History ParanoiaFuel / FIlm

* ''Film/HotFuzz'': Just how far IS your local [[spoiler:Neighborhood Watch Group]] willing to go to keep their town nice and civil? Are they willing to [[spoiler:murder jaywalkers, litterers, loiterers, the homeless, and bad actors for the greater good?]] For a comedy, that movie can be some serious paranoia fuel.
* ''Film/DonnieDarko'': A jet engine breaking off an airplane in mid-air and falling on your house. DeathFromAbove at its finest. Whatever you do, don't live anywhere near an airport.
* ''Film/{{Scream}}''.
** The [[HarassingPhoneCall Harassing Phone Calls]] that plague various characters in the movies.
** ''Nowhere'' is safe enough. The killer manages to butcher people inside a crowded movie theater, in a crowded campus in broad daylight (getting his/her merry way out before anyone notices, in both cases), get past policemen watching the victim's house, viciously attack them in a hospital...
** ''The killer may be anyone you know''.

* ''Film/TheStrangers'' alone when it's dark. You'll never be able to hear someone knocking on your door without feeling paranoia, ever AGAIN.
* ''Film/FightClub''. So there's this enormous anarchist group hiding right under your nose whose members like nothing more than [[spoiler: committing acts of violence and putting certain, er, bodily fluids in your food at restaurants.]]
* ''Film/FinalDestination'': ''Death itself'' is out to get you, and will do it under the guise of freak accidents.

* ''Film/MerlinsShopOfMysticalWonders'', featured in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', has an evil, possessed monkey toy which rains death and hellfire on all around it. Perfect for what was marketed as a children's movie, no?

* Several things about John Candy in ''Film/UncleBuck''. "How would you like to spend the next several nights wondering if your crazy out-of-work bum uncle will ''shave your head'' while you sleep?"
* ''Film/TheHitcher'': like the trailer says, 'Once you've met The Hitcher, you'll ''never'' pick up another.'
* The defictionalization of ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' provides us a meta-example. [[SarcasmMode Thanks a bunch Britain.]] You just ''had'' to call your military communication satellites "Skynet", didn't you.
* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'': ''You are being watched every second of your life. Your parents are only pretending to love you. Your friends are just actors -- you don't even know their real names. The girl you love is playing you for a sap, so the people watching you can laugh at your misfortune. Everybody you have ever met is lying to you. Your entire life is an elaborate charade staged for the amusement of the rest of the world. And you are the only one who doesn't know. That's why your mom always seems amused at something whenever you talk to her. She's laughing at you behind your back, just like everyone else...''
** Quite appropriately, the movie gave name to the very RealLife [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show_delusion Truman Show Delusion]].
* ''Film/TheNumber23'': The number is in everything, everywhere and there is no escape.
* ''Film/{{Toys}}''. Deadly weapons in the form of creepy ... well ... toys.
* ''Film/{{Killers}}'' (the one with Creator/AshtonKutcher and Creator/KatherineHeigl) What if your neighboorhood friends that you've known for a long time were really secret agents watching your every move for the past 3 years? And then they get an order to kill you for money, and then suddenly almost the whole neighboorhood is trying to terminate your ass? That's a pretty unsettling thought.
* ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse''. You'll Never Feel Safe in Your Own House Again.
* ''Film/TheMatrix''.
** Your entire world is an illusion, your pets are holograms, and if you were to wake up from all this you would find yourself in a CrapsackWorld. And, just to throw in a guilt complex: if you find out all of this and ''still'' prefer the Matrix [[GildedCage (and really, who wouldn't?)]], you are [[CategoryTraitor a gutless sellout of your entire species]]. Many of the happenings in this movie involve common forms of paranoid / delusional mental illness actually coming true. Examples include the delusions that mysterious people are watching you without a plausible way of observing you, that mysterious government agents are out to get you, that somebody has implanted a chip or similar technological device under your skin to keep track of you, and on the positive side, delusions of having superpowers.
* ''Film/TheThirteenthFloor'', in which [[spoiler: several levels of virtual reality exist, and it's not clear if any of them are actually real]].

* John Carpenter's ''Film/TheThing1982''. [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm The Thing itself]] is practically the physical embodiment of ParanoiaFuel. It creates paranoia simply through its very nature alone.
* ''Film/TheGame''. You don't know who else is playing. You have cameras in your home. People are watching you. And the object of the Game is to figure out the object of the game.
* There is a French film called ''Caché'', (or ''Hidden'') which tells the story of a middle class family. So far, so cosy. Then, they start getting these creepy videos of their own house sent to their door, accompanied by some rather disturbing crayon drawings... The film's director is Creator/MichaelHaneke, the same guy who gave us ''Film/FunnyGames''

* ''Film/Batman1989'': Creator/JackNicholson's Joker, though played more for comedy, is also a rich well of ParanoiaFuel, thanks in part to Tim Burton's skillful, chilling direction of the 1989 film. Just imagine you were one of the innocent Gothamites in this movie. Could you ever again see [[EnemyMime a street mime]] or [[AFeteWorseThanDeath a parade balloon]] without having a panic attack? Would you ever again be willing to apply hairspray ''and'' deodorant in one grooming sitting? And Vicki Vale arguably had it the worst of all. The Joker was ''obsessed'' with her, and was [[StalkerWithACrush willing to track her]] just about anywhere. She wasn't safe from him in any setting, no matter how secure or comforting. ''Not even her own home.''
* ''Film/{{REC}}'': when you're in a place where there is a horrid virus running, the government will be very happy to ''lock you in with the infected and sit on their asses while you fight for your life (and most probably lose)''.
* Universal's ''Film/TheInvisibleMan'' (1933). A crazed lunatic with the Joker's outlook and desire to cause widespread random destruction amongst innocent civilians -- only he's ''invisible''. Talk about an enemy impossible to escape from. The other Universal Monsters from that time may have been scary and more physically imposing, but at least you could ''see'' them. You at least had a ''chance'' of running away...
** Made worse in the fact that he could strike anywhere, at any time. Take this example: Thousands of police are swarming the country, and then the Invisible Man knocks out a train operator and ''proceeds to derail a train and kill over one hundred people, who probably weren't expecting it at all.'' A detective sets traps at a rich man's mansion. The Invisible Man ''goes into the house within 5 seconds.'' He's also AxCrazy. VERY AxCrazy.
* The original ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' movie. Imagine a monster that looks like the very walls you are leaning on, something that could never be seen. It can climb walls, absolutely silent, and will take all of your friends, family, and the surrounding people. You'll suffer a slow and painful death, being dragged away while kicking and screaming. It will either kill you by putting a teeth filled inner mouth through your head, or will trap you in the walls of its hive, ready to impregnate you with more of its species.

