How Fincher Directs Horror

[@impatrickt]

this video has been in the making somewhere in my mind ever since I saw zodiac in theatres in 2007. spooky season year round. hope you enjoyed it! 🤘

[@ezequielrajoy5024]

The basement scene in Zodiac is one of the scariest Ive ever watched. Gyllenhaal's character got caught in a situation where he could not possibly get out without coming off as a impolite, coward or ridiculous. And that's where the scary part is, we could all be trapped right there due to our social impulse to not show rude or fearful

[@PranavSreeprajith]

Like demonstrated in The girl with the dragon tattoo

[@chicotheworld9763]

seems like such a nordic thing lol. theres a whole film about this phenomena isnt there? its getting an american remake soon too

[@gstvstll89_]

@@chicotheworld9763 whats the name of that movie?

[@warriorpica]

​@@gstvstll89_I know it's late, but he's talking about "Speak no Evil"

[@spikeboy101]

Rude or fearful is definitely the problem. Once people have leverage or power, or a strong sense of self preservation, they don't have those problems

[@andynowicki4532]

The "not many people have basements in California" line is a callback to an earlier scene, and knowing the context of that scene heightens the tension.

[@CooperRust]

I always thought after seeing that basement scene that Bob Vaughn may actually be the Zodiac Killer but it was just Fincher playing around. This scene was basically Graysmith's paranoia getting better of him. I even read somewhere that Fincher wanted to make fun of cinephiles as how crazy and scary they sound sometimes. 😅 Great video essay 👏👏

[@danielponder690]

Vaughn was an organist. As an organist I can confirm we can often come off as weird. 😂

[@jeradneville]

Dude that scene has always made me uneasy for a bit afterwards. Fantastic vid my friend.

[@josephscottfilms]

I always considered Finches films to be horror. I had to check and make sure the doors were locked multiple times for a week after I saw Zodiac lol. It’s probably the scariest movie I’ve seen

[@impatrickt]

agreed!

[@Lantern2]

Yeah it was so creepy

[@killermemestar152]

There was one scene we’re the detective is questioning I think the guys sister in law and it pans to the detective nothing scary even going on but he’s in a room with the woman and in the background you see the woman’s kitchen this yellow gross kitchen and in the back past the kitchen is darkness wasn’t even a scary scene just normal talking but the shot was horrifying

[@JakeFrew]

Thanks for pouring so much hard work into these videos. It truly feels like a gift to get to watch.

[@impatrickt]

appreciate you my man!

[@JonJosephKuhn]

Jake when are you making a movie?!?

[@StevenSchultz]

This might be my favorite essay of yours, Patrick. This scene has been stuck in my brain since my first viewing of Zodiac, and the way you layered in Skarsgard's monologue from TGWTDT was chilling. Never drew the parallel between those two scenes before, but it feels so poignant now. Amazing work as always - time to go watch Zodiac again.

[@impatrickt]

thanks Steven! editing this video as hard because I just kept watching all of Zodiac haha.

[@ZachMayfield]

Bruh you're bout to hit 100K!!! stoked for you doggie

[@impatrickt]

Thanks my dude!

[@wisokewomzmzowlwdidoskendl]

Ngl, you've become one of my new favourite creators. I love your work so much with how you breakdown films and honestly, I can't wait to see more of it! Great vid btw, I love fincher's work and this video has just brought my love for it to a whole other level. :)

[@impatrickt]

Appreciate you!

[@jasonjoseph4888]

Another insightful analysis. When I think of Fincher's Zodiac this scene materialises in my mind. It's so gripping and intense, and a lot of that,in my opinion, has to do with the information and character that has been planted earlier. Then the simple framing, sound design (that kettle) and editing complete this micro horror within a horror. That quote by Guillermo Del Toro is so telling. But let's keep it real, they're all just cosplaying as John Carpenter.

[@WillBowers]

fantastic video Patrick WOW. I enjoyed that from start to finish

[@impatrickt]

Thanks Will!

