Definition of 'Suspense'

Suspense is a convention used throughout a variety of different film genres, however it is more apparent  in thrillers.

We looked at several films including Sabotage (1936).
In this film there was a particular scene in the film which displayed a real definition of suspense in motion.



When Stevie had a package that needed to be delivered believing it was film canister but it was actually carrying a timed bomb for Verloc. We as an audience realize what really is in the package, but Stevie had no idea. Therefore he allowed him to be distracted along his route, thus delaying his journey. When he finally does enter the bus to deliver the packaging, he was too late, and the bomb detonated. This short scene had created suspense as we don't know when the bomb would be detonated, it could have had happened anywhere. In addition when Stevie was caught in the street commotion, delaying his journey, we as the audience were hoping that Stevie would hurry along.