What’s the difference between a thriller and a mystery? Besides the fact that Netflix seems to have twice as many of the former compared to the latter, mysteries tend to focus on detectives or even ordinary people who are attempting to unravel a crime or discover something that is hidden from them. Readers and viewers are often invited to follow the clues with the main characters and attempt to solve the mysteries before they do. Thrillers are stories with suspense, twists, anxiety, and action, which means they often go hand-in-hand with mysteries. But thrillers is the broader genre, which may be why it’s more popular than mysteries on Netflix.
Regardless, Netflix does have a very good lineup of mystery movies. This month’s additions include Barbie‘s Ryan Gosling in a true crime story, a modern film noir with Denzel Washington, and a more recent flick starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan. You can find all three and more below in our roundup of the best mysteries on Netflix.
Need more Netflix in your life? Check out our roundups of the best movies on Netflix and the best shows on Netflix as well.
All Good Things (2010) new
Ryan Gosling may be the big attraction for All Good Things, but this film actually has a connection to the true life crime that inspired it. Following its release, director Andrew Jarecki was contacted by Robert Durst, the potential murderer loosely played by Gosling in the film, and agreed to make on-camera interviews for HBO’s The Jinx, which ultimately landed Durst behind bars.
The names have been changed for the film, so Gosling’s character is David Marks instead of Robert Durst. In the ‘70s, David marries Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst), and they try to make a life together. When their relationship sours and Katie disappears, suspicion falls on David even though no charges are filed. Then, several years later, another woman close to David meets a similar fate.
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) new
Near the height of his stardom, Denzel Washington starred in a noir mystery, Devil in a Blue Dress. The film takes place three years after World War II, as Easy Rawlins (Washington) is desperate for money. Against his better judgment, Easy agrees to help private investigator DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore) find Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals), a woman whose disappearance has thrown the race for mayor of Los Angeles into chaos.
Easy knew this would be trouble, but even he couldn’t predict that his one-time lover, Coretta James (Lisa Nicole Carson), would turn up dead with the police looking to put him away for the crime. Somehow, Easy has to work out how Coretta’s death links back to Daphne’s disappearance, or else the next dead body may be his.
The Postcard Killings (2020) new
The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan headlines this adaptation of James Patterson and Liza Marklund’s The Postcard Killers, which was retitled The Postcard Killings for the big screen. Morgan plays Jacob Kanon, a New York City police detective who is devastated when his adult daughter and her fiancé are murdered in Europe in an elaborate and deliberate fashion.
While struggling to contain his grief, Jacob learns that the killer or killers have been striking all over Europe. Despite lacking jurisdiction, Jacob takes it upon himself to find his daughter’s murderers, with the help of crime reporter Désirée “Dessie” Lombard (Désirée “Dessie” Lombard) and even some remote assistance from his wife, Valerie Kanon (Famke Janssen).
L.A. Confidential (1997)
L.A. Confidential has endured for over 25 years because it seemingly presents three different mysteries before slowly revealing how they are all tied to the same case. In the meantime, the audience is left to play detective alongside the LAPD’s Edmund Exley (Pearce), Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), and Wendell “Bud” White (Crowe).
Each of the three cops feels like they have a personal stake in the outcome of their respective cases, but White and Exley have a particularly strong dislike for each other. What they don’t realize is that none of their cases can be solved until they stop punching each other and start sharing information. If these cops can’t trust each other, then they will all soon be dead.
Reptile (2023)
Like many mysteries, Reptile opens with the discovery of a dead body. In this film, the victim is Summer Elswick (Matilda Lutz). And between Summer’s boyfriend, Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), her estranged husband, Sam Gifford (Karl Glusman), and Eli Phillips (Michael Pitt), there’s no shortage of suspects.
Detective Tom Nichols (Benicio del Toro) has had to solve plenty of murders before. But Tom finds this case particularly challenging because the clues lead him to people he knows and works with. The rot goes deep in this police department, and Tom’s life is about to be turned upside down.
The Weekend Away (2022)
The Weekend Away starts with a girls weekend gone wrong, as Beth (Leighton Meester) awakens without clear memories of what happened to her the night before. More alarmingly, Beth’s friend, Kate (Christina Wolfe), is missing without a trace. Beth’s husband, Rob (Luke Norris), is surprisingly unmoved by her panic. So Beth turns to a local cab driver, Zain (Ziad Bakri), to help her piece together the previous night’s events.
