Jaws – 1975

Suspense is best built up by keeping the audience in the dark. The villain of Jaws is a shark, but for most of the movie the shark’s presence is shrouded in shadow and the fear it induces is one-sided. The danger of the shark comes to a head when a trio of unlikely allies team […]

The Sixth Sense – 1999

There was a time when M. Night Shyamalan was the master of the twist ending, but his status has deteriorated as of late. Even still, no twist beats the one that comes at the end of The Sixth Sense. This film is not only frightening and fantastic, but it is also heartbreaking and sweet. There […]

Black Swan – 2010

Darren Aronofsky is a master of the weird. Every movie in his library takes places in some weird universe or does something conceptually bizarre to the mind. The latter is the case in Black Swan. This film takes a character who is so repressed and bound for perfection that she cannot see that her own […]

Halloween – 1978

There are iconic films and sometimes they come with an iconic score. That’s the case with Halloween. Michael Myers is an iconic character, but it is the music of Halloween that plays as a constant reminder of his presence throughout the film. There are a lot of moments in Halloween that frighten and shock, but […]

Shock Corridor – 1963

Mental illness has always been a hot-button issue in the film industry and films about the insane have the potential to be great or to be highly insensitive. Samuel Fuller sought to make a film that would shine a light on the treatment and the state of the mentally ill. Shock Corridor focuses on a […]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – 2011

The spy thriller has been a staple of cinema ever since James Bond first graced the silver screen. But as compelling as Bond may be, it is the works of John le Carre who represent the most thrilling aspects of the spy film. Set in the aftermath of the Cold War, this film focuses on […]