5 Hidden Gems to Watch If You Love Murder Mysteries
Over the course of the year, true crime documentaries and murder mysteries have become a crowd favorite on streaming services. For some reason, viewers like to watch documentaries on the disappearances of people and serial killers. We’ve also been drawn to movies that revolve around the murder of someone and trying to figure out who the killer is before it ends. I mean, I know that I’ve become quite hooked on murder mysteries over the last year and have watched almost all of the ones on Netflix. I’ve compiled a list of five murder mysteries that I think people don’t know enough about but probably should. You’ve probably only seen a couple of these, but if you love murder mysteries I suggest that you watch these five hidden gems. They’ll have you sitting on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out “whodunit” before the investigators do.
1. Knives Out
This has become one of my favorite murder mysteries to watch; I’ve seen it three times and each time I try to find new clues that’ll point me towards the reveal that happens at the end. I was definitely wrong about the killer the whole time. This is one of those murder mysteries where you fall in love with certain characters and hate others; I really wanted to like Chris Evans’ character, I did, but I couldn’t.
When Harlen Thrombey is found dead the morning after his entire family visits to celebrate his 85th birthday, questions arise about the presumed suicide. A detective comes to investigate and discovers that Harlen’s relationships with his family are strained and that he had an altercation with all of them the day before his death. Throughout the movie, you’ll be wondering if any of Harlen’s kids could have actually killed him and how his nurse, Marta, fits into the whole thing. Starring well-known actors like Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, and Christopher Plummer, Knives Out is the perfect murder mystery for movie night. You can stream it on Prime Video.
2. A Simple Favor
Of all the murder mysteries I’ve seen, I like this one a lot because it really focuses on the women in the story. And it also has a really, really good twist and reveal at the end. An unexpected reveal at the end is what makes some of the best murder mysteries.
Starring Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Henry Golding, A Simple Favor follows Kendrick’s character, Stephanie, who tries to solve what happens to her elegant friend, Emily (Lively) when she goes missing. Stephanie and Emily meet at their children’s school and Emily eventually asks Stephanie to watch her son while she goes to work and her husband is traveling. After two days, Emily hasn’t returned and Stephanie tries to find out what happened to her friend. Things begin to get crazy when Emily’s body is found and Stephanie begins an intimate relationship with Emily’s husband. You have to watch this one all the way to the end to see things unravel and that big reveal that makes it one of the best-underrated murder mysteries. It can be streamed on Prime Video.
3. Murder Mystery
While most murder mysteries are serious, dramatic, and somewhat thrilling, Murder Mystery, takes the genre to a comedic level. Not only will you be trying to discover who the murderer is, but you’ll be laughing at the crazy circumstances that the two main characters get themselves into throughout the entire movie.
This movie follows the married couple, Nick and Audrey when they get caught up in a murder investigation on a billionaire’s yacht. Played by Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, Nick and Audrey meet the wealthy Charles Cavendish on a flight to Europe who then invites them to spend the weekend on his family’s yacht. There is a party to celebrate Charles’ elderly uncle, Malcolm’s, wedding to Charles’ former fiancé. Right before he can sign his will giving all of his inheritance to his new wife, the lights go out in the room and Malcolm is stabbed dead. The movie follows Nick and Audrey as they evade the police when the family blames the murder on them seeing as they were randomly invited guests who had no ties to Malcolm and his fortune. (Makes no sense right? That’s where the comedy comes in). Try to solve this one as you stream it on Netflix.
4. Burning
Burning is a South Korean psychological thriller mystery that is hardly talked about on the list of great murder mysteries. Definitely underrated but brilliant, Burning is a murder mystery that everyone should watch.
Burning follows the meeting of three people that turns dangerous. Jong-soo runs into Hae-mi, a girl that used to live in his neighborhood, and she asks him to watch her cat while she is out of town. When she returns, she introduces him to Ben, a man she met on her trip. Jong-soo soon becomes suspicious of Ben and feels that Hae-mi might be in danger. Secrets are revealed and when Hae-mi goes missing, Jong-soo aims to figure out if Ben is involved and where his childhood friend has gone. While this one of the murder mysteries that you’ll have to watch with subtitles make sure to pay attention and try to figure out Hae-mi’s fate before it’s too late. This movie can be found on Netflix.
5. You Were Never Really Here
This is one of the best psychological murder mysteries of all time and it bothers me that not very many people know about it. There’s murder, a missing person, and a man trying to solve everything: ultimately, it’s exactly what murder mysteries should be.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe, a traumatized mercenary who is hired by a politician to find and rescue his daughter who has been taken by a human trafficking network. Joe is a hired gunman who specializes in rescuing trafficked girls and uses whatever violent methods he must to get the girls back. Things take a nasty turn when Joe rescues the senator’s daughter, Nina, but then discovers that the senator has committed suicide. Joe knows he’s in trouble when officers attempt to kill him, retake Nina, and discover that the senator was killed and it wasn’t suicide after all. The movie follows Joe’s attempt at survival and will have you wondering why people are after him, Nina, and why the senator was killed. You can stream this murder mystery and a bunch of other great murder mysteries just like it on Prime Video.
