In cinematographer James Kniest’s eyes, psychology is the hidden element that makes a show like “The Midnight Club” spooky, along with other more obvious ingredients like a haunted hospice house, spiritual and religious symbols, the occult and, of course, the classic jump scare.
“To make things scary, a lot of it is not showing everything and letting things fall off into darkness with maybe areas that you don’t know what might or might not be there,” cinematographer James Kniest told TheWrap in a recent interview.
“I also think that lighting plays a huge role in that. And then sometimes like quick camera moves that reveal something or even orchestrating some blocking where you might see something barely move in the background or maybe even really close in the foreground.