Suspenseful dramas are my favorite genre. I enjoy figuring out what will happen next and what the ending twist will be. What usually happens is that good people, a.k.a. heroes find a solution to their problems and defeat the enemy. Setting is an important part of suspenseful dramas. In the movie “10 Cloverfield Lane,” a character named Michelle has just broken up with her boyfriend from New Orleans and is driving through country roads in Louisiana. She gets into a car accident and an unstable man named Howard takes her into his home and holds her hostage. Howard tells her that the outside world is unsafe and that she could die if she leaves. This is the conflict that Michelle experiences. Howard will not let her leave. Michelle escapes by making a homemade suit that helps her fend off poisonous gases in Howard’s home. She makes it out into the real world and experiences her resolution. However, it turns out that Howard is right, something that viewers did not expect. The outside world is unsafe, bombs going off, as Michelle barely makes it to the car to get away. The values that are reaffirmed is that the fight for survival usually wins out.
In the movie, “Gone Girl,” Amy disappears on her wedding anniversary to her husband Nick in Missouri. Amy has framed Nick and its looks like he has killed her. Their marriage had turned bad. Amy did not want to be with Nick anymore, until she sees him on television asking Amy to come back indirectly. She starts to love Nick again and sets up her ex Desi by having sex with him and murdering him during it. She makes it seem as if Desi has kidnapped and assaulted her and returns to Nick. As much as Nick knows that Amy has lied and wants to divorce her, he stays with her when it is revealed that he is the father of her baby. She has inseminated herself with Nick’s sperm. Nick and Amy both experienced conflicts. Amy knew she had lied about her kidnapping was and Nick wants to leave her, but the pregnancy complicates things. He stays with Amy, the values of family and love reaffirmed.

Suspenseful dramas keep viewers on their toes, the exciting twists at the end worth it.