Suspense is all about those quiet moments that make your audience’s pulse quicken. It’s the tension between what the audience knows and what the characters don’t. True suspense lies in anticipation–not the payoff-beginning from the opening scene to the finale.
Think of Jaws. The shark (affectionately nicknamed Bruce) isn’t terrifying because we see it constantly—it’s terrifying because we don’t. We know it’s there, circling, waiting to strike, but the mystery heightens our fear.
The key to great suspense is simple: make the audience feel the danger, even when nothing is happening.
In this guide, we’ll explore techniques to create spine-tingling suspense in your screenplay, keeping your audience glued to the screen.
1. Let the Audience Know More Than the Characters Do
Suspense thrives when the audience has information that the protagonist lacks. This dramatic irony builds tension as viewers mentally scream warnings the characters can’t hear.
How to Use This Technique
- Set Up the Danger: Show the audience what’s lurking, even if the character remains blissfully unaware.
- Switch Perspectives: Let the audience see events unfold from the antagonist’s point of view, creating an ominous contrast with the protagonist’s actions.
Example: A character walks into a house, unaware the killer is hiding upstairs. The audience knows—but the character doesn’t. Every step they take feels like a countdown to disaster.
To subvert expectations, show the killer’s perspective instead. Let us hear the protagonist approaching while watching the killer prepare to strike. The audience knows what’s coming but not when, ramping up the tension.
Why It Works
This technique makes the audience active participants, heightening their emotional investment and keeping them on edge.
The reveal in The Strangers (2008) is so terrifiying, not just because we can see the man in the mask standing behind Kristin and she has no idea he’s there, it’s also because it’s so quiet. We don’t even know he’s there for a second.
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2. Delay the Reveal—Make Them Wait
Suspense is all about teasing the audience with just enough information to keep them guessing. Withholding the reveal forces viewers to imagine the worst, which is often scarier than anything you show them.
How to Build Anticipation
- Use Clues and Red Herrings: Plant subtle hints about the danger without fully revealing it.
- Extend the Moment: Keep the audience in suspense for as long as possible before delivering the reveal.
Example: A character hears footsteps behind them in an empty parking garage. They turn around, but no one’s there. They start walking faster, the footsteps return—closer this time. Still, the source remains unseen.
Let the Reveal Happen at the Peak
Deliver the scare only after the tension has reached its breaking point. The longer you make the audience wait, the more satisfying—and terrifying—the payoff will be.
3. Use Ordinary Objects in Sinister Ways
The most chilling moments in suspense come from taking something mundane and transforming it into a source of fear.
How to Make the Ordinary Terrifying
- Focus on Everyday Objects: Phones, toys, and even faucets can become ominous when framed in the right way.
- Add Subtle Anomalies: A ringing phone that no one answers or a child’s toy that activates on its own creates unease.
Example: A baby monitor crackles to life, but no one’s in the nursery. A music box begins playing by itself. A character finds their name scratched into a mirror—backward.
Why It Works
Grounding your suspense in reality makes it relatable, which heightens the fear. The audience begins to question the safety of their own familiar surroundings.
4. Build Suspense Through Time
Time is one of the most effective tools for creating urgency and amplifying tension. A looming deadline forces characters to act under pressure, while the audience anxiously counts down the seconds.
How to Use Time Effectively
- Ticking Clocks: Add a literal countdown, like a bomb that must be defused or a race to save someone before it’s too late.
- Layer the Danger: Introduce obstacles that slow the character’s progress, increasing the stakes.
Example: A character has 30 seconds to defuse a bomb, but their hands are shaking. Every second feels like an eternity as they struggle to concentrate under the weight of the stakes.
Why It Works
Deadlines create urgency, keeping the audience engaged and emotionally invested in the outcome.
5. Turn the Safe into the Unsafe
One of the most powerful ways to create suspense is by violating your audience’s sense of security. When you take a place or situation that feels safe and twist it into something threatening, you heighten the fear.
How to Subvert Expectations
- Invert Familiar Tropes: Show the character going through all the steps to secure their safety—locking doors, closing windows—only to reveal the danger is already inside.
- Limit Escape Options: Trap the character in a confined space, leaving them with nowhere to run.
Example: A character bolts the door, locks the windows, and grabs a knife—safe at last. But then, they hear breathing… coming from inside the closet.
Why It Works
This technique plays on primal fears of vulnerability and entrapment, keeping the audience on edge.
The Art of Suspense Is About Control
Suspense is all about controlling the audience’s emotions. By carefully orchestrating what they see, hear, and know, you can guide them through a rollercoaster of tension, anticipation, and release.
Key Takeaways
- Give the audience more information than the characters to heighten dramatic irony.
- Delay the reveal to maximize tension.
- Use everyday objects to create fear grounded in reality.
- Add time constraints to amplify urgency.
- Subvert expectations to turn safety into dread.
How actualiz Can Help
Crafting suspenseful moments requires precision, pacing, and structure. With actualiz, you can:
- Map Out Suspenseful Beats: Use the beat sheet generator to plan when and how to build tension.
- Experiment with Timing: Adjust the rhythm of your scenes to keep the audience hooked.
- Draft Faster: Our AI-script writing tool turns your ideas into a polished 30+ page screenplay in minutes.
Whether you’re writing a psychological thriller or a pulse-pounding horror, actualiz gives you the tools to master the art of suspense.
Conclusion
By creating moments that build anticipation and make the audience squirm in their seats, you can craft a screenplay that lingers in their minds long after the lights come up.
Ready to take your suspense to the next level? Log in to actualiz and start shaping those heart-pounding moments today. Let’s create something unforgettable.
