Cliff-hangers

Cliffhangers are sometimes, although not always used.

Often feature a main character in a precarious or difficult situation or confronted with a shocking revelation.

This can entice the audience to keep watching in order to see how the situation resolves itself.

For example – The Italian job (1969), Gives a witty example of this in its famous ending.

Red Herrings

A red herring is the name given to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item of significance, an example of this is source code.

For example – in ‘saw’ two characters spend time imprisoned in a room in which a third character lies dead. Throughout the film, both characters appear to be guilty of a series of murder, until it is discovered at the end that the third person in the room is not actually dead, but is in fact the killer.

Enigma's

This refers to a puzzle, something mysterious or inexplicable or a riddle or a difficult problem.

In thrillers this is commonly something which the protagonist has to try to find out or solve before the narrative is resolved and the film finishes.

Formula's and Devices

Use of continuity editing

The clear establishment of cause and effect plotting which establishes character motivations and helps tell an interesting story which proceeds logically and steadily.

The Physcological thriller

An example of this is 'The mind, conflict and the past'

The suspense created by the physcological thrillers often from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds either by playing deceptive games with other or by merely trying to demolish the others mental state - e.g. Notorious.

Sometimes the suspense comes from within one solitary character where characters must resolve conflicts with their own minds. Usually this conflict is an effort to understand something that has happened to them, e.g. Spell bound.

Rope (1936)

This tells the story of two young, wealthy men, Brandon and Philip, who strangle and murder a friend of theirs just to see if they can get away with it.
They then invite other close friends (including the murdered mans parents) to there apartment for dinner, whilst hiding the body in their sitting room, just to see if they can get away with it.

The suspense is created through the body in the chest box.

Suspense and Shock

Summary of Children of men - Children of men is a 2006 British-American science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last functioning government imposes oppressive immigration laws onrefugees. Clive Owen plays civil servant Theo Faron, who must help a pregnant West African refugee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) escape the chaos.


An example of Shock is - 'Imagine a scene in a film similar to this (classroom, students, teacher). The camera reveals that there is a bomb under the table to the audience but we students are aware of it.


Summary of Sabotage (1936) - Sabotage, also released as The Woman Alone, is a 1936 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is based on Joseph Conrad's novel The Secret Agent. It should not be confused with Hitchcock's film Secret Agent released the same year, or his 1942 film Saboteur.


An example of Suspense is - 'Now imagine the same scene except that instead of the camera revealing the bomb under the table, it without any warning explodes and kills all present'.