[@VacanCynema]

such a profound analysis of nuanced horror. Thanks for the terrific video!

[@impatrickt]

Thanks for watching 🤘

[@bne22381]

I only recently watched The Social Network, Zodiac, and Se7en and I'm currently watching Mindhunter. Fincher has become one of my favorite directors ever, all three of these movies and Mindhunter are utterly fantastic. It's great that this video rolled around right at this time.

[@impatrickt]

love that you watched them all recently - you should check out THE GAME.

[@bne22381]

@@impatrickt Thanks, I definitely will. I want to check out Gone Girl and Fight Club too. I have no idea how I've never seen Fight Club.

[@jayaprakash387]

The killer by david Fincher which is gonna release this November is of the same genre. Can't wait for it!

[@flodobaggins]

Patrick, Patrick, Patrick!! Welcome back, my dude. It's so good to see another great piece of analysis from you, on David Fincher, too! That scene was probably the only scene in Zodiac at that kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. I really appreciate the comparison you made with TGWTDT, spot on! Thanks for all the good work with these videos.

[@impatrickt]

Two excellent movies! Have you seen Barbarian yet?

[@flodobaggins]

@@impatrickt Sadly, no. I'm not sure where it's available to stream/view in Malaysia. I'll check it out. Heard a lot of good things about it!!

[@joshuaconti989]

fantastic breakdown. i love that you included clips from the Game which I think is one of Fincher's greatest achievements. i think his style works best for horror because he leaves in the blank spaces for our minds to think through what the character is and we end up reaching the same conclusions before or with the character and that saying "fact/truth is stranger than fiction" could also be changed to "actual horror is stronger than manufactured scares". there's these moments, like this basement scene, where David throws us into the driver seat just as an accident is about to happen and we're holding the wheel staring at the headlights blinding us through the windshield and are forced to make decisions we aren't ready for and that is true horror.

[@impatrickt]

well said !

[@thehpn1097]

The game is so underrated

[@thejessegrant]

Another great video! The amount I learn from your channel is crazy so thank you!

[@impatrickt]

thanks Jesse! happy to hear it.

[@dwightschrute3992]

This is why Zodiac is my favorite film of all time

[@jtapia1123]

Rest in peace to Harris Savides. Zodiac is probably one of the most underrated movie of the 21st century. I’m also thinking of Brothers (also with Jake Gyllenhaal) and First Man, just to name a few others

[@wonderboytheartist]

i loved the zodiac movie and i specifically remember this film filling me with dread, even more so than when the couple were held at gunpoint by the actual killer. you forgot to mention the scariest bit of the scene where Robert hears someone walking upstairs when he's in the basement

[@Schellnino1994]

Great video! Totally agree! This scene is one of the best in cinema history and bring me to tears just on the sheer filmmaking prowess!

[@ByDobson]

This is your best video so far. David Fincher is up there with my favourite directors of all time... when I first saw this I was so unnerved

[@impatrickt]

thanks so much!

[@thesteadygaze7847]

‘Zodiac’ is a film I’ve only been able to watch once. It’s bone chilling. And not Fincher-related, but ‘No Country for Old Men’ terrifies me like no “Horror Film” ever has. I’ll take on Michael Myers before Anton Chigurh any day of the year.

[@impatrickt]

yeah no country is a great one.

[@765kvline]

This film is one which reproduces the mood, atmosphere and style of the late 1960s in such vivid emotional flavor that it appears so authentic in most every way. Very impressive, especially for someone who lived that time. I can watch this movie and feel the same way I did back then. He matches the time period mood perfectly. Not many directors can do this.

[@bambi.]

Oh god that scene in TGWTDT scarred me for life. It's the scariest scene I've ever seen because it is so real. Because of it ill always choose being rude and safe instead of polite and dead in Stellan Sarsgaards basement lol

[@ohhhyeah9435]

More videos like this! Love your video essays/ analysis.

[@impatrickt]

that’s the plan

[@BadMonkey_Pictures]

Loved the break down of this scene, appreciate you!

