What is a Red Herring — 5 Techniques to Mislead & Distract an Audience

Summary by Krater

This video explores how filmmakers use red herrings—misleading clues, unreliable narrators, emotional effects, historical subversion, and casting expectations—to deceive audiences and build suspense in mystery and thriller movies.

From the video

Answers: How do filmmakers use red herrings to deceive audiences?

• Red herrings in filmmaking
• Mystery and thriller screenwriting techniques
• Misdirection in cinema
• Unreliable narrators
• Historical subversion in film
• Casting and marketing expectations

What it concludes

• Red herrings are narrative devices used to intentionally mislead an audience for the sake of suspense, surprise, or subversion.
• A good red herring must strike a balance: if it is too subtle or too obvious, it will not work.
• Every suspect in a whodunit can function as a red herring once the killer is revealed.
• Unreliable narrators provide a great opportunity to twist the truth by filtering the story through their perspective.
• Historical subversion plays on real-life events to subvert audience expectations, creating a more satisfying alternate reality.
• Casting expectations can be manipulated by casting major stars as red herrings who are killed off early, or casting actors known for wholesome roles as villains.