Media Studies Blog: Genre Research- Mystery 🔎

Solving the Mystery of the Mystery Genre

Hey Blog!

Mystery is defined as something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain. In film, the mystery genre contains many twists and turns that leave the audience constantly guessing, until, finally, all the pieces click together and we get "the big reveal" that finally wraps up the story and solves our mystery. It includes an incident, often a crime though it's not a requirement, that starts the plot of the story and solving it is the main goal of the film. Finding clues, collecting information, and having many possible suspects are necessary in this genre, and the movie only concludes once the culprit is found or the mystery is solved. It often features a detective figure, who solves the mystery; a culprit, who is usually a person can also be a thing or an idea; and possible suspects, who all may be a believable culprit for numerous reasons.

Content:

Often seen in this genre of films is the investigator, suspects and criminals, and clues and misdirection.

Mystery films feature someone who must solve the puzzling issue, the investigator. The audience often learns of clues at the same pace that the investigator does, drawing us in by allowing us to solve the mystery along with them. They usually are a separate party, personally uninvolved in the mystery they are solving, which allows them to have an objective view of the crime. They can, however, sometimes have a personal stake in the mystery that compels them to solve it for themselves.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) follows detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) as he investigates the murder of his partner, detective Miles Archer (Walter Long). However, the audience only learns of clues and suspects as Sam does, limiting the storyline to the detective's point of view.

Suspects and criminals are also a very important and prominent convention seen in mystery films. Suspects are often the way that the investigator gathers their clues and solves the mystery. They are linked to the crime or offense in some way and they each have a motive or opportunity that could mean they are antagonist. The villain should be amongst these suspects also, but it is sometimes used as a big plot twist where they are someone completely unexpected. They know they are guilty and they know who is investigating them, so they try to outsmart and mislead the investigator, sometimes even blaming another suspect. However, their motivation and course of action should ultimately make sense and leave the audience thinking "I should have seen that coming."

Knives Out (2019) features a large cast of eccentric characters that make up the family of the deceased Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Each one of these characters had a motive and opportunity to kill their family member, but, at the end of the film, it is obvious why, how and when Ransom Drysdale (Chris Evans) was the killer. These are some of the most important questions to be answered in a mystery film.

A mystery film wouldn't be a mystery, however, if it didn't need some logic and thinking to figure out the ending. Clues and misdirection are an essential part of movies in this genre. Clues allow the audience to be able to figure out the problem while misdirection, often called red herrings, keeps the audience guessing as they are misled from the correct answer and toward dead-ends. In the end, the mystery's solution should fit all the clues set up throughout the film, and prove why the red herrings do not work and why they are, in fact, red herrings.

Production Techniques:

Films in this genre tend to follow certain techniques that help to heighten the mystery factor. Camera angles and editing, lighting, and sound choices are among these techniques.

Camera angles are most prominently used to highlight a clue, or a possible clue, being found. Close up angles and extreme close ups allow the audience to see what the investigator has found so that they don't miss what could be an important clue to solve the mystery. Editing techniques such as shot/reverse shot is often seen in scenes where an interview or accusation is taking place. A character will say something to another, and the shot will switch to said character in order for them to speak their response, and back to the other character for further conversation.

A very small droplet of blood on Marta (Ana de Armas)'s shoe is the essential clue that allows Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to determine her involvement in the murder of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) in Knives Out (2019). This is only seen when there is an extreme close up of her shoe so the audience can see what Benoit has noticed.

Lighting is another important technique often seen in many mystery films. Dim lighting or shadows creates a sense of suspense as clues begin to pile up and the solution is so close, but is still not solved and tensions begin to rise. Brighter lights can also be seen shining on objects or other things that will help the investigator uncover the truth.

Sound, as with lighting, helps to build tension in films and help establish the emotions in the scenes. Music will be faster paced and louder as the big reveal happens, and it may low and almost expectant as the investigator finds clues or begins to solve the mystery. There don't tend to be many drastic changes in sound, but are sometimes featured when the big crime or offense takes place as it is the grand moment where everything changes.

Marketing:

Mystery films are often marketed with the goal of intriguing the audience with the mystery itself, emphasizing the complexity of it and its multiple angles from which the it might solved. Trailers often include moments of high tension such as the moment of the crime and right before the mystery is revealed. They also include quick scenes of clues found that all show different culpability in order to intrigue the audience into watching the movie to find out what the correct answer was. Audiences are usually older teens or adults that want to think and figure out what is happening along the movie, as younger audiences may not understand some of the complex themes usually seen in mystery films, such as themes of morality.

Film Sample #1:

Clue (1985) embodies the classic board game of a murder mystery at a large house where everyone could be guilty of the murder of the host of the party. This film is a great example of the mystery genre since it features a crime, the murder, and has many clues and red herrings that point to many different suspects until the actual killer is found. The host of the party had invited them telling them that he had a secret to blackmail them with, which becomes a possible motivation for any one of these people to kill him, and they are all handed a weapon upon arrival, giving them a method. This film includes many twists and turns that leave you guessing until the very end.

Film Sample #2:

Now You See Me (2013) follows four magicians known as the Four Horsemen as they commit multiple crimes, such as bank heists. An FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) attempts to catch them and arrest them, but cannot figure out how they are committing these crimes. This movie is another great example of a mystery, though it changes up things quite a bit. In this movie we know who is guilty, in part, and we know what they've done so the real mystery is figuring out how they're doing this, and, from the perspective of the Horsemen, who is telling them to commit these felonies. As they constantly evade the police, and the police gain more clues and, they think, the upper hand on the criminals, we are left to keep guessing just how the Four Horsemen will achieve their next heist.