Thank you for including the original Phantom in this list! Back in the 1920s when it debuted, the Phantom's face was apparently so horrifying to theatre-goers, that they were required to keep smelling salts on hand to revive women who fainted!
I remember the first time I saw Predator. With all the build up and already knowing it was an alien you knew it was gonna be wild as he slowly removes his mask. Even so it was still a mind blower.
Actually in terms of unmaskings in the Mission Impossible franchise, I have to give the win to the one in Mission Impossible 2. Sure, we all knew something was up when Ethan Hunt was seemingly killed. But the realisation and pain on the main villain's face when he realises he's killed his own ally, while Ethan has escaped with the vials, is next level.
But the funniest in the entire MI series was 5'7" Tom Cruise pretending to be 6'2" Jon Bought --which explains why Ethan had to be sitting down while he had Jim Phelps' face on. 😆
I agree that Scooby-Doo:The Movie is a fun movie that respects its source material. I grew up in the 70s and was in the sweet spot of demographics for the original series. That it is still popular with children 55 years! later is really amazing, imo.
Frankenstein - Death Race 2000. They hype up how scarred and disfigured he is from previous races, then the girl lifts up the mask and it's David Carradine with no scars and in his prime. Rodney Dangerfield/Bob Uecker - 1980's Miller Lite ad Rufus - Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Iron Man- I am Jron Man. This line was ad libbed by RdJ. Director liked it and kept it in the release. Stark guarded his identity from his teammates for years. Telling them Iron Man was his body guard in the comics. His reveal was shocking until Iron man revealed his identity in Civil Wat comics. This was the launch of the MCU.
Chaney had the Phantom makeup even more horrible, with a bald skull cap, the black rimmed eyes, the taped out nose with blacked out nostrils, the teeth, and stuck a flashlight under the whole thing = skull head. Scared hll out of everyone and the said it was too much and the audience would faint. So we got this and the audience fainted anyway.
Also, it appears they employed an Irish actor down on his luck to play Vader's "final form", which was more distracting than anything else, instead of piling some makeup on Dave Prowse who would at least look like someone's father who had been through hell.
One of my favorite movie-going moments ever was at a screening of CA:TWS (my third or fourth, it's my favorite MCU flick). A few seats over in my row were an older couple (in their 60s?) who had apparently missed all the marketing of the film and Bucky returning as the Winter Soldier. At the reveal, the woman audibly gasped and then stage-whispered to her partner "THAT'S HIS FRIEND!!!" and in that moment I was so envious of them getting to see it through unspoilered eyes.
0:53 Rorschach - Watchwomen 1:47 Scrappy-Doo - Scooby-Doodoo: The Movie 2:49 Rex Racer - Meth Racer 3:48 Darth Vader - Return of the Sith 4:49 Roy Burns - Friday the 13th: A Bad Ending 5:50 Alliteration - Spider-Man: Homeward Bound 6:55 Davian's Google Translator - MI:III 8:00 More Alliteration - Captain 'Murica: US Agent 9:09 The Phantom - The Phantom of the Not a Play 10:09 Michael Myers - The Spy Who Fed Me Candy
I’d pick Machete Kills where Walton Goggins unmasked to Cuba Gooding Jr, then Unmasked to Lady Gaga, Then Apparently Unmasked to Antonio Banderas! 😵💫😵💫😵💫
I love the Watchmen movie. I really do. Nowhere near as supreme as the Novels were by a long shot. So to me the revealing of Rorshach's face was not as shocking as it was in the comics.
I knew of Speedracer's bother since the show back in the 70's growing up. Funny thing I still watch the show off and on. I do LOVE the movie. It's an underrated gem. It'll be a cult classic sooner or later... Still gives me that feeling like I was a kid again...
