Our heroine is in the cellar, investigating a noise she heard upstairs. It's dark, and the batteries in the flashlight are so low that the beam is fading fast. The soundtrack builds up in the background, when suddenly!!!! ....a screeching cat jumps out of the darkness and runs up the stairs! Whew, it was nothing, thank goodness.

What film "gotcha!" with a great "fake-out" moment?

Did you feel cheated after it happened?

Mine: Carrie: her final "comeback" at the end.

Fatal Attraction: bath tub.

I don't know if this really counts... But after every "Twin Peaks"-episode after the credits are over the "A Lynch Frost Production"-logo (or whatever it is) comes with a startling buzzing and flashing that scares the **** out of me every time. Especially if it's been an extra scary episode and you've finally loosened up and exhaled.. Then this comes and you swallow your own tongue.

First one that comes to mind is Harry Dean Stanton lookin for the "Jonesy" cat in Ridley Scott's ALIEN. (Maybe thats cause you mentioned a cat as the prop)

John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and THE THING also have some of the best fake out's ever.

AND kudos to Spielberg for his awesome mockery of the fake out in JAWS when the kids stap on plastic fins to scare the crap out of some bathers........ and his audience.

April fools day.......The whole movie was a joke, no really watch it youll see. Their wasnt any real murders, just a bunch of april fools jokes but you dont even no it til the end. I was pissed the first time I saw it then I started making other people watch it not telling them the ending and it was almost like playing a joke on them. I have grown to appriciate this film.

Now if your talking rip-off movies I would have to say blair witch project, They never even showed the hag!