Faith in people erodes gradually. Good films can restore it the same way.
A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.
There's a moment in this that restores something. You'll know it when you see it.
A brilliant plastic surgeon creates a synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
Films that restore faith in people don't do it through sentimentality. They do it through honesty. These are honest.
Rare but possible. Sacrifice and solidarity appear even here.
Works across generations. Safe but not boring.
Henry Frankenstein pieces together body parts in the hope of bringing a human-like creature to life. The mad scientist's dreams are shattered by his monstrous creation awakening with rage to a world that hates and fears him.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
While working on a thesis about audiovisual violence, film student Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that she was a former student in her university, and that the authors of the video are not very far either.
There's a moment in this that restores something. You'll know it when you see it.
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
Some films earn their effect. These do.