Films often use clever tricks to make viewers feel uneasy, and one powerful tool is repetition. Repeating sounds, actions, or images over and over can build a slow, creeping dread that sticks with you long after the movie ends. A standout example is Martin Scorsese’s After Hours from 1985, where the main character, Paul Hackett, gets trapped in a single night in New York City that loops in increasingly bizarre and terrifying ways. https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/david-lynch/five-of-our-favorite-fever-dream-films
In After Hours, Paul just wants a quiet night out, but everything spirals out of control. He misses the last bus home, meets odd strangers, and faces one mishap after another that feels like the same nightmare restarting. The repetition comes from how events echo each other, like failed escapes or encounters with the same quirky people, creating an anxious loop where dawn never arrives. This makes the tension unbearable, as if time itself is broken and dread is the only constant. Scorsese films it with a gritty, fast pace that mirrors Paul’s growing panic, turning ordinary city life into something sinister.
Repetition works here because it traps the audience alongside Paul. We feel his frustration build with every repeat, from fumbling with money to dodging weirdos in a Soho loft. No matter what he tries, the night repeats its horrors, heightening the sense of no escape. Critics call it a fever dream film for this reason, where the looping structure mimics real anxiety.https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/david-lynch/five-of-our-favorite-fever-dream-films
Other films play with similar ideas. Rian Johnson’s Brick uses repetition in rehearsals and jump cuts to give its teen noir story an urgent dread, making every scene feel like it’s hurtling toward doom.https://unspooledpodcast.substack.com/p/brick-the-350k-indie-that-rewrote Time-loop tales like the upcoming All You Need Is Kill repeat deaths to grind down the hero, turning combat into endless trauma.https://elementsofmadness.com/2026/01/01/2026films/ Even classics like Rear Window repeat voyeuristic peeks to ramp up suspense until it snaps.https://collider.com/best-thrillers-masterclass-tension/
After Hours stands out for keeping it simple yet brutal. No sci-fi gimmicks, just pure repetition of bad luck that makes you dread every new repeat.
Sources
https://elementsofmadness.com/2026/01/01/2026films/
https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/david-lynch/five-of-our-favorite-fever-dream-films
https://collider.com/best-thrillers-masterclass-tension/
https://unspooledpodcast.substack.com/p/brick-the-350k-indie-that-rewrote
