Narratives used within Mystery-Thriller films

The narrative is the order in which the characters find out about the events of the film.

A narrative commonly used within Mystery-Thriller films is the restricted narrative. A restricted narrative is when the audience and the protagonist learn what’s going on at the same time. This helps to build suspense in the film as the audience doesn’t have any more information than the characters in the film do and therefore do not know what is going to happen next. An example of a Mystery-Thriller film that uses a restricted narrative is The Maze Runner.

However some Mystery-Thriller films use an omniscient narrative. This means that the film allows the audience to know more about the characters and their situations than the characters do themselves. This narrative may be used to further the story and explain their goals. Another reason it may be used is when a character has memory loss. An example of this is The Bourne Identity.

Another narrative that is often used is a linear narrative. This is when the film follows the story from start to finish. This is the most common narrative used in films. This is because it is the natural way to experience a series of events. One film that uses this is National Treasure.

Some Mystery-Thriller films have circular narratives. When a film has a circular narrative it starts at the end of the film and then goes back to the beginning to explain how they got to the end. This helps build suspense as it makes the audience wonder how they got to that point and how it’ll actually all work out. Contagion is one Mystery-Thriller film that has a circular narrative.

Films narratives don’t always cover the entire film, some narratives are just about the ending.

Open ended films are films that do not have a clear ending. This strengthens the mystery element of the film as the mystery never gets resolved. One example of this in the Mystery-Thriller genre is Inception.

Closed ended films are films where the narrative ends and the story has a clear ending. This allows all of the loose ends to be tied and all problems are resolved. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an example of a closed ended film within the Mystery-Thriller Genre.