* Creator/JimHenson's ''Film/TheCube''. Yes, ''that'' [[Series/TheMuppetShow Jim]] [[Series/SesameStreet Henson]]. ...You know what? Just watch it. Assume nothing, and enjoy the [[HappilyEverAfter happy ending]]. Oh, and have fun with the idea that reality as you experience it now may suddenly be revealed as an illusion before you go back to the debilitating chaos that is The Cube.
* ''Film/BattleRoyale''. Any one of your classmates could [[FaceHeelTurn turn on you]] and [[AxCrazy kill you in a heartbeat]] if they believed it was their only chance at surviving. * Shudder*
* ''Film/TheyLive''. The concept that aliens among us are controlling humanity through subliminal messaging and most have ''no way of determining'' who's a human and who's not. They could be ''anyone'', your husband, your wife, your bank teller, your ''president''.
* ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers'': The villains could be anyone.
* Watching ''Film/{{Gattaca}}'' will make you start picking off strands of hair from inside your hat.

* Nowhere near as extreme as the above example-- being a ''very'' disappointing cheap crime thriller-- but watching the victim-choosing scene from ''Film/MurderByNumbers'' was fodder for multiple unpleasant dreams. Never mind the fact that the death itself was high-grade {{narm}}. That scene on its own... (Hey. See those two nice young guys in that idling car over there-- couple or pair? They look like they're pretty into their conversation already-- and then hey, they're looking at you...)
* ''Film/TwentyOne''. You go into a casino. There are some guys watching your every move from a room in the back with a bunch of [=TVs=]. If you so much as ''look'' at someone funny then they decide you're a card counter and a bunch of big guys with guns show up, take you in back, and beat you senseless. I swear to god, I'm never going into a casino. EVER!
* The monsters from ''Film/TheDescent'' were cavemen who, rather than leaving the cave, had withdrawn further and further in, managed not to be wiped out by anything, and evolved into [[http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/6008/thedescent2512051tf8.jpg crawlers]]. The cave has gone undiscovered because the few people who have found it and gone down never made it out. The ParanoiaFuel comes because there's nothing to say this really couldn't have happened. They really could be down in a cave somewhere... And as soon as you set foot in that cave, you're a dead man.

* ''Film/TheRing'' is about a video tape that kills people if they watch it. And it looks like any other tape, so there's no way to know beforehand that it's a cursed tape. Welcome to Paranoia City.
* ''Film/{{Videodrome}}''. Its psychotic genius only topped by its mad depravity, this film starts us off with a pirate UHF/cable channel operator who seeks to boost his ratings by latching onto a snuff TV program whose name is where the movie gets its title. Progressively, the viewer is introduced to concepts and ever-stranger special effects that warp the difference between reality, flesh, and video, until it's impossible to tell what's "really" happening...but whatever it is, it's very very bad. Readily doubles as MindScrew material.
* Try watching ''Film/SawI'' for the first time by yourself at night and just see if you don't race around the house, checking your closets with a blunt object in hand.
* ''Film/{{Orphan}}''. Adoption agencies are officially screwed...
* ''Film/RedEye''. That cute, well-dressed guy you met at the airport bar is working for some TerroristsWithoutACause. You're stuck on an overnight flight with a violent sociopath who's trying to assassinate a major government figure and his family (including young children) for purposes unknown. And he needs your help doing it. Oh, yeah -- he's also been stalking you for eight weeks, and knows your routine well enough to know when you're lying about your drink order.
* ''Film/{{Candyman}}''. Cand ... aw, hell naw!
* ''Film/ThePresidentsAnalyst'' - A psychiatrist's patient reveals he's really a CIA agent and has been screening him for the title position, then matter-of-factly points out the electronic bug he'd planted in his office who knows how long ago. The new job is a rush, if a bit hectic...then the FBI takes his girlfriend away for security reasons, telling him he talks in his sleep (now how did they know that?) With nobody to talk to he's getting more and more on edge...then he starts seeing guys in black suits and dark glasses watching him...oh, and it's a comedy.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'':
** The origin of the Reavers. You can't stop the signal. Berserk Button-inducing subliminal messages are put in commercials by the government. The Operative can [[spoiler: paralyze you and then position a sword under you]]. Oh, and he doesn't officially exist. And he KNOWS he's a monster. Brr.
** The Academy, and what they do to people who are far above average in intelligence.

* ''Film/DragMeToHell'' will either make you avoid old ladies at all costs or try and be as nice to them as possible. [[GypsyCurse You don't want]] [[DraggedOffToHell them angry at you,]] [[DisproportionateRetribution even over the littlest of things.]] Trying to make up for anything you do wrong will not help. At all.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''. Your toys, plushies/soft toys, and figurines ''are alive''. And they see ''everything'' you do. If you've ever vented your anger on them, or done cruel/weird things to them, ''you are a monster''. Some children, after seeing ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', became terrified by the thought that their toys were alive. The scene where Woody leads the toys to revolt against Sid probably didn't help. The fact that all of Sid's toys are ''cannibalized horrors that he's variously torn apart and rammed back together in numerous grotesque ways'' probably helps even less.
-->'''Woody:''' We toys ''(slow ExorcistHead)'' can see everything... so play nice!
* The film ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen'' is about a realistic version of Ledger's Joker. Except he's not so much "spreading fear" as "killing everyone who let off the guy who killed and raped his wife and daughter". And he continues to do this ''even after they put him in jail''. [[spoiler:Luckily, "realism" includes a crippling vulnerability to [[SpannerInTheWorks spanners]].]]
* The 2007 film ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' certainly ranks very highly on the paranoia fuel list. Seriously, this film is VERY fond of preying on the complete helplessness of being asleep and all the sorts of unpleasantness that can happen without your knowledge.
* After you watch ''Film/FourteenOhEight'' you will ''never'' feel safe while being alone in a hotel room...''ever again''
** [[EvilPhone "Five. This is five. Ignore the sirens. Even if you leave this room, you can NEVER leave this room. Eight. This is eight. We have killed your friends. Every friend is now dead. Six. This is six."]]
* ''Film/{{Jaws}}''. The beach was a very lonely place the summer after that movie was released.

