Scary movies use the way people see to create fear. We cannot notice everything in a scene at once. We see more detail in the things we pay attention to. In “Hereditary,” Peter's mother, Annie, stays on the ceiling in the shadows. Some people do not notice her at first. We can also miss a change on the screen. In “The Conjuring 2,” a girl changes into an old man in the background.
Movie makers also guide our eyes. In “The Conjuring,” a girl looks up in fear. The next picture shows a ghost above a wardrobe. People often follow another person's look. But some movies give us no clear place to look. We search the screen for danger, and this can make us feel afraid.
The edges of our sight notice movement quickly, but they do not show fine detail well. We may notice something move before we know what it is. People also see faces in things with no real face. “The Night House” uses groups of objects to suggest faces and human shapes.
