The 5 Top Best Murder Mystery Movies of All Time Even though true crime shows are popular right now, murder mystery movies will always be ...
The 5 Top Best Murder Mystery Movies of All Time
Even though true crime shows are popular right now, murder mystery movies will always be a favorite. There may be a psychological reason why we like mystery movies and crime stories in general: they may be like "fairy tales for adults," where we can experience things that scare us from a distance, which makes us less afraid of them. Also? Murder mysteries are fun to watch because they keep you guessing until the end. This is as good a reason as any to stay in for the night.
Below is a list of the best murder mystery movies ever made, with a focus on both old classics and more recent films in the genre. Psycho and North by Northwest are classics, but Diabolique and The Third Man are also must-sees that you may have missed. Some other murder mysteries, like Knives Out and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, are more likely to make you laugh. Even movies with plot twists you won't see coming, like The Black Dahlia and the seriously underrated Bad Times at the El Royale, are on our list. (Don't worry, we didn't give away any spoilers, so you can figure it out on your own before the end credits.)
1. 'North by Northwest (1959)
The mystery: If you like modern mysteries, spy thrillers, or action movies, this Hitchcock movie is a good example of all three. Roger (Grant), who has been wrongly accused of a murder he didn't commit and is on the run with a mysterious woman, must try to solve the mystery and avoid being murdered himself. It is just as twisty and interesting as it sounds, and it has held up well over the past 50 years.
2. 'Dial M for Murder (1954)
The mystery is that a man plans the perfect murder to get rid of his cheating wife, but she fights back and kills her assassin in self-defense, putting the man in a tight spot. Another classic by Hitchcock, the plot starts out strange and only gets stranger as it goes on.
3.'Rebecca' (1940)
The puzzle: Hitchcock does a great job adapting the book, which is known for being hard to use as a basis for a movie. It's about a young bride whose husband's first wife died in mysterious ways. Who did her in? How come?
4.'The Big Sleep' (1946)
The mystery: There is going to be a remake(opens in new tab), so read this classic Agatha Christie version now. A woman steals the husband of her best friend and ends up dead, but her best friend couldn't have done it. So who did? Mia Farrow, who plays the best friend, does a good job in this. She strikes the right balance between serious and funny. But the cast is also full of amazing actors, like Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury when they were much younger.
'Death on the Nile' (1978)
'The mystery: There is going to be a remake(opens in new tab), so read this classic Agatha Christie version now. A woman steals the husband of her best friend and ends up dead, but her best friend couldn't have done it. So who did? Mia Farrow, who plays the best friend, does a good job in this. She strikes the right balance between serious and funny. But the cast is also full of amazing actors, like Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury when they were much younger.