The ultimate puzzles on screen
In Knives Out, there are plenty of laughs and a compelling puzzle to solve – but Johnson also addresses inherited wealth, white privilege, the treatment of immigrants and liberal hypocrisy, creating a sharp social satire. “The way in which we see how class still operates in contemporary society – that’s exactly the kind of social politics which has always been explored in the genre,” says Morrison. What makes the whodunnit so suited for examining these issues? “The simplest answer is that at the heart of it is a puzzle about a violent crime, so to some extent questions of guilt, of shame, of culpability, of exploitation, of violence… these things are already baked into the form.” Morrison says the very nature of a murder mystery – which encourages the audience to engage their brain to solve the puzzle – helps, too. “Our principal engagement with it is intended to be intellectual rather than emotional – it encourages us to think through things and to try to get to the bottom of what people’s real relationships are with each other.”
Tricks of the mind
Working those brain cells is one of the purest pleasures of watching a murder mystery, as us viewers find ourselves in competition with the detective to decipher the clues and identify the killer. For The Afterparty, Miller and Lord worked with magician and puzzle creator David Kwong and puzzle master Dave Shukan to make their mystery as fun as possible for fans. “In every episode, we’ve hidden a bunch of coded messages that are extra bonus hints for who did it,” says Miller. “In the set dressing there are all these hidden things and if you freeze-frame you can decode hidden messages.”
Originally written as a 90-minute film, Miller expanded his idea into a series to sustain the story over a longer period. Episodic television offers something films cannot – the chance for fans to share their theories – in person, on social media or on Reddit – as the show progresses, building excitement and anticipation. Like Only Murders in The Building, The Afterparty will – after an initial three-episode drop – release new episodes weekly. “Taking advantage of this serial form for the murder mystery is really smart and hasn’t been done that often in the past,” says Morrison.
Another delight of the whodunnit is watching the combined charisma of a starry ensemble cast, who each get their chance to shine. Actors often play against type – a cinematic sweetheart becomes an evil villainess, superheroes become murder suspects. Clever casting plays with our expectations of characters (Marvel’s crime-fighting Captain America, aka Chris Evans, couldn’t really be the conniving killer in Knives Out… could he?).
