The Paradox of Thrillers

This week’s double feature: How to build tension? Amping things up and pouring on the gasoline, or building slowly to the point of madness?

THERE ARE BAD COPS, GOOD COPS - AND THEN THERE’S BULLITT.

Bullitt (1968)

Peter Yates • 1968

Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal’s hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.

from Letterboxd

NIGHTMARE OR SANITY… WHICH IS WHICH?

Let’s Scare Jessica to Death

John D. Hancock • 1971

Newly released from a mental ward, Jessica hopes to return to life the way it was before her nervous breakdown. But when Jessica moves to a country house with her husband and a close friend, she finds a mysterious girl living in there who may or may not be a vampire. Jessica’s terror and paranoia resurface as evil forces surround her, making her wonder: Are the visions real or is she slipping back into madness?

from Letterboxd