Point-of-View Perspective in Film – Controlling Tension, Immersion, and Empathy

MZed Education

by Mascha DeikovaAugust 14^th, 2026

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A lot of people associate point-of-view perspective solely with video games. Yet we filmmakers know it as one of the mighty narrative tools since the early days of cinema. It breaks the comfortable, objective distance and forces us to inhabit a character’s set of eyes. What doors can this master key open? Let’s take a look at powerful (and very different) examples of point-of-view shots and how they manipulate film’s tension!

As with all of the visual storytelling tools discussed in our articles, the important rule is to establish intention. Why would you suddenly switch to a point-of-view shot? And for how long? These are important questions to ask already in the conceptual phase. Because when used lazily, a POV shot might become just a technical gimmick or a cheap video game homage. (Unless you are after this aesthetic. We will touch on it later on.) So, what kinds of “whys” are out there?

What is the point-of-view perspective?

Before we dive into different psychological effects that a point-of-view perspective can achieve, let’s get some terms straight. Also known as POV, the point-of-view shot or perspective is a specific kind of shot that directly represents a character’s viewpoint, placing the camera where their eyes would be. The result: viewers see only what the character sees. Here’s a simple definition from our MZed course, “Fundamentals of Directing:”

When we talk about narrative techniques in general, we can compare POV in films to the “first person” narration in literature. Yes, the famous “I”-approach in sentence-building. In another course, “Cinematography for Directors,” filmmaker and educator Tal Lazar links the two through the early cinema example from “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, where we see everything through the protagonist’s eyes:

Often we understand that the visual narration switches to a POV shot when the other character looks straight at the camera. (Like in the film still above.) This subconsciously signals to us that we – the viewers – suddenly became the protagonist of the moment. (There are exceptions, of course. Sometimes, characters look at us to break the fourth wall. Head over here to read more on this topic, as it is a separate one.)

How “Backrooms” use POV for suspense

First of all, a POV shot creates a subjective perspective that immerses the audience in the character’s experience. Naturally, no one guarantees that it will be a pleasant one. On the contrary, in my opinion, point-of-view perspective is often used in horror and thrillers because it can feel very scary and intense. Just watch the opening scene of the recent psychological horror, “Backrooms:”

Someone goes through the endless corridors, breathes heavily, and films everything they see. Although the movie creators use the time-authentic daddy cam with low resolution, these recordings still make us freeze in our chairs, scared to move. Why? Because the point-of-view perspective gives us full immersion here, but no control. We’re trapped inside a character and see only what he sees. Even if we feel that something dangerous might creep from behind, we have no power to instantly turn around and check. All this makes the tension rise continuously. And what is the scariest monster? The one that we don’t see.

A similar example that utilizes the same technique is “The Blair Witch Project,” which constantly puts us in the POVs of different characters through an old documentary camera that they use to film the “events.” (We discuss this example in much detail here.)

Scary? Hell, yes! And no complicated visual effects or bloody prosthetics needed.

When restricted vision is part of the story

To continue the topic of suspense, let’s refer to the renowned master of it, Alfred Hitchcock. In his “Rear Window,” the protagonist (L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies) is temporarily bound to a wheelchair with a broken leg. All that’s left for his entertainment is observing neighbors through a telephoto lens. This is, of course, what leads him to see something suspicious and jump-starts the thriller plot.

As you can see in the scene example above, Hitchcock doesn’t only use point-of-view shots. He constructs the narrative around three types of shots: a shot of Jeff looking; a subjective POV of what he sees through the window; and a reaction shot demonstrating how he feels about it. All this connects us to him and his POV even more.

Tension here comes from restricting the information that is available to the character, and thus, as an extension, to us. Through the narrow field of view, we can only guess what really happens, just like the protagonist does. This instantly makes us hungry for more.

