jump scare

In a film, television show, or video game, a moment in which something shocking or frightening happens or appears very abruptly, especially in conjunction with a loud, frightening sound. Sometimes spelled as a single word. The movie relies way too heavily on jump scares to put viewers on edge, instead of building tension through atmosphere and good storytelling. There was one jumpscare a couple hours into the game that nearly made me soil myself. You're walking down the hallway of this creepy old mansion, when suddenly the reanimated corpse of a velociraptor comes crashing in through the window!