* ''Film/ShutterIsland''. If you run afoul of the wrong corrupt authorities and they manage to convince the world that you're crazy, it doesn't matter what you say, what you do or how right you are, you are powerless and they can lock you away forever. Your protests will only be taken as proof that you are, indeed, mentally ill. Everyone, including the government, is in on the conspiracy. [[spoiler: And then it turns out it was all a MindScrew-- there is no conspiracy, you actually are crazy, and everything you believe about your life is a lie created by your own delusional mind. Which is worse.]]
* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries''
** Frenzy. Given that spazzy little bundle of terror can be bashed to pieces and simply reformat himself into some other innocuous little device, he's prime (no pun intended) for this trope.
** If Frenzy is enough to put you on edge, then Laserbeak takes it UpToEleven. He can transform into ''anything'' he pleases. He could be ''anywhere'', plotting your demise as we speak.
* An in-universe example is Mr. White's "WeAreEverywhere" speech from ''Film/QuantumOfSolace.''
* ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'': Imagine being out in the middle of the woods, as far from civilization as you could possibly get. Now imagine that someone could be watching your every move, from anywhere in the vast woods and mountains. And he thinks you're sexy. Feel like going camping?
* ''Film/{{Knowing}}''. Most of the stuff that is predicted? It's highly possible. Most of those disasters made me afraid of planes, trains, and the SUN for a while...
* The otherwise forgettable Creator/SylvesterStallone film ''Film/DTox'' starts with his wife being murdered, more exactly ''shot in the head/eye while answering the door''. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking With a silencer]]. In fact, most assassin/serial killer, or even home invasion works have this potential. Just imagine, you're sitting at home, every time you hear a knock, you nonchalantely go to answer a potential murdered/thief while thinking how boring your life is. And those may be your last thoughts on Earth.
* ''Film/{{Inception}}'': You could be dreaming now, and everyone else is poking around your brain trying to steal your secrets. And if you die, you either wake up, or get sent to Dream Hell (and you will not even be able to tell the difference). This film is probably even more effective than the Nightmare on Elm Street series at scaring people into trying not to fall asleep.

* ''Film/WagTheDog'' is an example, not in the "I'm locking all my doors" sort of way, but in the sense that everything you may think you know about the rest of the world, about the news, about history, could have easily been made up.
* ''Film/GameraGuardianOfTheUniverse'' (Heisei era). A flock of man-eating bat-like monsters could swoop down at any minute and devour you. Yup, just right out in the open. Oh, and that giant turtle that's supposed to be humanity's protector from the giant bats? Yeah, he can kill you as well without so much as a second thought while he obsessively chases after the giant bat monsters. Oh, and they breed asexually. So, you can have only a handful one moment and then thousands the next.
* ''Revenge Of Irys''. You know that cute little tentacle monster you just adopted? It feeds by draining the life-force out of things, including nearly '''everyone''' in the village you grew up in. Oh, and it wants to merge with you to become the ultimate killing machine.
* ''Film/{{Gojira}}''. A nuclear bomb could awaken/mutate a monster bent on killing you and all of humanity. The only way to kill him is to use a weapon even '''worse''' than the nuclear bomb, and said weapon kills its victims via asphyxiation (You'll die a slow horrible death as oxygen molecules are ripped apart underwater and you're reduced to bone...and then ash.). Think you're safe now? [[spoiler:Nope. Turns out the one you just killed was the first one of its kind. Another one is going to ineviteablly show up.]]
* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''.
** That creepy castle you drive by? It could be the home of a psychotic transvestite alien who can emotionally manipulate you into having sex with him.
** The "floorshow" scene. You can be brainwashed into nothing but a "meat puppet" that the alien can force to perform for his own sick amsusement. Even if you're utterly aware of what's going on (IE: Dr. Scott), there's still '''nothing''' you can do to stop it.
** Half of your brain could be removed by aliens to create an artificial human, and you'll be locked in the freezer for Lord knows how long.

* ''Film/{{Elephant}}''. A normal day at school could suddenly turn into a complete massacre. Anybody could get killed. People you've seen in the hallways once. Your friends. You. Enjoy your youth!
* The closing narration of ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''. If anything electrical or mechanical in your house breaks, "turn on all the lights, check the closets and cupboards and look under all the beds, because you never can tell. There just might be a gremlin in your house."
* Film/ArlingtonRoad. [[spoiler:Your nice neighbours]] are terrorists. They've gotten away with it before and they'll get away with it again. If you try to stop them they'll get away with it anyways, and frame you. They've probably already done it to someone else like you.
* ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau''. You only ''think'' you're in control of your life--the whole thing has been mapped out by a CelestialBureaucracy. If you risk going off track, they can do anything from making you lose your keys to causing accidents to prevent it. If you try to fight them, they can ''erase your entire personality.'' And they could be ''anyone''--well, anyone wearing a hat, that is.
* Think ''Film/OldYeller'' is just a classic, heartwarming TearJerker movie? Try being a kid who's never heard of rabies before. The idea of a disease that will turn a seemingly harmless animal (or kid, as far as you know) into a vicious, mindless beast that will attack anyone and everyone, even its beloved master is enough ParanoiaFuel for the rest of your life.
* ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''.
** Your life could be [[spoiler: a product of an insane author. The color of your eyes are just his favorite color.]]
** The movie adaptation of the Sutter Cane's book that slowly makes you insane and turns you into a monster? [[spoiler:[[OhCrap You just]] [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou watched it]].]]
* Film/{{Contagion}}: Touch anything, be near anyone, and you DIE.

