Half-heard whispers. A creaking door. A dark shadow. From Vertigo to Videodrome, the scariest movies exploit our greatest – and most basic – fears. Assembled from over 100 of cinema’s most heart-stopping moments, Fear Itself explores how filmmakers scare us, and why we let them. An unnamed female narrator talks about the recent, debilitating experiences that led her to watch horror films night after night. “You feel the fear before you can make sense of it,” she ruminates. This essay film asks us whether horror movies know us better than we know ourselves. Precise editing of the meticulously chosen film clips builds hair-trigger tension and atmosphere, creating an entirely new narrative. Fear Itself shows us that we can most be ourselves in the dark.