Suspense

Suspense
Suspense

Suspense, also known as thriller is a genre in film that incorporates tension and anticipation as its core fundamentals to provide its audience with a thrill-building experience that progresses towards the climax of the plot.

Suspense relies heavily on the stimulus of an audience’s emotions, which has the ability to hold their attention for the duration of the film. In a suspense movie, the characters are placed in a potentially life threatening situation that causes the audience to form an emotional connection to the characters. The audience’s awareness over the characters’ well-being allows them to have a much stronger reaction during times of conflict.

Story and Setting

Suspense movies are reliant on the plot and its action, pace and movement. Suspense movies do not rely on characters and their development to accelerate the plot, instead the characters rely on the development of the plot to direct their actions. Typically, in the suspense genre, there is an inciting incident in the very beginning of the film which serves as a starting point for tension to begin developing. In a suspense film, the villain drives the story. Since the villain is the source of tension in the film, the “hero” or protagonist, bases their actions upon them to stop whatever danger the villain is planning. Typically in a suspense film, the audience and (sometimes) the hero will know who the villain is from the beginning of the story. The goal of the hero is to outsmart the villain and stop the danger they are planning. Life and death situations on a global, national, and personal scale are often the threat the villain poses to the hero. Since the major crime has not been committed yet, this leaves the hero scrambling to stop the villain which creates strong feelings of thrill and suspense for the audience simply because there isn’t certainty in the outcome of the plot. (Aaron Smuts)

Suspense movies usually take place in typical neighborhoods or rural cities, but can also take place partly in exotic settings like foreign cities and remote locations. The hero in a suspense movie is forced into using the resources available to him within each particular setting to ultimately defeat the villain.

Paradox of Suspense

Psychologists Andrew Ortony, Gerald L. Clore, and Allan Collins have presented a theory of suspense that can be referred to as the, “Standard account.” The standard account claims that suspense is entirely composed of three things: fear, hope, and the cognitive state of uncertainty. They define fear as a feeling of displeasure about the prospect of an undesirable event, and hope as a feeling of pleasure about the prospect of a desirable event. According to the standard account, people will experience suspense when they fear a negative outcome, hope for a positive outcome, and are uncertain about what will be the ultimate outcome.

The paradox of suspense is revealed by asking the following questions: If uncertainty is essential in creating suspense, then how is it possible for some films to be continuously suspenseful, even after multiple viewings? Although the amount of suspense is decreased after the first viewing, it is undeniable that there will be suspense upon repeated encounters with that film. It is proven that suspense causes an emotion that humans purposely desire, and continue to pursue for these exact outcomes. (Aaron Smuts)

Notable Contributions to the Suspense Genre

Alfred Hitchcock known as one of the most influential and successful directors in the suspense genre. His films have influenced and directed the constraints of the genre for decades and continue to be the epitome of the genre. One of Alfred Hitchcock’s most effective techniques for producing suspense is giving the audience information that is crucial to the development of the plot, while keeping it from the characters themselves. This technique gives the audience a sense of uncertainty and mystery through giving them information prior to the characters, which allows them to build up suspense; waiting for their information to come into play. Although this may not be the only technique for creating suspense, it is an extremely effective one.

In Rear Window (1954), Lisa, played by Grace Kelly, breaks into an apartment in hopes of discovering evidence that would incriminate a suspected murderer. Hitchcock allows the audience to witness the suspected murderer enter his apartment, while Lisa unknowingly continues to search for evidence within his apartment. This scene is considered to be one of the most suspenseful scenes in cinema simply because the audience knew the suspected murderer was in the home while Lisa did not. But does simply knowing more than a character create suspense? What this technique allows for is the audience to create suspense within themselves due to the emotional connection they have made with characters throughout the movie.

Resources

Beecher, Donald. "Suspense." Philosophy & Literature  31.2 (2007): 255-79. Print.

Madrigal, Robert, et al. "The Effect of Suspense on Enjoyment Following a Desirable Outcome: The Mediating Role of Relief." Media Psychology  14.3 (2011): 259-88. Print.

SMUTS, AARON. "The Desire-Frustration Theory of Suspense." Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism  66.3 (2008): 281-90. Print.

UIDHIR, CHRISTY MAG. "The Paradox of Suspense Realism." Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism  69.2 (2011): 161-71. Print.

Yanal, Robert J. "The Paradox of Suspense." British Journal of Aesthetics  36.2 (1996): 146. Print.​