Last year, I shared a list of the “scariest” movies I’ve ever seen. (Proving once and for all what a total wimp I am when it comes to scary movies. If you want to see a list of movies that’ll scare the socks off of you, check out cousin Caleb’s Horrorfest on his blog.)

Upon occasion, I enjoy a suspenseful movie—and TV shows like Lost or FlashForward (man, am I loving that show!). Most of the time, I get my fix for that adrenaline rush that comes from suspense through action-oriented films, rather than those that are specifically “suspense” movies—mostly because I’m leery of those, not knowing just how scary they’re going to be. So, here we go . . . my favorite “scary” movies. (I hope I can come up with five!)

5. Silence of the Lambs. Though I’ve never watched this movie all the way through a second time, my memory of the first time I ever saw this film is strong enough that it deserves a place on this list. This film came out when I was in school at LSU. My best friend and I decided to wait until it came out on video to watch it—because that way, we could have all the lights on and if it got too scary, we could walk away/turn it off. We, along with her sister, watched it all the way through (I think by the end all three of us were sitting on one cushion on the sofa) and it left an indelible great memory—more of the friendship shared than of the movie. But looking back, I remember so much more about that movie than about any other film I’ve only watched once, which indicates it is truly a well-written, well-acted, well-made movie.

4. The Sixth Sense. This is actually my favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie, and one of my top 10 movies of all time . . . but the reason I’ve only ranked it at #4 is because it’s not really that “scary.” Great suspense and a fantastic twist at the end, but only a couple of mild “jump” moments. This is the movie that I always use as an example and recommend people study when I’m talking to writers about surprise endings and the “unreliable narrator.” If you’ve never seen it, you need to—especially if you are at all interested in storytelling/writing. And if you’ve watched it but you’ve never taken time to watch the “rules and clues” piece (should be in the special features section on the DVD), you should watch it, just to see what went into putting a story like this together.

3. Dead Again. After having seen and fallen in love with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in Henry V a year earlier, when I saw the previews for this movie (another one that came out when I was at LSU), I knew I wanted to watch it. Again, I waited for it to come out on video, but this one I watched alone—and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Sure, it deals with reincarnation, but what movie doesn’t ask us to suspend our disbelief for a couple of hours? There are a few little jump moments, but it’s the distrust and tension that builds through the telling of the stories of the modern-day and 1940s couples that makes this a wonderful suspense movie.

2. Jekyll. Okay, this is a little bit of a cheat, because it’s a miniseries instead of a theatrical-release film. As the title indicates, it’s a modern-day retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—and it’s one of my favorite suspenseful “movies” I’ve ever watched—multiple times. James Nesbitt, as Dr. Jackman, is superb in the dual Jekyll/Hyde role—as the tortured soul and the torturer—and the dialogue is brilliant. Part of this is a mystery—as Dr. Jackman struggles to figure out who he is and why he has this condition. Part of it is science fiction, as he’s captured and put through tests. Part of it is conspiracy-theory suspense as a plot unfolds that shows “the government” knows more about him than he knows himself. And all of it is just good, old-fashioned mayhem.

1. Signs. I get laughed at a lot when I admit that this is my favorite “scary” movie, but there’s no accounting for tastes, right? You know the scene when the alien’s locked in the pantry and Mel Gibson gets down on the floor to look under the door and the alien suddenly sticks its fingers out? Not only do I experience a high level of anxiety as that scene unfolds, but I jump every single time I watch it, even though I know what’s going to happen. Sure, the solution to how to get rid of the aliens is pretty lame, but the rest of the story is so well written and acted that it’s easy to forgive M. Night Shyamalan for his lack of imagination when it came to finishing off the bad guys in this film.