How is sound used in thriller movies to create tension?

In thriller movies tension is a theme used to glue the audience to their seats and their eyes to the screen, tension gets the audience thinking about what could happen, casting doubt amongst their own judgement at times. One of the ways in which this tension is created is using sound. There are many components to sound that contribute towards creating tension, such as the rhythm, tone, pitch, pace, and volume of the sound. As well as different types of sound such as different ambient sounds, asynchronous sound and the different scores and underscores.

CLIP #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kns0-V_sXLQ&feature=youtu.be

In the action thriller Skyfall, sound is used during the sequence in which James Bond is chasing the films antagonist Raoul Silva. During the sequence, the pace of the soundtrack is very quick and the purpose of that is to raise the level of suspense for the audience as Bond (protagonist) chases Raoul Silva (antagonist). The way in which this is achieved is by almost raising the audiences heart rate, which puts the audience on the edge of their seats, creating an overall sense of tension. There is some ambient sound, which is people talking in the background. This is to emphasise how busy the London underground is, making the audience aware of how difficult it is for Bond to keep aware of where Silva is positioned. This creates tension as the audience don’t know how Bond will cope. The ambient sound also creates a feeling of tension as the sound of the public reminds the audience that they could potentially be in danger. However,

the opposite of all these features are also used to create tension. When Bond doesn’t have eyes on Silva the pace of the sound track slows down and tone becomes more calm. And then as Bond

becomes aware the volume increases and the pace steps up. The sudden

change raises the heart rate of the audience and therefore creates tension as the chase continues.

CLIP #2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhZm__B5tUg

Another example of a thriller using sound to create tension is AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’. Tension is created as the protagonist Daryl Dixon, has been captured by Negan and the Saviours (antagonists). The scene uses contrapuntal sound to create tension. The image shows Daryl as a helpless man surrounded by darkness. But the soundtrack has a happy, upbeat tone. This creates tension as it teaches the audience that Daryl is now in Negan’s leir, and the soundtrack is meant to represent Negan’s character. The representation is that even through such a dark time, after doing so many dark and torturous things the character remains happy and jolly. This makes Negan seem mentally unstable and that he cannot take anything seriously and has no sympathy/emotions. This creates tension as the audience can clearly tell that Daryl is in trouble. As the camera shows Daryl’s face surrounded by darkness, the contrapuntal sound puts the audience in Negan’s position. Which is seeing everything as a joke, which again, shows that Daryl’s life is in danger. And because he is such a fan’s favourite, inevitably creates tension.

CLIP #3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDpipB4yehk

One of the most iconic scenes in the thriller genre’s history is the scene from ‘The Shining’. The classic “Here’s Johnny!” scene uses sound to create tension.

The screenshot shows Shelley Duvall’s character Wendy Torrance at the moment she realises she is trapped. The score changes to high-pitched, fast-paced and screeching score. This intends to raise the audiences hear-rate as it becomes more intense and as Jack Torrence approaches, the audience

realise that he is about to brutally murder her. There is no dialogue between the two characters as the screaming, obviously, shows how terrified Wendy is, creating more tension. Also as Jack approaches, the tone of the score becomes more screechy and is an indication to the audience that he is about to murder his wife, therefore creating tension.

CLIP #4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZOywn1qArI

In the action-thriller ‘Taken’ Liam Neeson’s “I will find you” scene uses both silence and a soft score to create tension. At the beginning of the scene Liam Neeson’s character Bryan Mills calls the man who has taken his daughter Kim

and begins to tell him that he won’t put up a fight if his daughter is returned. At this point in the clip there is no score, this is so that there

is no tension created. However, as Bryan begins to threaten his daughter’s kidnapper an uneasy slow-paced score begins to create tension. The music begins to make the audience uneasy and tension is created as the score symbolizes that something is going to happen.

In conclusion, the pitch, volume, pace, and tone of the music is modified and suited to the particular film to create tension. The most effective is clip from Skyfall as all of these types and features of sound are used and create tension in the sequence.