The 'Contact' Movie Explained | No Film School

Get in the Halloween spirit with the art and craft of cinematically blowing up heads and stuff.

As indie filmmakers—especially in the genre space—sometimes we have to find creative ways to cinematically portray some crazy stuff. Heads exploding? Body transformations to bugs? Extraterrestrial predators disrespecting your boundaries and popping out of chest cavities?

You name it, we conceive it.

One of the great joys of movie making is figuring out exactly how to pull off all these crazy, often visceral moments in creative and visually exciting ways. Some of the greatest horror directors in history have made a name for themself by mastering the craft of the greatest intricate, believable practical effects moments of all time (eh-hmmm, David Cronenburg).

Well made practical effects aren't just cool to watch, they're also an art unto themself, with professional special effects artists dedicating their entire careers to designing crazy set pieces for our viewing pleasure.

Practical effects (SFX) also typically hold up much better than digital effects (VFX) allowing us to revisit and still immerse us into the a world created decades ago. That's pretty cool.

Below, we've compiled a top 10 list of some of the most impactful special effects in horror history. While this list is certainly not definitive, it was carefully thought out by which movies have been the most influential or impactful in our current moviegoing zeitgeist. Some are 80s classics you'd expect, others are modern special effects masterpieces that have instantly found themself in the cannon. We try to keep it interesting!

Please enjoy, as well as check out some accompanying education on how some of these moments were conceived and translated to the big screen, as well as some complimentary double feature pairings for your viewing pleasure.

Editor's note: These are in no particular order. Sue me.