20 Anxiety-Inducing Moments That'll Terrify You Senseless

To do a list like this and not feature anything from Alfred Hitchcock would be criminal. He wasn't called the Master of Suspense for nothing, after all! Still, he outdid himself here.

Rear Window is one of Hitchcock's very best movies. Shot entirely on one set, it revolves around injured photographer LB 'Jeff' Jeffries (the legend Jimmy Stewart himself) who is passing his time by spying on his neighbours. Soon, he becomes convinced that his neighbour Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) has murdered his wife... and he's absolutely correct.  

Late in the movie, Jeffries sends his girlfriend Lisa (a wonderful Grace Kelly) to break into Thorwald's apartment while he watches from his room. But while she's snooping... Thorwald returns, catches her, and attacks her. Through Jeffries' camera, the audience, alongside Jeff himself, watch with terrified powerlessness as Lisa is in mortal danger and she barely escapes.

As soon as he saw Thorwald approaching, Jeffries called the police, and this saves Lisa's life as they arrive just in time. Lisa allows herself to be arrested for breaking and entering, and she signals to Jeffries that she has found the wedding ring of the missing woman in Thorwald's apartment. 

Unfortunately, Thorwald notices her hand movements and looks across, right into the camera, right at Jeffries. And so, the watched finally sees the watcher, and we know it's only a matter of time before Thorwald comes after our defenceless, wheelchair bound hero. Thus concludes a masterclass in suspense from the master himself.