Scarecrow Video Zeitgeist ’24! – Whodunit? And Why Now?

A FREE lecture-discussion hosted by film critic Robert Horton

Recently, the whodunit—especially the kind where the suspects gather in a drawing-room at the end and the sleuth reveals the culprit—has enjoyed an unexpected comeback. Directors Rian Johnson (the Knives Out movies) and Kenneth Branagh (who plays Agatha Christie’s super-detective Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express et al.) have apparently devoted their careers to the subgenre, while Only Murders in the Building flourishes on TV. Why the comeback? We’ll discuss these new films and old classics (let’s get some cult appreciation for Clue and The Last of Sheila) as we ponder the whodunit’s appeal. No spoilers, we swear, even if the butler did it!

NOTE: This presentation will be recorded.

This talk is part of our Silver Screeners program and is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Admission is free. Registration is required: bit.ly/svzeitgeist