The Greatest Thing About Kubrick

Exposition of the fear of someone or something mysterious looking at you.

2001: Old Dave in the parlor

The Shining: The bear-costumed man

Eyes Wide Shut: The roomful of masked men

These are for me the most terrifying moments of these films.

There are other instances... Jack at the Gold bar in The Shining, the two masqueraders on the balcony in Eyes Wide Shut..... We could also talk about a particular facial shot that appears frequently and generates an intense unsettling sensation: Alex's introduction at the Korova Milkbar in A Clockwork Orange, Private Pyle in the dripping bathroom in FMJ, Jack Torrance as he shines in the hotel lobby in The Shining, Nick Nightingale as he reveals his secret at the club in Eyes Wide Shut... Or even worse, the shaking eyes: Dave catapulting through the stargate in 2001, the wheelchaired man in Clockwork, Danny shining in The Shining....

Think about Danny with his fear face on, a silent scream during the red elevator sequence. Think about Dave's face, frozen in time during the stargate sequence. Through all of this we see that Stanley Kubrick knows how to induce fear, just through facial images. The most terrifying parts of all of these movies are entirely due to frightening faces, particularly when they are looking right at you.