screen has managed to avoid a huge disaster and he’s just won the lotto. Obv this guy’s end is nigh. But instead of trying to trick you otherwise, this scene owns it. Taking a different approach to the jump scare is what’s kept the Final Destination franchise fresh for so many films, and this scene epitomizes that approach. There’s loud music playing, there’s fire burning, there’s electricity sparking, there’s a shirtless guy with his hand stuck down a garbage disposal for Chrissake… everything screams that you will too in a second. The number of sinister setups is so ridiculous you could almost laugh.

And that’s exactly what makes this a top-five moment: the build-up isn’t you being tricked into thinking nothing’s going to happen, rather it’s tricking you into believing that what’s about to happen isn’t a jump scare.

No. 2: The Blair Witch – The End

Found footage films in particular use jump scares to the point of overkill, capitalizing on the limits of the camera’s p.o.v. The Blair Witch Project, grande dame of the subgenre, stands alone as achieving a top five-worthy chill, unique even to the whole of horror because it exploits those limits in a way still unparalleled to date.

While Heather and Mike run around panicked in search of Josh, the shaky-cam shots of the skeletal house around them is more than enough to scare you. But when Heather’s camera becomes your eyes without ears, and Mike’s mic’d camera inexplicably and silently falls, the real magic happens with a disconnect between sound and sight that disorients you beyond words. The jump scare that ensues is the opposite of what was happening only moments before and is the ultimate in unnerving because of the sudden absence of noise and movement speaks volumes.

No. 1 Wait Until Dark – The Leap

Even though decades of same old jump scares have kinda spoiled the surprise over time, the number one scene on this list is nevertheless the oldest and most basic as it gets in concept – which is the secret to its enduring ability to upset. A fair assumption for life in general is that the further you get from a villain, the closer you are to safety. The establishing moments to a jump scare are therefore typically spent letting us know that danger is approaching by closing in on the soon-to-be victim visually. Where a lot of jump scares have you claustrophobically close to characters, this moment is framed from afar, both tempting you to think there’s no threat and providing you with a full view of the attack that happens anyway. All the components of a good jump scare are here in superlative form, above all the jump – and the lengths to which this scene takes that part literally are why this scene soars to the top of the list.