We all love a good mystery movie, from the initial descent into secrets, discovering hidden motives and unexpected twists, and the final pursuit of truth. Great mystery films should expertly weave intricate plots, challenge your observation, and keep you guessing until the very last frame. They should deliver gripping narratives filled with unexpected turns and a palpable sense of tension, pulling you deeper and deeper into their mysterious worlds.
To help you unravel your next cinematic puzzle, we’ve carefully selected the best mystery movies to watch right now. Our curated list spans timeless classic whodunits, atmospheric noir thrillers, and ingenious modern mind-benders, all chosen for their compelling storytelling. So, get out your magnifying glass, a notepad, and of course, some popcorn, as you explore where to stream the best mystery movies that will truly make you scratch your head.
What are the best mystery movies to watch now?
We primarily base our selections on their current and enduring relevance. This means that our list for the top mystery movies is detailed and transparent, only shining the spotlight on films that are genuinely appreciated for their storytelling, intricate plots, and thrilling suspense. The list encompasses everything from classic whodunits to gritty noir thrillers and modern mind-benders.
However, we don’t want the process of choosing your next movie to be an actual mystery, so we’ve provided lots of other “clues” to help you out. You’ll find the exact genre, the title, the director, and the main cast. You’ll also find the streaming service where it’s available, a concise synopsis, and its trailer, giving you all the pieces of the puzzle to choose from.
The Amateur
Mystery •Thriller •Action •Adventure
Overview
After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.
Director
James Hawes
Duration
123 minutes
A Cure for Wellness
Thriller •Horror •Mystery •Drama •Fantasy •Sci-fi
Overview
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem.
Director
Gore Verbinski
Cast
Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Harry Groener, Celia Imrie
Duration
147 minutes
Sinners
Drama •Horror •Mystery •Thriller •Action •Adventure •Music •Musical
Overview
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Director
Ryan Coogler
Duration
131 minutes
2:22
Thriller •Mystery •Drama •Sci-fi •Romance
Overview
Two planes almost collide after a blinding flash of light paralyzes air traffic controller Dylan Branson for a few seconds. Suspended from his job, Dylan starts to notice an ominous pattern of sounds and events that repeats itself in exactly the same manner every day, ending precisely at 2:22 p.m. Also drawn into a complex relationship with a woman, Dylan must figure out a way to break the power of the past and take control of time itself.
Director
Paul Currie
Cast
Michiel Huisman, Teresa Palmer, Sam Reid, John Waters, Richard Davies
Duration
99 minutes
Species
Sci-fi •Action •Horror •Thriller •Adventure •Mystery
Overview
In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.
Director
Roger Donaldson
Cast
Natasha Henstridge, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Alfred Molina
Duration
108 minutes
28 Days Later
Horror •Sci-fi •Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs — and it’s absolutely impossible to contain.
Director
Danny Boyle
Cast
Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston
Duration
118 minutes
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Horror •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Four North Carolina teenagers face dire consequences when a killer discovers their dark summer secret.
Director
Jim Gillespie
Cast
Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr., Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
Duration
101 minutes
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Horror •Comedy •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
After a group of Texas teenagers leave prom night early and get into a car crash in the woods, they employ the aid of a nearby insurance agent, who calls in her tow truck-driving boyfriend, Vilmer Slaughter. Unfortunately for them, Vilmer is a sadistic killer with a mechanical leg who introduces them to his brother, Leatherface, and the rest of their twisted family.
Director
Kim Henkel
Cast
Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Jacks, Tonie Perensky, Joe Stevens
Duration
95 minutes
Jurassic World Dominion
Adventure •Action •Sci-fi •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Four years after Isla Nublar was destroyed, dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators ona planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.
