MYSTERY
WHAT IS MYSTERY?
Mystery is the ultimate cliffhanger; it leaves people glued to their seats, not knowing what's about to happen. Suspense is very common in mystery, and this is what intrigues many mystery fanatics. Those who can truly appreciate mystery movies are active consumers. These are the ones who pay close attention to films that leave clues to what could happen next, allowing for hypotheses to be made in the midst of highly intense scenes.
WHY?
As a digital native myself, I must confess that before taking this course i was certainly a passive media consumer. I would watch films, and scroll on social media for hours without paying much attention to what i was consuming. By the second class, it was abundantly clear to me that I needed to make a change. Since making that change i appreciate mystery movies a lot more. Not only do i watch, but i am engaging and paying attention to little things that reveal what will happen next examples include sound effects, zoom in's often times reveal something bad is about to happen in a suspensful scene, and most importantly, costume designs.
TECHNIQUES USED
George Davison's blog points out a clever strategy to build suspense. Adding a time limit to a mission is something that is not done nearly enough in films, and it is very effective. The film Inferno is an exceptional example of this technique used. Close-up shots to feel the actors' suffering and, in some cases, confusion are used commonly. Pans often hint at a character being chased. Sound motifs paired with violin background music are all used to create mystery in the auditory world.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience for this genre is those who enjoy thriller films. Mystery is often times realated to crime scences so those who enjoy crime and non fiction movies often times watch mystery films. Elsey wrote that she believes the target audience is from ages 15-50, and I agree with this. Her reasoning is because of the mature language and scenes and and people older than 50, may be confused. While I agree i want to add on. I also believe that a younger audience than 15 might not be mature enough to comprehend scenes and appreciate the work that goes into these movies.
WHAT MAKES MYSTERY
Mystery filmmakers must have a basic understanding of psychology. Often times phsycological methods are applied to mystery films to keep the suspense and confusion for those watching. James A. Hurst gives a crystal clear explanation of physcologiacl tricks used to keep the audience emerged. He summed up mystery as something he calls "Playing with the information gap." This is when you give the audience enough clues that something bad is happening, but not what will happen. This psychologically glues the audience to the film. He also mentions "stretch time until it snaps." This is when the audience knows something bad is on the verge of happening, but leaves the suspense to when it will happen, creating the mystery theme.
ANALYSIS/REFLECTION
After researching mystery I realised the little details mystery films have that very often get overlooked. I found new movies that will certainly be added to my movie bucket list. The most surprising part of my research was the psychological aspects the filmaking progress had. My team and I discussed the mystery theme. We believe that this could certainly be an admirable film if we do it the right way. Some issues that we would run into are the lack of film options, and we would have less creativity room than the drama theme. The pro's would be that we have experience as a group creating a suspencsful production and we where all very proud of it. Overall, as of January 23rd, 2026, we are still debating and brainstorming on what the best genre would be for us.
My favorite mystery movies are Murder mystery 2 and Happy halloween
Citations:
Elsey, F. (2015, October 4). Target audience of mystery genre [Presentation]. Prezi. https://prezi.com/zo52brfllqiu/target-audience-of-mystery-genre/
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025, December 12). Violin. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/violin
George Davison Studios. (n.d.). The keys to a mystery‑thriller film. https://georgedavisonstudios.com/blog/the-keys-to-a-mystery-thriller-film/
Nerdwriter1. (2023, September 15). The psychological presence technique [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azfhHGlfoRs
NETFLIX. (2021). [YouTube video]. YouTube.
NETFLIX (2024). [YouTube video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY3SuNvqQPw
Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2016). Inferno – Official Trailer (HD) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH2BD49sEZI
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