* ''Film/ItsAlive'' - Stay away from the maternity ward.
* ''Film/{{Disturbia}}''. How well do you know your neighbors? If you do know them fairly well, how can you be sure that they aren't violent {{serial killer}}s? And should you figure out that they ''are'', in fact, violent serial killers, should you notify the authorities? What if they don't believe you, and all you've done is let your serial killing neighbor know that you now know too much. Also, having serial killers for neighbors is absolutely, 100% TruthInTelevision as not even serial killers tend to completely isolate themselves.
* ''Film/{{Teeth}}''
* The short film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MjTb5A68VA Pencil Face]]''. How many wishes will ''you'' get right before you conjure something horrible?
* As ridiculous a movie as ''Film/{{Battleship}}'' is, you gotta wonder if it's such a good idea to [[Literature/EarthTheBook drunk-dial the Universe]], basically announcing to any potentially-hostile ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_cultural_impact_of_extraterrestrial_contact#Hostile_civilizations and there's a good chance they are]]) "Here we are! Come and take what you want!", considering we have no way to defend ourselves from any race that has the power to cross interstellar distances.
* ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'' is excellent ParanoiaFuel for any trip into the deep woods, especially camping overnight.
* The remake of ''Film/TheOmen2006'' has Damien's mother killed in mere seconds. [[spoiler:Damien's evil nanny comes to her hospital room at night and uses a syringe to inject an air bubble into her IV line]]. How easy would it be for ''anyone'' to do that to you, even during normal visiting hours?
* ''Film/UniversalSoldierDayOfReckoning'' is full of this. You could be a [[spoiler: cloned genetically-enhanced sleeper agent]], living a typical life until suddenly you got sick and [[spoiler:hears voices that briefs you on your new mission. After you completed said mission, you know nothing about it because your memories were tampered with again]].
* ''Film/{{Oldboy 2003}}'' is absolutely steeped in this. [[spoiler: Have you ever made a careless remark? Congratulations, that careless remark may have ruined somebody's life, and now they're devoting the rest of it to pay you back tenfold.]]
* ''Film/TheBlob1958'': The Blob can appear anywhere, grab onto you, and begin to eat you. That means that you're practically dead the second it touches you. Oh, and running from it probably won't help, because the [[Film/TheBlob1988 '80s remake]] makes things scarier by giving the Blob a more aggressive attitude and tendrils to grab you.
* ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'': Just imagine returning to your hometown and finding out everyone you grew up with has been replaced by robots. Then, there's the fact that all of [[spoiler:technology over the last 20 years]] has been a result of [[spoiler:the influence of an extraterrestrial community called the Network.]]
* ''Film/TheFaculty'': Everyone at your school has been replaced by an alien. You'll never be able to look at a teacher the same way again. The Principal: "Come to my office, we'll have a little chat." ''Nope.''
* ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'': Not only do you have no idea you are being watched from the shadows, stalked relentlessly, but that person is a psychopathic serial killer who has escaped from a psychiatric facility after 15 years since he killed his sister ''when he was a child'', and will do everything in his power to see you dead. Oh, and he's very tall, strong, practically faceless and wielding a kitchen knife. The safety of your neighbourhood is a lie. Dark secrets will escape from hiding. Nowhere is safe...

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'': [[spoiler: National Security could be controlled by a group the Nazis thought were too extreme, and they have a kill list a mile long (which is chosen through mathematical algorithms; the cute kid next door could be seen as a threat to the organization once they get older), the weaponry to do it and the ''exact location of each one of their targets''.]]
* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' [[spoiler: has its Erasure scene. Not everyone disappears in the same moment, so if you don't have Spider-sense or something warning you about impending doom, you can be next without knowing it. And if you're not an Avenger, you have no the faintest idea why is this happening (besides aliens attacking New York earlier), nor possessing the knowledge that everyone gets erased in tight window, so you may live the rest of your life in fear that you can anytime literally turn to dust. Also, since phone networks would be overloaded, you might, assuming you live, have fear about whether your closest ones are alive or no.]]
* The twist of ''The Pact'' basically turns an already fairly scary premise into paranoia fuel: You and your siblings return to the old family home after your mother's death, there's a threatening apparition haunting the house, and [[spoiler: it's caused your two sisters to mysteriously disappear]]... Except it turns out that [[spoiler: the ghost was trying to warn you of the real danger - your mother had been harboring her brother, a serial killer, in a hidden room in your house since you were a child... A room in the middle of the main floor, with hidden peepholes looking into every other room of the house. He's still in there, and your sisters' bodies have been hidden under the house this whole time]]
* ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'': Your mother is only pretending to love you. Oh, even better: she's not even really your mother. She's just some woman who kidnapped you as a baby for her own selfish gain. And if she has her way, you are ''never'' leaving home. ''Ever.''
* ''Film/TwelveYearsASlave''. The truly terrifying thing is modern slavers can and have pulled off almost the ''exact same scam'' Solomon fell for, and gotten away clean.

* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'': sure, any models in any museums would definitely come alive at night.
* ''Film/KingCobra1999'': Seth, a cobra-rattlesnake hybrid, is portrayed as a rather stealthy predator despite its size; in particular, a CatapultNightmare where the female lead wakes up screaming to find the damn thing right next to her bed is rather freaky.
* ''Film/BurnAfterReading'': Damn near ''everyone'' in this film suffers ''extreme'', hilarious paranoia over ''absolutely nothing'' ([[BlackComedy it's that kind of film]]), but special props go to Harry Pfarrer, who ends up killing a guy and later trying to hop a flight to Venezuela, all because he thought he was shadowed by government agents. At the end of the film, Palmer and the CIA Director are at a complete loss over what just happened, and why any of it happened to begin with.
* ''Film/DeLift'': The idea that an everyday convenience such as the titular elevator could suddenly come to life as murderous weaponry.

