Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings founded Netflix on August 29, 1997. Soon, the platform overtook the entertainment landscape and social media. Everything from popular movies to TV shows streams on Netflix regularly. Netflix’s worldwide subscriber number reached 220.7 million as of June 30, 2022.
However, sometimes it gets confusing for viewers to select the movies from so many options. So we are at least making the decision easier for the lovers of murder mysteries by giving the list of top 10 mystery movies on Netflix.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- Murder Mystery
Year: 2019
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Director: Kyle Newacheck
Cast: Adam Sandler, Luke Evans, Jennifer Aniston
IMDB rating: 6
Runtime: 97 mins
Plot: Nick Spitz, a police officer, takes his wife Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) on a European trip. Unfortunately, they are soon distracted by a billionaire whose uncle is killed during the trip. The blame falls quickly on Nick Spitz and Audrey, who attempt to prove their innocence. Although they don’t break any narrative ground, the dynamic between Sandler & Aniston is as solid as ever.
The movie won the Favorite Comedic Movie in People’s Choice Awards in 2019.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- Identity
Year: 2003
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Director: James Mangold
Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta
IMDB rating: 7.3
Runtime: 90 mins
Plot: A deserted hotel stands out in Nevada’s desert. Ten people take refuge at the motel after a terrible storm strikes the area. Unfortunately, a serial killer is on the loose as the motel guests discover they are being murdered one by one. Ed Dakota (John Cusack), a limo driver, attempts to identify the killer in this psychologically misleading thriller.
The movie was nominated for Best DVD Special Edition Release and Best Action, Adventure, or Thriller Film at the 30th Saturn Awards.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- Spenser Confidential
Year: 2020
Genre: Thriller, Comedy, Action
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Alan Arkin, Winston Duke
IMDB rating: 6.2
Runtime: 110
Plot: Mark Wahlberg portrays Officer Spenser, who is a prison cop. He investigates the assassination of a police officer captain he was previously convicted of assault. While the film is very concerned about its mystery, it cares much more about its action sequences. Many of these revolve around a bright yellow Corvette. Winston Duke and his buddy cop dynamic are also memorable. Confidential has a sequel, just like any decent Netflix movie.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- A Walk Among the Tombstones
Year: 2014
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama, Mystery
Director: Scott Frank
Cast: Liam Neeson, David Harbour, Dan Stevens
IMDB rating: 6.5
Runtime: 114
Plot: Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) plays a former NYPD detective in the movie who serves as an unlicensed private detective. His plan is to solve the murder case of the drug trafficker’s wife. Unfortunately, he ignores the line between a criminal and a compliant in his mission. Neeson’s acting has covered the cliché aspect of the movie.
The movie made a worldwide gross of $62.1 million against a $28 million budget, becoming the second movie at the box office earning $13.1 million at the opening. The first one was Maze Runner, with a $32.5 million opening profit.
Image Courtesy: Variety
- In the Shadow of the Moon
Year: 2019
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction
Director: Jim Mickle
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Michael C. Hall, Cleopatra Coleman
IMDB rating: 6.2
Runtime: 115 mins
Plot: The movie is about a female serial killer (Cleopatra Coleman) and Detective Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook). The detective is unable to understand how Rya, the killer, survived her death to reappear same nearly after a decade. Naveen Rao (Rudi Dharmalingam) has bizarre theories about the murders and their motive. The discovery, however, is not pleasant for Thomas.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- Forgotten
Year: 2017
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Drama, Crime
Director: Jang Hang-jun
Cast: Kang Ha-neul, Moon Sung-keun, Kim Moo-yul,
IMDB rating: 7.5
Runtime: 108 mins
Plot: The movie is about Jin-Seok (Kang Ha-neul), a young man who moves into a new home with his family in 1997. This is where he witnesses his brother’s Yoo-Seok (Kim Mu-yeol) abduction. Nineteen days later, Yoo returns, seemingly unharmed. However, Jin knows in his heart that an impersonator has returned to live among them as Yoo. Surprisingly, he began to think the same about their parents. Jin’s next encounter with a shocking twist completely destroys his world. The mind-twisting movie is all about the what, who, and how of the crime.
Jang Hang-jun was inspired by a story a friend told him. He recalled how his cousin had left home for a month and returned as a completely different person. Jang also drew inspiration from the French folktale Bluebeard.
Image Courtesy: Netflix
- Your son
Year: 2018
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Director: Miguel Ángel Vivas
Cast: Jose Coronado, Ana Wagener, Pol Monen
IMDB rating: 6.1
Runtime: 103 mins
Plot: The movie depicts Jaime Jimenez (Jose Coronado) as a doctor and a marvelous surgeon. He has got wondrous abilities, but they fail when he has to treat his own son, Marcos (Pol Monen). Marcos is brought onto the operating table with life-threatening injuries. Jaime discovers that someone has brutally beaten his son outside of a nightclub. The incident turns him into a vigilante to find the perpetrators. As a result, he alienates his wife, Carmen (Ana Wagener). He even deserts his daughter, Sara (Asia Ortega), in his vengeful obsession.
