Overtly Covert

  A long time ago when me and my dad were watching Clue, a 1985 'whodunit' film where everybody involved is the suspect of a murder, my dad offered a life changing, future movie spoiling piece of advice. I warn you, if you want movie suspense retained for the future click away now; the character least on screen is usually the one to be mindful of. Ever since that moment, I've usually been able to figure out who the perpetrator is because the trope is used so often. I'll use a couple of my favourite movies as examples.


  The Bone Collector, 1999. A film based on the Lincoln Rhyme book franchise. A bed-bound, quadriplegic detective is attempting to solve a series of murders conducted throughout the city. You see the culprit maybe twice before he is revealed as the film leads you here, there and everywhere. But as an extra spicy twist it turns out to be the seemingly unimportant character implied as the closest to Rhyme. The ending is extremely satisfying. *Winky face* 

  
Saw, 2004. Two men wake to find themselves chained to pipework in a decaying bathroom. One is ordered to kill the other, or his family will die. Not only was concept used, but it was flipped completely. Two characters - the first seen only once until the second half and the other in plain sight in the main environment the entire film, unmoving and casting no presence at all. When he eventually makes himself known, the twist is so large that you sit through the credits still on the edge of your seat in complete shock.


  The Smuggler, (The Mule outside of Europe), 2014. A man coerced into smuggling drugs in his stomach back to Australia from Thailand, finds himself locked in a hotel room for two weeks unable to use the toilet. My dad actually figured out the main twist in this movie, and finds a reason to bring it up whenever the film is mentioned. But the part I'm honing in on is the manipulation used to make the audience believe one character is guilty, when it's the other. The good cop, bad cop routine is employed and honestly, it's easy to spot on a second viewing. But because the acting from everybody is so believable, the tropes pass by and are barely detectable.

  I can't list the amount of times this is used in media, but I love the trope as a talking point. I tried to keep spoilers to a minimum but you should've seen these films by now anyway. If not, then that should be your next port of call.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience
08/08/2017