Never trust anyone who doesn’t enjoy some form of detective-themed entertainment, especially Cluedo. Real-life sleuthing is hard; as kids, we all probably had that one moment where we decided to “investigate” a situation, sometimes biting off a little more than we can chew. But hey, I personally blame it on all the Geronimo Stilton and Famous Five I used to read. Nevertheless, murder-mystery films – when done right – will amaze you again and again. From plot twists to hidden clues, we’ve rounded up five of the best so far, for your viewing pleasure:
***** Clue (1985)
Did you know that Cluedo actually inspired a murder-mystery film of it’s own? The best news: it’s pretty damn good. Funny, chock-full of game board references and a good dose of suspense, there’s nothing not to love about this film and its star-studded cast. (PS. Make sure you check out the alternate endings. Your mind will be blown.)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Before Bryan Singer was at the helm of blockbuster projects like X-Men, he hit the jackpot of murder-mystery films when he developed The Usual Suspects. If the lineup scene looks familiar, you’ve probably watched a number of Singer-directed films: he uses the silhouettes of those characters for the logo of his production company, Bad Hat Harry. Also, any movie with Kevin Spacey is definitely worthwhile. Trust us. There’s a reason this film is still talked about to this day.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
No one does murder-mystery like Agatha Christie, and you can be sure that any adaptation of her novels is equally brilliant. Featuring a star-studded cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Sean Connery and Ingrid Bergman, Murder on the Orient Express is probably one of the best ensemble murder-mystery films of all time. Fun fact: Christie’s detective protagonist, Hercule Poirot, is played by a different actor in each adaptation of her works.
Mother (2009)
You probably won’t be surprised to know that the genius director behind Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-Ho, has a fantastic murder-mystery film under his belt too. While it’s definitely one of the darker ones on this list, trust us when we say that you need to watch this one. We can’t talk too much about this film without spoiling it, so you know it’s pretty close to being the quintessential murder-mystery movie.
Memento (2000)
This film’s editing concept is simple: everything in colour is being shown in reverse, while everything in black-and-white is being shown chronologically, following the protagonist’s struggle with anterograde amnesia. The result is that Memento has frequently been cited as having one of the best screenplays of all time, even earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. With so much well-earned hype around it, you probably won’t be surprised to know that Christopher Nolan directed this film, and we hope that makes you all the more excited to watch it.
