Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen, Sweden, 1968)

An artist (Max von Sydow) and his wife (Liv Ullman) go to live to an isolated island. When Liv is alone outside, a mysterious woman appears and tells her to see under her husband's bed. She will find his diary. She tells her to read it. When she starts reading, she discovers her husband's fears and ghosts that supposedly haunt him. She also finds out about an affair he had with an actress/singer called Elisabeth Vogler. Near the end of the film, Max is confronted with all his fears in the so-called "hour of the wolf", the time between night and day, when almost everyone dies and most babies are born.

A very subtle horror movie with little gore effects but great scare tactics. The atmosphere created by director Ingmar Bergman is extraordinary, and the black & white photography enhances this effect even more. We learn about Elisabeth Vogler, a character who will also appear in another one of Bergman's films, "Persona". At the end, you cannot tell which scenes are real and which correspond to Max's dreams. Bergman explores insanity and the effects of solitude and anguish in a human being. One of the best films I have seen from Ingmar Bergman.