Everyone loves a good mystery, and now seems as good a time as ever to dive into the mystery
movie genre. Luckily, there are plenty of films out there just begging to be discovered.
From perplexing puzzles to harrowing whodunits, here are the best mysterious movies currently
on Netflix.
If there's one singular mystery that's puzzled and terrified humankind since the dawn of
time, it's this: what happens to us when we die? Unsurprisingly, this is a topic that
cinema has approached in all kinds of ways. But few of those movies have been brave enough
to tackle the mysteries of the afterlife as directly as Charlie McDowell's The Discovery.
The movie is set in a not too distant future where a scientist named Thomas Harbor has
proven conclusively that the afterlife does, indeed, exist. Unfortunately, he doesn't know
exactly where or what it really is. In the wake of mass suicides by folks eager to find
out for themselves, those answers become more vital than ever.
Years after the discovery, Harbor's deeply skeptical son and an enigmatic young woman
arrive at the scientist's research compound, and find the search for answers has led to
the invention of a device designed to record the afterlife experience. From there, The
Discovery only gets weirder, in the best possible way. The film uses its central mystery to
frame a beautifully textured and grounded character study steeped in simmering small-scale
dramas, grand theological commentary, and a dash of heart-wrenching romance. It also
happens to be a first-rate slice of hard sci-fi cinema.
Adapted from a novel by Kôji Suzuki, Hideo Nakata's near-flawless J-horror The Ring was
so successful that an inevitable English-Language remake soon followed. In 2002, Gore Verbinski
brought his version of The Ring to theaters, and in doing so, unleashed one of the greatest
horror movies of the modern era.
"Seven days."
These days, The Ring's plot is practically iconic. Just in case you're still in the dark,
however, the movie follows a reporter who stumbles onto a perplexing story about a videotape
that kills anyone who watches it, seven days later. Want to know more? Then go watch it,
because this isn't a movie you want spoiled for you. Here's one guarantee, though: you'll
never see the film's shocking final moments coming, and there's a good chance you'll be
haunted by them for years to come.
For many films, the mystery is the whole point of the story. Sometimes, however, it's merely
a tool used to set in motion a far more ambitious narrative. In the case of Trey Edward Shults'
traumatic thriller It Comes At Night, the movie's horrifying mystery serves as the entry
point for several more small-scale dramas driven by fear, paranoia, and a desperate
need to protect the things that matter most.
The story unfolds in the aftermath of a pandemic event that has wiped out untold numbers of
the world's population. More specifically, the film follows a man and his family riding
things out in a secluded cabin in the woods, only to find their rigorously structured life
upended by the arrival of another family. As is the case with many mystery movies, you
probably don't want to know much more, and it's really best to enter It Comes At Night
with as little information as possible. Just know that, as the film's minor mysteries begin
to unravel, a far more grueling picture of humanity unfolds within them. Those mysteries
are made all the more affecting thanks to the steely, low-key direction of burgeoning
auteur Shults, not to mention a series of fantastic turns from the cast, including Christopher
Abbott, Riley Keough, Carmen Ejogo, and Joel Edgerton.
If creepy mystery movies have taught us anything over the years, it's that people should probably
be wary of long-lost friends turning up at their door. Clearly, someone forgot to tell
that to Jason Bateman's character in The Gift, because when Simon and his wife Robyn bump
into his old high school chum Gordo, they immediately strike up an awkward kinship with
the man. The plot thickens when Gordo begins making uninvited appearances in Simon and
Robyn's lives, and starts offering them some seriously head-scratching gifts. With each
new encounter, tensions between the three begin to ratchet up all the more, and it's
not immediately clear why.
Fear not, however, as all is eventually revealed in The Gift, and it soon becomes obvious that
the murky past of one of the film's characters is coming back to haunt them. Beyond that,
you'll just have to find out for yourself. But this devious revenge movie, expertly directed
by star Joel Edgerton, cuts deep into the psyches of its lead characters, and is bound
to leave you pondering the pivotal mystery long after the credits roll.
One of the key ingredients of any great mystery story is the fear of the unknown, and the
hugely unnerving small-scale sci-fi drama Freaks is positively steeped in it. In fact,
it's that particular fear that drives not just the film's overarching story, but every
brazen twist and turn contained within its narrative.
The story follows one brave little girl, who's being kept in total seclusion from the world
by her increasingly paranoid father, in the aftermath of what's presumed to be some sort
of apocalyptic event. As the story unfolds, however, it becomes clear that the world outside
isn't exactly what the father has made of it, but that doesn't mean that he's totally
lying, either. Freaks is a puzzle box of a film, the pieces of which eventually form
a twisted picture that'll likely extend far beyond your expectations. As such, part of
the fun of the film is watching the brilliant ways in which the movie carefully places each
piece, allowing the mysteries of Freaks to reveal themselves at a pace that's simultaneously
slow-burning and brashly kinetic.
In a perfect world, the name Asghar Farhadi would already carry the same sort of weight
and reverence as that of David Fincher or Darren Aronofsky. Though his name is highly
regarded in the realm of international cinema, Farhadi hasn't found the same notoriety with
North American audiences just yet. With any luck, however, the director's subtle yet savagely
tense thriller Everybody Knows will change that.