[@thecrowfliescrooked]

Both your examples are fantastic movies. Thanks for the essay.

[@impatrickt]

so good

[@VertigoFilmz]

DUDE I LITERALLY JUST WATCHED ZODIAC FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY

[@impatrickt]

ITS SO GOOD

[@VertigoFilmz]

@@impatrickt I know!!! Love David Fincher

[@j.zuberi]

The BEST type of horror to me is tension and unpredictability.

[@impatrickt]

i agree

[@bennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn]

the most brutal on-screen murder of all time is the Lake Berryessa stabbing scene in Zodiac

[@1NerdPorAi]

New Patrick video... instant click... forget about everything else!

[@impatrickt]

you’re a real one

[@Riccardo_Mori]

Earlier this year I happened to be talking about Zodiac with a friend who, like me, really loved it. And I got very frustrated because he couldn't remember this scene. I kept telling him how tense and uneasy this scene made me feel; he kept saying "What basement scene? The Zodiac didn't kill anyone in a basement". ARGH. And at first I thought he was just messing with me, but it turns out he didn't even register it with the intensity I did. Funny how differently we perceive things. So, the other day I sent him a link to your video; he then got back to me and said "Man, wow, right…! I got to rewatch the film!" I feel vindicated. So, thank you! Cheers! //Rick

[@DanCrowleyNYC]

Excellent video. As a film buff, I love David Fincher and I love being scared, so Zodiac is definitely my favorite of his films. You highlighted an excellent scene!

[@the-creative-block]

Very interesting. I've never equated Fincher to horror in the past but i think this is one of those "now I can't unsee it" type of things. similar to the arrow in the FedEx logo.

[@nicoh587]

Just watched two of your videos. I’ve got to say the production quality is great. Keep it up, quality content

[@impatrickt]

thanks!

[@DazBaldwin]

Another amazing video Patrick 🙌🏼

[@impatrickt]

Thanks Daz!

[@mordaciousfilms]

This movie is one of my favorites. Like, in general. Everything about it is so expertly crafted, that even an ADHD-plagued people like myself gladly sat through it's long runtime, but it felt quick because EVERYTHING was so visual, so weighty. I brough this scene into one course in film school - forgot the intention behind why we were tasked with providing a specific clip - but this is so peculiarly done that it gave me chills and the WHOLE film is like that. It's not LYNCHIAN as far as style or content but has that sort of "unnerving, foreboding" tone a lot of Lynch's films do - where it's such a distinct cinematic voice all throughout.

[@elwoodziggurat]

Did you know that Charles Fleischer also did the voice of the crazed callers on the TV show in Zodiac? I think that single bit of trivia shines a whole different, creepy light on Bob Vaughn's character.

[@Acchanman]

The Japanese version of The Ring, no jump scare, just slow daunting moments. It's been haunting me since I was a kid.

[@1NerdPorAi]

About the Guillermo Del Toro quote. I really relate to it! Btw that explains why I REALLY enjoy some aspects of some really shitty horror movies... I truly know that they are bad... But some shots and the way that a scene is lit, the little things on set makes me wanna like the movie. "The Fish" was AMAZING by the way, I wish it was a 1 hour experience haha But for me, for some reason, "The Cheeseburger" is like that balance of mundane situations but also very comfy! I don't know if that makes any sense, but sometimes I feel super comfortably in the most unusual places. At that table in the back corner of a McDonald's, walking down an old rusty part of the city and imagining the story of an abandoned building. Rain helps a lot haha Sorry for the "few words do trick" kind of english. I'm just a frustrated Brazilian who doesn't have a lot of Brazilian friends interested in this kind of films/thoughts. I found your channel with a fun experiment with a Mavic mini and an AirTag. I really feel like this is one of the most underrated channels on KZbin! Keep up with the good work man!

[@impatrickt]

Thanks Viagem!

