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I think it’s how convention started, but then it gotten live of its own, cause all writers saw transformers in their childhood or some shit. Maybe some film-knower will correct me that it was due to some 50s classic :shrug-outta-hecks:
But also it makes “engaging” entwined narrative, when you have like 3 parallel lines of action, you want them each cliffhanging on top of one another. Lots of modern films have at least two perspectives if not more
“Meanwhile, back at the ranch” is a cornerstone of cinema. I think cliffhangers can be done well, but when they are they generally don’t draw attention to themselves as such. In horror movies in particular, cutting just before action and leaving the end of an interaction up to the imagination of the viewer can be very powerful. But yeah it’s frustrating when done badly.
Yeah horror movies that show as little as possible can be some of the scariest. Alien is a great example. I haven't watched it in a probably 8 years but I don't think we actually see the full Alien until it emerges in the escape craft. I think you get a sense of how tall it is when it shows up to own Veronica Cartwright and Yaphet Kotto but I don't think you get a full shot of it.
As the old saying goes, fear of the unknown is the greatest and most primeval of fears.
Counterpoint: The Thing is a great horror movie and it goes to great pains to show you The Thing doing all kinds of weird shit. However, because of The Thing's ability to disguise itself, it still plays into the "unknown" fear aspect while showing you the body horrorshow in detail. God damn do I love the prosthetics/props/practical effects in The Thing. As yet unsurpassed. Brilliant movie.
A trope related to this that I hate is, "There's no time to explain"
When there's plenty of time.
I think one of the more blatant ones was in The Wolverine movie where it was implied that they had at least an hour drive to talk about the thing.
Why are they so afraid of completing dialogue? Western media is so lacking in creativity that most plots would be solved by five minute conversations.
that's like scriptwriting 101. it can certainly be over done but it would be a lot worse if scenes just answered all the questions that the viewer has immediately and created no expectation that something else is gonna happen to the characters.
my pop pop always told us to show instead of tell so when i finish my sentence "whos really running things around here" i like to cut to a shot of Bugs Bunny (he runs things around here)
