Haze

One of the very few films that captures that feeling of a bizarre nightmare perfectly. Screw all the clichés and jump scares from most horror movies, this is real horror.

One of the biggest things that makes this so horrifying is the sets, because 95% of this film takes place in a concrete maze (which are actually painted wooden sets) with barely enough room to move. It's so claustrophobic that I actually felt extremely uncomfortable watching it. One scene in particular has our lead character's teeth against a metal pipe, with no room for him to pull his mouth off, leaving him to shimmy left and right as his teeth grind on the metal. It's horrific and unlike anything I have seen in a horror film. It's essentially Cube or Saw with less of a focus on body count and gore (Not to say that this doesn't have some blood and gore.)

I also have major respect for Tsukamoto for keeping his films at a length that he feels is necessary for telling the story. This one is about 50 minutes long, and it feels just right. His films seem to be quite often below the 1 hour 30 minutes mark.

This thing is short, horrifying, and thought provoking all in one. We seriously need more horror movies like this, because this truly encapsulates what true terror really is.