What is "suspense"

 What is suspense?

 

Suspense is a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen. This is used in Horror films to make the audience feel this way. It is effective in horror films as the audience should be unaware of what is going to happen so when it does it shocks and scare them.

 Music

Suspense is built up in many ways. Music is a an effective way of creating suspense as it changes to fit the scene from slow to fast. In classic movies a piano will be used to make suspenseful music. This may be done by starting of with a few simple keys and played slowly. At this point the audience know nothing is suddenly going to happen , however as soon as the keys get faster and more complex the audience are uncertain what is going to happen and when.

This background music is usually non-diegetic music , meaning the audience hear it but the on screen characters do not. This again makes the audience unsettled as they are preparing for the worst to happen whilst the character itself is unaware.

Camera angles

The camera angles are an important factor in creating suspense as it shows the characters reactions and hidden elements. Close-up shots can be used to show the facial expression on the characters face

(fear) , This will have the same effect on the audience as they will relate to the character and fear for whats about to happen. Long shots can be used to show location and reveal hidden features that the audience may pick up on , such as a mask on a far off table or a character standing in the shadows. This creates suspense as they know more than the character and prepare themselves what may or may not happen. This is exciting yet terrifying.

Lighting

Lighting is used in horror films as it makes the audience feel anxious as the shadow in the room may hide characters or weapons. This uncertainty of what is in the room is scary as the audience fear the unknown. This use of hiding characters in shadowed corners creates suspense as the audience have no way of knowing where on screen a character or object may be.

However the lighting does not have to just be dark to create suspense, flashing and blinking lights are often used to only show certain characters or objects at a time. This can be used to make a character get closer but hide there movement.