Mystery + Revelation = Discovery

Wow. It's been a solid 4 months since I lasted posted on a blog that nobody reads. It really hammers home the insignificance of everything I write here. Kinda like my screenwriting career. Oooh... diss.

Anyway, today's revelation is the concept of mystery.

I've been trying to bone up on my horror writing skills since, well, there's ALWAYS a market for horror. If I'm gonna sell out, I may as well sell out for a script that can have 12 sequels. At the very least, that's 12 "characters created by..." checks I'll be able to deposit. And that's what this is all about, right? Hellz yeah!

While talking to a friend about horror, he commented that a common aspect of the genre is "mystery." Makes sense. THE RING and SILENT HILL were all about uncovering the mystery of "why is this happening?" THE SIXTH SENSE, SE7EN, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - all classic horror/dramas - had a certain amount of mystery.

Slasher films are a "whodunit?" mystery.
Creature films (including Jason and Freddy) are a "where did it come from?/How do we kill it?" mystery.

Mystery is in many genres. Action movies often have a Bruce Willis cop trying to figure out, "What's the bad guy's real plan?" "How do I stop him?" "Who is the 'inside man' who's helping the bad guy?"

In RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, most reviewers and synopsis would describe the Ark as "mysterious." Where is it? What does it do?

The reason that mystery is so ingrained in screenplays is because mystery + revelation = discovery.

It's the motor of the screenplay. It gives us a purpose to keep on reading. We want the answers. Those moments of discovery offer the twists and turns that can carry a script for 110 pages. Without them, the script feels like it's trying to get its wheels to catch on a muddy embankment. The reader begins to ask, "Why should I care?" A mystery gives the reader something to care about.

Never forget the equation "mystery + revelation = discovery." Without revelation, there is no mystery. It's just a question that's been answered. The revelation is key because it gives the chance for thematic set-pieces. Scenes where something BIG has just happened. Something so big that the hero begins to put the pieces together. Indiana Jones in the map room scene. The "I see dead people" scene. Moments you remember. Moments that change everything in the story.

Most character arcs utilize revelations and discoveries. The hero suddenly sees the world in a different way. They've solved a mystery, albeit, the mystery may have led to a new mystery. But the mystery is the gas in the combustible engine that screenplays need.

This is all probably sounding very familiar. I'm sure many people have written about the need for screenplays to lay out questions and then answer those questions. And yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

But the word "mystery" carries a larger meaning. A mystery doesn't just reveal it's answer. In fact, a mystery usually doesn't even reveal itself. They need to be sought out. They need to be dissected and figured out. Solving a mystery requires an active protagonist who's willing to go to whatever lengths to plumb the depths of it. They have to solve the mystery. They have to be film noir detectives.

That's why mystery is so much more than just a question. A question is asked by the writer. A mystery is asked by the hero.

The "mystery" idea isn't a rule or a "must-have." In fact, many great scripts contain zero or limited mysterious elements. Comedies are relatively light on mystery and discovery. But if your script is having motor issues. If your characters are walking from one scene to another, but it's all feeling forced and pointless, think about adding mystery into the mix.

For a counter-example of this in action, take a look at the remake of PROM NIGHT. Why doesn't it work like a slasher flick should? Because all the cards were played early. You don't know anything more at the end of the movie than you do at the beginning. Your world has never been changed.