She has maybe the most interesting character arc (without giving anything away). You worry about them, and we the audience know thereвЂ™s a bomb under the table.ДЄnd then thereвЂ™s the acting. They have hopes and dreams and people that will miss them if they die. The character are all given time to breath. No dumb decision making to advance the plot. There are no examples of characters saying the obvious.

Every scene is important and well written. It all starts with the script, written by director Stephen Shimek with Katy Baldwin and Kristi Shimek. That description does not do justice to the film because itвЂ™s not the plot that sets Nocturne apart. What could be bothering her? Does she know something the rest of the group doesnвЂ™t? Finally, in order to prove a point about how silly superstition is, Gabe performs a seance. Her phone is lighting up with a ton of text messages. All the while, Jo is distracted and nervous. We learn everything we need to know about the characters without feeling like itвЂ™s an exposition scene. All the characters are established through an entertaining scene where Gabe performs a card trick. ThereвЂ™s the open-hearted Maren (Hailey Nebeker), her goofy boyfriend Liam, the superficial but sweet couple Vi and Isaac, and the prankster Gabe (Jake Stormoen). In a very effective opening scene, we meet all the partygoers. The next scene after the opening credits is Jo driving up to her friendsвЂ™ house for a party. She is having a nervous breakdown in her car. The film begins with a cold open (or is it a flash forward?) of a young woman named Jo (Clare Niederpruem).

The filmmakers behind Nocturne understand this lesson very well. Suspense, the great man said, was letting the audience know in advance that thereвЂ™s a bomb under the table.

In his famous analogy, he talks about a scene wherein a group of people are sitting around a table, talking, and without warning a bomb goes off under the table. Dirty secrets are revealed and an uninvited guest joins the party.ДЄlfred Hitchcock defined suspense perfectly. A girl running from her past is forced to confront her future when her friends perform an impromptu seance.

Horror screenplays wanted 2016