'Under the strong influence of Alfred Hitchcock, thrillers often begin with a crime and the accusation of an innocent bystander. Were the accused to contact the authorities, no doubt the case could be promptly solved, but instead the poor bystander runs from the law thus further jeopardising life and limb.' - Rick Altman.Some examples:
'The 39 steps' - 1935
'North by Northwest' - 1959
"In...the Thirty-Nine steps...suspense films abandon both thrills and suspense when the falsely accused character finally reaches safety" - Rick Altman.
Suspense
Imagine a scene in a film similar to this (classroom, students, teacher). The camera reveals that there is a bomb under the table to the audience but we (the students, teacher) are unaware of it.
Will we be saved ?
Will the bomb go off ?
This is Suspense !Rope - Example of suspense
Tells the story of two young, wealthy men, Brandon and Phillip, who strangle and murder a friend of theirs just to see if they can get away with it. They then invite other close friends (including the murdered man's parents) to their apartment for a dinner party, whilst hiding the body in a chest/box in their sitting room, just to see if they can get away with it.
The suspense is created through the body in the chest/box.
What will happen?
Will the body and two men be discovered and brought to justice ?
Do we as the audience, even want this to happen ?
Shock
Now imagine the same scene except that instead of the camera revealing the bomb under the table, without any warning, it explodes and kills all present.
This is Shock !
Children of Men - Example of shock.
A man walks into a coffee shop full of people watching the news as the youngest boy in the world who was 18 had just died. The man purchases a cup of coffee and leaves. However less than two minutes after he left the shop a bomb exploded and many people were killed and severely injured. This is an example of shock.
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