DZ-32: High-Tension Sequences

Listen if you want to evoke fear and tension using only the written word (without relying on camera, lighting, music, or sound). Chas & Stu take a close look at sequences of high-tension - the ones that make you lean forward in fear, or jump backwards in terror. Without camera angles, lighting, music or sound, how can screenwriters can evoke those emotions in readers using only the page? These sequences can be found in any genre of film, not just thriller or horror. To that end, Stu and Chas dive into high tension scenes from NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, ZODIAC, ROOM, and THE BABADOOK. We cover their use of shifting POV, Dramatic Irony, Status Transactions, White Space, Sound FX, and many more. And in backmatter we talk SICARIO and high tension, crack open the mail-bag, and look at how the so-called gurus rated the Oscar-nominated scripts. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily. ——— FILMS NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) — (w) Cormac Mccarthy, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (d) Joel Coen, Ethan Coen ZODIAC (2007) — (w) James Vanderbilt (d) David Fincher ROOM (2015) — (w) Emma Donoghue, Emma Donoghue (d) Lenny Abrahamson THE BABADOOK (2014) — (w) Jennifer Kent SCRIPTS Study the script: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) — Cormac Mccarthy, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Study the script: ZODIAC (2007) — James Vanderbilt Study the script: ROOM (2015) — Emma Donoghue, Emma Donoghue Study the script: THE BABADOOK (2014) — Jennifer Kent SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES ▶ The detached, indifferent camera of Zodiac Perp & Victim 2: Opening Kills in Horror (2000s+) LINKS Read: Aeon: Neurothriller - Horror Films are scarier than they were in the past Read: Film Crit Hulk - HULK EXPLAINS ACTION SCENES - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Read: Film Crit Hulk - HULK EXPLAINS ACTION SCENES - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Read: Film Crit Hulk - HULK EXPLAINS ACTION SCENES - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 YouTube: Zodiac Analysis - Inside the Basement YouTube: Jack's Escape (excerpt) Read: THE BABADOOK by Jennifer Kent - excerpt for educational purposes only YouTube: The Babadook - Possession Scene: You Can Bring me the Boy (2014 HD) Read: Jane Espenson: The Grim Brothers Read: Truby Rates the Oscar Hopefuls Read: Robert McKee's Work/Doesn't Work - ROOM Read: Scriptshadow on Spotlight (via Twitter) and his screenplay review RELATED EPISODES DZ-05: Shifting audience point of view and heightened emotions DZ-08: Status Transactions DZ-13: True That - Tips from Tarantino DZ-16: Masters of Time and Whitespace DZ-29: Showdowns & Scene Structure DZ-30: Oscars revisited - Spotlight and Carol ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2016/dz-32/