* ''Film/{{Killers}}'' (the one with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl) What if your neighboorhood friends that you've known for a long time were really secret agents watching your every move for the past 3 years? And then they get an order to kill you for money, and then suddenly almost the whole neighboorhood is trying to terminate your ass? That's a pretty unsettling thought.

* ''Film/{{Batman}}'': Creator/JackNicholson's Joker, though played more for comedy, is also a rich well of ParanoiaFuel, thanks in part to Tim Burton's skillful, chilling direction of the 1989 film. Just imagine you were one of the innocent Gothamites in this movie. Could you ever again see [[EnemyMime a street mime]] or [[AFeteWorseThanDeath a parade balloon]] without having a panic attack? Would you ever again be willing to apply hairspray ''and'' deodorant in one grooming sitting? And Vicki Vale arguably had it the worst of all. The Joker was ''obsessed'' with her, and was [[StalkerWithACrush willing to track her]] just about anywhere. She wasn't safe from him in any setting, no matter how secure or comforting. ''Not even her own home.''

* ''Franchise/{{Scream}}''.

* ''Film/KingCobra'': Seth, a cobra-rattlesnake hybrid, is portrayed as a rather stealthy predator despite its size; in particular, a CatapultNightmare where the female lead wakes up screaming to find the damn thing right next to her bed is rather freaky.

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' [[spoiler: has its Erasure scene. Not everyone disappears in the same moment, so if you don't have Spider-sense or something warning you about impending doom, you can be next without knowing it. And if you're not an Avenger, you have no the faintest idea why is this happening (besides aliens attacking New York earlier), nor possesing the knowledge that everyone gets erased in tight window, so you may live the rest of your life in fear that you can anytime literally turn to dust. Also, since phone networks would be overloaded, you might, assuming you live, have fear about whether your closest ones are alive or no.]]

* "Film/TheSixthSense'': "Do you know why you're afraid when you're alone? I do. I do."

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' [[spoiler: has its Erasure scene. Not everyone disappears in the same moment, so if you don't have Spider-sense or something warning you about impending doom, you can be next without knowing it. And if you're not an Avenger, you have no the faintest idea why is this happening (besides aliens attacking New York earlier), nor everyone gets erased in tight window, so you may live the rest of your life in fear that you can anytime literally turn to dust. Also, since phone networks would be overloaded, you might, assuming you live, have fear about whether your closest ones are alive or no.]]

* ''Film/21''. You go into a casino. There are some guys watching your every move from a room in the back with a bunch of [=TVs=]. If you so much as ''look'' at someone funny then they decide you're a card counter and a bunch of big guys with guns show up, take you in back, and beat you senseless. I swear to god, I'm never going into a casino. EVER!

* ''21''. You go into a casino. There are some guys watching your every move from a room in the back with a bunch of [=TVs=]. If you so much as ''look'' at someone funny then they decide you're a card counter and a bunch of big guys with guns show up, take you in back, and beat you senseless. I swear to god, I'm never going into a casino. EVER!

* ''Film/TwelveYearsASlave''. The truly terrifying thing is modern slavers can and have pulled off almost the ''exact same scam'' Solomon fell for, and gotten away clean.

** SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in is, with a shocking amount of realism, a guy that could kill ''anyone 'anywhere''', no matter how hard they try to hide, and who will kill you for absolutely no reason. [[ChaoticEvil He wants to bring your comfortable little world down around you in its entirety]] and [[ForTheEvulz won't even tell you precisely why.]] If he tells you anything, anything at all, he is lying. Or maybe he's not. Either way, your death, if you get in his way -- or even if you don't -- will likely be gruesome, [[MindRape or simply horrific psychological torment for the poor innocent souls enlisted to be in charge of whether you live or die for the day.]] It's all up to chance. ''Everyone'' is his enemy, except for those in his own employ -- and frequently, [[BadBoss them as well. If you side with him, he's just as likely to blow you up, kill you anyway, force you into the line of fire as a human shield, use you in one of his sick games, or turn you over to the cops.]] ''[[TheCorrupter And he wants to make you just like him.]]''

* {{Gamera}} (Heisei era). A flock of man-eating bat-like monsters could swoop down at any minute and devour you. Yup, just right out in the open. Oh, and that giant turtle that's supposed to be humanity's protector from the giant bats? Yeah, he can kill you as well without so much as a second thought while he obsessivley chases after the giant bat monsters. Oh, and they breed asexually. So, you can have only a handful one moment and then thousands the next.

* ''Film/RedEye''. That cute, well-dressed guy you met at the airport bar is working for some TerroristsWithoutACause. You're stuck on an overnight flight with a violent sociopath who's trying to assassinate a major government figure and his family (including young children) for purposes unknown. And he needs your help doing it.

* ''Film/{{Matango}}''. It'll make you not want to eat mushrooms ever again. That is [[spoiler:unless you]] ''[[spoiler:want]]'' [[spoiler:[[BodyHorror to be transformed into a giant mushroom creature and be trapped on an island for all eternity with other giant mushroom creatures.]]]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' quadrilogy(?). Those creepy facehuggers could be hiding ''anywhere''... [[spoiler: including the back of your monitor!]]

* As ridiculous a movie as ''Film/{{Battleship}}'' is, you gotta wonder if it's such a good idea to [[Literature/EarthTheBook drunk-dial the Universe]], basically announcing to any potentially-hostile (and, according to some experts, evolution had to have made any potential alien hostile) "Here we are! Come and take what you want!", considering we have no way to defend ourselves from any race that has the power to cross interstellar distances.

* ''Franchise/{{Scream}}''. The [[HarassingPhoneCall Harassing Phone Calls]] that plague various characters in the movies didn't help either.

