Tension and suspense within 'Scream' (Wes Craven)

Even before the audience is led into the scene a horrific scream is heard which lets us know that something awful is going to happen. The scream focuses the genre by using recognised conventions of the genre. This scream then leads is into the opening scene of the film. The director uses mid close up shots of Kacey on the phone to represent the importance of the calls and this is continued throughout the opening scene. The camera then cuts to a shot outside of the house where it is dark and windy, representing a stereotypical horror film and also letting us know that the garden has a relevance to the scene. The camera follows Kacey as she goes from the kitchen to once again answer the phone, this builds the tension because we feel as if we are following her and it also creates the idea of her being stalked. Kacey is represented at this point in the scene as very laid-back and the talk of horror films and the way she grabs the knife creates a chilling irony which builds the suspense because we know that something bad is going to happen. The director then cuts to a mid shot of the popcorn expanding which makes the audience visual

Once again we follow Kacey into the living room listening to the friendly phone call until the killer slips up by asking who he"tms looking at, it is at this point that the camera zooms in on Kacey"tms face looking petrified and intrigued. The camera then cuts between Kacey and her parents car coming down the road but as a audience we know that they are not going to make it in time. The camera then cuts to a shot of Steve on the patio therefore not only building the tension but helping us to realise Kacey"tms fate. We then see Kacey turn on the outside light to show the garden which has a thick layer of fog slithering over the surface which creates an eerie atmosphere. ly aware that the story is like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. As Kacey turns of the light on Steve it is as if she is signing her life away by potentially turning the light out on the only person that may have been able to save her. The camera then zooms in on Kacey"tms face as the realisation hits in and traps her in a corner of the room. Once Kacey"tms parents arrive home the popcorn has exploded and as her mum walks outside, the true stereotypical Hollywood horror scream lets us know that the inevitable has eventually happened. As he runs after her the scene is in slow motion and the dark black night represents her fate. As the chair is thrown through the patio window the scene builds again the music starts up and we watch Kacey run for her life, by this time the popcorn is on fire and the room is filled with smoke letting the audience know that time is running out. The death is there to shake up the audience and prepare them for what is going to happen. As the music heightens the scene speeds up and we are once again following Kacey through the house but this time we are running and all the time building the tension. As the music hits a mini crescendo the door bell rings and frightens not only Kacey but us as an audience as well. As Kacey walks back into the kitchen the lights have faded and shadows have appeared representing her vulnerability and consequently her fate.