How Suspense is created in 'The stepfather'

Suspense in 'The stepfather'

Example 1; False Plato of cat jumping outThere is a non-diegetic sound of a heartbeat which increases in volume and pace as the old woman in the scene walks towards the door. As she opens the door, the sound becomes silent, and we see her cat jump out at her. The audience are left in suspense as in who is at the door as the non-diegetic sound of heartbeat gets louder, till we don't hear it at all, then a sudden jump from the cat.

Example 2; Close-up pan on David's tools

The Camera pans across Davids tools, which the audience are familiar off from the beginning of the film when he killed his last family. This creates suspense because the audience begin to suspect that David is about to kill again. This is done effectively because of the focus in the beginning of the film, making it easier for the audience to remember them throughout the pan.

Example 3; Camera tilt

There is a camera tilt to show a boy who looks dead, with his head on the table. The Camera tilt creates suspense because it shows the distraught character of David, whom we as an audience might have been a normal man, is shown in a different light. The camera tilt leaves the audience in suspense of what will happen next.

The surprise elements of suspense influence me to use them in my own film. This is because I found them effective in the way they where presented;They do not give away too much too soon. This leaves the audience wanting to watch more of the film.