Director
Colin Trevorrow
Cast
Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill
Duration
147 minutes
The Menu
Thriller •Horror •Comedy •Mystery
Overview
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
Director
Mark Mylod
Cast
Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer
Duration
107 minutes
Heretic
Horror •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Director
Scott Beck
Cast
Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace, Elle Young
Duration
111 minutes
Jurassic Park
Adventure •Action •Sci-fi •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
Director
Steven Spielberg
Cast
Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck
Duration
126 minutes
Upgrade
Sci-fi •Action •Thriller •Adventure •Mystery
Overview
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility — skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
Director
Leigh Whannell
Cast
Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, Melanie Vallejo, Benedict Hardie
Duration
96 minutes
Parasite
Thriller •Drama •Mystery •Comedy
Overview
All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Director
Bong Joon-ho
Cast
Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam
Duration
127 minutes
Nobody
Action •Thriller •Crime •Drama •Mystery •Adventure
Overview
Hutch Mansell, a suburban dad, overlooked husband, nothing neighbor — a “nobody.” When two thieves break into his home one night, Hutch’s unknown long-simmering rage is ignited and propels him on a brutal path that will uncover dark secrets he fought to leave behind.
Director
Ilya Naishuller
Cast
Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Aleksey Serebryakov, RZA
Duration
93 minutes
World Trade Center
Drama •History •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
Two police officers struggle to survive when they become trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Director
Oliver Stone
Cast
Nicolas Cage, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Danny Nucci, Stephen Dorff
Duration
129 minutes
Oldboy
Action •Drama •Mystery •Thriller •Adventure
Overview
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate businessman seeks revenge on his captors.
Director
Chan-wook Park
Cast
Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-Tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Kim Byeong-Ok
Duration
120 minutes
28 Weeks Later
Horror •Sci-fi •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
The inhabitants of the British Isles have lost their battle against the onslaught of disease, as the deadly rage virus has killed every citizen there. Six months later, a group of Americans dare to set foot on the Isles, convinced the danger has passed. But it soon becomes all too clear that the scourge continues to live, waiting to pounce on its next victims.
Director
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Cast
Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack
Duration
100 minutes
Inception
Action •Sci-fi •Adventure •Mystery •Thriller •Drama
Overview
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: “inception”, the implantation of another person’s idea into a target’s subconscious.
Director
Christopher Nolan
Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page
Duration
148 minutes
Children of Men
Sci-fi •Thriller •Drama •Mystery •Action •Adventure
Overview
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
Director
Alfonso Cuarón
Cast
Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Duration
109 minutes
Frequently asked questions
A classic whodunit, like those from Agatha Christie, centres purely on solving a puzzle: who committed the crime? You’re given clues, suspects, and a brilliant detective who unravels the truth, often in a single setting. The joy comes from trying to solve it alongside them before the big reveal.
Noir thrillers excel at creating a dark, cynical world using stark black-and-white visuals, sharp shadows, and often a morally ambiguous protagonist. You’ll find narratives filled with desperation, double-crosses, and alluring femme fatales, all contributing to a uniquely brooding and unsettling experience.
Modern mind-benders push the boundaries of reality, playing with your perception. They often feature unreliable narrators, non-linear timelines, or psychological twists that force you to question everything you’ve seen. You’ll be piecing together fragmented truths, making for a truly engaging and thought-provoking watch.
Plot twists are essential! They’re the shocking reveals that completely flip your understanding of the story, making you rethink everything that came before. A well-executed twist isn’t just surprising; it enhances the narrative, providing a satisfying conclusion that you likely didn’t see coming. The plot twists in films like Gone Girl, Parasite, The Village, and The Sixth Sense, for instance, are considered be some of the best in terms of shock factor.
Absolutely. Many of the best mystery movies, from timeless classics to recent releases, are available on various streaming services across Australia. You’ll find them on platforms like Netflix, Stan, BINGE, and Prime Video, ensuring your next gripping puzzle is always within reach.
Directors use various masterful techniques to build suspense. They might employ tense soundtracks, clever camera work that hides crucial details, or meticulous pacing that slowly reveals information. This keeps you constantly on edge, making you lean forward, desperate to uncover the truth alongside the characters. M. Night Shyamalan, for example, is best known for utilising supernatural plots and twist endings.
In many mystery films, particularly whodunits, you absolutely can! The best ones provide all the necessary clues and red herrings, challenging your powers of deduction. It’s an engaging game where you try to outsmart the detective, making the final reveal even more rewarding for you.
Look for intricate plotting where every detail matters, even seemingly minor ones. A clever mystery features compelling characters, surprising yet logical twists, and a resolution that feels earned, not forced. It should leave you thinking about its layers long after the credits roll.
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