The movie was originally released in Spain in 2018, but Netflix aired it internationally in 2019.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- Fractured
Year: 2019
Genre: Thriller
Director: Brad Anderson
Cast: Sam Worthington, Lily Rabe, Stephen Tobolowsky
IMDB rating: 6.4
Runtime: 99 mins
Plot: Sam Worthington plays Ray Monroe, who is married to Joanne Monroe (Lily Rabe). Their problematic relationship leads to a dangerous accident while traveling with their daughter Peri (Lucy Capri). Ray’s wife and daughter mysteriously disappear from the hospital. It strengthens his suspicion of the hospital staff, who was keen to sign Peri as an organ donor.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- Shimmer Lake
Year: 2017
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Drama
Director: Oren Uziel
Cast: Rainn Wilson, John Michael Higgins, Benjamin Walker
IMDB rating: 6.3
Runtime: 83 mins
Plot: Shimmer Lake is a rare mystery that discloses in reverse. It means we see the end before understanding its connection to the main characters. The story revolves around three friends, Andy Sikes (Rainn Wilson), Ed Burton (Wyatt Russell), and Chris Morrow (Mark Rendall). They rob a bank and blackmail Judge Brad Dawkins (John Michael Higgins). Their direct opponent is Zeke Sikes (Benjamin Walker), Andy’s brother. The mystery starts when nearly every member of the robbery starts dying under suspicious circumstances.
Variety listed the movie as the standout contender for the Oscar in 2017 for Best Original Screenplay.
Image Courtesy: Old Ain’t Dead
- The Legacy of the Bones
Year: 2019
Genre: Crime Thriller
Director: Fernando González Molina
Cast: Marta Etura, Francesc Orella, Elvira Mínguez, Marta Larralde, Miren Gaztanaga
IMDB rating: 6.3
Runtime: 119 min
Plot: Marta Etura plays Amaia Salazar, a detective married to James, played by Benn Northover. She gives birth to their son, Ibai. Ending her maternity leaves, she goes back to her duty to investigate the shocking suicides. The plot takes a sharp turn when she discovers that her own mother, Rosario (Miren Gaztanaga), is strangely involved in the series of suicides.
The movie is the middle installment of the Spanish Trilogy, Baztán, the first and last parts being The Invisible Guardian and the Offering to the Storm, respectively.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
- I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
Year: 2016
Genre: Horror
Director: Oz Perkins
Cast: Ruth Wilson, Bob Balaban, Paula Prentiss
IMDB rating: 4.6
Runtime: 89
Plot: Lily Saylor (Ruth Wilson) comes to Iris Blum’s (Paula Prentiss) house as a live-in nurse. Iris is a popular horror novelist who has dementia. Lily begins to notice strange events in the house soon after her arrival. She suspects Polly Parsons (Lucy Boynton), the protagonist of Iris’ most popular novel, is a real person and now a real ghost. The question is whether Lily has lost her mind or someone killed her, and her spirit lingers.
The writer and director Oz Perkins gave an interview on Garris’s podcast Post Mortem in 2020. He revealed that the movie’s thematic nature reflected his attempts to connect with his deceased father.
Image Courtesy: Mindhorn
- Mindhorn
Year: 2016
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Director: Sean Foley
Cast: Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby, Essie Davis
IMDB rating: 6.3
Runtime: 89 mins
Plot: Mindhorn fundamentally falls under the category of a comedy movie, but we cannot miss the mystery at its core. Julian Barratt (Richard Thorncroft) has an optical lie detector. Twenty years after Julian’s heyday, Paul Melly (Russell Tovey), an escaped maniac, demands to see Detective Mindhorn. Julian and the local police didn’t know that Paul had solid evidence of a crime much higher than anyone could imagine.
Julian Barratt is the actor who played Detective Bruce Mindhorn in the famous TV series. Moreover, the British Independent Film Awards nominated this movie for best debut screenwriter in 2017.
Image Courtesy: Timeout
- Enola Holmes
Year: 2020
Genre: Mystery, Adventure, Crime
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill
IMDB rating: 6.6
Runtime: 123 mins
Plot: The movie is an adaptation of Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes Mysteries series. Millie Bobby Brown plays Enola Holmes, Sherlock Holmes’s teenage sister. Henry Cavill, playing Sherlock Holmes revisits his home when their mother vanishes on Enola’s 16th birthday. Sherlock’s intelligent sister utilizes all her mystery-solving abilities to find the truth behind her mother’s disappearance, unearthing deep conspiracies in Victorian-era London. The sequel of this successful movie is already under development.
Millie Bobby Brown won Favorite Movie Actress (Kid’s choice awards) and Female Youth in films (Las Vegas Film Critics Society) for her outstanding performance.
The Conan Doyle estate filed a lawsuit against Netflix for the film’s copyright violation by showing Sherlock Holmes having emotions. However, the lawsuit was dismissed on December 18, 2020, with prejudice by the stipulation of all parties.
Image Courtesy: Dm Talkies
- Lost Girls
Year: 2020
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, Mystery
Director: Liz Garbus
Cast: Amy Ryan, Sarah Wisser, Lola Kirke, Thomasin McKenzie
IMDB rating: 6.1
Runtime: 95 mins
Plot: The movie is based on the book, Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery. It is a true story with some fictional elements for dramatization. Sarah Wisser plays Shannan Gilbert, the mother of a teenager, Mari (Amy Ryan), who goes missing. After urging Long Island authorities to expedite her daughter’s missing case, Shannan takes matters into her own hands. She soon discovers that her daughter’s case is linked with a series of unsolved murder cases of sex workers.
We can say that Lost Girls thrives on Liz Garbus’ direction to ensnare, devastate, and enrage us