[@Tamlinearthly]

I heard a film historian once explain how nothing good ever happens in a basement in movies, basements (and similar subterranean spaces) always represent deep, dark secrets and repression on film. And the movie he was talking about at the time? "The Most Dangerous Game," the same film Graysmith is following up on in this scene.

[@danielchavez4403]

I love David Fincher. "Zodiac" is one of my favorite films.

[@americanpancakelive]

Patrick, I absolutely love Zodiac, I have never thought of it as a horror movie, not at all. I would call it a thriller and as you are dissecting (expertly) the basement scene I thought of another (I think underrated) movie directed by Scott Frank. The movie is A Walk Among the Tombstones and the scene when the character played by Liam Neeson carefully makes his way down the stairs of a basement shortly after serial killers Albert and Ray, played so exquisitely by Adam David Thompson and David Harbour, after they have killed a key character and got into a violent argument with each other is so utterly engrossing. What ensues prior to the scene and during is so horror filled and visceral. Both movies are incredibly different in tone and while Zodiac is a stronger movie and narrative, both move utterly like thrillers that contain horror, at least, to me. Thanks for your channel and I love your voice when you articulate your thoughts.

[@impatrickt]

I gotta check that out! Zodiac is definitely a thriller/crime drama. But that scene is some damn near perfect horror 🤘

[@americanpancakelive]

@@impatrickt I cannot deny that, thanks for your great channel.

[@25zvillcb25]

Speak No Evil anyone? Eerily similar thesis as the two scenes from Zodiac and TGWTDT, but the thesis of the entire movie rather than a scene.

[@impatrickt]

I haven’t seen it yet! I thought Barbarian played off the same phenomenon too. I included a few clips as an easter egg.

[@spikeboy101]

Very similar in barbarian, zodiac, speak no evil and dragon tattoo. But imo a bit different in each. I havent seen dragon tattoo so I'll go with the fact that scene is about fearful of being rude, to the point you'd rather lead yourself to your undoing. But in barbarian, the girl didn't have much of a choice but to stay that night. Although you could argue she should've scouted the area earlier, had backup plans or resorted going to a hotel even if it's much much farther away. In zodiac, Jake is so obsessively committed to the truth that there's encouragement there to seek the truth even if hes in danger. And he might've thought moreso strategically in that moment as to try pretend he's ok but in the end he gtfo instead of succumbing to stay longer. Lastly imo the 2022 Speak No Evil, the husband had many MANY chances to have an ounce of assertion to leave and listen to his wife, but he decided to be a puss. He chose being a puss over the safety of his wife and kids. I can understand being alone and stranded, no one to help you get out except yourself. So you succumb. But having a family you need to protect and a wife by your side who warned you, and you're still too afraid?

[@M.A.D.C.J]

I get excited when you upload, love your videos bro, super inspired to start making video essays like this and more edit: we also have the same headphones 😅

[@impatrickt]

they’re great headphones!

[@tedfritzart]

Gratz on 100K

[@impatrickt]

thanks Ted!

[@SoulSearcherr]

Zodiac is my personal favorite movie of all time and I've watched it multiple times, and this scene still scares me 😂😂

[@impatrickt]

same!

[@OfficiallyOToole]

I just watched this movie for the first time the other day and, this scene scared me so bad LOL.

[@danielponder690]

I just rewatched this film. Such a great movie along with Fincher’s other works. Upon rewatch this scene is creepy but less so on the rewatch. He is friendly but awkward and quiet which can seem unsettling to people who are used to typical boisterous Americans. Also, as an organist myself, Vaughn was an organist and we admittedly can come off a little strange 😂

[@zanderkahres8112]

I was tweaking this whole time watching this scene

[@thehpn1097]

My favorite director

[@stevealbenetyh38]

"Let me ask you something, why don’t people trust their instincts? They sense something is wrong, someone is following too close behind them. You KNEW something was wrong. But you came back into the house. Did I force you, did I drag you in? No. All I had to do was offer you a drink. It’s hard to believe the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain. But you know what? It is. And they always come willingly." the psychopath ensnares you with his mind long before a weapon surfaces. Also this mirrors the plot line in Fincher's The Killer.

