Mise en scene in mystery-thriller films

A mystery thriller can be set in many locations. For example, some can be set in a isolated rural area, usually in an old house that is completely separated from the rest of the world. It can also be set in an urban area, to give it a natural setting and because urban areas have a high crime rate which adds to the suspense of the film. Urban areas are also much bigger and populated areas which can add to the chaos in some scenes, and making the protagonist appear more powerful for fighting/defeating evil in a big city.

Typical colours used in mystery thriller films are usually dull colours such as, grey. This is to add to the suspense and mystery, dark lighting is also used to add to the suspense, it's usually used in scenes with the antagonist to hide their identity or in scenes where the director purposely wants to keep something hidden from the audience (which is quite common in this genre). Colours such as red can be used to illustrate danger and because the rest of the colours are mostly dull, when red appears, it really stands out to make it clear to the audience. This builds up tension and suspense for the audience and creates mystery of the character, also because the director is keeping things hidden from the audience, it makes the film more gripping to watch because they don't know what's going to happen next which builds up the suspense.

It is typical to see weapons in mystery thriller films as that is most likely a clue and what was used  by the antagonist. Weapons connote violence and so create tension and suspense, weapons create even more tension and suspense when they have blood on them, this indicates violence and that someone has been injured because it's quite clearly been used before. Weapons can also be a lead for the protagonist to find the antagonist and reveal more of the mystery, they can also be used to connote danger, for instance, if the weapon looks as if it's not been used before, its a clear indicator to the audience that it is going to be used on someone to cause harm to them.