Classic Mystery Films
Many classic mystery films have stood the test of time and continue to captivate audiences with their intricate plots and memorable characters. "Chinatown" is often regarded as one of the best in the genre, noted for its complex narrative that evolves throughout the film [1:8]
[4:1]. Another timeless classic is "The Maltese Falcon," which features Humphrey Bogart in a gripping tale of intrigue and deception
[1:5]
[4:1]. "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile" are also highly recommended, particularly the original versions from the 1970s
[1:9]
[1:7].
Modern Mystery Thrillers
For those interested in more contemporary films, "Gone Girl" and "Zodiac" offer thrilling narratives with unexpected twists [3:2]
[5:1]. "The Prestige" by Christopher Nolan is frequently mentioned as a top choice due to its engaging plot and impressive direction
[2:2]
[3:1]. "Prisoners" is another modern thriller that has been praised for its intense storyline and strong performances
[3:3]
[5:3].
Unique and Underrated Picks
Some lesser-known gems include "Caché," a masterpiece by Michael Haneke that challenges viewers with its unsettling atmosphere [2:1]. "Bad Times at the El Royale" is noted for its smart direction and intriguing twists
[2:1]. "Memories of Murder," a South Korean thriller, is highly recommended for its gripping narrative and cultural depth
[3:3]
[3:8].
Mystery Comedies and Parodies
For a lighter take on the mystery genre, "Clue" offers a comedic twist on the classic whodunit formula [1:4]
[4:2]. "Murder by Death" is another parody that cleverly plays with genre tropes and features an incredible cast
[1:1].
Recommendations Beyond the Discussions
If you're looking to explore beyond these suggestions, consider diving into Alfred Hitchcock's filmography, which includes classics like "Rear Window" and "Vertigo." Additionally, Agatha Christie's adaptations, such as "The Mirror Crack'd," provide engaging mysteries with iconic detective characters.
I haven’t watched a whole lot of Mystery movies in my life, but I did recently watch both Knives Out movies plus The Maltese Falcon.
But I’d like to expand my horizons into others movies specifically set around a Mystery around a Murder, whether it be of a Police Procedural style, a film noir style, or even just a civilian trying to figure out a murder.
I don’t just want movies from the 2000s-2010s though, I’d also like to check out movies of an older variety whether it be the more vintage age of film like 1900-1960s, or something from the later period of the 70s-90s.
Chinatown fits the criteria, right? Even if it skewers the genre a bit.
It's still not fully clear WHO kills who here, or even for what, exactly.
Why is Mulwray murdered, exactly? Because of the girl, or because of the water?
And who kills him? Sure, Noah Cross is *behind* everything, but he's an awfully old guy, it's not entirely probable he did the drowning. So...who was it? Mulvehill?
One of the best ever movies. Amazing how the initial mystery morphs into a completely different one throughout the story.
Charade
Cary Grant
Audrey Hepburn
1963 murder mystery/espionage thriller/comedy
Charade is so good!!!
If you're familiar with a lot of the tropes and classic detectives from other movies, Murder by Death (1976) is a lot of fun as a parody of the genre. It also has an incredible cast.
Clue (1985) is a great watch right alongside this one. Why not a double feature?
The Big Sleep.
Was coming here to post this! Bogart Bacall and just delicious. Also - the plot of the Big Lebowski is largely based on it.
Great choice.
When Hawks was shooting, he couldnt figure out who had killed one of the characters.
He asked Chandler about it, but Chandler couldnt sort it out either.
Murder on the Orient Express is an oldie but goody
Death on the Nile is also good, the 1978 version not the awful remake.
Yeah I actually like Peter Ustinov’s performance as Poirot better than Finney’s. Evil Under the Sun and Appointment with Death are both fun as well.
Here are mine!
These aren’t in any particular order btw, Caché, The Prestige, Chinatown and The Conversation are all 4.5 stars for me, and Goodnight Mommy is 4 stars.
I’m curious what other mystery movies I should check out, and I’d love to hear what you enjoyed (hopefully without spoiling the details lol).
Out of these choices the Prestige is my pick.
Knives out, Memento, Clue and Incendies are a few more you can watch.
Memento - hell yeah! You got to watch it a couple times to catch it all.
Omg. I’ve seen it 4 times and I still don’t get it (I’m hard-headed).
LA Confidential. Plays out like a classic Neo Noir, wrapped around a mystery.
Memento was my first thought, so we will go with that.
Caché is a masterpiece. If you haven't, definitely check out the rest of Haneke's filmography. Funny Games, The White Ribbon, The Piano Teacher are particularly must-see, but all the rest are great too.
