5 Horror Shows I Knew Would Be 10/10 Masterpieces After The First 10 Minutes

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Many shows start slowly, but horror series like It: Welcome to Derry immediately showed their potential as exceptional television. With so many streaming options available today, it’s harder than ever to capture viewers’ attention. A show needs to be captivating right from the beginning to keep people watching.

For a show to keep viewers hooked past the first episode, or even into its second, it needs to immediately grab their attention. This is a difficult task, and it often gives an advantage to shows with lots of drama and action. Several well-regarded shows on Prime Video haven’t found a large audience because they didn’t have that initial, exciting impact.

Many excellent horror series on Netflix haven’t become widely popular, and some weren’t even renewed for another season due to small viewership. In today’s streaming world, the opening ten minutes of a show are crucial, and that’s why the following five series managed to stand out.

5. Twin Peaks

Even though Twin Peaks is now considered a groundbreaking horror show, far surpassing many modern examples, it didn’t immediately grab viewers. The very beginning of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s ABC murder mystery didn’t hint at the show’s future success. Twin Peaks needed a strong, unforgettable start to become the beloved cult classic it is today, and it absolutely achieved that.

The show Twin Peaks starts with the shocking discovery of Laura Palmer, a popular high school student, who has been found dead. Before this happens, we’re quickly introduced to the unusual people who live in the town of Twin Peaks. The series immediately establishes a sense of calm in this small town, but that peace is quickly shattered by the tragedy.

Viewers quickly become captivated as they discover the seemingly perfect small town hides a dark side. While Twin Peaks slowly reveals the unsettling truth behind Laura’s death, it’s the shocking opening moments of the first episode that will stay with audiences long after the series concludes.

4. The Outsider

As a big Stephen King fan, I really enjoyed HBO’s The Outsider from 2020. It’s a pretty accurate take on his 2018 novel, the first book featuring the character Holly Gibney. What’s cool about these stories is they mix a classic crime investigation with genuinely creepy horror vibes. Honestly, for a while, watching the series, I wasn’t even sure if it was going to lean more into a supernatural thriller or stay grounded as a really intense courtroom drama.

The series immediately grabs your attention with a clever opening. As seen in It: Welcome to Derry, The Outsider begins with the discovery of a young boy’s body, brutally damaged. All clues suggest Terry Maitland, the boy’s Little League coach, is responsible, and security footage appears to show him taking the child.

The main issue is Terry insists he’s innocent, and video footage backs up his claim by showing he was somewhere else when the crime happened. This creates a baffling situation, shifting The Outsider from a straightforward crime story into a more mysterious and unsettling thriller.

The mystery ultimately relies on a supernatural element, which might not satisfy viewers hoping for a typical crime story. But for those familiar with Stephen King’s talent for horror, it’s a fitting conclusion that builds on the strong start of the first episode.

3. Stranger Things

With the arrival of Stranger Things season 5, volume 1, it’s easy to overlook where the show started. Before we knew about Vecna, the Hawkins Lab experiments, or the town’s dark past, the disappearance of Will Byers was a powerful and emotional mystery that launched the show’s incredible first season.

The first scene of the episode is brilliantly suspenseful. We see a young boy biking home when something monstrous seems to appear. He makes it back to his old, worn-down house, but even there he isn’t safe—the lights in the shed flicker, hinting at a terrifying presence behind him.

For the next five seasons, Stranger Things balanced adventure, relatable teenage stories, humor, love, and suspense. But from the very beginning, the show made it clear it was primarily a horror series, and Vecna’s plans for the final season confirm that core element remains central to its success.

Okay, so the very beginning of this Netflix series? Wow. It totally grabbed me. It felt like one of those classic, heartwarming-but-also-scary movies Spielberg made, but with a definite nod to John Carpenter’s style. It’s got this really sweet, nostalgic vibe, but it’s still genuinely creepy and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Honestly, that first scene raised my expectations so high for the rest of the show.

2. The Haunting of Hill House

While the beginning of Stranger Things effectively blended nostalgic ‘80s storytelling with suspense, the opening of Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House is immediately shocking and terrifying. The series does delve into complex family dynamics as it progresses, but the very first scene focuses solely on delivering pure horror.

The series The Haunting of Hill House opens with Steven Crane reading the beginning of Shirley Jackson’s novel, which is presented as a real memoir he wrote about the house within the show’s world. This immediately signals that the series will significantly depart from the original book’s story.

It remains to be seen how closely Flanagan’s adaptation of Carrie will follow the original story, but his creative changes in The Haunting of Hill House are already a good sign. The series opens with a seemingly heartwarming family moment: young Nell tells her parents she’s afraid of a ghost, but they reassure her and send her back to bed.

When viewers first see the ghostly figure towering over Nell, the scene is genuinely frightening. While the rest of The Haunting of Hill House balances emotional moments with compelling family drama, this particular scene is purely terrifying and perfectly showcases why it’s the best horror series Netflix has produced to date.

1. It: Welcome to Derry

Fans eagerly anticipated HBO’s prequel to It, titled It: Welcome to Derry, and there were concerns it wouldn’t live up to expectations after a long delay. However, the series quickly put those worries to rest with a compelling introduction to the character of Pennywise, even before the opening credits finished.

The pilot episode of It: Welcome to Derry begins with a young person running away from a movie theater and getting a ride out of town as snow falls. The scene quickly becomes unsettling as the people in the car start behaving very strangely – one teenager eats raw liver, and a mother bursts into hysterical laughter while giving birth, making it clear that something is terribly wrong.

It’s eventually revealed that the car and everyone inside are controlled by Pennywise. Interestingly, he doesn’t appear in his classic, terrifying form until the fifth episode of It: Welcome to Derry, titled “29 Neibolt Street.” While the scene doesn’t end well for the young character, his outcome almost feels like a relief compared to the intensely frightening opening moments of the series.

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2025-12-12 19:02