5. Room 237
Speaking of creepy laughter… ‘dat hag, tho! The first time I watched The Shining, aged nine, at a slumber party, I spent most of it with my hands clapped over my eyes when I should have been covering my ears. Although I find it all far, far more slapstick now than I did as a kid, The Shining remains one of my favorite movies. I have a Pavlovian cold-sweat response to the ingenious collage of early 20th century Eastern-block classical pieces that make up the film score, and the brilliant sound design. (Soooo many sinister little tension-building details, like that scene where Danny rides his trike through the hallways!) Everything that happens in Room 237 is off the hook DO NOT WANT. It’s upsetting enough with the visuals alone, but dial in the audio and, just… nooooope, nope, NOPE, nope, nope. (Shout-out to all of the long, static, ambient silences that subtly define so many classic ’70s horror films: Don’t Look Now, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, Rosemary’s Baby, etc. Paraphrasing Blixa, silence is scary.)
