Jump Scare

7 works in the index tagged JUMP SCARE, across every medium we score — film, television, print, audio and objects.

Insidious

James Wan · 2010 · Film

Barely a drop of blood in it. The Further is where the restraint goes strange.

Sinister

Scott Derrickson · 2012 · Film

The found super-8 reels are the whole film. Bleaker than its box office suggests.

The Conjuring

James Wan · 2013 · Film

A jump-scare machine built with real craft. Shows you almost nothing and still lands.

Annabelle

John R. Leonetti · 2014 · Film

A doll that does not move, in a film that keeps insisting it might.

Lights Out

David F. Sandberg · 2016 · Film

One idea, executed relentlessly. On and off, on and off.

The Nun

Corin Hardy · 2018 · Film

Atmosphere and corridors, punctuated on a schedule. Franchise horror doing its job.

Smile

Parker Finn · 2022 · Film

A curse that spreads by witness. Meaner than the marketing let on.