'OH SH*T!'

Warning land lubbers! These waters be rife with spoilers!

From scares to tense thrillers to ass kicking action, there’s nothing better than a scene (or entire act, as is the case of some) that makes you jump out of your seat in a fit of sheer excitement. Figuratively of course, because to literally jump out of your seat would probably worry the people sitting close to you, but the point is there are those moments in a movie that just want to make you yell ‘OH SH*T!’, either because you’ve just been caught completely off guard or something purely awesome has just occurred before your very eyes.

2012’s nominees covered the spectrum of ‘OH SH*T!’ moments. We had horror (deconstruction), action from gunslingers and superheroes alike, tense international escapes, and a terrible misuse of time travel that leaves poor fellows in desperate need of a leg up. There was no shortage of scenes to yell expletives at, and there’s nothing more satisfying than having a film grab hold of your attention and beating it into submission until your on the edge of your seat dying to see what happens next. Here’s what made us collectively yell ‘OH SH*T!’ in 2012.

This one was kind of a land slide. As awesome as our other nominees were, there just isn’t anything that tops countless horror character archetypes being released to slaughter people in completely corn-syrup-drenched glory. I can’t even begin to list off all of the things you can see laying waste to man throughout the final act of Cabin in the Woods. Zombies, clowns, demons, mutants, psychopaths, ghosts, and of course let’s not forget the unicorn. Simply put, this movie was just awesome through and through, and they just don’t come any more satisfying than this. If you haven’t seen it (and have now had it spoiled), you better run out and find yourself a copy, otherwise legend says the specter of Joss Whedon will haunt your family for generations to come. Scary!

Argo: “The Escape”

Django Unchained: “I count six bullets…” Scene

Looper: “Amputation” Scene

The Avengers: “Puny God”