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Murder mystery movies, like detective movies or thrillers, feel almost participatory when you watch them. There's an overwhelming urge to figure out the puzzle of the crime, and when you get to the reveal, it's exciting (or possibly disappointing) when you learn if any of your guesses were right. Add in comedy or romance, and even horror (looking at you, Scream) for a little flair, and you've got a perfect way to spend 2-3 hours on a weeknight or weekend when you have nothing else to do.
A wide array of films fit under the umbrella of murder mystery. In our list, we're counting missing people, as those movies are pretty similar to murder mysteries, with investigations, multiple suspects, and twist endings. They have more hopeful endings when characters can find the missing person alive, but the journey to the end is still fraught with nail-biting thrills and mystery. Fans of Gone Girl or a A Simple Favor can feel vindicated; they're both worthy additions to the list, even without a dead body for investigators to ponder over.
So to save your scrolling through every single streaming service out there and falling into a rabbit hole of recommendations and algorithms, we've got 52 murder mysteries you can watch right now, and we have exactly where you can watch them. Whether you're a newcomer to the genre and have only seen Knives Out or a classic film junkie and love The Maltese Falcon, there's a movie here to suit everyone.
Gone Girl
This memorable film is based on Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name. When a man's wife goes missing, he quickly becomes a suspect in her disappearance. To prove his innocence, he investigates her vanishing on his own, only to find his wife had way more secrets than he could have ever imagined.
Memento
A man with short term memory loss searches for his wife's killer while struggling to discern between lies and the truth.
Happy Death Day
Horror can have murder mysteries too! When a college student dies, she wakes up and finds the day of her death repeating itself. To stop the loop, she has to find her killer.
Knives Out
One of the most popular whodunits in recent years, Knives Out boasts a stellar cast (including Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Chris Evans) as a wealthy family whose patriarch dies suddenly, which makes everyone is a suspect.
Clue
A murder mystery based, yes, on the famous board game, Clue is a film with unexpected twists and turns. Six people are invited to a secluded mansion and given codenames (Mr. Green, Professor Plum, etc), then told their darkest secrets and illegal activities will all be revealed. When the lights go out and a body is found, the remaining guests decide to solve the shocking murder.
The Lovebirds
Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae star in this comedy about a couple who have to go on the run after they witness a murder.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
A journalist and a hacker team up to solve the disappearance of a girl 40 years ago. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig star alongside each other in this award-winning film based on the acclaimed book of the same name.
Bad Times at the El Royale
This mystery film features a talented cast including Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges, and Dakota Johnson. Six strangers and an employee of the El Royale hotel all have to face their dark secrets on a fateful night in this neo-noir.
Scream
This horror classic stars Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, a high school student who discovers she's being targeted by a masked serial killer with a love of horror movies.
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie's famous detective Poirot is played by Kenneth Branaugh in this modern adaptation of the literary character's exploits. When a passenger on a train is found murdered, Poirot is tasked with finding the killer before the train reaches its destination.
Sherlock Holmes
Robert Downey Jr. plays another famous literary detective in Sherlock Holmes, alongside Jude Law as Dr. Watson. Here Holmes is tasked with finding a missing man, and preventing three deaths as prophesied by a murderer about to be hanged.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
This mystery mixes cartoons and live-action to make a memorable crime flick. A detective teams up with a cartoon to clear his name when another cartoon ends up dead.
The Maltese Falcon
Based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name, The Maltese Falcon stars Humphrey Bogart as Detective Sam Spade, who gets roped into a scheme to obtain an expensive statuette.
Fargo
Frances McDormand stars in this dark comedy about a Minnesota police officer who investigates mysterious roadside homicides. The movie is so acclaimed, it launched a popular spin-off television series of the same name.
The Nice Guys
Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling star in this buddy cop film. An enforcer and a private eye team up to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl.
Rear Window
No one does a murder mystery like the great Alfred Hitchcock. Fans of classic cinema will love this film starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. While healing from an injury, a photographer is confined to his apartment and overhears what he believes is a woman being murdered.
Charade
Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant star in this rom-com mystery about a woman whose husband is murdered and before he died, hid a large amount of gold three criminals are desperate to get a hold of.
L.A. Confidential
A group of Los Angeles detectives take on corruption in this neo-noir crime film.
A Simple Favor
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively star opposite each other in this thrilling film about a vlogger who tries to uncover the truth around her friend's disappearance.
Brick
Joseph Gordon Levitt stars in Rian Johnson's directorial debut Brick, about a high schooler who investigates his ex-girlfriend's murder. Fans of detective films will enjoy many of the callbacks to hardboiled fiction in this film.
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