A fun mystery-thriller with a bit of a twist to it was The Disappearance of Alice Creed by J Blakeson. Best to just go into it totally blind, knowing nothing about it other than that it involves a kidnapping.
Another underrated one is Bad Times at the El Royale. Smart, well-directed movie with a stacked cast and lots of genuinely interesting twists and turns and a climactic payoff at the end. Very Tarantino-influenced but very good.
Yes, Haneke is a unique filmmaker. His movies challenge you by making you uncomfortable. Not everyone's cuppa tea i know, but i always try & seek out something "different". Some great ones mentioned above, but if you want to see where his trademark 'creepiness' started, check out"The Seventh Continent" (1989). You will feel "disturbed", i can almost guarantee lol.
I've seen them all except for Time of the Wolf. For some reason I have a hard time whipping up interest in that one, but I'll get to it eventually. Seventh Continent was really interesting.
Winter’s Bone
The Chaser
So love love this genre. I’ll list movies I like below so you can understand what I’m into
Gone girl
Gone baby gone
Zodiac
Spotlight
Wind river
The clovehitch killer
Se7en (1995), Shutter Island (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Ghost Writer (2010), L.A. Confidential (1997), Searching (2018).
Prisoners
8MM
Arlington Road
Copycat
Mystic River
The Chaser
Memories of Murder
Memoir of a Murderer
Forgotten
The Five
Blind
Slice (2009)
Marshland
Sleep Tight
Kidnapped (2010)
The Crimson Rivers
The Vanishing (1988)
Yes, absolutely. It'll be one of the best movies you'll ever watch in that genre. South Korean thrillers go hard.
Goes without saying; The Prestige (2006) ... or basically anything Christopher Nolan has made.
Prestige is your stereotypical Hollywood movie. Don’t know why people in this sub think it’s one of the best movies ever made but to each their own.
It's a marceting scheme. It's been going on for a decade. Mediocre movie that keeps being hailed on reddit. Couple of other basically bad movies too, like The Fall and Coherence and Annihalation.
My all- time favorite as well! It's an oft-mentioned film on reddit for a reason.
Obligatory on reddit to mention TP. Great film.
Mystery thrillers are by far my favorite genre and for me, Memories of Murder tops the list.
Memento, Following, Insomnia
Here are mine!
These aren’t in any particular order btw, Caché, The Prestige, Chinatown and The Conversation are all 4.5 stars for me, and Goodnight Mommy is 4 stars.
I’m curious what other mystery movies I should check out, and I’d love to hear what you enjoyed (hopefully without spoiling the details lol).
Bad Day at Black Rock
Clue
Lost Highway
Seven
Radioland Murders
Inherent Vice, Brick, both Knives Out films, and Dead Again
Knives out and Prisoners
Chinatown probably wins best in genre, for me.
Gosford Park is one of the all-time best, and one of Robert Altman's best films.
The Maltese Falcon is a timeless classic.
I find myself, having gotten through most of the popular stuff post 80s, at a loss for trying to find more stuff in my favorite genre. Please help. And if this thread is not allowed, then sorry.
Here are some of my favorites:
Glass Onion (Didn't like the first Knives Out, actually)
A Simple Favor
Searching
Memento
The Game
And I love the Scream franchise
Nothing before the 80s please.
The Scream movies are mystery horror movies, however they aren’t too scary so if you’re into the mystery factor, I’d say those are some good ones. If horror isn’t an issue for you
You know I didn't think about it but Scream movies are literally my favorite movies of all time, excluding 3.
It's my favorite genre too and I hope some of these gems are new to you:
The Invisible Guest (2016)
Annihilation (2018)
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Fractured (2019)
Looper (2012)
The Invitation (2015)
Non-Stop (2014)
The Killing of a sacred deer (2017)
Mirage (2018)
One Hour Photo (2002)
Forgotten (2017)
Triangle (2009)
The Invisible Man (2020)
Gone Girl (2014)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Prisoners (2013)
Last Night in Soho (2021)
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
Source Code (2011)
Enjoy!
I know this is pre-80's, but Agatha Christie has two fantastic adaptations.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
The Death on the Nile (1978)
Considering my sensibilities, I would rather watch the modern incarnations. And I didn't much enjoy Death On The Nile.
Zodiac
Shutter Island
The Thing
Rubber
Oldboy
Gone Girl
The girl with the dragon tattoo
The disappearance of Haruhi Suzumia
Bodies bodies bodies
Batman mask of the phantasm
The Batman
Arrival
These were some of my favorites from my collection under the Mystery tag. I'm glad you liked Memento! That was my favorite movie for a long time
Recommending Haruhi Suzumiya to somebody without knowing that:
They are a weeb.
