Daylight horror: 12 movies that are still scary with the lights on

There’s an old adage in horror: The less you show a monster, the scarier it is. Horror filmmakers are, by necessity, skilled at using darkness and shadows to creep out audiences. Working with a small budget and limited resources, you learn quickly how to make a little go a long way. But some creators relish a challenge. And for those who prefer to do things on hard mode, setting a horror film in broad daylight defies expectations and conventional wisdom. In the light, there’s nowhere for the characters, or bad filmmaking techniques, to hide. These kinds of films can make you feel exposed and vulnerable. You may encounter disturbing images you can’t look away from or situations that inflict psychological distress. Horror doesn’t have to be dark and spooky to be terrifying.

Last week we marked the totally made-up yet handy “halfway to Halloween” milestone, which got us thinking about movies that are especially suited to spring and summer viewing. So here’s a list of our favorite examples of daylight horror films. Yes, we included the obvious ones like Midsommar and Jaws, but there are many more to dive into, including one of the most infamous shock films ever made. This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive list, so feel free to leave some of your own in the comments (not that you needed an invitation, oh faithful A.V. Club reader).

The Birds (1963)

The sunny, coastal California town of Bodega Bay is the setting for this classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring Tippi Hedren. She plays Melanie, a slightly unhinged woman who randomly tracks a man (Rod Taylor) she’s just met in a bird store to his hometown in order to deliver a gift of love birds for his sister. It could be the plot of a screwball comedy, if it weren’t for the fact that her arrival in town coincides with a rise in hostile bird attacks that eventually becomes a full-on aerial assault. The Birds never offers any explanation for the attacks, which makes it even creepier. Are the birds so fed up with humanity that they collectively decide to turn on us? Or does it all somehow trace back to Melanie and her fragile mental state? Hitchcock leaves it open to interpretation. Either way, the implication is that we are all at nature’s mercy. The Birds may be more disturbing than scary by today’s standards, but it’s an excellent demonstration of how to create tension from the master of suspense.