The first mystery movie was created in the silent era in the 1900s. Most films from this time were based on novels. For instance, Sherlock Holmes, believed to be among the first murder mystery films ever made, is based on a novel. Then in the 1980s, the period of neo-noir crime dramas started and is continued to date.
If you enjoy the aura of mystery, HBO Max is the best platform to land. Find below the top 10 best mystery movies on HBO Max.
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The Exorcist
Director: William Friedkin
Writer: William Peter Blatty
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Runtime: 2hrs. 2 mins
It’s a 1973 American movie built on the 1971 novel Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. It was followed by several sequels and became the highest-grossing R-rated film of its time. In addition, the film managed to win two Academy Awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Screenplay.
It depicts the satanic possession of a little girl and her mother’s struggle to free her. It shows the struggle of two Catholic priests to perform an exorcism on a young girl.
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The King’s Man
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writer: Matthew Vaughn, Karl Gajdusek, Mark Millar
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Runtime: 2 hrs.11 mins
The Kings Man is a 2021 spy action movie based on the comic book named The Secret Service. The book was later named Kingsman. Critics gave the movie mixed reviews, yet it grossed over $126 million against the $100 million budget.
It’s a story that focuses on a Kingsman agency established in the early 20th century. It was mainly founded to fight a group planning a war to exterminate millions of people.
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The X Files
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter
Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, John Neville
IMDb Rating: 8.6
Runtime: 45 mins
The X Files is a Sci-Fi thriller modeled on Chris Carter’s TV series of the same name. It first premiered in the US on June 19, 1998, and earned $189 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office hit.
The plot centers on agents Mulder and Scully as they investigate a building bombing and evidence removal for a crime. They find evidence of what seems to be a government scheme to conceal alien colony existence on Earth.
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What Lies Beneath
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer: Clark Gregg, Sarah Kernochan
Cast: Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katharine Towne
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Runtime: 2 hr. 10 mins
It’s an American horror and thriller, the tenth highest-grossing film in 2000. The film received mixed reviews but earned an ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films.
What Lies Beneath follows the wife of a university research scientist who thinks their lakeside house is haunted. But her husband thinks she may have been affected by her accident that happened a year ago.
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Sherlock Holmes
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writer: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Runtime: 2 hrs. 8 mins
Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 mystery classic based on a fictional character with the same title created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. People gave positive reviews, and the film was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. Later the sequel was released in 2011, and a third part is in process.
The story starts when a secret society hires mysterious detective Holmes and his sidekick Watson in 1890. They hired Holmes to prevent a mysticist’s scheme to seize control of Britain via ostensibly magical powers.
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The Da Vinci Code
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Akiva Goldsman, Dan Brown
Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Runtime: 2 hrs.29 mins
It’s a 2006 mystery thriller based on the novel by Dan Brown. Within its first weekend, the film grossed over $224 million. It earned $760 million worldwide and became the second highest-grossing movie in 2006.
Murder at the Louvre and hints in works by Da Vinci led to the discovery of religious secrets. A long-hidden secret that could destroy Christianity.
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Insomnia
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Hillary Seitz, Nikolaj Frobenius, Erik Skjoldbjærg
Cast: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Runtime: 1 hr. 58 mins
An American psychological mystery thriller released in 2002is a recreation of a 1997 Norwegian film with the same title. The film garnered a positive response while critics praised Pacino’s and Williams’ performances.
Insomnia focuses on two Los Angeles homicide detectives sent to a northern hamlet. They are sent to look into the deliberate murder of a local teen.
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The Fog
Director: John Carpenter
Writer: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Cast: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Runtime: 1 hr. 29 mins
It is a 1980 American film that was received well by critics. The film was a box office success and became a cult classic. In 2005, the film was recreated, which received mixed reviews but performed well.
A little seaside village is engulfed in a mysterious fog precisely 100 years after a ship inexplicably sank there. But the twist is that it brings vengeful ghosts who were killed in the shipwreck.
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From Hell
Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Writer: Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, Terry Hayes
Cast: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Runtime: 2 hrs. 2 mins
From Hell is a 2001 film featuring a serial killer. It is partially based on the Jack the Ripper murders’ pictorial novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell of the same title. The film received mixed reviews from the audience, and people applauded the performances of Depp and Graham.
A story about an unsettled clairvoyant police officer who looks into Jack the Ripper’s killings in Victorian-era London.
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Three Colors: Red
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writer: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Agnieszka Holland
Cast: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Runtime: 1 hr. 39 mins
It’s a 1994 romantic mystery and the last part of the Three Colors trilogy. Critics liked the movie and gave positive reviews. In contrast, the New York Times ranked it as one of the best 1000 movies ever made.
Red is about the young model Valentine and a retired judge. It is about the bond between two human beings, even when they have little in common.
