Curiosity Through Props and Characters

• Suspense in movies is primarily geared towards stimulating the viewer's thoughts and curiosity about things that unveil on-screen. There are certain props or characters planted in the story early on. To build suspense, they tend to suggest things that people want to know more about. In a horror movie, this can be a crucifix or jewelry that a frightening character leaves somewhere, then a clueless person picks up afterwards. In an opening scene for an action movie, this can show a gunfight scene that ends with two enemies rushing towards a piece of paper that seems so important to both of them, then they both lose it.
  
  

Scenes with a High Level of Anticipation

• "High level of anticipation" refers to how the story leads to more scenes that establish further details that promote viewers' interest and excitement. As the story progresses, emotions continue to escalate. More questions are answered, but the revelations lead to even more questions to answer. For instance, a scene shows more clues revealed, which make the viewers understand more about the story. And so, people anticipate more suspense-filled moments for the next scenes. For a chasing scene, people tend to cheer when they see the good guy almost reaching the injured bad guy.
  
  

Shock and Surprise Factors

• The right composition of shots, pacing of the edit, sound effects and music promote shock and surprise factors in movies. They utilize suspense to keep the audience fully immersed in the scenes. Both the predictability and unpredictability of moments seen in a movie work together to keep people engaged with things happening on-screen. They may think that something will happen to the character, and the scene almost gets to the point, validating their expected outcome. Suddenly, they get shocked on what actually happens, which is much different from what they thought. At times, they think everything seems fine, then they find themselves jumping from their seats out of shock.
  
  

Sense of Fear and Restlessness

• Plots and scenes that initiate restlessness or fear readily provide a sense of suspense for viewers. A confirmation of a fearful situation makes viewers restless. They root for the main character to overcome the harsh situation he is in. Yet, that sense of fear does not only come from scenes directly showing scary visuals. Some scenes become frightening even without blood and gore because of how they are mounted on-screen. For instance, the highlights and shadows cast by an antique cabinet can create a sense of creepiness to a scene. An empty room can show a sinister atmosphere even if there is no violent action happening on screen.