[@Ohrdak]

Agreed🙃when gore & jump-scares are overdone they turn the experience cheap rather than content & complete*

[@ZigUncut]

The line between a thriller and a horror can be a wide as ocean or be atom thin.

[@gabiche1936]

There's also the scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey, which reminds me of the scene where he disconnects the robot in the red room. The scene is really oppressive

[@impatrickt]

Love that sequence.

[@rohanshah8808]

Horror..the best kind of horror doesn't belong to the materialistic Objects..that gives the viewer a foul Gory or as simple as a supernatural being........THE BEST horror is the atmosphere..that gives the viewer a bone Chilling on the edge environment (Fincher is a master at that) To put this context in an example THE FIRST CONJURING... there's a scene when she falls down a dark basement..lights go off..and to gain back visibility from pitch black darkness...she lights one match after the other...and suddenly..from the shadows 2 hands emerge and douse the matchstick..while playing like a child...HORROR..WITHOUT SHOWING HORROR

[@bigheavyshoe]

Great video

[@Bamgeutcutiepie]

jake gyllenhaal really have been in so many epic movies

[@andrewclodfelter3782]

Zodiac is a perfect movie.

[@briangoates3245]

Zodiac is the only movie to give me nightmares as an adult

[@LockwoodE3]

What movie is this?

[@impatrickt]

Huh?

[@LockwoodE3]

@@impatrickt I’m a dumb simpleton didn’t know what this project was, thank you for enlightening me ✨💕

[@dessire1803]

Wow so true I thought I was the only one 👍

[@negotiableaffections]

We do like to be scared/disturbed by movies but I think in so many cases this is abstracted by fantasy and gimmick horror effects, maybe to give us a 'safety-valve' somewhere in the back of our subconscious. When the horror becomes plausible (poor Janet Leigh in the shower) or our protagonist here 'in the basement' the threat is quite tangible - it could happen to us - and that is genuine fear. I for one am sick and tired of an orchestra tip-toeing up behind me and going BOO! I don't have a fear of that happening to me . . . did I hear the jangle of music stands?

[@grapes9h5]

All I need to say is - FACTS

[@nomecognome8737]

I think this video is great and spot on but that scene terrified me both times I watched the movie so I'm not going to finish the video, I'm sorry

[@L11ghtman]

Zodiac is probably the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. These are crimes that actually happened to people. As for why he went into the basement-you’re right, it’s sort of human nature. But also JG’s character is totally driven by this quest. If he leaves, he loses out on the investigation. He’d rather risk his life for this obsession than back out and wonder what he missed.

[@ScreenSpiration]

I do believe you are confusing ‘Horror’ with ‘Thriller.’ The genres cross over quite often, but Zodiac is definitely not a horror - it’s a brilliant example of a thriller.

[@DyslexicGod]

Question for Americans, are houses in California don't have basements?

[@impatrickt]

It’s not common

[@unstablegenius2325]

Great analysis. ALTHOUGH, this movie was good. I totally forgot this scene. Not, memorable. There are better horrors out there. Watch, a JAPANESE MOVIE CALLED ‘BILOCATION’. It’s a master piece. You haven’t seen anything like it. Truly original. I’ll keep watching your analysis.🎉cheers 2023. HAPPY NEW YEAR👍.

[@FilSeixs]

This is to not horror movie because it never SHOWS the horror....end of the question...

[@NrMl1402]

Dude thank you. This is excactly what i thought when first time watching this scene: "why the hell is this so scary now? this used to be a thriller about invastigation and now i feel like i am in a horror movie". But for me, this was really important for fincher to make such a scene because i did have struggles with the plot in the first place. A 158 minutes long movie about a killer who never got caught? But yes it is still Fincher and after i saw The Social Network im claiming that this man can make a film about a day at the tax office and turns it into a horrific thrill