** '''The killer may be anyone you know'''.

* Watch ''Film/TheStrangers'' alone when it's dark. You'll never be able to hear someone knocking on your door without feeling paranoia, ever AGAIN.
** Have you ever tried running around your house at night, in a mask, in the dark? They had to be ''really'' familiar with [[strike: your]] that couple's house... Also, ''Film/FunnyGames''. '''''They didn't even change clothes between killings.'''''
** Remember: at any given time, [[http://totallytop10.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/the-strangers-poster.jpg this]] could be happening. Look behind you. Are you alone right now? Are you ''sure''?
* ''Film/FightClub''. So there's this enormous anarchist group hiding right under your nose whose members like nothing more than [[spoiler: commiting acts of violence and putting certain, er, bodily fluids in your food at restaurants.]]
** And anyone who's ever, for example, worked in a hospital kitchen, knows that the latter is very much TruthInTelevision.

* Those [[ZombieApocalypse zombie movies]] that ''could'' happen (ha!), like ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' and other virus zombies. Brrh.
** Well, the thing is, ''every'' zombie movie is this. Nobody in the movies thought a ZombieApocalypse was really possible until they were in the middle of it and sometimes didn't think so until they were already being devoured. Since we don't know what diseases are really capable of, we can't really laugh it off and say "that could never happen" because for all we know, it could.
*** We do know how diseases spread. A disease as obvious and virulent as a zombie plague would not only be extremely easy to contain, it would also burn itself out long before it reached society-threatening proportions. The reason why the deadliest diseases haven't wiped out the humanity is because the victims don't survive long enough to spread them far.
*** Randal Munroe would agree with you in http://xkcd.com/734/
*** Except if the virus were to be dormant until something activated it... Like something in the water, or after a set amount of years pass... What would happen if 90% of people living in big cities, like London or New York, were already infected, and THEY decide to put something in the water to activate it? For all we know, everyone who could do anything about it could be already infected...
** Think about this: North and South America are separated from every other landmass on earth. There are people based on a separate landmass with agents on ''this'' landmass who want to kill us. All they'd have to do is modify rabies or some other disease, release it here, and watch as we tear ourselves apart, without any danger to their part of the world.
*** Or vice versa. Completed isolated landmass equals the perfect place to be while unleashing a terrible disease on the rest of the world...[[GoMadFromTheRevelation and you sure seem to have put a lot of thought into it.]]

** If TheOtherWiki is to be believed, there are a number of people who [[TrumanShowPlot truly believe this.]]
** There's actually a horrifying philosophical concept called [[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/other-minds/ "The Problem of Other Minds"]] which states that philosophically, there is absolutely nothing and no way of being sure that anyone but you exists, and that other people are not mindless zombies or figments of your imagination made by your mind or a superior being to keep you pacified from being the only person in existence.
*** It's just a little more serious than that. Specifically, there is no ''empirical or rational'' method for determining that other people are actually conscious, once we assume that they actually exist.
*** [[IJustWantToBeSpecial Well at least then I'll know I'm special]].
*** I found that haunting until I realised that if it is true, the person who came up with the idea (can't remember who) doesn't exist either and then his ideas don't matter. And BTW, I am you.

** Your entire world is an illusion, your pets are holograms, and if you were to wake up from all this you would find yourself in a CrapsackWorld. And, just to throw in a guilt complex: if you find out all of this and ''still'' prefer the Matrix [[GildedCage (and really, who wouldn't?)]], you are [[CategoryTraitor a gutless sellout of your entire species]].
** Many of the happenings in this movie involve common forms of paranoid / delusional mental illness actually coming true. Examples include the delusions that mysterious people are watching you without a plausible way of observing you, that mysterious government agents are out to get you, that somebody has implanted a chip or similar technological device under your skin to keep track of you, and on the positive side, delusions of having superpowers.
*** The reason why everything tastes like chicken.
*** And now we all know what a deja-vu means: [[spoiler: The Matrix is changing and readjusting]].
*** One could even consider of the full implications of this movie, such as that it is impossible to tell whether or not reality even exists or not, that even if you are released from a false reality there's no way to tell if that reality is true either, memory may be entirely fabricated and finally if you can make this mental leap, ANYTHING you think of besides consciousness cannot be proven to exist, and your personality may be fabricated with the only comfort being "Cogito Ergo Sum" translated being I think therefore I am. This is arguably one of the most powerful cases of paranoia fuel IN EXISTENCE.
*** The 2nd film made it even worse; [[spoiler:They ''are'' out, but Zion itself is just another system of control that the Machines come along and destroy every once in a while in order to keep the Matrix running. The One is part of that system. All ''six'' of them before Neo came up with the truce. The only way that we know that there were six before Neo is because the head of the Matrix tells Neo that. He could well be lying.]]
*** What happens in the Matrix itself? Human technology advances until there are sentient computers in the virtual world who take over and end up using human as power sources and store the humans in another virtual reality. What evidence do we have that [[spoiler: Zion and the rest of the world outside of the Matrix isn't just another simulation that's five levels of layered simulation deep rather than six levels of simulation deep.]]
*** Some reason rather well that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality#Nick_Bostrom we probably are]] in the Matrix.
* Along the same lines as Film/TheMatrix is Film/TheThirteenthFloor, in which [[spoiler: several levels of virtual reality exist, and it's not clear if any of them are actually real]].
* Also related to ''Film/TheMatrix'', many RobotWar movies can make you afraid of technology.

** Furthermore the aliens can give You any memory They want just to see what will happen. You could wake up tomorrow as a serial killer on the run from police. You could be completely innocent of Your crimes and never know it.
* John Carpenter's ''Film/TheThing1982''. If you actually want a helping of Paranoia Fuel ''Unleaded'', try this interpretation of the ending, [[spoiler: where Macready and Childs are waiting to die, hoping that the titular Thing is dead; ''they're'' '''''both''''' ''the Thing, and they hope'' '''''Macready''''' ''is dead, so they can safely go back into hibernation, waiting for rescuers to hijack back to the mainland where they can eat the whole damned planet.'']] YouCanPanicNow.
** Although absent from the final film, WordOfGod, states that [[spoiler: Macready wasn't the Thing, and in fact a short epilogue scene was planned (but never shot) in post-production that would have shown Macready at a hospital and confirming that he was Thing-free.]]
** [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm The Thing itself]] is practically the physical embodiment of ParanoiaFuel. It creates paranoia simply through its very nature alone.

