Opening Sequences and Enigma - 'Knives Out'

In this blog post, I am going to be analysing how enigma/mystery is created for the audience in the opening sequence of 'Knives Out'.

The scene begins with an establishing shot of a sinister-looking mansion, and the use of slow, suspenseful non-diegetic music creates a tense atmosphere, and makes the audience feel intrigued. 

The music begins to speed up as we see a woman about to deliver breakfast for someone, which (partly because of the tone of music) creates enigma for the audience as they may start to feel like something may have happened as they have just witnessed a swift change in the pace and style of the music. As the editing quickens and the audience are shown close ups of the strange antiques that are scattered around the house, a sense of mystery and confusion starts to build up as they don’t know the significance of the unusual props nor what to expect next. 

A pan is used to reveal that Mr Thrombey is not in his bed which creates anticipation for the audience and subtly foreshadows that something is not right. A close up of the woman’s face as she enters his hidden room highlight to the audience that something bad has happened and as the camera dollies into Mr Thrombey dead on the couch with blood dripping on to the floor, the audience are aware of the grim reality of his death. 

However, the woman’s shocked yet confused reactions, shown in medium shot as she drops the breakfast tray she is carrying, creates mystery for the audience as they are unsure whether his death is a suicide, a murder or something else entirely and the knife that is on the carpet adds to the enigma of the scene. As the scene ends the audience are left with multiple questions and are eager to seek answers to the mystery that has just begun. This kind of enigma/mystery found at the beginning of a film is typical of the narrative structure of detective movie and thriller genres.