Have seen the show that is VITAL to any enjoyment of the movie.
Is really funny. I love the movie tho.
Also, I would watch old boy, but the big twist has been spoiled for me.
If you're a weeb, then watch Paprika, Perfect Blue, or Millenium Actress. The first two are the most mystery/thriller of the three.
🤷♂️ i watched it without any prior knowledge and enjoyed it haha.
Yeah I had the same thing with Star Wars. By the time I watched it the plot twist was part of pop culture. I'd still really recommend Oldboy even knowing the ending.
Primal Fear
The music and look was great, storywise I thought it was just decent so yeah I agree it had some flaws but I still enjoyed it.
I hope to see that movie on my list doesn't make you turn away from the other good movies on there!
Yeah I wanted to stay in the fantasy world at the start.
It really let the other shoe drop too quickly and then just copy pasted special effects to draw out the second half.
Had I stopped watching at the mid point it would have been awesome.
Having said that Anya Taylor Joy and Matt Smith can cosplay as much as the like.
Hello everyone!
I have just finished watching The Usual Suspects and I loved it. After today I know for sure that my favourite movies are those with some mystery behind them.
Something with a plottwist like this movie had or something like Shutter Island where the twist at the end makes you rethink the whole movie. I also liked films like Zodiac where you are trying to figure out who a killer is.
What are the best movies with some characteristics like these? Some examples of movies like these that I have seen and loved to give a feel of what I mean.
Shutter Island Zodiac Prisoners Usual suspects Memento Reservoir dogs Hateful eight Twelve monkeys
Thank you all in advance
Gosford Park, The Long Goodbye, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Chinatown, The Big Sleep, Psycho, Vertigo, The Changeling, The Big Fix, Rosemary’s Baby, The Parallax View, Klute
Is gosford park that good?
I think it’s a masterpiece.
The Prestige
I have seen it already, but definetely a great movie!
Clue
The last 20 minutes of this movie are so damn good. The rest of it is awesome as well!
If you liked Clue, watch Murder by Death.
Ive seen it. Loved it!
I’m going home to have sex with my wife.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Double Indemnity
I really like movies that keep you trying to figure out what's going to happen. At the end you are really satisfy with the mystery and you might need yo watch it again or look online for the meaning because it was really confusing. Something like Inception or memento.
I usually figure out how the movie it's going to end really early on, and end up not satisfy when the ending is what I predicted. Like when I watched the movie predestination.
Looking also any movies that will be better with no background story. I watched 'Extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile' which I really enjoy it because I didn't know anything about Ted Bundy which made the movie 100 times more enjoyable.
Here are some of the movies I have watched
The Game
Zodiac
Shutter island
Upgrade
Ex machina
The others
The sixth sense
The usual suspects
Gone girl
Source code
Identity
Triangle
The Departed
Escape room
Game night
The maze runner
The book of Eli
The Da Vinci code
The Prestige
Seen it really good example of what I'm looking for. You would watch The Illusionist if you liked it
Arrival
Brick (Rian Johnson)
Arrival was amazing, way better than expected. What's brick about?
Technically a murder mystery set in a high school but it is very mature and well written. I loved it.
Memories of Murder
Not in any order. These are some I’ve watched recently, just looking for more / recommendations
15 of my favorites
The Stranger
Out of The Past
Strangers on a Train
Dial M for Murder
The Third Man
Le Samourai
Le Cercle Rouge
Bullit for an action/thriller movie
Chinatown
The House With The Laughing Windowa for something more horrorish
A Simple Plan
The Chaser
Eastern Promises
The Big Lebowski for a comedy
La Isla Minima
Also try The Innocents if you liked The Haunting
The Client
Eyes Wide Shut
Devil's Advocate
Gone Girl
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Red Eye
Primal Fear
Old Boy
Misery
Good Time
Prisoners
That's a good list.
I'll throw on Chained, Nightcrawler, Ex Machina
Omg love you already this list is badass. I do have a handful that I have not seen though. I know you are asking for recommendations, but what are YOUR top picks or favorites out of your list?? thanks in advance
I'll add a few:
Something mindf*ck with really nice storyline. Some movies I enjoyed were - momento, identity, session 9, Se7en, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, the number 23.
Any suggestions?
Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)
Cure (Kurosawa, 1997)
Zodiac (Fincher, 2007)
Mother (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)
Le Cercle Rouge (Melville, 1970)
The French Connection (Friedkin, 1971)
Also not a film but Twin Peaks is great for this sort of thing
edit: Can’t believe I forgot High and Low (Kurosawa, 1963)
This is my jam. In addition to this excellent list (some mindfuck, some not)
Movies
Predestination Prisoners Eden Log Session 9 The Name of the Rose Marshland Citizen X Strangled Knives Out Gosford Park Blow Out
Series
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix) The Sinner S1 and S2 (Netflix maybe) Cardinal (Hulu) Bosch (Prime) True Detective S1 and S3 (Hbo) The Fall (not really a mystery or mindfuck but excellent TV) Unbelievable (Netflix) The Stranger (Netflix) The Five
As a bonus: Harlan Coben’s books
Pretty much my list. I'd also add Fargo, the secret in their eyes, tinker tailor soldier spy, the conversation, insomnia, mystic river, prisoners, the third man, Le samourai.
Twin Peaks is probably my most favorite tv series with Dekalog.
Le Samouraï really isn't a detective story imo.
I've been watching Twin Peaks recently and wow I don't know what's happening but it's blowing my mind. Also I've watched Mother and Memories of Murder, great movies!
Came here to say memories of a murder.... just thinking about the ending gives me chills.
I think it’s definitely my favourite of the genre. I’ve never seen a film that can remain so dark and introspective while having a drop kick every 5 minutes that made me laugh every time
If you're into comedy, The Nice Guys is a really funny PI mystery.
Haha, I think it’s just one of the most watchable genres. If I can’t decide on something I’ll always enjoy a mystery
Zodiac, Silence of the Lambs, Mystic River
Knives Out (2019)
tried watching this recently and couldn't because of the way they treat martha... pretty disappointing
I haven’t watched a whole lot of Mystery movies in my life, but I did recently watch both Knives Out movies plus The Maltese Falcon.
But I’d like to expand my horizons into others movies specifically set around a Mystery around a Murder, whether it be of a Police Procedural style, a film noir style, or even just a civilian trying to figure out a murder.
I don’t just want movies from the 2000s-2010s though, I’d also like to check out movies of an older variety whether it be the more vintage age of film like 1900-1960s, or something from the later period of the 70s-90s.
All the Agatha Christie movies, specifically the newer ones.
Murder On The Orient Express
Death On The Nile
A Haunting In Venice
Of the older ones, which some prefer over the new versions:
Death on the Nile (1978)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
Ten Little Indians (1965)
I think as OP mentions wanting to branch out into some older films that they look at the original Death in the Nile. It looks amazing being shot on location an Egypt and has a slower less glitzy style than the newer version.
I know it is just preferences but I think the original of both Murder in the Orient express and Death on the Nile are far better than the new ones. The focus is much more on the characters than the aesthetics.
They both have amazing ensemble casts with some legendary actors. Ingrid Bergman won the Oscar for best supporting actress for Murder on the orient express, but you also have John Gielgud, Lauren Bacall, Vanessa Redgrave, Sean Connery.
OMG, I was going to list these myself
Rear Window
Chinatown
Clue is a great movie but it's a comedy so it might work for you?
best mystery movies of all time
Key Considerations for Mystery Movies:
Plot Twists: Great mystery films often feature unexpected twists that keep viewers guessing until the end.
Character Development: Strong, well-developed characters enhance the intrigue and emotional investment in the story.
Atmosphere and Cinematography: The visual style and mood can significantly impact the storytelling, adding to the suspense and tension.
Critical Acclaim and Popularity: Consider films that have received awards or high ratings from audiences and critics alike.
Top Recommendations:
"Se7en" (1995) - A dark and gripping thriller about two detectives hunting a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.
"The Sixth Sense" (1999) - A psychological thriller featuring a child psychologist who tries to help a young boy who claims to see dead people, culminating in a shocking twist.
"Chinatown" (1974) - A classic neo-noir film that delves into a complex plot involving water rights and corruption in Los Angeles, featuring Jack Nicholson in a standout role.
"Gone Girl" (2014) - A modern psychological thriller that explores the complexities of marriage and media perception when a woman goes missing, leading to shocking revelations.
"Memento" (2000) - A unique narrative structure follows a man with short-term memory loss as he tries to solve his wife's murder, keeping viewers engaged with its non-linear storytelling.
"The Usual Suspects" (1995) - A crime thriller with a famous twist ending, revolving around a group of criminals and a mysterious figure named Keyser Söze.
Takeaway: These films not only deliver suspense and intrigue but also offer memorable performances and storytelling techniques that have stood the test of time. If you enjoy being kept on the edge of your seat, these selections are a must-watch!
Get more comprehensive results summarized by our most cutting edge AI model. Plus deep Youtube search.