A classic scene that terrified audiences back in the day was that moment in Halloween where an out-of focus Michael Myers (“The Shape”) sits up behind the traumatized Jamie Lee Curtis. “Behind you! BEHIND YOU!” The audience screamed. The audience knowing something threatening that the character doesn't see plays ...

During the filming of Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock was unable to be on set one day. His crew filmed the scene for that day (I believe it was where Arbogast, the detective, goes up the stairs where he encounters Mrs. Bates). Hitchcock saw the footage, and said he had to reshoot ...

A creepy pov shot works very well if the camera is looking through a window, or trees, or some other barrier. So we the audience seem to be hiding from the characters on screen.

THE VISUALS OF FEAR

When the director Rob Reiner was going to direct the movie based ...

I read some writing…advice? Or commentary? Or something like that years ago that pointed out how often amateur writers will create Protagonists who are writers. If I'm remembering correctly, this was expressed as a bad thing, probably because it's overdone. On the one hand, they say write ...

MacGuffin comin' through!


MacGuffins

I'm not sure if everyone knows this already, but a MacGuffin is a term that was made popular by Alfred Hitchcock, and is now widely used in writing and storytelling circles.

It is an item or event (or possibly even a character) that exists only ...

What's in the Box?

An iconic part of the movie Pulp Fiction is the McGuffin that Jules and Vincent deliver to their boss, Marcallus Wallace. It's a briefcase that, when you open it, glows on the face of the person looking at it and absolutely astonishes them. Is ...

Bill Paxton, 1955-2017

Bill Paxton was a regular presence in my prime movie-loving years. As the punk in The Terminator, the Marine having a meltdown in Aliens (“no way, mian!”), and the nasty older brother in Weird Science, he could be tough, scary, AND funny. He was always memorable, even ...

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Sorry for the lack of picture! Computer is not cooperating. I'll add one today if I can!
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You may already know of Alfred Hitchcock's take on surprise and suspense. Here it is:

“There is a distinct difference between “suspense” and “surprise,” and yet many pictures continually confuse the ...