The Kubrick stare is a technique used to portray insane or unstable characters in film.[2] In a Kubrick stare, an actor looks out from under the brow line and tilts their head towards the camera.[3] Actors often use the stare to foreshadow something "intense".[1] Deemed "one of cinema's most recognizable shots" by The Daily Telegraph,[4] the technique is named after Stanley Kubrick, who often used it, but it has also been used by other directors before and since.[4] The term was coined by cinematographer Douglas Milsome to describe one of Alex's facial expressions in the Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Critics have noted the Kubrick stare for its ability to break the fourth wall and to evoke fear. Robbie Collin has also written on how some actors are more suited to perform the Kubrick stare because of their facial structures.