Horror movies are filled with people who have forgotten who they are, commonly ascribed to amnesia. Now, medically speaking, that's simply not accurate; one authority states: "Real-life amnesia generally doesn't cause a loss of self-identity. Instead, people with amnesia ... are usually lucid and know who they are, but may have trouble learning new information and forming new memories."
Still, as with other frequently-used medical conditions, amnesia is a very useful plot device for creating suspense and tension in fright flicks, and we've gathered the most indelible moments here.
Open Grave (2013)
Imagine waking up in a large open grave, on top of hundreds of dead bodies. That's what happens to Sharlto Copley. He is helped by a group of strangers, but all of them are suffering from amnesia as well. What happened? Who is responsible for all the dead people? And will any of them survive long enough to find out?
Pandorum (2009)
Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster wake up on a spaceship with no memories of who they are or why they're there, or even where they are. Very quickly their amnesia is revealed to be only a temporary condition, but they are in for the fight of their lives against very deadly humanoid creatures. Yet to come is the full recovery of their memories, and with it some terrifying secrets.
The Jacket (2005)
Adrien Brody survived the Gulf War but still suffers from bouts of amnesia after returning home. He then survives yet another traumatic incident, but ends up confined in a psychiatric facility, where he undergoes experimental treatments and starts having flashbacks and flash-forwards to the future. Could a forgotten memory hold the key?
Resident Evil (2002)
Milla Jovovich wakes up in an underground facility known as The Hive. She has no memory of who she is or why she is there, but those are secondary concerns in view of the more immediate dangers she must face. If she manages to stay alive, she'll have plenty of sequels to deal with her own terror-filled personal history.
Angel Heart (1987)
Mickey Rourke is a private detective in 1955 New York. In this scene, he meets with a potential new client (Robert De Niro) who wants him to investigate what happened to a singer known as Johnny Favourite. If you haven't seen the movie before, it's a good setup for what's to come; if you've seen it already, the scene is filled with portents about moments that are too horrible to remember.
