Screenwriting : Building Suspense by Kendall Helton

... I guess an unending amount of movies, but "Das Boot" (1981) kills it!

Rutger Oosterhoff 2 I will definitely put it on my watch list. Thank you!

what type of thriller/horror films are you looking to write for, because there are many varieties. You have slasher films, then there are films like Blackphone or The Quiet Place.

Great question, Kendall Helton. For me, one film that really nails tension is No Country for Old Men. The suspense often comes from silence and the unpredictability of Anton Chigurh rather than constant action.

I’d also mention Se7en. The slow build, dark atmosphere, and psychological pressure between the characters keep the tension rising until the final moments.

Another strong example is Get Out, where suspense grows through subtle clues and uncomfortable social situations before the horror fully reveals itself.

Personally, I think the strongest tension often comes from what the audience anticipates rather than what they actually see. When viewers sense something is wrong but don’t know exactly what will happen next, that’s where suspense really lives.

Joshua Clover I’m a psychological horror writer. definitely not slashers. I do appreciate a good slasher film though. My style is more like the Lighthouse, Midsommar type.

I know it's not a Thriller, but UNCUT GEMS was the most tense movie I've experienced in the past 10 years. But with true Thrillers, I love the tension in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN because Javier Bardem didn't give a $h%t about anyone.

Abhijeet Aade Those are all great ones! I have forgotten all about Se7en. I get too excited and blow the surprise early or drag it out too long. Trying to find that sweet spot is my biggest challenge. Pacing always has been a hard one for me.

Stephen Barber Looking back, Uncut Gems definitely has a lot of tension as a drama/thriller. I’ve been stuck in a loop of action/thriller/horror and didn’t think to expand my list. I love horror but it’s all the same for me as of late. I guess that’s why I’m drawn to the psychological thriller/horror space. I need to rewatch it since it’s been years since I’ve seen it.

thanks for the input!

Kendall Helton, I get it. To me, there are two distinct precursors to tension: physical trauma (slash/punch/shot, etc.) and then the more horrific-- psychological. When I think about it truthfully, the sickness of the mind is always more terrifying to me than blunt force trauma. And I think that's what makes the tension created by the human condition more tense and ultimately much more horrific. But that's me.

For psychological horror, I’d say The Shining, Black Swan, The Witch, and The Others all build tension really well in different ways. What always gets me is when the tension comes from atmosphere, behavior, and the feeling that something is just slightly off, rather than from constant jump scares or violence.

Stephen Barber I’m the same way. all of my work is pure mental horror with gore incorporated. a lot of self reflection and high stakes as well.

Kendall Helton You could literally watching anything directed by David Fincher Se7en, Panic Room, Fight Club. It's like you get into a warm pool like a frog and he keeps raising the heat. I think were people go wrong these days is they just want to keep raising the intensity with each scene and it doesn't allow the characters or the audience to breathe. Sometimes, you need to have the quiet moments to allow everyone to take it all in. A good example is in the movie Se7en just before it get all intense at the end. The characters Somerset and Mills are shaving to put the microphones on and there's a couple of jokes and at the end bam with are they talking about the same thing? Then they simmer as the car ride progresses and BAM ending. Each moment pushes the next moment but also has a purpose.

Kendall Helton I completely understand that. Finding the right pacing for tension is definitely one of the hardest parts of writing thrillers. Sometimes revealing too early removes the mystery, and dragging it too long can lose the audience.

One thing I’ve noticed in films like is how they balance clues and suspense by giving the audience just enough information to stay curious but not enough to predict the outcome. That balance really keeps the tension alive.

I think pacing is something every writer keeps refining with each script, especially in psychological thrillers.

Daniel Silvas That’s exactly what I’m worried about. I’m trying to find that sweet spot of keeping tension alive without overdoing it. But also, not losing it along the way.

I think where thriller stories go off the rail is that the plots themselves are weak or the story becomes unrealistic in comparison to what took place earlier in the film. The Village is a good example of that. Telling/Having a good story and plot comes first before execution.

I am not an encyclopedia of made films. However, as a person for whom horror means seeing a person get raped, dismembered, in the path of a virulent storm from which escape is impossible or inside a Nazi oven, all of which no movie financier would back, meaning no producer would produce, thus necessitating a fake horror industry for people who like cheap thrills, I obviously have no interest in manufacturing horror, I use thriller elements in my stories. The key essential element is silence, stillness, peaceful scenes, people at ease. Once you've spent 90% of your time and energy on this, then you have to spend the other 10% concocting a surprise that will land right. Working within the post-Norman Lear effect, therefore, Samantha and her family have to wake up between somnolent full burn to death and violent wakeup by family members and firefighters pulling her out in her pjs, minus phone, minus anything else to wear. You can't be sensational. You have to be disturbing. You'll lose a huge audience but you'll get gain something much deeper. What os the company you want to keep. that is who your audience is. I am a storyteller not an organgrinder.

Tension is all about keeping the audience aligned with the character’s perspective while letting subtle cues build unease.

Some of my favorites that nail it are The Others for its slow-burn psychological dread, Misery for character-driven claustrophobia, It Follows for its persistent, creeping tension, and of course The Thing for its masterful suspense and paranoia.

Hotel Mumbai for me really held the tension. I almost felt like the victims in the movie. I was waiting with excruciating anxiety, wonder if I was next.

No Country for Old Men

I didn't think I would like it when I started it but, Hacksaw Ridge

Most Hitchcock films, but especially Rebecca, Notorious, Rope, Rear Window, Lifeboat, Suspicion, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, North by Northwest, and Psycho.

No Country for Old Men does it really well

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