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How horror films build suspense
Suspense in horror films
An essay about suspense
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We enjoy suspense because it gives us a good feeling. We like it because it’s entertaining and makes us keep watching. Suspense is important because it helps tie a story together. The lights and sounds help make it feel like you are somewhat their but also makes you sit on the edge of your seat. Many movies have different types of suspense but a lot have the same and they are really popular to use in big movies. Like in stranger things the beginning it shows a guy running down the halls with loud creepy music. They also make his footsteps louder than normal to express how hard his feet hit the ground when he is running. The lights are flickering and that later means the thing that is chasing him/someone else. They use the loud music in many different movies. Not only do they use music they use different camera angles to show different perspectives and to make it more …show more content…
They use this to hint at something big coming. The hints could be very noticeable or could be hard to pick up on. They use this in a lot of suspenseful movies because you know what is going to happen to the character, other wise known as irony. Anyway, foreshadowing is a key part in suspense. In gives reader or movie watchers an anxious feeling. It also could make them want to scream at the character to tell them to look out. There are many examples of foreshadowing in stranger things. In the beginning, there are multiple examples. First, the demogorgon is a powerful and scary monster in dungeons and dragons. He said “something's coming, hungry for blood.” later in the series they find out the monster feeds off blood, and use it to injure the monster. Also, Will said “the demogoron, it got me.” later in the show the monster got him and later continued to take people. Like I said before, how the monster is attracted to blood. Before the monster got Will, he fell of his bike at his knee started bleeding. So the monster found will and took
In last resource that the author used to create suspense was foreshadowing. Foreshadowing was used because at the end of the story Mr.Atkinson began to sharpen his knives late night while James was writing down of what happened to him that day. Does that seem that Mrs.Atkinson wanted to kill James. For me thats weird.” The leg is cracked, and Atkinson, who seems handy man with his tools, is going to mend it as soon as he has finished putting an edge on his chisel.” I choose this quote for the reason that explains what Atkinson was doing at the time when everything was going
In the story The Monkey's Paw the foreshadowing creates tension and suspense because during the story there was so many things going on and you didn't know what was going to happen next. I say this because in the Monkey's Paw the author writes He raised his hand. "I wish my son alive again." This quote explains foreshadowing by suspense because when he wishes for his son to be alive again it gives the audience suspense if he is going to actually be alive again or if it's not going to come true and they are going to be disappointed.
For instance in,when Rawlins uttered to John that “Somethin bad is gonn happen [sic], it demonstrates that Rawlins has a feeling that there is something wicked on its way. “I knew it’d come to this. From the time I first [saw] him”.[sic](McCarthy 159) This foreshadowing puts the story at a higher level and it creates a suspense that the rest of the story doesn’t contain, and shows that Rawlins knew from the first moment he saw Blevins, that he was poison. This device helps him build anticipation of what will come later in the story. This is a path towards the climax of the story. John and Rawling have not yet seen what is to come. They will soon face iniquitous people who will destroy them . Without this device, the reader wouldn't have anticipated anything and McCarthy might have lost the
First, a key method used to create suspense is the usage of the setting. When a character is in an unwelcoming or uninviting location, uneasy or tense feelings can be formed. When there is a sense of not knowing what is around the corner or lurking in the shadows, suspense is created. Also, ominous weather, such as threatening thunderstorms, can lead the reader to anticipate an unfortunate event occurring. An example of an uncomfortable setting is the secret passageway, which is dark, dirty, and most often only occupied by a single individual. Under these conditions many people become anxious, and because of these uneasy feelings that one may encounter, when a character is subjected to these conditions, the reader may become apprehensive, which leads to the formation of suspense. When Dan Needham shuts John Wheelwright in the secret passageway while both are in a drunken stupor, a high level of suspense is created. The description of the secret passageway adds to the suspense of the scene, "The passageway was dark; yet I could discern the scurrying of spiders.
It gives clues to the readers of what might happen next in the story or what the story can result in. In the "Sorry, Wrong Number" the narrator is foreshadowing when he dramatically says, "She overhears two men division a secret plan.” Foreshadowing is clearly introduced here when the narrator of this story gives hints to the reader that something is about to happen next. When there are two men plotting together making a secret plan, the readers know that they will find it out. This creates more suspense and intimidation within the reader. The wife in the story is fearful. She doesn’t know what the plan is, but she has an idea that it has to do with her husband. The foreshadowing builds suspense before she finds out what the plan really
tension, but, then there is a jump shot to a party on the beach where
For example, Marlowe discovers that Geiger's books store was a smut book racket, the identity of Carmen's blackmailer and his murderer, what really happened to Eddie Mars's wife and the identity of Sean Regan's murderer. Nonetheless, the resulting fast paced plot engages the viewer. Unlike reading a novel, watching a movie involves one's auditory senses. In this case, music was carefully composed and selected to emphasize the confusion and rush. For example, fast paced music creates a feeling of tension and can be used to build suspense.
