10 Best Mystery Movies of the Last 5 Years, Ranked

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? Ever since the emergence of the noir genre in the 1940s with characters like Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe, Hollywood has been obsessed with exciting mystery narratives filled with shocking twists and turns. It’s not hard to see why the genre is so enduring; audiences enjoy following a series of clues at the same time as the characters, becoming part of the mystery. This high level of viewer engagement has led to the genre’s continued relevance throughout cinema history.

The film industry has changed radically within the last five years. The collapse of the superhero genre, the rise of streaming services, the shortening of the theatrical window, theatrical shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the unification of studio assets have changed the way audiences see new movies. However, there’s been no shortage of great mystery films that have announced themselves as future classics. These are the best mystery movies released in the last five years, riveting and addictive stories that viewers can't get enough of.

10 ‘Reptile’ (2023)

Directed by Grant Singer

While Netflix’s track record for making original thrillers has been shaky at best, Reptile is an old-fashioned conspiracy thriller that bears a striking resemblance to the works of David Fincher and Alan J. Pakula. Benicio del Toro stars in this edgy mystery as a troubled cop who finds himself trapped in a police conspiracy related to a recent murder case. Reptile’s resemblance to shocking recent news stories makes it even more unnerving.

Reptile does a great job at detailing the investigative process, showing how cops go through official procedures of investigating victims, collecting crime scene evidence, and handling legal minutiae. Del Toro’s committed, gritty performance is one of the best that he’s given in years, and the standout supporting work from Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone, and Michael Pitt ensures he’s in very good company.

Reptile

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9 ‘Confess, Fletch’ (2022)

Directed by Greg Mottola

The original Fletch is one of the best comedies of the 1980s, perfectly lampooning the sleuth genre of mystery films with a cheeky sense of humor. While the thought of anyone but Chevy Chase taking on the titular role seemed utterly implausible, Jon Hamm delivered an amazing performance in Confess, Fletch. In this iteration, Fletch is forced to look into a critical murder investigation after he becomes a suspect.

While the Fletch films were more or less an excuse for Chase to do physical comedy, Confess, Fletch puts a greater emphasis on the mystery element of the story. Hamm shows that despite his goofiness, Fletch is a genuinely intelligent character who has a knack for solving crimes that baffle the cops. It’s somewhat unfortunate that the film was simply dumped on Showtime, as it had the potential to be the first entry in a fun comedy franchise.

Confess, Fletch

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Watch on Paramount Plus

8 ‘The Outfit’ (2022)

Directed by Graham Moore

While many mystery films succeed by exploring extravagant locations, The Outfit creates tension within a contained environment. Mark Rylance delivers one of his best performances as a reclusive tailor who reveals himself to have a checkered past when a vicious mafia man (Johnny Flynn) threatens his business. In his directorial debut, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Graham Moore winds a complex web of betrayals and revelations that keeps the viewer guessing until the very end.

The Outfit shows the importance of having a great script in a mystery film. There’s relatively little action, as the contained locations feel much closer to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Rear Window than a traditional espionage film. Nonetheless, the strong characterization and snappy dialogue ensure that The Outfit is compulsively watchable, the type of tightly-sounded thriller that makes viewers want to instantly start it over again.

The Outfit

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7 ‘No Sudden Move’ (2021)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh has a long history of reinventing antiquated genres and updating them for modern audiences. No Sudden Move is a throwback to classic sleuth movies told from the perspective of two gangsters (Benicio del Toro and Don Cheadle) who become involved in a conspiracy involving a drug ring. The cast is absolutely stacked with Soderbergh favorites, including a terrific performance by Brendan Fraser before his major comeback with The Whale.

Although it’s shot in a way that feels very nostalgic, No Sudden Move addresses modern themes about race relations, the class divide, and police brutality. It’s a compelling mystery, complete with shocking twists that may spark debate about how its timely themes are still relevant today. No Sudden Move was released directly on Max, which is unfortunate as it’s the type of high-stakes thriller that should be enjoyed at the movie theater with a packed crowd.

No Sudden Move

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6 ‘The Vast of Night’ (2020)

Directed by Andrew Patterson

Few filmmakers in the last five years have announced themselves quite as Andrew Patterson did with The Vast of Night. A low-budget science fiction thriller with echoes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Twilight Zone, The Vast of Night explores the steady emergence of alien life in a small town. The film does not focus on spectacle, choosing instead to show how its two young protagonists collect evidence about the peculiar occurrences that suggest a supernatural presence.

