21 Sarah Jane's Face Falls Off
"The Android Invasion" (1975)
Okay, you'd have to have been asleep or absurdly gullible not to work out that the Sarah Jane we're watching isn't the real Sarah Jane, but the sight of her android double falling down, and its face falling off to reveal the circuitry beneath still has a hell of a shock factor. There's something about the disembodied glass eyes, especially, that sticks in the memory. They're downright freaky.
Big screen relatives: The androids in Westworld.
20 Faceless Policeman
"Terror Of The Autons" (1971)
Uptight viewers at the time of this serial had more problems with the devil doll featured in the story, but to be honest, the effects in that sequence are so poor they undermine the effect. Far scarier is the idea that you can be relaxing in the safety of a police car, only to discover that the policeman in the front seat is a faceless, plastic alien entity! A classic cliffhanger. Apparently the police were less than happy that kids spent the next few months trying to rip their faces off, though.
Big screen relatives: The featureless, robot policemen in THX 1138.
