movies

I've heard Jordan Crucchiola argue for what she calls "a well-crafted" jump scare, but I haven't heard them actually describe what that is or provide a solid example of one.

Depending on the taxonomy of scares and what technically does and doesn't quality as a "jump" scare, two of my favorites come from early M. Night Shyamalan.

From The Sixth Sense..,

More-so that many other jump-scares I've seen, those felt earned. The framing was creative. You recognize that there's something scary coming up, but the plot is shaped such that you don't know what you're about to see. The expectation and the not-knowing are far far more important to the scare than simply the virtual invasion-of-space and sharp orchestra sting.