jump scare

noun

variants or less commonly jump-scare

ˈjəmp-ˌsker 

or jumpscare

plural jump scares also jump-scares or jumpscares

: a scripted moment (as in a film or video game) intended to startle the audience

The biggest jolts in "The Omen" … come from conventionally staged jump scares, where a nasty image suddenly flashes on the screen accompanied by a startling sound effect.

—Li Wang

… differentiates itself from other VR [=virtual reality] horror games by not resorting to cheap jump-scares, instead flexing its brilliant visuals to build an atmospheric sense of foreboding.

—Chris Button

Examples of jump scare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Schrader’s take on the landmark horror franchise was to strongly emphasize its theological foundation and to eschew the traditional jump scares, a choice that frightened Morgan Creek Productions, which initially shelved the film over concerns about its commercial viability. —Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2025

This movie is gruesome and chalked full of jump scares. —Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2024

Setting aside some gratuitous jump scares, Eggers has now made a Dracula movie that’s more than an exercise, more than an assertion of talent. —Wesley Morris, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024

And without making anything in the film ever feel like a jump scare. —Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above