Rian Johnson’s star-studded murder mystery was a hit with audiences when it was released back in 2019, with the Rotten Tomatoes currently showing a critics rating of 97 percent and an audience score of 92 percent. The movie will be getting a much-deserved sequel later this year on Netflix, with some familiar faces returning for a new mystery to solve.
Knives Out has plenty of secrets and clues hidden throughout the story, some of which were caught by fans on repeated viewings. Some fans even shared their detective work on Reddit, demonstrating just how detailed and thoughtful the director was when he made a movie that embraced the genre.
Ransom Is The Fool
In Dodger7777’s post, they explain how foreshadowing is used to set up the conclusion of the mystery. At the beginning of the movie, the gentleman Harlan is told he has been poisoned and says “something along the lines of ‘That’s as foolish as not knowing the difference between a real knife and a stage prop.'”
As the murderer is revealed to be Harlan’s grandson in a movie plot twist that everyone saw coming, he takes a knife and tries to kill Marta with it, only for it to be a prop knife. And as Dodger7777 points out, “Thus, making him a big fool.”
Blanc Knew The Truth From The Start
One of the best performances among the already talented cast was Daniel Craig’s Detective Blanc, and he was entertaining to watch as he attempted to find out who Harlan’s murderer was. But unbeknownst to everyone else, he could have known the truth from the very start.
Reddit user res30stupid mentions the Detective Palsy story structure, “…where the murderer hires or brings in a detective to solve a murder they committed, either as a fall guy or a means of deflecting blame.” But despite the murderer’s attempts, Blanc is just too sharp-minded to fall for it and “knew he was being used to frame Marta and didn’t raise his suspicions with the police to keep her out of jail until he could zero in on his client.”
People And Their Phones
Perhaps one of the more unusual pieces of foreshadowing in the movie is the kinds of phones certain characters have. While some may have initially missed the ways these props were used, Numerous-Lemon went into detail on this in the comment section of their own post.
Discussing their opinion on Apple’s use of their products not used by a movie’s antagonist from one of the director’s interviews, the Redditor says that it “makes sense that companies like Apple don’t want their products promoted in the hands of movie antagonists.” So when it came to rewatching the movie, they say that “suspects carry or use iPhones. But Ransom does not carry one in the movie, singling him out as the movie’s antagonist.
Marta Is A Red Herring
While many fans have expressed their theories revolving around Marta, faithdies opens up the question of whether she is the real villain or a red herring, someone used to mislead from a mystery. “It was her idea to cut everyone off in the family. She beats him at Go. She ends up with the house and the money.”
And many in the comment section agreed that she was initially used as a red herring. As another Redditor Rutskarn states, “She tells Harlan in the film, her skill is in her innocent approach: ‘You’re trying to win, I’m just trying to make a pretty picture.'”
Missing Jug
Sometimes, director commentary can open up the audience’s eyes to the details they may have missed and some secrets of the production that they may not have known prior. Knives Out‘s director’s commentary opened up one of the clues for audiences to catch when they revisit the movie.
Redditor OliverTate2 noticed one of them with “the help of the commentary track.” At Ransom’s house, there is a missing jug. That same jug would end up being the one he uses to destroy the office of the medical examiner while Harlan’s medical reports have been stored.
Harlan Knew Who The Murderer Was
As the matriarch of the family, Harlan’s demise set the whole story in motion while the audience enjoyed the family going against each other. But this intelligent and likable Knives Out main character might have already known who his killer would be from the start.
As audiences will see in a series of flashbacks with each of his family members, his rockiest was the one with his grandson, Ransom, and audiences who look back at the movie after their first viewing might see just how well this has been set from the start. “He decides that the only way to punish Ransom and keep Marta safe is to die,” according to taras_2358.
Fran’s Murder Mystery
During the mourning of Harlan, the housekeeper, Fran, tells a murder mystery where “… the victim was drugged unknowingly and committed suicide.” And as res30stupid says, “this is precisely what happened” to Harlan. Following in one of the crime tropes featured in the movie, this is one of many callbacks to murder mysteries featured in Knives Out.
Although Fran does eventually die at the hands of Ransom, it is revealed at the end of the movie that she knew he played a hand in Harlan’s demise and was building a case against him on her own. And just like that, these two scenes suddenly become connected and highlight Fran’s intellect and her loyalty to her deceased employer.
Memories Of A Birthday
During the family’s interrogations with Detective Blanc, some of the memories they share show the flashbacks in slightly different ways based on who’s telling them. According to Snooper999, one example of this is “how both Richard and Walt show their families sitting next to Harlam when the cake is brought in.”
These small changes would keep the detective and audiences on their toes as everyone tries to uncover the truth of the events that led to Harlam’s death. Who could audiences trust? It was hard to say on their first viewing.
Burn Marks On The Letters
At the end of the movie, Harlan’s daughter Linda receives a blank letter from him just before he died. But as audiences might think she is destroying the letter with a lighter, Linda reveals a hidden message from her father. And her previous letters from him show their unusual method of exchange in one of the most surprising moments in the movie.
In bloodyblue32’s post, when she looks at her previous letters from her father, they are “written in invisible ink revealed by heat. All her previous letters have a burn mark where she used a lighter to reveal the writing.”
Ransom In A White Sweater
In another post written by Reddit user Numerous-Lemon, they dive into a scene of Ransom’s white jumper and how this one piece of clothing reflects his personality. And this is seen more clearly in the scene where he questions Marta at a local diner.
“Ransom’s sweater has a ripped collar and several noticeable holes. The costume designer added this detail to show Ransom’s nonchalance towards his wealth and disrespect for his family.” Fans of the movie may have missed this detail on their initial viewing, but will no doubt want to rewatch it to catch this foreshadowed clue (as well as an excuse to watch the movie again).
