Thriller Analysis - Suspense

Cape Fear

In Cape Fear suspense is created through the use of music and shot composition. Throughout the duration of the antagonist's presence in a scene, very ominous music plays. This is a clear sign to the viewer of this man's antagonistic presence within the plot and builds the level of suspense. Shot composition is utilised frequently to build the level of suspense, with use of shadow and fragmentation of characters to prevent the audience from constructing an omniscient understanding of the scene, creating suspense through their lack of knowledge of where/who the character is.

This is seen prominently in the scene in which the antagonist in the movie, Max Cady approaches the young schoolgirl. This scene is shown predominantly from her view, which allows for fragmented views of characters to be used, since she is shown hiding and peering out towards her supposed assailant. At the beginning of this scene, the girl sitting in a car looks through the windscreen, and the antagonist is singled out from the other people by being framed as dead central in the shot. This connotes that even though this scene is shown through the girl's perspective, the antagonist is still a more powerful figure. His slow approach towards the girl (and the camera) coupled with the way the shot is framed from within the car promotes the feeling of the girl being trapped builds up tension and suspense until it is somewhat released as she flees the car.

Silence of the Lambs

As opposed to Cape Fear, the more modern Silence of the Lambs builds up suspense through using the view of the antagonist. In the climactic scene, the protagonist is seen through the antagonist's view, rather than the other way around. This is due to the lights in the basement being switched off, and the room being completely dark. Whilst the protagonist is unable to see anything, the antagonist can clearly see her due to the use of night vision goggles. This builds up suspense as the audience can see for themselves how helpless the woman is and how much of an advantage the antagonist has over her, as well as his body is fragmented, we see his hands from first person, and a shot of his face is also present, with the upper part of it being blocked from view by his goggles. This fragmented image builds up suspense as the viewer is not able to clearly see the threat, causing him to be dehumanised to the point where he represents evil and danger, rather than a person.