Anyone who has ever seen one of the several adaptations of Dracula as a movie will know that it was intended to be a horror story. Stoker goes to great lengths in order to create an atmosphere of terror and villainy, while hinting at exciting things to come. Straight from the beginning of the book, foreshadowing is utilized to hint at horrifying future events. As Jonathan Harker was about to depart for Castle Dracula, an old lady accosted him and said, "It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" (Stoker, 4). However Harker leaves anyway, despite the warning. Thus the reader is fully aware that something awful is going to happen to him. This quote makes one's mind think of possible future events, thus creating imagery. Every writer aspires to create good imagery, and Bram Stoker is particularly good at doing so.
Hitchcock is a director who makes a movie suspenseful in his own way. He is know as “the master of suspense.” His movies have oftimes become classic of thriller and they are enjoyable to watch. One of the most enjoyable movie he has directed is North by Northwest. Hitchcock has directed movies like Strangers on the train, that have similar features as North By Northwest but the one that have more ratings and “has gone on to take its place as one of the best-loved films in motion picture history” (Ehrenstein par1) is North by Northwest. Most importantly, the setting, camera angle, sound, music is so powerful that it made the film stood out from other Hitchcock films. Even Robin Wood commends it for “its charms, its deftness, the constant flow
Foreshadowing is used in many novels, but S.E Hinton uses this perfectly. She makes the foreshadowing easy to find. She also uses foreshadowing many times throughout the story. Most of the foreshadowings in her novel was crucial to the story. Foreshadowing is important to many stories. They move the plot a long and make to story possible. Some foreshadowing are so important, like in S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders. Without Johnny having the blade, he wouldn’t have been able to kill Bob. There would be no story without Bob being dead. Foreshadowing is an important part of literacy and makes the novel more
Anticipation, suspense, tension, excitement - these words come to mind when we think of the genre, Thriller. According to The Script Lab, thriller’s aim is “to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats” (Buffam, 2015). In these movies the main character, or the protagonist, is faced with a problem - whether it being a mystery, an escape or a mission. Just like every other genre in the film industry, Thrillers also contain a few sub-genres - but the main focus of every Thriller film out there it will always underline the menace that the hero faces.
In the film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, every time there was a close up of Augustus Gloop in the candy room, sinister music would play. This foreshadowed that something bad was going to happen to him in that room. It puts the viewer on edge and creates a mood of suspense because they don’t know what is going to happen. He also uses music to foreshadow events in the movie Edward Scissorhands. Every time Edward saw Kim happy, angelic music would play which foreshadowed that something would happen between them and also gave you a hint about his feelings towards her. Burton used music to show foreshadowing in the movie Dark Shadows as well. When Josette was walking toward the edge of the cliff suspenseful music played create a mood of suspense and fear that Barnabas wouldn’t make it in time and she would fall to her death. One of the many other cinematic techniques Burton often uses in his films is using lighting and color to show
Music can decipher a narrative event by indicating a perspective. To unify a set of diverse images and provide rhythmic and formal continuity and momentum, a film’s structure is more often than not, directly articulated by a musical structure. Music can assist the dialogue and visuals of film and often is inaudible (e.g. music is meant to be heard unconsciously, not consciously). Music has been used by directors to reinforce or strengthen certain weak scenes in film and then on the other hand when music is not needed to reinforce a scene
The importance of music in movies is highly regarded for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and helping them immerse into the story. Music is one of the prime elements in cinema. Without it a movie would feel dull and unexciting. There are three elements in a movie: one is acting, the second is picture, and the third one is music. It is a holy trinity; if incomplete, there would be a lack of sensation and excitement. Both acting and picture can stand independently from one another, but music is the one that makes the movie memorable.
Horror films are a genre that many people enjoy. No one will ever completely grasp why it is that we crave it. Some believe it’s the thrill and others find it is the feeling of fear itself. According to Alan Jones, author of The Rough Guide to Horror Movies, fear is “… what we feel when anything frightens us or promotes terror or fear” (Jones, ix). Andrew Tudor disagrees. He presumes that the attempts of explaining horror’s appeal are not specific and do not explain all the reasons a mixed population enjoy horror (Tudor). Personally, I credit horrors charm to the thrill it provides the audience.