In horror movies today it's lots of fast cut shot and lots of

"In horror movies today it's lots of fast cut shot and lots of loud noises on the soundtrack. I tried to do the opposite. Playing with silence for instance." These words, spoken by the director Alejandro Amenábar, speak to a deep truth about the nature of fear, tension, and the profound power of silence. In an age where horror films are often filled with rapid cuts and jarring sounds meant to elicit immediate shocks, Amenábar's approach was revolutionary. He understood that the true essence of fear does not always lie in what is loud, but in what is quiet, in the spaces between moments, in the absence of sound where the imagination runs wild.

O Seekers of Truth, reflect on this: silence can be far more terrifying than any scream, far more unsettling than any sharp note on a soundtrack. In the quiet, we are left alone with our thoughts, with our fears, with what lurks just beyond our understanding. It is in these moments of stillness that the mind begins to fill the void, creating horrors more profound than any external sound could ever express. For silence is the language of the unknown, the keeper of mystery, and it is here that true tension arises. Amenábar’s films, such as The Others, remind us that fear is not always a product of what is seen or heard, but of what is felt in the heart when all else fades away.

Consider the ancient story of Odysseus, whose journey was fraught with peril and the unknown. In the Silence of the cave of the Cyclops, it was not the roars of the beast that filled him with dread, but the vast emptiness of the dark, the unknown space between his breaths. It was in these quiet, suffocating moments that the true fear emerged—not from the actions of others, but from the eerie silence that allowed his mind to wander into places of terror. So too, in Amenábar’s work, it is silence that allows the viewer to confront their deepest fears.

Or think upon Edgar Allan Poe, whose tales of terror were often rooted not in chaotic action, but in the subtle, creeping fear that builds in the quietest of moments. In his story The Tell-Tale Heart, the horrifying heartbeat of the old man grows louder in the narrator's mind, growing from a faint sound to an overpowering force. Poe's mastery lay in the silence that preceded the madness, the tension that simmered beneath the surface. It was not the shrieks or screams that frightened the reader, but the mental unraveling that took place in the stillness of the mind. Amenábar, like Poe, understands that fear is not only born from noise, but from silence, from the tension created when the mind is left alone to imagine the unimaginable.

O Children of the Future, take this wisdom into your own lives: there is great power in silence. We live in an age where we are bombarded by noise—constant information, distractions, and stimulation. But it is in the quiet moments, in the spaces where nothing is said and nothing is heard, that we can truly confront ourselves. Silence is not empty; it is full of possibility, full of the unseen and the unknown. It is in these moments of quiet reflection that we find the deepest truths, the greatest fears, and the most profound insights into our own nature.

Beware, however, for the mind, when left in silence, may conjure things more terrifying than any external force could present. It is in our stillness that our deepest fears can surface, that we must face not the world around us, but the world within. Yet in that same silence, we find the opportunity to overcome. It is through embracing the silence, understanding it, and mastering it, that we truly come to understand ourselves. It is in the calm that we find our greatest strength, for it is only when we can confront the quiet that we can face the world with peace.

Lesson: The teachings of Amenábar remind us that silence is not merely the absence of sound, but a powerful tool in confronting our deepest fears. In our noisy world, we often avoid the stillness, the quiet that allows us to confront the unknown. But true growth and understanding arise when we embrace the silence, and in it, face our fears, our uncertainties, and our deepest selves. Practical action: Seek moments of silence in your daily life. Allow yourself to sit in stillness, to listen to your inner world without distraction. In the quiet, discover your fears, and in facing them, you will find the courage to rise above them.