Scary films use the way we see to frighten us. We cannot notice everything in a scene at once. We see more detail in the things we give our attention to. In the film Hereditary, Peter moves through his house. His mother, Annie, is above him on the ceiling. Some people do not notice her at first. They look at Peter instead. We can also miss a change in front of us. In The Conjuring 2, a girl changes into an old man in the background.
Film-makers can guide our eyes. When someone looks in one direction, we often look that way too. Films use this to lead us towards something scary. Other scenes give us no clear place to look. We search the picture for danger, and this can make us feel afraid.
We notice movement at the edges of our sight quickly. But we need to move our eyes towards it to see exactly what it is. That short wait can feel frightening. We also see faces in things such as curtains or bread. Scary films use patterns and shapes to make faces seem to appear.
