Image: Warner Bros

The Shining dir. Stanley Kubrick

This Kubrick classic continues to chill our bones even after multiple viewings. A man takes his family with him to spend the winter as caretaker in an isolated hotel but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. As his mind unravels we begin to doubt everything Kubrick shows us. This is a film that keeps you thrilled and bewildered throughout. You’ll be analysing it for days.

Funny Games dir. Michael Haneke

Whether you watch the German language original or his shot-for-shot English remake, Haneke’s tense thriller is a viewing experience you won’t get over in a hurry. A family’s peaceful weekend away is disturbed by the appearance of two seemingly innocuous young men. With an atmosphere that is sickeningly tense, Funny Games handles both violence and suspense with a master’s touch.

The Turin Horse dir. Béla Tarr

Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr’s final film is a tour de force of sheer brutality, showing the repetitive daily lives of two people on the brink of starvation. They shove steaming rotten potatoes into their mouths, the well is running dry, their horse refuses to move. This is no straight up horror film but it is guaranteed to haunt you for the rest of your sorry life.