A Study On The Methods Of Suspense Settings In The Time-space-limited Suspense Films Since 2000

The time-space-limited suspense film refers to the film which uses a time-space-limited and suspense-oriented narrative.It means that an enclosed space,including but not limited to secret rooms,isolated islands,trains,schools,post stations,wilderness towns,etc.,is frequently appeared in the film.The space is incomplete in social functions,and it is difficult for external forces to intervene in time.Since the constraints of laws and universal moral standards are temporarily absent,the protagonists need to rely on their own power to find out the truth and solve the problem at the specified point in time.They can use violence or verbal arguments to compete for discourse authority and survival,but what they say is difficult to verify within this period.Suspense,which depends on uncertainty and audience's attention,expectations,worries,tensions and other emotions,is the key factor to this kind of film.According to the characteristics of time-space-limited suspense film,suspense can be designed from three aspects,namely space,time and characters.This thesis studies the spatial settings of suspense from enclosed space and off-site space.The temporal settings of suspense are basically discussed from the time of story,the time of narrative and time nodes.Besides,the settings of suspense on characters are analyzed from the settings,perspectives and decisions of characters themselves.Compared with suspense films which are non-limited in space and time,the time-space-limited suspense films strengthen the influence of enclosed space and limited time on the characters' mentality.Enclosed space brings dramatic tension,and limited time catalyzes dramatic conflicts.In addition,characters' motivation and behavior are unstable under the limitation of time,which all contribute to the emergence of suspense.The time-space-limited suspense film is consistent with the classical unities.Not only does it inherit the excellent quality of the classical unities,but also break through and develop it by the characteristics of film.