Seeing from the unusual angle: POV of a predator

Usually, point-of-view shots offer us a space inside the protagonist’s head – or at least, in a character that we mainly feel for and can relate to. It helps to increase the bond: Now we are experiencing the same things they are experiencing. We are one, so to speak. Yet what if we use POV for a different reason: to see the protagonist through someone else’s eyes? For instance, from a predator’s perspective, who uses the opponent’s vulnerability and thus reveals it to us.

In the climax of “The Silence of the Lambs,” FBI trainee Clarice Starling (beautifully portrayed by Jodie Foster) stumbles through the pitch-black basement of serial killer “Buffalo Bill.” And suddenly, as Buffalo Bill puts on his green-tinted night-vision goggles, the visual language shifts to the killer’s subjective POV:

How did this scene make you feel? It’s intense, isn’t it? It’s an interesting and terrifying exercise: While the director forces us to see through the predator’s eyes, our emotional allegiance is tied to the victim. As Bill’s hand reaches out toward Clarice’s hair in slow motion, a suffocating sense of powerlessness overcomes us. She cannot see the killer, but we see how clearly the killer sees her. And that makes this twisted POV shot a perfect tool for the psychological horror.

Hiding the character

Another reason to use the POV perspective lies in its ability to hide the character from the audience for the time being. When we see the events through the protagonist’s eyes, we cannot observe them objectively. A prime example of an application of this technique is mentioned in the “Fundamentals of Directing” course, and it is the opening scene of John Carpenter’s “Halloween:”

The camera glides through a suburban house on the night of Halloween, peering through windows, grabbing a kitchen knife, picking up a clown mask, and we know that we’re seeing someone’s experience. It’s only after the murder has happened, when the killer steps outside, and his parents pull off the mask, that we realize it was a we’ve been watching from the perspective of a six-year-old Michael Myers. What a crazy reveal! Would it work as well and be as disturbing without the immersion of a long POV take? I doubt it.

Enhancing power dynamics through point-of-view perspective

Remember when we talked about the high- and low-angle shots and their ability to visually play with the power dynamics between the characters? POV perspective can take this ability to a new level. Just look at this still from “Inglourious Basterds” (I’ll spare you from watching the entire scene, as it’s too gruesome):

Even if you haven’t watched the movie, the dynamic between characters is quite obvious here, isn’t it? By feeling as if we’re lying on our backs and being watched from above, we naturally conclude that these two characters dominate the situation. What happens next is fully in their hands. It’s intimidating. More so, because we have to watch everything from the “losing” side.

Enhancing connection

Okay, let’s finally pivot away from horrors and thrillers that use point-of-view perspective for raising tension or manipulating our feelings. The most common reason to include a POV in your film is to build empathy with a character. When we are inside their heads and experience the world through their eyes, the psychological link between us becomes stronger. Here is a dancing scene from “Titanic” that starts with the standard, objective coverage, but at some point, throws us into the characters’ POVs:

How does the POV perspective work here? It draws us into the spinning together with the characters and makes us physically feel the proximity between them. The sudden eye contact deepens the notion of sympathy developing between them. It’s an unconscious reaction, but we do instantly feel both of them better.

Other ways to implement point-of-view perspective

We’ve looked at a ton of examples already, but the list is still far from being complete. There are other ways of using POV shots in films. For example, it can show the object’s perspective (the TV-show “Breaking Bad” does this often). Other times, POV can transport us into a liminal space, where we are inside the character’s soul as they watch themselves from above (like in the surrealist art film “Enter the Void”.)

There is also the possibility to shoot the entire movie from a protagonist’s POV to give it an unmistakable video game look. (A good example here is Ilya Naishuller’s directorial debut “Hardcore Henry.”)

I want to turn the tables now and ask: How do you approach point-of-view perspective in your own projects? When do you go for POV shots and for what purpose? Do you have any other great film examples in mind that you’d like to feature here? Share them with us in the comments below!

Feature image: film stills from “Titanic” by James Cameron, 1997; “The Silence of the Lambs” by Jonathan Demme, 1991; and “Backrooms” by Kane Parsons, 2026.

Full disclosure: MZed is owned by CineD.