Suspenseful Movies: QUICK Tricks for Writing Suspense

No film technique elicits the fear of the unknown more effectively than writing suspense. As humans, we’d rather know something bad is coming, than be in the unknown. This is why suspenseful movies grab us.

“The oldest and strongest kind of fear, is fear of the unknown”

H.P. Lovecraft

So how do we write suspenseful movies and write suspense as a Jedi mind-power that triggers this visceral emotion? Let’s explore.

What is Suspense?

Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock describes, “is an emotional process.” It is the feeling of apprehension and anxiousness within the audience induced by an outcome that is unknown, or yet to be seen.

Leveraging suspense enables writers and filmmakers to bring the moviegoing audience to the edge of their seats, making them anxious to know what will happen next. It has the power to sink the readers into the pages of your screenplay, creating a real page-turner via words alone.

So how do writers and filmmakers employ suspense? What are good examples of suspenseful movies? How are those steps integrated into a whole film or an individual scene?

In this article, we’ll explore how to use suspense effectively, exploring examples and certain key tricks to writing suspense.