Enigma/Mystery

Enigma/Mystery

I am going to be looking at the films 'Spectre' and 'Scream' and analysing how enigma/mystery are introduced to the audience. I have chosen these two films as they are both from different genres; 'Spectre' is a thriller film and 'Sherlock Holmes' is a crime/action film. Therefore, this will allow me to look at the similarities and differences of the presentation of enigma/mystery in opening sequences.

Spectre:

Sherlock Holmes:

Both of these opening scenes give a sense of mystery/enigma but in different ways. In 'Spectre' it begins with a tagline in order to confuse and disorientate the audience. Everyone is masked and therefore you can't identify who the two characters are. They are both walking in the opposite direction from everybody else. When they enter the hotel room they are both unmasked. The man leaves without saying where he is going and is holding a gun. The music continues throughout the scene however the sound effects change towards the end to add suspense. The pace of editing is quite slow throughout which also creates tension and mystery. On the other hand, in the opening scene of 'Sherlock Holmes' the editing is very fast throughout, and the synchronous sound is mysterious and matches the pace of the editing. They are chasing after a man which adds excitement but also mystery to the audience as they don't know what has happened. The lighting is very dark as this is taking place during the night, which also adds more suspense. The main character is shown just before the scene ends.