Mystery is a genre that is related to the Thriller genre and sometimes confused with it because of similar elements, but they also have distinct differences. In a Thriller the main character is trying to discover why he is in the awful situation he is in and attempts to find an answer to solve his very personal problem. While in a Mystery story the detective , either a professional or amateur, may or may not have a personal stake in the mystery, at least as the story begins. The detective’s goal is to set things right again by finding out who committed the crime and equally important, why the crime was committed.
Audiences seem to like single sleuths or at most, two person detective teams in movies, but enjoy teams and entire squads of detectives on television. This may be due to television allowing the audience to connect with a larger cast over several episodes.
The writer must plot out a Mystery story carefully. Being mindful that the murderer’s motives must be planned out so that clues and Red Herrings can be inserted at the perfect moments to build suspense and tension. In many ways the murderer is the most important character in a Mystery story even though they may have little screen time, because without the villain committing the crime; the detective has nothing to solve.
Good Mystery films are some of the most difficult scripts to write. You must balance the mystery with character development, subplots and information delivery.
In a Mystery the write must decide how much information is given, how it is given and when it is delivered. The best Mysteries play fair with the audience and reveal clues and information to the sleuth along with the audience. There is nothing more disappointing and infuriating to an audience than for the big climatic reveal to arrive in the third act and have the detective catch the villain with information that he some how obtained off screen. Always play fair and give the audience a satisfying ending. The ending doesn’t have to be what they expected, as long as they believe it is logical and was arrived at with the same information they received earlier in the film
Terms to Know:
Suspense: is defined as a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen. We want to make the audience uncertain of what might happen
Tension: The state of being stretched tight or mental or emotional strain or a feeling of nervousness, excitement, or fear that is created in a movie.
Surprise: An unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing.
Example: A scene where a bomb is under a table at a restaurant. If the audience and characters are unaware of it and it goes off; that is Surprise. If the audience knows the bomb is there but the characters do not, then that is Suspense for the audience. If both the audience and the main character knows the bomb is there; you now have Tension and Suspense.
Join us next time for Part 3 of The Craft of Screenwriting: Genres
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