10 Genius Suspense Tricks That Made Movies Great
6. Hitchcock Left A Dangling Plot Thread For The Entire Movie - Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock's iconic thriller Vertigo is a masterclass in cinematic suspense, following retired detective Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) as he battles his own fear of heights while investigating the beautiful, mysterious Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak).
The film's instigating scene sets the stage perfectly by depicting the event which caused Scottie to develop vertigo in the first place - a thrilling rooftop chase which ends with a fellow cop falling to his death, and Scottie literally left hanging.
As has plagued fans for decades, we're never actually shown how Scottie was rescued from the rooftop, and though the obvious implication is that another police officer saved him, the ambiguity nevertheless puts audiences in a sure state of discomfort.
Without a clear explanation for Scottie's survival, the audience is themselves "left hanging," invited to speculate on whether or not he really survived the opening scene, with the rest of the movie possibly being his twisted, dying dream.
As legendary film critic Robin Wood once put it, "There seems no possible way he could have got down. The effect is of having him, throughout the film, metaphorically suspended over a great abyss."
As such, Hitchcock creates an additional meta layer of suspense on top of the film's own internal narrative, ensuring audiences are left doubly uneasy throughout.