Narrative technique · used in 3 films
Making any member of a group a possible hidden enemy, so every face could be lying. You study the characters for clues the same way they study each other.
Examples
Alfred Hitchcock · 1938
Almost every passenger denies seeing Miss Froy, each for a different reason. The cricket fans don't want to miss their match, and the lawyer is hiding an affair. Some are villains and some are just selfish, so you can't trust anyone.
Where to see it: The search of the train. Iris goes from compartment to compartment, and passenger after passenger says no old lady was ever there.
Roman Polanski · 1976
The concierge, the landlord Zy and the neighbors all complain about him, push him to join petitions and tell him not to call the police. Any of them might be in on a plot. You study them for clues the way he does.
Where to see it: Zy's warning: After Trelkovsky's apartment is robbed, his landlord warns him not to tell the police.
John Carpenter · 1982
Any of the men could be the Thing, and they know it. Friends tie each other up and point flamethrowers at each other. You find yourself checking every face too, guessing who has already been replaced.
Where to see it: The blood test. MacReady ties the survivors to a couch and touches a hot wire to a dish of each man's blood, and Palmer's blood leaps out of the dish.
Questions