10 Horror Movies That Use Your Imagination Against You

10. Jaws (1975)

Nothing has the power to ruin the terror of a creature feature more than the reveal of a poorly designed monster. Whether that be wonky CGI or noticeably bad effects, when the illusion is shattered and the monster is no longer seen as a threat, all of the suspense is instantly drained from the film.

No filmmaker understood this better than Steven Spielberg when he made mammoth blockbuster Jaws – and it was all a matter of circumstance.

Originally, the mechanical shark was supposed to be a prominent presence in his film, but due to a slew of production problems as well as the rubber shark not being very intimidating, Spielberg was forced to keep the aquatic predator unseen.

Consequently, the opening scene in which we see a midnight swimmer dragged to their doom has become ingrained in the memories of everyone who’s seen this film and the reason for making many petrified of the ocean.

As we see the doomed teen violently thrashed around, all we can think about is the size and strength of whatever toothy terror has grabbed hold of them or what happened during the moments they were pulled under for the last time.