Every David Fincher Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

Though it's easy to dismiss Panic Room as "minor" Fincher, being a low-key follow-up to Fight Club as it was, it's nevertheless a pitch perfect example of how expertly he can elevate good material with his exceptional filmmaking chops.

That's not to forget the contributions of a terrific cast, especially Jodie Foster and a young Kristen Stewart as the mother and daughter who lock themselves inside the titular room amid a home invasion, ensuring that this tightly wound slice of Hitchcock-lite wrings every drop of suspense out of its neat, twist-filled screenplay.

Unlike every other film in Fincher's filmography, Panic Room is intensely claustrophobic and enclosed, yet his imaginative direction - using cutting-edge CGI to execute physically impossible camera passes - ensures the film feels like anything but a stock, boxed-in thriller.

It doesn't quite sustain to the end and the material feels a tad pat for Fincher's standards at times, but it's tough to argue with the technical presentation or the strong ensemble cast.