7.5 Horror and Suspense Screenwriting

Horror and suspense screenwriting captivates audiences through atmospheric tension and psychological manipulation. From eerie settings to unreliable narrators, writers employ various techniques to keep viewers on edge, gradually building suspense and delivering shocking twists.

Visual and auditory elements play crucial roles in horror, from jump scares to unsettling imagery. Psychological and supernatural horror tap into deep-seated fears, while subgenres like found footage and slasher films offer unique approaches to terrifying audiences.

Creating Suspense

Atmospheric and Narrative Techniques

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• Atmosphere crafts eerie mood through setting, lighting, and sound design
• Tension building gradually increases stakes and danger for characters
• Foreshadowing plants subtle clues about future events or revelations
• Unreliable narrator challenges audience's perception of truth within the story
• Twist ending subverts expectations with a surprising revelation (The Sixth Sense)

Psychological Elements and Pacing

• Isolation amplifies characters' vulnerability and audience's unease
• Limited information creates uncertainty and anticipation
• Slow burn pacing prolongs suspense through deliberate story progression
• Red herrings mislead audience with false clues or suspects
• Dramatic irony allows audience to know dangers unknown to characters

Horror Elements

Visual and Auditory Scares

• Jump scares startle audience with sudden, intense moments (loud noise, monster appearance)
• Gore depicts graphic violence or bodily harm to shock and disgust viewers
• Unsettling imagery creates lasting psychological impact (distorted faces, creepy dolls)
• Sound design amplifies tension through ominous music, eerie silence, or unsettling noises

Psychological and Supernatural Horror

• Psychological horror exploits fears and anxieties without relying on monsters or gore
• Body horror focuses on grotesque transformations or violations of the human form
• Cosmic horror deals with incomprehensible, often alien threats beyond human understanding
• Supernatural elements introduce ghosts, demons, or other paranormal phenomena

Subgenres and Stylistic Approaches

• Found footage style creates immediacy and realism (The Blair Witch Project)
• Slasher films feature a killer stalking and murdering multiple victims
• Folk horror draws on rural settings and ancient beliefs or customs
• Meta-horror self-referentially plays with genre conventions (Scream)

Horror Tropes

Character Archetypes and Narrative Devices

• Final girl trope features a female protagonist who survives and often defeats the villain
• Unreliable narrator challenges audience's perception of events within the story
• Foreshadowing plants subtle hints about future plot developments or twists
• Red shirt characters serve as expendable victims to establish threat level

Plot Structures and Revelations

• Twist ending subverts audience expectations with a surprising revelation
• False ending provides temporary relief before final confrontation or scare
• Flashbacks reveal crucial backstory or explain current events
• Cursed object serves as catalyst for supernatural occurrences (Annabelle doll)

Supernatural and Psychological Elements

• Supernatural elements introduce ghosts, demons, or other paranormal phenomena
• Possession involves malevolent entities taking control of human bodies
• Haunted house centralizes horror around a specific location with dark history
• Psychological breakdown explores character's deteriorating mental state