18 Eldrad's Hand Coming To Life
"The Hand Of Fear" (1976)
Another horror staple transferred into Doctor Who with a sci-fi twist - the living, disembodied hand. The scene is given extra frisson by the fact that Sarah Jane carries the hand around in a tupperware container - something that you'd find in every '70s home - and extra urgency because it take place in a nuclear power station with all its alarms blaring away. Even the effects are impressive.
Big screen relatives: Many, many disembodied hand movies.
17 Knock, Knock, Knock
"Midnight" (2008)
Another episode that almost deserves to be nominated for the entire episode. Fraught or what? It's steeped in an atmosphere of claustrophobia and paranoia that always makes for great horror, then goes on go prove that old adage that some of the best monsters are the ones you don't see. The "evil force" is never revealed, but its foreboding presence seeps through every pore of the episode. Superb performances from Lesley Sharpe and David Tennant reinforce a growing sense of terror. The real shocker, though, is when the Doctor loses all control, of both himself and the situation. Now that's scary.
Big screen relatives: Films like The Innocents and The Haunting which have barely any effects and just evoke their ghosts through good acting and atmosphere.
16 Werewolf At The Door
"Tooth and Claw" (2006)
New Who's first all-out horror episode is a masterpiece in mood-setting and "made-you-jump" moments. It also features a pretty darned impressive CG werewolf. In amongst all the high octane, set-piece scares, though, is a much quieter, genuinely creepy moment when the Doctor and co are trapped in the library with the werewolf stalking them outside. The shot where we move from the Doctor on one side of a wall to the werewolf mere inches away on the other side cranks up the tension to near breaking point.
Big screen relatives: Oddly, although werewolves have a long screen heritage, the supernatural canine in "Tooth And Claw" owes more to another set of screen monsters - the aliens from the Alien films. Having transformed, the wolf actually takes many of his scare-cues from the Giger-designed killer, especially the way he likes unexpectedly dropping in from above.
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