30 Best Murder Mystery Shows to Watch in 2024 - ELLE
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There’s something about a good <anchor>murder mystery</anchor> show that just can’t be beat. We’re talking about the kind of story that really gets under your skin; it randomly pops into your head and you can’t help but wonder who’s responsible for the unthinkable crime at its core. There are shocking twists, turns, and plenty of red herrings—and you know that you’re hooked until some cold, hard answers are provided by detectives at the bitter end.
20 Best Murder Mystery Movies - Murder Mystery Films to Watch
# 20 of the Best Murder Mystery Movies to Watch Right Now

From old classics to new favorites, these whodunnits are sure to keep you on your toes.

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With the rise of true crime media across the board, from Only Murders in the Building to Tiger King, it’s safe to say that there has also been a resurgence in the popularity of the murder mystery genre. From the inventive story formats, to the many suspicious characters, to the shocking plot twists and unpredictable endings, murder mysteries always manage to grab your attention to the very last moments. What’s not to love about movies that invite us to help crack a case?

From the classic whodunits to modern interpretations spanning every genre, ELLE.com has rounded up the 20 best murder mystery movies available to stream right now to help satisfy your inner sleuth.

## The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Based on the first installment of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo centers on Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a disgraced journalist who is tasked with investigating the disappearance and presumed murder of a wealthy industralist’s grandniece that took place 40 years prior with the aid of hacker extraordinaire Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). From Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s pulsating score to Mara’s chilling transformation, every aspect of this David Fincher movie assembles the perfect slow-burn murder mystery.

## The Nice Guys

Shane Black’s 1970s-set comedy thriller follows unlikely partners Holland March (Ryan Gosling), a down-on-his luck private investigator, and Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a hired muscle man, as they work on solving the case of a missing girl (Margaret Qualley) and the death of a porn star but end up uncovering a huge conspiracy in the process. Flawlessly balancing the humor of buddy cop comedies and the enthralling developments of a typical crime flick, The Nice Guys deserves much more love than it got upon release and, in a perfect world, would have received a sequel. Plus, it’s a prime example of why Ryan Gosling should be in more comedies.

## Knives Out

Following the mysterious death of famed crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) enters the picture to put Harlan’s greedy family members under his magnifying glass and piece together the crime. Rian Johnson’s modern whodunit has it all, from a star-studded ensemble to many gorgeous cable-knit sweaters. We can’t wait for Netflix’s equally stacked upcoming sequel, which will see Benoit crack another case with a brand new ensemble.

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## Clue

Based on the iconic board game of the same name, Clue follows a group of six strangers at a dinner party who all becomes suspects after one of them is murdered. As the night’s events lead to a growing body count, the movie makes sure to always keep you on your toes. It’s a silly and thought-provoking murder mystery that includes three different endings. And if things couldn’t get any better, it would also make a perfect double feature with Knives Out.

## Rear Window

Alfred Hitchcock directed some of the greatest murder mysteries of all time, and the 1954 classic Rear Window is considered his best. A news photographer (James Stewart) confined to a wheelchair due to a broken leg passes the time by observing his neighbors through his window. When he becomes convinced that he witnessed a murder in a nearby apartment, he enlists his girlfriend (played by a fashionable Grace Kelly) and his housekeeper to help him find the killer. As expected from a Hitchcock film, Rear Window is gripping, eerie, and full of suspense.

## Se7en

David Fincher is the genius behind some of the best modern murder mysteries, and his string of works in the genre begins with 1995’s Se7en. The film stars Brad Pitt as a rookie detective and Morgan Freeman as a homicide detective on the cusp of retirement as they hunt for a serial killer who targets his victims based on the seven deadly sins. It’s an unsettling and gruesome crime tale that keeps you hooked all the way until the final bone-chilling moments.

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## Memento

Christopher Nolan is certainly not a stranger to mind-bending movies ( Interstellar, Tenet), and his sophomore film Memento marks the start of this trend. The innovative plot tells the story of a man, played by Guy Pearce, who sets out to find his wife’s killer. The kicker is that he has short-term memory loss that prevents him from remembering anything that happens in the prior 15 minutes, so he tattoos the clues on his body in order to keep track of them. It’s an amazing movie told in reverse chronological order and is filled with shocking twists that keep you on the edge of your seat.

## Murder on the Orient Express

Long before Kenneth Branagh took a shot at remaking Murder on the Orient Express in 2017, Sidney Lumet made a stellar adaptation of Agatha Christie’s popular novel of the same name in 1974. It centers on Detective Hercule Poirot as he investigates the murder of an American businessman aboard the Orient Express train he also happened to be on. Since the train has been halted on the track due to a snowstorm, every passenger is considered a suspect until proven otherwise. The film has an all-star cast—including Ingrid Bergman, Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, and Anthony Perkins—as well as earned six Academy Award nominations and one win for Bergman.

## Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

In this Shane Black comedy-crime flick, pre-Marvel Robert Downey Jr. stars as Harry Lockhart, a thief who, after being mistaken for an actor and having to shadow private detective Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) for a role, becomes entangled in a Hollywood murder. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a sharp and hilarious neo-noir that explores the underbelly of the seemingly glamorous world of Hollywood.

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## Zodiac

Based on the real-life unsolved murders of the Zodiac Killer that terrorized the San Francisco area in the late 1960s, David Fincher’s take on the true crime story is as riveting and detail-oriented as it gets. It follows journalists and investigators played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo as they become consumed with tracking down the elusive serial killer after he sent multiple letters addressed to the San Francisco Chronicle.

## Scream

Horrors can be whodunits too! The first installment of what would become a massive franchise with a number of sequels still being made today, Wes Craven’s 1996 Scream centers on a group of California high schoolers who are terrorized by a serial killer in a Ghostface mask. This frightening and clever film with meta commentary doubles at both a killer (pun intended) slasher flick and murder mystery.

## Gosford Park

If you’re a Downton Abbey fan, then you’ll love Gosford Park, which was written by the show’s creator, Julian Fellowes. Set in an English country estate in the 1930s, Robert Altman’s murder mystery centers on the aristocratic McCordle family and their guests when a body is found during a hunting weekend. Suddenly, it’s every man and woman for themselves after each partygoer is considered to have the motive to kill.

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## Brick

Before Knives Out took the world by storm, director Rian Johnson made his debut with Brick, which also happens to be an equally clever whodunit. The movie follows high school student Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he sets out to discover who killed his ex-girlfriend, Emily. The decision to put a spin on the neo-noir genre by setting it in high school is genius, and Brick serves as a great entry to Johnson’s work in the murder mystery genre.

## The Fugitive

Harrison Ford stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife in this remake of the original 1960s TV series. Naturally, he escapes from prison and sets out to find the real killer and clear his name, all the while steering clear of the police and a U.S. Marshall (played by Tommy Lee Jones) who slowly starts to realize that the man he’s intent on catching might actually be innocent. Mid-budget thrillers like The Fugitive are rare nowadays, so it’s a gem worth checking out.

## Gone Girl

Tired of the Fincher flicks yet? His most recent cinematic foray into the murder mystery genre based on Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel may not follow the traditional whodunit formula, but it sure is packed with a big mystery. When Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) goes missing, her aimless husband, Nick (Ben Affleck), becomes the prime suspect for her disappearance and presumed murder. Gone Girl is a thrilling tale that explores marriage, love, and obsession, among other things, and gave us the iconic, highly quotable “Cool Girl” monologue.

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## Charade

A charming Hitchcock classic, Charade is the perfect blend of murder mystery, romance, and comedy. Audrey Hepburn plays a woman who returns to her Parisian home after having an affair with Cary Grant’s charming Peter during a vacation to find that her husband has been murdered. Afterwards, she’s caught in the turmoil of his financial issues with several men coming after her. Hepburn and Grant are a match made in heaven, and Charade’s witty and thrilling screenplay makes for a fun ride.

## Kimi

Stephen Soderbergh’s latest endeavor stars Zoë Kravitz as a blue-haired agoraphobic tech worker who listens to audio streams from users whose requests weren’t understood by Kimi, an Alexa-like virtual home assistant, and tries to resolve the communication bugs. One day, she hears a disturbing clip of a woman and realizes that she (and Kimi) may have witnessed a crime occurring. It’s a modern version of Rear Window that puts technology at the forefront of the narrative. While the murder mystery isn’t at the plot’s core, it serves as the basis for a thoughtful exploration of isolation and privacy.

## In the Heat of Night

The late, great Sidney Poitier stars as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia police detective who becomes embroiled in a murder investigation in a small Mississippi town and finds an unlikely partnership with the bigoted police chief played by rod Steiger. In the Heat of Night won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and is a compelling murder mystery with a complex look at racism in 1960s America.

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## The Long Goodbye

Robert Altman’s 1973 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s classic novel puts a stoner spin on the murder mystery tale. Private detective Phillip Marlowe (Elliot Gould) gives his longtime friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) a ride to Mexico, and when he returns, Terry’s wife is dead and Marlowe becomes implicated in the murder. Told through the lens of post-hippie 1970s Los Angeles, The Long Goodbye balances the heavy murder mystery genre with a playfulness, as perfectly highlighted in the opening sequence in which Marlowe buys cat food.

## Who Framed Roger Rabbit

If you’re looking for a goofy murder mystery, then Robert Zemeckis’ 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the film to watch. Featuring a mix of live-action and animation, this comedy-noir follows private investigator Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) as he investigates a murder at a corrupt cartoon studio and turns to the toon community to help catch the culprit. It perfectly walks the line between being family friendly and having adult humor to create a fun flick where all of the beloved cartoon characters—from Bugs Bunny to Mickey Mouse—are packed into one movie.

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Contributor

Jihane Bousfiha is a freelance culture writer based in Florida. Her work has appeared in Vulture, The Daily Beast, W Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Cut, and more. You can find her on Twitter @jihanebousfiha_.

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