Splinter

'Splinter'

A quasi-zombie movie mixed with hints of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, From Dusk Til Dawn, Assault on Precinct 13, and just a soupçon of The Evil Dead. Imagine, if you will, a parasite that resembles splintered wood, killing its host but reanimating it until all of it is consumed.

What Lies Beneath

DianaScarwid and MichellePfeiffer in 'What Lies Beneath'

Oh, sweet movie title, what a charming little double entendre are you. Robert Zemeckis nakedly apes Alfred Hitchcock in this mystery/ghost story… and the result is one of the best films of the former director’s career. Most of the credit must go to Hitchcock himself for establishing the style of slow-building tension that rightly earned him the title Master of Suspense.

Serial Thriller: Scream 4

'Scream 4'

The Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull of Scream movies. The one that really shouldn’t have been made. It’s a pity because the story is ripe for parody after eleven years of audiences being fed warmed-up leftovers as fresh meat. It’s a remake that skewers remakes, which isn’t as ironic as the filmmakers intended.

Serial Thriller: Scream 3

'Scream 3'

Unfairly derided by critics, this film may lack the suspense of the first film, but with its tongue delicately planted in its cheek, it manages to poke fun not only at horror films but at the process of turning a real-life tragedy into tawdry terror. The series is completely through the looking glass now, told in parallel with the production of the latest movie-within-a-movie, Stab 3

Serial Thriller: Scream 2

'Scream 2'

As clever as its predecessor, with an opening sequence every bit as horrifying. The self-aware references to sequels carry the film throughout and the scares are genuinely frightening and, in the case of the prologue, downright disturbing.

Return of the Definitive Epic

'Lawrence of Arabia'

I’ve made it no secret that I believe David Lean’s epic masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia, to be the finest motion picture in history. It is the very definition of epic. I have had the privilege of seeing it no less…