Hiker (2003)

• 79%
• 2003
• Documentary
• Sterling Ruby

A handheld camera trails a woman as she hikes up the Matterhorn. Suspense rises as she ascends, accompanied by a horror movie soundtrack. The shaky camera offers no reverse shots, implying the presence of an imminent threat. Drawing on the trope of the first-person "killer POV" as identified by film theory, the lack of camera attribution implicates the viewer as the potential stalker. Additionally inspired by Edmund Burke's writing on the terror-provoking quality of the sublime, the soundtrack intensifies in volume each time the camera pans out across the majestic, nearly unfathomable landscape. Though alpine climaxes come into view, the unrelenting sound never allows tension to be released.