10 Horror Movies That Wage War On Your Senses

9. Don't Look Now

Berberian Sound Studio
Film4

An undisputed classic of British cinema, Don't Look Now is essential viewing for any horror fan.

It's a film that's not reliant on eye-popping colours or hyper-aggressive music to unsettle, instead, it employs skillful framing and misdirection, which often makes you second guess everything you see. Crucial information is often revealed in the most innocuous of places, allowing it to truly shine on subsequent viewings.

The muted colour pallet and the somewhat unorthodox soundtrack play directly into this idea - everything seems fairly ordinary, but we just know that there's something far more sinister lurking just around the corner.

Every single choice that director Nicholas Roeg made with this film was in service of toying with the viewer's emotions. Be it intentionally jumbling up the film's timeline, or entirely removing the sound from high-intensity moments, we're left wondering whether or not we can truly trust our eyes and ears.

Everything from the use of off-kilter camera angles, strange editing techniques, and pitch-perfect musical stings work in tandem to create a general feeling of unease and claustrophobia - one that will stay with you long after the film's shocking climax plays out.

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Contributor

UK based screenwriter, actor and one-half of the always-irreverent Kino Inferno podcast. Purveyor of cult cinema, survival horror games and low-rent slasher films.