But when Kate’s body finally turns up, Beth and Zain are both considered suspects by the police. And that’s not the only unpleasant surprise waiting for Beth as she attempts to discover who killed her friend.
Missing (2023)
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Catherine “Kya” Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is drawn to two men in Where the Crawdads Sing. After being abandoned by her family to grow up alone in a swamp, Kya befriends a young man named Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith). And when Kya’s romance with Tate burns out, she soon finds love in the arms of Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), a popular jock in town.
However, when one of Kya’s lovers ends up dead, she finds herself on trial for murder. And the townspeople and the local police already believe that Kya is guilty. But if Kya didn’t kill her lover, then who did?
In for a Murder (2021)
If you don’t speak Polish, then you should be glad to hear that In For a Murder has an English dub. Anna Smolowik headlines the film as Magda Borowska, a mother and a true crime fan who gave up on her dreams a long time ago. But when a dead young woman is found in town, Magda is taken aback when she realizes that the girl was wearing the same necklace that her friend, Weronika Bielecka (Emma Giegzno), wore before she disappeared years ago.
Determined to know if the girl is somehow linked to Weronika, Magda embarks on her own investigation, much to the annoyance of her ex, Commissioner Jacek Sikora (Pawel Domagala). And while Magda’s family mocks her amateur detective routine, the danger she uncovers is all too real.
No One Gets Out Alive (2021)
No One Gets Out Alive blends mystery and horror as it puts the audience in the shoes of Ambar (Cristina Rodlo), an undocumented Mexican immigrant who has few options in the U.S.
After finding a place to stay courtesy of her landlord, Red (Marc Menchaca), Ambar is unnerved by Red’s unhinged brother, Becker (David Figlioli). More alarmingly, Ambar witnesses several ghostly women in the house and becomes convinced that it is haunted. But given her situation, Ambar has no choice but to stay until it becomes too late to run.
Inheritance (2020)
In the mystery-thriller Inheritance, Lauren Monroe (Lily Collins) learns a dark family secret about her late father, Archer Monroe (Patrick Warburton), that could bring down their entire family. And that secret is Archer’s former friend and business partner, Morgan Warner (Simon Pegg).
Morgan tells Lauren that Archer held him captive for 30 years to prevent him from exposing his role in the death of an innocent person. And Morgan seems to know where all of the bodies are buried, so to speak. This forces Lauren to contend with her father’s legacy, and what she should do with Morgan now that she knows the truth.
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Serving as a cinematic follow-up to the Luther series, Luther: The Fallen Sun follows the titular detective on an all-new adventure. After a stint behind bars, Luther is forced to plan a prison break when elusive serial killer David Robey (Andy Serkis) starts hunting people down. As the clock starts ticking and the bodies start piling up, Luther must make a series of harrowing decisions to track down and eliminate his foe before his evildoing becomes totally unstoppable.
For those dedicated viewers of the episodic run, The Fallen Sun plays like a silver screen extension of the series which precedes it. Gripping from start to finish, it’s not exactly changing the genre in any way, but The Fallen Sun certainly delivers an exceptional story with great characters.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
Christian Bale and writer-director Scott Cooper unite once again for the latter’s latest feature, The Pale Blue Eye. Bale stars as Augustus Landor, an 1830s New York detective who is tasked with investigating a horrific murder at the United States Military Academy. Hoping to gain intel from a devoutly silent bunch of cadets, Landor takes on an assistant for the homicide case — a disillusioned recruit named Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling).
Together, the hardened vet and aspiring poet follow a series of leads that seem to point toward an especially sinister kind of black magic as the culprit. While Bale may be the reason we arrive to the film, the performance that will bewilder most viewers is that of Harry Melling, who delivers a defiant take on the classic American writer.
Enola Holmes 2 (2022)
Murder Mystery (2019)
Spenser Confidential (2020)
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
Forgotten (2017)
In the Korean thriller, Forgotten, Kang Ha-neul stars as Jin-seok, a young man living with his family in 1997. After moving into a new home, Jin witnesses the abduction of his brother, Yoo-seok (Kim Mu-yeol). Nineteen days later, Yoo is seemingly returned unharmed. And yet Jin becomes convinced that not only is his brother an impersonator, but so are their parents. Jin’s attempt to go for help leads to another shocking twist that completely destroys his world. There’s been a crime committed, but who is responsible and how is Jin connected to it?
Your Son (2018)
Fractured (2019)
Shimmer Lake (2017)
The Legacy of the Bones (2019)
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
Enola Holmes (2020)
Earthquake Bird (2019)
Lost Girls (2020)
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