The “jump scare” is a well established trope of horror films, in which the “shriek chord” on the soundtrack suddenly rises, in order to give audiences a jolt. Lazy horror films aggressively use the “shriek chord” but aren’t fooling anyone. If a filmmaker needs the equivalent of someone screaming in my ear to induce fear, then the director and their movie are clearly unworthy. A … [Read more...] about ‘Alien’ Movie Review: Still a masterpiece, ‘Alien’ returns to theaters for three days in October