Kelly Magovern

PSYCHO 1960 ˒ dir. Alfred Hitchcock

PSYCHO (1960) dir. Alfred Hitchcock

The Kubrick Stare, sometimes referred to as the Kubrick Glare, is a common camera shot of an actor in most of Stanley Kubrick’s films. The Kubrick Glare has been called the “heavy-browed look of insanity”. Roger Ebert said he simply thought Kubrick found it an interesting angle with which to shoot the human face. Regardless, the actor is filmed by Kubrick at a specific angle with their head tilted slightly down, looking up, sometimes with the teeth exposed but always with a detached, menacing, angry, diabolical, evil or mad look in their eye.

“The Kubrick Stare” in Film:

The Avengers (2012) dir. Joss Whedon

Gladiator (2000) dir. Ridley Scott

The Crow (1994) dir. Alex Proyas

American Beauty (1999) dir. Sam Mendes

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) dir. Quentin Tarantino

Psycho (1960) dir. Alfred Hitchcock

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

Donnie Darko (2001) dir. Richard Kelly

Mulholland Drive (2001) dir. David Lynch

PSYCHO (1960) dir. Alfred Hitchcock

We all go a little mad sometimes.

Psycho (1960) dir. Alfred Hitchcock.  

“The Kubrick Stare, sometimes referred to as the Kubrick Glare, is a common camera shot of an actor in most of Stanley Kubrick’s films. The Kubrick Glare has been called the “heavy-browed look of insanity”. It symbolizes that the character in question is either really, really pissed or really becoming deranged, and the person they’re looking at is really, really screwed. Other times—usually when combined with a smile—it means they’re feeling really, really clever. Either way, it’s really creepy and ominous.”

Psycho (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

We all go a little mad sometimes.