The Vast of Night does a great job at stringing the viewers along for the mystery, as Patterson is quite judicious in only giving limited details about the science fiction element of the story. Thanks to the strong performances, stylized direction, and genuinely spooky moments, The Vast of Night is one of the most rewatchable films released by Amazon Studios.

The Vast of Night (2019)

Watch on Amazon

5 ‘Leave The World Behind’ (2023)

Directed by Sam Esmail

Following the success of his acclaimed hacker television series Mr. Robot, writer/director Sam Esmail took on another ambitious project with his adaptation of the hit novel Leave the World Behind. It's an existential disaster thriller that explores the mystery surrounding an apocalyptic event, addressing issues like racism, classism, media obsession, and conspiracy theories. Leave the World Behind features frightening imagery that is bound to keep the viewers up at night.

Containing many overt allusions to past and present media that make it more enigmatic, Leave The World Behind is the type of mystery film that leaves many questions open to interpretation. A root cause or explanation for the apocalyptic event isn’t expressly revealed, but eagle-eyed viewers may want to rewatch the film to take note of the clues that Esmail drops along the way.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

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4 ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ (2022)

Directed by Scott Cooper

While there have been many films inspired by his most famous work, The Pale Blue Eye uses Edgar Allan Poe as a main character in its mystery storyline. Set in the mid-19th century, the film focuses on a young Poe (Henry Melling) as he teams up with a reclusive investigator (Christian Bale) to solve a series of murders at a military academy.

It’s a gritty, often horrific examination of serial killer violence that boasts a shocking twist bound to make viewers want to watch the film again from the beginning. Beyond its central mystery, The Pale Blue Eye is a treasure trove of references to classic Poe mysteries, as it contains allusions to classics like The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart. However, the film is also a beautiful-looking period thriller with terrific direction from Scott Cooper, so Poe novitiates should still be able to enjoy the film’s unique aesthetics.

The Pale Blue Eye

3 ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ (2022)

Directed by Rian Johnson

Knives Out was a breakthrough hit that saw Rian Johnson reinventing the mystery genre by combining the style of Agatha Christie’s novels with a very relevant satire of the upper class. While it was undeniably faced with significant expectations, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is the rare mystery sequel that's more compelling than its predecessor. The second installment in the series sees Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) heading to a reclusive party led by a shady influencer (Edward Norton), only to discover there’s a conspiracy to commit murder.

Glass Onion finds the right blend between comedy and mystery. Craig’s endearingly wacky performance certainly adds a sense of comic relief, but Johnson still constructs a carefully laid-out mystery that doesn’t have any logical loopholes. Glass Onion’s success has only sparked more interest in the upcoming third installment in the franchise, the recently announced Wake Up Dead Man.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

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2 ‘The Empty Man’ (2020)

Directed by David Prior

Despite essentially being dumped in theaters amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and barely promoted, The Empty Man shows all the signs of being a future cult classic. David Prior’s extraordinary psychological thriller constructs a shocking mystery surrounding a supernatural entity that comes to haunt a small town and a lonely detective (James Badge Dale).

The Empty Man’s shocking ending sparked discussion and debate regarding different interpretations. The film intertwines a complex mystery with a study of violent cults and supernatural legends, merging genres in a compelling way. Drawing inspiration from the work of David Lynch and David Cronenberg, among others, writer/director David Prior paves a new direction for the mystery genre that indicates he is a filmmaker to watch in the coming years. If his next film is half as intriguing as The Empty Man, then viewers are in for a treat.

the empty man

Rent on Apple

1 ‘Decision to Leave’ (2022)

Directed by Park Chan-wook

Director Park Chan-wook is one of the greatest living filmmakers, as his highly influential action thriller Oldboy and his beguiling erotic thriller The Handmaiden were almost immediately heralded as future classics. Park has involved mysteries within many of his films, but Decision to Leave revises the detective movie genre by exploring a toxic relationship. It’s a film where the initial murder investigation only scratches the surface of what the mystery is actually about.

Hauntingly shot and surprisingly emotional, Decision to Leave is a throwback to classic noir films while still feeling decidedly modern. The acclaim that both Park and the film’s ensemble received for their work makes it all the more upsetting that Decision to Leave was snubbed for major awards. The Academy Awards are notoriously averse to recognizing austere genre films, but Decision to Leave is a masterwork of craftsmanship and the best mystery film to come out in the past 5 years.

Decision to Leave

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