With its tantalizing anticipation, not knowing when the next jump scare will pop up on screen, as the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and the music sends chills down your spine - horror movies know how to create fear. But horror isn’t the only genre that puts its audience on edge.
Movies that make your knees weak and palms sweaty in suspense span numerous genres from action to comedy, sometimes offering new and inventive ways at generating tense atmospheres. While you may think it’s safe to put on a simple comedy or drama film, these are the movies that use all the tools at their disposal to become some of the most anxiety-inducing experiences of cinema.
‘Uncut Gems’ (2019)
Directed by the Safdie brothers, Uncut Gems follows Howie (Adam Sandler) - a charismatic New York City jeweler who is constantly on the lookout for his next big score. He believes that his prized possession, a rare black opal smuggled from an Ethiopian mine, is how he’s going to win big.
As we watch Howie go through a messy divorce, struggling to pay off his debts, and a famous basketball player he is desperate to impress - Howie stumbles through bad decisions, digging himself deeper into his own downfall. Enhanced by the film’s overlapping dialogue and realistic sound design, the chaotic soundscape of Uncut Gems excellently generates a densely textured and disorientating atmosphere of claustrophobic chaos.
‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ (1999)
Based on the novel of the same name, Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley is a psychological thriller following Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) as a calculating young man who believes it’s better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody.
After adopting the identity of Dickie (Jude Law), Tom’s scheme is constantly at risk of being unraveled as characters from Dickie’s past come to investigate their missing friend who once led such an extravagant lifestyle. With a haunting performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Talented Mr. Ripley keeps you questioning as to how far Tom is willing to go in order to live a lie.
‘Parasite’ (2019)
The Kim’s are a lower-class family living in a small semi-basement apartment in Seoul. So when opportunity strikes, they scheme their way into the lives of a wealthy family by masquerading as tutors, chauffeurs, and housekeepers.
Bong Joon-ho’s Academy Award-winning thriller Parasite is an insightful meditation on class conflict, social inequality, and privilege. As we watch the Kim’s meticulous plan slowly fall into place as they settle into their comfortable lives alongside the wealthy Park family - who are none the wiser to the infiltration happening in their own home - we cautiously await for whether this new fairytale life they have found, will be too good to be true.
‘Shiva Baby’ (2020)
Adapted from Emma Seligman’s short film of the same name, Shiva Baby follows Danielle (Rachel Sennott) - a directionless, young, bisexual, Jewish woman who attends a Shiva with her parents. Dreading the family gathering enough as it is, Danielle’s day gets even worse after bumping into her successful ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon), her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferari) and his family - who all seem to outshine her.
An anxiety-induced coming-of-age film, Shiva Baby captures all the distress that comes with being a young woman having a quarter-life crisis when so much is expected of you. With its claustrophobic setting, and amounting complications, Shiva Baby makes family gatherings feel like the horror film they really are.
‘The Vast of Night’ (2019)
In 1950s New Mexico, a young switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) and the charismatic radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) detect a strange audio frequency that leads them to believe there is something extraterrestrial in the sky.
Directed by Andrew Patterson, The Vast of Night is a unique science-fiction mystery film that, with its small scale budget, knows how to balance its realism while embellishing itself in suspense. As most of the film consists of long takes; watching characters tuning through radio frequencies, navigating a switchboard, or listening to stories on the air - The Vast of Night extends the world of the film beyond its small-town setting by alluding to an unseen presence that exists only through sound.
‘Dunkirk’ (2017)
Christopher Nolan’s cinematic retelling of the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II, Dunkirk is a suspenseful war film retelling the true story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers who were surrounded by the German army.
An against all odds mission is inherently suspenseful, Dunkirk is made all the more anxiety-inducing thanks to an ingenious original score by Hans Zimmer. Utilizing “The Shepard tone” - a sound effect that creates an endless scale proven to cause headaches and nausea - as well as incorporating a ticking watch into the soundtrack, Zimmer’s score imbues the film with an aural anxiety that captures the anguish of a race against the clock.
‘1917’ (2019)
At the height of World War I, two young British soldiers are tasked with crossing enemy territory to deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers. 1917 is a visionary war film from director Sam Mendes, that tells its simple story in the most extravagant way possible.
With cinematographer Roger Deakins, 1917 is filmed to appear as a continuous long shot, a feat which required elaborate choreography on a grand scale. Its continuous take adds to the film’s realism which generates a sense of tension in knowing that the action is playing out on screen in real-time.
‘Spencer’ (2021)
Set during a Christmas weekend at the Queen’s Sandringham estate, Spencer explores Princess Diana’s (Kristen Stewart) existential crisis as she considers divorcing Prince Charles (Jack Farthing).
While its pastel clean aesthetic depicts an image of regal purity, this facade slowly fades away as the dark and messy truth is brought to the surface. Combining the elements of a haunting score, tight editing, and isolating framing - Pablo Larraín’s Spencer is less concerned with accurately portraying history, as it is in generating a certain environment of anxiety. The film captures the emotions of what it would feel to be an outsider forced into the royal family, using confronting metaphors and imagery that convey this anxiety in creatively visceral ways.
‘Punch-Drunk Love’ (2002)
Barry (Adam Sandler) is a bathroom supply business owner who, although is susceptible to violent outbursts, is typically a timid and shy man leading a lonely, uneventful life. When he falls in love with his sister’s co-worker Lena (Emily Watson) while falling victim to an extortionist, Barry’s mundane existence is challenged by drama he never asked for.
Punch-Drunk Love is a dark romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. As Anderson writes Barry with a form of social anxiety, this tension is further translated into the structure of the film. With the abrupt changes in music, to the series of long takes that refuse to provide the relief of a cut, Punch-Drunk Love conveys Barry’s anxiety within the diegesis of the film itself.
‘Eighth Grade’ (2018)
During her last week of middle school, 13-year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher) is striving to gain acceptance from her peers despite her struggle with anxiety. To cope, she publishes video blogs online giving self-motivational advice while trying to figure out who she is.
As Bo Burnham’s feature film directorial debut, Eighth Grade taps into the anxiety of growing up in the digital age. In a time when your identity isn’t fixed, but the permanency of the internet means that nothing is temporary - coming-of-age in the 21st century comes with the inherent anxiety of its permanence.