** Success!
** Wait, wait, wait. So, to win the Game, all I have to do is know that the point of the Game is not to think about the Game? WebComic/{{xkcd}} was [[http://xkcd.com/391/ right!]]

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' is, with a shocking amount of realism, a guy that could kill ''anyone 'anywhere''', no matter how hard they try to hide, and who will kill you for absolutely no reason. [[ChaoticEvil He wants to bring your comfortable little world down around you in its entirety]] and [[ForTheEvulz won't even tell you precisely why.]] If he tells you anything, anything at all, he is lying. Or maybe he's not. Either way, your death, if you get in his way -- or even if you don't -- will likely be gruesome, [[MindRape or simply horrific psychological torment for the poor innocent souls enlisted to be in charge of whether you live or die for the day.]] It's all up to chance. ''Everyone'' is his enemy, except for those in his own employ -- and frequently, [[BadBoss them as well. If you side with him, he's just as likely to blow you up, kill you anyway, force you into the line of fire as a human shield, use you in one of his sick games, or turn you over to the cops.]] ''[[TheCorrupter And he wants to make you just like him.]]''
** Speaking of the Dark Knight, Batman and Lucius Fox can watch you undress thanks to your cellphone.

** Joker's dialogue takes straight aim at people who remark about it would be cool if Batman existed in real life. Batman requires sci-fi tech, re-purposed military technology, and usually a human at their physical peak; a combination that's impossible to align together in the real world. [[SelfDemonstratingArticle At least,]] [[ParanoiaFuel so far as the general public knows....]]. All Joker requires is some bullets and fire and cheap explosions, which are readily available (though, OTOH, [[spoiler: surgically implanting a cell phone in another human being]] isn't all that easy).
-->"See, I’m a man of simple tastes. I like dynamite…and gunpowder…and gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They’re cheap! "
* JackNicholson's Joker, though played more for comedy, is also a rich well of ParanoiaFuel, thanks in part to Tim Burton's skillful, chilling direction of the 1989 film. Just imagine you were one of the innocent Gothamites in this movie. Could you ever again see [[EnemyMime a street mime]] or [[AFeteWorseThanDeath a parade balloon]] without having a panic attack? Would you ever again be willing to apply hairspray ''and'' deodorant in one grooming sitting? And Vicki Vale arguably had it the worst of all. The Joker was ''obsessed'' with her, and was [[StalkerWithACrush willing to track her]] just about anywhere. She wasn't safe from him in any setting, no matter how secure or comforting. ''Not even her own home.''
* ''Film/{{REC}}'': when you're in a place where there is a horrid virus running, the government will be very happy to ''lock you in with the infected and sit on their asses while you fight for your life (and most probably lose)''.
** Oh, and the infection? [[spoiler: It's actually weaponized demonic possession. One drop of bad blood in your system and your body goes insanely violent while your soul goes to Hell. And the Vatican has already given up on you.]]

** TruthInTelevision; [[spoiler:the FBI can [[http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html actually do that cellphone thing.]]]]

** Congratulations, you have become ''exactly'' what the government of the novel's [[AlternateHistory Alternate Japan]] wanted you to become. The stated purpose of The Program is to sow enough paranoia and mistrust among the populace so nobody ever even ''thinks'' of rebelling against the regime.
** Wait a minute, wouldn't they already do that?
** Yes, and a student is killed at the beginning of the conceit for refusing to go along with the government, who effectively sent a S.W.A.T. team to inform them of their circumstances and give them supplies.
* ''Film/TheyLive''. Even with all of its 80's {{narm}}, the concept that aliens among us are controlling humanity through subliminal messaging and most have ''no way of determining'' who's a human and who's not. They could be ''anyone'', your husband, your wife, your bank teller, your ''president''.
** So if they didn't want anyone finding out about them, why'd they make a whole boxload of glasses that let you see through TheMasquerade and then just leave it lying around where anyone could find it? Because they ''wanted someone to find it''. Its all part of their [[ThePlan plan]].
*** Actually the glasses are the property of the rebels, although there's no explanation of how they knew how to make them.
%%* ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers'', full stop

** Oh, and they track you out of Vegas and ''trash your house.''
* ''Film/WhenAStrangerCalls'' -- yeah, it's impossible to get a phone call from the same house you're in (unless it's a cell phone), but somehow, that just makes that moment before you pick up the phone all the creepier.
** Actually, back in the day of rotary phones, it was possible to dial a code and hang up, and any phone in the house on that same line would ring... Logically, if there's no incoming call to trace, it's coming from inside the house!

** ''Film/TheGrudge'' is about a curse that lingers in a house. But if you go into the house, it sticks to you until it kills you. And anyone who comes into close proximity to a cursed person also catches the curse. Any house a cursed person lives in will itself eventually become cursed. Anyone a cursed person calls over the phone, even on the other side of the planet? ''Cursed.'' The end result is likely to be total depopulation of the planet. Have a good night.

** This [[http://xkcd.com/396/ xkcd strip]] shows that it's worse than you think.
** The original commercial for the American version was pretty bad as well. It was a slightly edited version of the tape itself that was only played in the dead of night, with ZERO explanation of what it was.

** By the way, he's been watching you for weeks.
*** To the point where he can tell if you're lying about your favorite cocktail.
*** And on top of everything else, during those weeks where he had to watch you, [[VillainousCrush he's become smitten with you]].

** Why anybody would say that, especially five times in front of a mirror? You can't do that by accident. You might as well just say "JustForFun/CandleJack" and save yourself some ti[[spoiler: I'm gonna need more rope!]]
*** Same for Bloody Mary. Actually, if you put a mirror directly behind you and in front of you, said the Bloody Mary spiel, then ducked, Bloody Mary would probably be stuck flying in one mirror and out the other for all eternity, like [[http://xkcd.com/555/ this]].
** Worse yet - at least from a psychological/sociological point of view - when he was alive the Candyman was a black man who was attacked by a white mob, dunked in honey, stung by bees, had his hand chopped off, and finally was lynched. [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Maybe he has a right to be so angry at the world?]] Your own WhiteGuilt might doom you, subconsciously hampering you from putting up a fight.