Although Everybody Knows is a Spanish-language film, don't let the language barrier put you
off, because this is very much a classic kind of thriller, one as steeped in long-buried
secrets and mysteries as it is in true-blooded pulse-pounding thrills. For much of the film,
Farhadi takes the slow-burn approach, using the first 30 minutes to build an intricately
constructed house of cards around the protagonists' inter-familial relationships. But these characters'
worlds begin to crumble when a beloved family member goes missing. In the wake of the disappearance,
deep dark secrets begin to find the light, and Everybody Knows' pivotal mystery begins
to unfurl with Shakespearean weight. Of course, it also helps that, along the way, Penélope
Cruz and Javier Bardem deliver two of their finest performances to date. And that's saying
something.
Nothing suits a mystery quite like a cult. This has a lot to do with the fact that the
cult mentality is as puzzling as the enigmatic figures who front the cults themselves. Though
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead's 2017 Lovecraftian stunner The Endless takes the enigmatic leader
mostly out of the equation, their film remains a no less sinister psychological study of
cults themselves, one that also happens to be driven by a horrifying supernatural mystery.
"Saying more would be like trying to explain an impossible color."
The Endless follows a pair of brothers who, years after breaking free from the "alien
death cult" with which they spent much of their youth, are called back into the fold
by a mysterious force. As bizarre as it is, The Endless is the sort of film that only
works if you enter its narrative with a wholly blank slate. It also masterfully blends elements
of fantasy, sci-fi and horror, all without relying on a high budget or A-list actors.
Of course, that didn't stop The Endless from attracting near-universal critical acclaim
on its release. Go in blind, come out terrified.
By now, you should be well acquainted with the name Jeremy Saulnier. If not, there's
no better place to start than with the astonishing one-two throat punch delivered by his 2013
and 2015 thrillers Blue Ruin and Green Room. Once you've gotten caught up on Saulnier's
wildly original, beyond tense cinematic style, stick around Netflix for a little longer and
treat yourself to the director's latest beastly brooder, Hold the Dark. Even though it lacks
some of the visceral energy of his prior works, Hold the Dark is as accomplished a mystery
film as any other you'll find streaming.
Set largely among the gorgeous but unforgiving vistas of the Alaskan wilderness, Hold the
Dark follows famed wolf expert Russell Core, who is called to an isolated village after
a six-year-old boy is lost and presumed killed by a pack of wolves. Once he arrives, Core
finds nothing is quite what it seems with the town, the case itself, or the missing
boy's Mother. As Core continues his investigation, Saulnier twists Hold the Dark from a basic
missing person mystery into a full-on Heart of Darkness-style metaphysical odyssey, complete
with a finale that will leave you baffled, breathless, and broken in equal measure.
If you're looking for a good old-fashioned mystery movie that'll tease your brain and
raise your heart rate at the same time, you can always look to the tried and true spy
thriller genre. After all, what could be better than a story that's entirely built around
secrets and misdirection? And if it's Cold War intrigue you're after, then look no further
than Thomas Alfredson's immaculately executed adaptation of John le Carré's spy novel Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy.
If you're wondering why Alfredson's name might sound familiar, it's because, prior to Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy, he'd previously directed 2008's pitch-perfect vampire flick Let the
Right One In. Naturally, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy unfolds with the same meticulous pacing
and propulsive, menacing energy. Only this go-round, Alfredson uses it to fuel a pitch-black,
twist-a-minute thriller about the hunt for a Russian agent embedded in MI6. Leading the
cast is a never better Gary Oldman, who's surrounded by a veritable who's who of British
screen talent including Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones, John Hurt, and Colin
Firth. Frankly, if the thought of that star-studded cast running down a spy ring in the 1970s
doesn't get you pumped, the mystery genre might not be for you. Just saying.
As far as cinematic sub-genres go, "daytime horror" continues to be the one which most
frequently disturbs even the staunchest of genre aficionados. After all, as unsettling
as horror movies can get when things go bump in the night, seeing those things bump around
in the light of day is often twice as disturbing. And although a few notable additions have
been made to the "daytime horror" sub-genre of late, the gold standard remains The Wicker
Man. No, not that one.
"Not the bees! Not the bees! AHHHHHHHH! AH they're in my eyes! AHHHHH!"
This is Robin Hardy's masterful 1973 thriller, and as it happens, Hardy's film is also a
near flawless mystery movie, whose unholy secrets aren't revealed until its jaw-dropping
final moments. If you haven't seen Hardy's original Wicker Man for yourself, the film
follows a devout detective who's dispatched to an isolated Scottish island to track down
a missing girl. When he arrives, however, the townsfolk are quick to claim the girl
isn't missing, because she never existed in the first place.
From that central mystery, Hardy weaves an intricately spun web of intrigue that finds
the detective unknowingly playing fly to a bloodthirsty spider. To say more would be
to give the film away, but suffice to say that the film's portrayal of pagan theology
is downright terrifying, and the film's ending is the stuff of cinematic legend.
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