Suspence in Film

In our film, we use editing to cut the footage to the rhythm of a heartbeat in order to create suspense, as well as speed up the pace of our film with jump cuts in the opening. Many films use editing to create suspense in films. Here are some examples in films I have seen:

Jurassic Park (1993, dir. Steven Spielberg)
The scene with the Velociraptors in the kitchen is famous for being full of suspense. Editor Michael Kahn achieves this with slow, panning shots that don't cut away fast, allowing the audience to see the children in the same room as the dinosaurs. The short close up of the banging ladle allows for the audience to feel the same dread as the children do, as the focus is on that rather than their reactions. The shot of the velociraptors reacting to it before we cut back to the children also allows the audience to see something the children aren't, increasing our knowledge and making us aware of how much danger they are in. At the end of the scene, as Tim runs out the door, the cuts are faster, increasing the pace and tension.

Se7en (1995, dir. David Fincher)
The tension in the climax of 'Se7en' when Brad Pitts character Detective Mills finds out about his murdered wife is achieved through cross cutting. Although both the dialogue between Somerset and Mills and the simultaneous dialogue between Mills and John Doe occurs in the same location, Doe's dialogue becomes almost a monologue, and close up shots are used when cutting between Mills and Somerset's conversation where Somerset is trying to calm Mills down, and Doe's monologue. Editor Richard Francis-Bruce uses this cross cutting of the two simultaneous conversations as well as the soundscape which builds both in use of jarring music and also in volume are used to create tension in this scene.

Goodfellas (1990, dir. Martin Scorsese)
In the film there is a scene where Karen is told by Jimmy to pick up some dresses for him from "around the corner". The instruction is seemingly harmless, yet editing is used to create tension in this scene, and presume that Jimmy is perhaps planning something more sinister. The shot pans from Karen walking down the road to Jimmy by the door, emphasising that he isn't coming with her. A close up tracking shot is used to show Karen's uncertainty, especially as the shot lingers. A tracking shot of the wall by the street, presumably Karen's view also builds tension, as there is nothing there, yet the shot suggests that something may be soon.