* The ''[[Series/{{Firefly}} Reavers]]''. And [[Film/{{Serenity}} their origin]]. You can't stop the signal. Berserk Button-inducing subliminal messages are put in commercials by the government. The Operative can [[spoiler: paralyze you and then position a sword under you]]. Oh, and he doesn't officially exist. And he KNOWS he's a monster. Brr.

* ''Film/{{Matango}}''. Long story short, it'll make you not want to eat mushrooms ever again. That is [[spoiler:unless you]] ''[[spoiler:want]]'' [[spoiler:[[BodyHorror to be transformed into a giant mushroom creature and be trapped on an island for all eternity with other giant mushroom creatures.]]]]
** Matango is the name of a village of cute, friendly mushroom people in ''Secret of Mana''. The question is, does that make the movie better or the game [[FridgeHorror worse]]?

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''. Your toys, plushies/soft toys, and figurines ''are alive''. And they see eeeeverything you do. If you've ever vented your anger on them, or done cruel/weird things to them, ''you are a monster''. Some children, after seeing ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', became terrified by the thought that their toys were alive. The scene where Woody leads the toys to revolt against Sid probably didn't help. The fact that all of Sid's toys are ''cannibalized horrors that he's variously torn apart and rammed back together in numerous grotesque ways'' probably helps even less.

** That leads right to more ParanoiaFuel - are ''all'' toys alive? What about ones with [[AndIMustScream no movable parts?]] Do they feel ''angry'' about being created just to be helpless? What if they could unleash that anger on us?
*** It's been shown that even toys with no moving parts can still move and speak (a la Army Men)
*** To add to that: What if Lego bricks were alive and built themselves into changing, morphing abominations when we slept? Those bricks you step on that hurt? Those are the ones that couldn't homogenize into the greater mass and escape before you observed them.

** Except maybe not! [[spoiler: The conspiracy against you might be true after all! There's simply no way to tell!!]]
* [[TransformersFilmSeries Frenzy]]. Given that spazzy little bundle of terror can be bashed to pieces and simply reformat himself into some other innocuous little device, he's prime (no pun intended) for this trope.
** The idea that your home devices could be brought to life as nasty, feral little robo-critters doesn't help either. See the computer you're reading this on right now? Are you listening to your iPod right now? Maybe you have your cellphone beside you? The Decepticons could be listening in on your conversations right now and you would never even know it.

** Do you remember how you got here?
*** Well, I was... We're dreaming?
*** ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Kvu6Kgp88 Non, rien de rien / Non, je ne regrette rien ...]]''
*** Remember the distortion of time in dreams? Listen to a r e a l l y slowed-down version of "je ne regrette rien" and see if you recognize that.
** "Stealing your secrets" is not even the worst thing. They might be ''putting thoughts in your head'', which you will perceive as your own. Every time you have a peculiar idea, you will wonder if it as actually your own.

** It's worse: How many stories have the media fabricated? How many stories has the government ordered fabricated? How much of the truth is being concealed from you? How much of what you know is bullshit? Can you trust anyone?
*** WhiteWolf put it best when they listed this movie as inspirational viewing for one of their [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension Technocracy]] sourcebooks: "If the movie didn't scare you, then you weren't paying attention."

** ''Revenge Of Irys''. You know that cute little tentacle monster you just adopted? It feeds by draining the life-force out of things, including nearly '''everyone''' in the village you grew up in. Oh, and it wants to merge with you to become the ultimate killing machine.

* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. That creepy castle you drive by? It could be the home of a psychotic transvestite alien who can emotionally manipulate you into having sex with him.
** The "floorshow" scene. You can be brainwashed into nothing but a "meat puppet" that said alien can force to perform for his own sick amsusement. Even if you're utterly aware of what's going on (IE: Dr. Scott), there's still '''nothing''' you can do to stop it.

* In ''Film/PansLabyrinth,'' during her narrow escape from [[ChildEater the Pale Man]], Ofelia drops some of the chalk she uses to create doorways, and doesn't have time to retrieve it. Think about that. A piece of chalk, that has the power to create magical doorways to anywhere the user needs to go, is now lying on the floor in the lair of a child-eating monster who was just awoken and is ravenously hungry and violent. What's going to happen if he picks it up and figures out how to use it?
** There's another, potentially even creepier piece of Fuel in that scene: when Ofelia closes the way to the alternate world, the Pale Man's bangs and knocks on the door slowly turn into ordinary creaks of an old wooden house. Now think about it: maybe every time the house creaks earlier in the movie, it's because something wants to come through. Every time ''you'' hear a creak, it's an otherworldy monster behind the thickness of a shadow, trying to find an entrance to our world...

* ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''. Your life could be [[spoiler: a product of an insane author. The color of your eyes are just his favorite color.]]

* "[[Film/TheSixthSense Do you know why you're afraid when you're alone? I do. I do.]]".

** Also, [[spoiler: your best friend, ''who you thought was dead'', could become a brainwashed cyborg killing machine out for your blood who will stop at nothing to get to you]]

* ''TheNumber23'': The number is in everything, everywhere and there is no escape.

* ''MonsterHouse''. You'll Never Feel Safe in Your Own House Again.

* The 2009 film ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' certainly ranks very highly on the paranoia fuel list. Seriously, this film is VERY fond of preying on the complete helplessness of being asleep and all the sorts of unpleasantness that can happen without your knowledge.

* As ridiculous a movie as ''Film/{{Battleship}}'' is, you gotta wonder if it's such a good idea to [[EarthTheBook drunk-dial the Universe]], basically announcing to any potentially-hostile (and, according to some experts, evolution had to have made any potential alien hostile) "Here we are! Come and take what you want!", considering we have no way to defend ourselves from any race that has the power to cross interstellar distances.