10 Best Scenes In David Fincher's Filmography

In a film filled with tense standoffs that end in gruesome murders, Zodiac's scariest scene ends up being in all likelihood a misunderstanding. Robert Graysmith, obsessed with breaking the real-life Zodiac killer case long after it's gone cold, receives a tip that a suspect whose handwriting is a near-perfect match with the Zodiac's letters used to draw posters for a local movie theater. Armed with this new information, Graysmith reaches out to Bob Vaughn, the one-time organist for the theater who might hold more evidence implicating this suspect. But once Graysmith enters Vaughn's house, the former employee reveals that he used to draw the theater posters, taking credit for the sinister handwriting.

This chilling revelation snaps Graysmith out of his blind obsession, and Vaughn's unsettling behavior only heightens his paranoia. But when the now possible murder suspect invites him into his basement to give him more information on the case, Graysmith's feverish curiosity gets the better of him.

The scene is fraught with tension, casting Vaughn in the shadows and amplifying the sound of creaking floorboards from above to make it sound like someone else is in the house. Graysmith's flight instincts finally kick in, and he bolts out of the house without a scratch. Even though he never pursues Vaughn as a suspect, Graysmith is left shaken by the fact that his addiction allowed him to walk into harm's way.