Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
In Jacques Tourneurs 1942 filmCat People, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph) walks home alone at night.
The silence in the air grows heavier between steps, a full minute having passed onscreen.
Suddenly, Alice stops against a lamppost, the clicking suddenly ceasing.
Shes bracing for a menacing growl to pierce the air when bam!A hiss crashes through the frame.
Except its not a cat.
Its the sound of an exhausted bus pulling up to the curb.
You look as if youve seen a ghost, the driver says.
It features zero elaborate creatures, deadly weapons, or special effects.
Batess big moment inPsycho,thehospital-hallway scene inThe Exorcist III, any of the Its right behind you!
Shhh … its all about the silence.
It just needs to startle you.
And that comes from the absolute quiet and the anticipation of not knowing when its going to end.
However, silence isnt just an absence of noise.
You know when youre afraid and your senses are just on fire?
So you are on pins and needles about it.
I like to think of the blood test inThe Thing.
A time signature never hurts.
Building expectations so mathematically, artists and editors agree, allows for effective misdirection.
That sells it ten out of ten times.
Its kind of a two-part thing.
I love stuff where the jump scare is something like a toasterpopthat isnt really scary.
People kind of wag their finger like, Ahh, you got me on that one.
Now you could do a real scare and they wont be expecting it.
Only shes not there.
By the time that she finally does show up, theyre back to being surprised.
Its disturbing enough in its own right.
That enhancement is achieved through Foley art and sound mixing.
It was the ambience of the sounds they were the wrong ambiences.
The lapping on the boat is so much of that scene, observes Benson.
That gave it a rhythm.
Embrace the medium pace.
Its sort of a slow march toward you.
Shes had a bit too much to drink and she comes home and her friend is caring for her.
The idea is that youre lost in this.
You dont know where this movie is going.
The camera never cuts, so youve lost the thread of what was real and what wasnt.
Its disorienting.Wewere surprised by how effective it was in that moment.
Dont be afraid to play the hits.
Many cited quintessential examples likeMulholland Dr.s diner sequenceas a moment that made a lasting impression.
Jump scares can be maligned or overused in the horror space.
But like all devices employed in horror, if used correctly it can be absolutely delectable, says Boykin.
Theres still a place for them.
There are kinds of movies where you get in such a game with the audience, Boykin explains.
They are expecting something and then the film delivers, and they feel in concert with the filmmakers.
Its almost like theres an implied high five.
One of the most effective recent examples of a traditional jump scare comes from Leigh WhannellsThe Invisible Man.
it’s possible for you to imagine in your mind what that sounds gonna be.
A paint can doesnt sound like a bucket; it doesnt sound plastic.
It has that metal sound.
So lets start there.
Having just water in the paint can, well, its gonna sound too sloshy.
So well use a wet chamois.
We have a layer of the water spilling and a layer of the chamois splattering.
Then hes on top of an aluminum ladder.
We had a physical ladder in the studio.
Here comes the shake and the fall of the ladder in the room.
Then we have his footsteps.
Its not like a normal footstep you would hear.
You dont want to hear the Invisible Man, just that little crush of the yoga mat.
Again, layers upon layers of sound.
That was a big moment for us, says Collison.
That moment only happens once, and it happens really fast.
It was just making sure that we get that one moment right.
It isnt all everything at once all the time.
Its that one moment of air and thenhit.
That moment of silence.
Really good mixers will utilize that all the time.
Theyll drop out everything except a little bit of room tone and then just hammer it.
