70 Best Mystery Movies to Watch

Good Movie

76% Vouch

Kill the Messenger

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Town, Arrival) plays Gary Webb, a journalist in investigating the American government’s possible involvement in cocaine trafficking in Latin America. Based on a true story, it’s in the same vein as other recent movies on investigative journalism.

Jeremy Renner’s performance is the main reason to watch this movie. Even as the story spins into deeper levels of complexity, he remains a coherent, steady point of reference. It was his chance to prove to directors that he can carry a big-budget movie and he nailed it.

Netflix

Mystery

True-story-based

2014

Made in 2018

Good Movie

76% Vouch

You Were Never Really Here

The performance of a pot-bellied Joaquin Phoenix is nothing short of perfection. He brilliantly portrays a hitman down on his luck who happens to rescue a kidnapped teenage girl. It’s a tight movie, running a short 89 minutes. It makes a point that sticks. Pure entertainment, pure acting, and amazing directing by Lynne Ramsay (who also directed We Need to Talk About Kevin).

Prime

Mystery

Intense

2018

Made in 2018

Foreign

Best Film

90% Vouch

The Guilty

Before you press play on this movie, I highly recommend you take deep, deep breaths. The suspense in it grows in such an incremental way that you will be out of breath before you know what happened. And it doesn’t use anything other than amazing acting and an amazing story to achieve all of this. One man, in the equivalent of a 911 police center in Denmark, and a room. That’s it. He receives a call that turns his night around and puts him in front of very important questions on his ethics and how far he can go to help the people that call him. This movie feels like it was made on a $100 million budget, but the reality was very far from that. It doesn’t even believe in budgets. Grab someone next to you and go watch it so that you can discuss it after.

Amazon

Mystery

Thrilling

2018

Made in 2018

Good Movie

86% Vouch

Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace is the amazing new movie from the director of Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik. It’s the story of a father and his daughter who live completely off the grid in a national park in Portland, and their quiet quest to not be separated and remain off the grid. It’s not the sensational, tear-jerker story that you’d expect something with this premise to be. Rather, and like Winter’s Bone, it chooses a humane and realistic approach to the subject matter. The decision to live outside society is almost irrelevant to this movie. More so, its inevitability for certain people with certain mindsets is what is interesting. A stunningly quiet movie, really well-acted too.

Amazon

Mystery

Well-acted

2018

Foreign

Good Movie

80% Vouch

Contratiempo

This movie is like thriller-candy. It is full of twists, it is very atmospheric, and in nicely predictable fashion it will deliver that excitement rush we (most of us) love. Accused of murder, a wealthy entrepreneur hires the best witness preparation expert he can find. They have three hours before the trial to come up with the most solid, plausible defence. But 😱, a new witness surfaces. Don’t expect anything overly original, but expect to be entertained.

Netflix

Mystery

Thrilling

2016

Best Film

94% Vouch

88% Users

Wind River

Phenomenal and heartbreaking, Wind River is a true masterpiece by Taylor Sheridan, the man behind Sicario and Hell or High Water. In a Native American Reservation, a local girl is found dead and a young detective (Elizabeth Olsen) tries to uncover the mystery. She is accompanied by a tracker (Jeremy Renner) with his own dark history in the community. It’s not a very rewarding movie at first, so don’t expect an incredibly fast-paced story from the get-go. However, when everything unfolds, it’s not only action-packed, its reflections on indigenous communities are deep and poignant. How this remains a relatively known movie is shocking, it has to be one of the best mysteries of the past 20 years.

Netflix

Mystery

Well-acted

2017

Good Movie

78% Vouch

77% Users

The Gift

The Gift is Joel Edgerton’s directoral debut, a twisted and smart thriller that sneaks up on you where you least expect it. He also stars in it as Gordo, a friend from the past that enters a new couple’s life (played by Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) and brings a secret that has been hidden for decades. A very “movie” movie, it has enough in it that’s original and enough that’s not to make for a very enjoyable 100 minutes.

Netflix

Mystery

Well-acted

2015

Foreign

Slow

Best Film

99% Vouch

91% Users

Incendies

A movie which will catch you from the first second, with one of the best movie beginnings of all time, up until its outstanding end. It is a slow-burning and calm film with nonetheless a very powerful impact. Incendies is guaranteed to be one of those movies you will never forget. The story is about Jeanne and Simon who, to fulfill their mother’s last wishes, must journey to her birthplace in an unnamed Middle-Eastern country. There they discover her tragic and sad past life, and unveil a deeply disturbing secret which will change their lives forever. The movie contains a series of flashbacks telling the story of the mother, Nawal Marwan, while the rest is from the viewpoint of her children.

Netflix

Mystery

Touching

2011

Weird

Good Movie

72% Vouch

82% Users

Tickled

Tickled is a documentary about competitive tickling with a very dark underbelly. As ridiculous as that sounds, it’s true. Director David Farrier is a journalist who specializes in reporting on unusual internet phenomenons. When he comes across a video on competitive tickling he casually reaches out to the organizers (on Facebook) to make a quick video with them. Their response is disproportionate and angry – which prompts him to dig deeper. What he finds is both legitimately terrifying and very surprising given the nature of the underlining theme. A suspenseful, rewarding and just straight out weird movie. A great watch.

Amazon

Documentary / Mystery

Weird

2016

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