Mystery movies with Twists/Whodunit
by thebrownlynx | created - 27 Oct 2013 | updated - 10 Dec 2013 | PublicHi! This list contains the following: #1 Movies (in order) that have a twist in the plot or the ending or have a whodunit or a puzzle/brain twister. #2 No Gore. I don´t like gore. To me a mystery movie must focus in "getting the pieces together" as in a puzzle rather that focus in disturbing the viewer. So there is no Saw or Se7en in this list despite their good twists. #3 Happy Endings. The movie must end in an uplifting tone. Justice was served and/or Guy and girl get together. So No Skeleton Key or Arlington Road despite their good twists. #4 Movies featuring a sexy woman. Ha ha. There are a few exceptions to this rule. #5 I must like the movie to be in the list. My list, remember?
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1. La muerte camina en la lluvia (1948)
73 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A murderer terrorizes a city by attacking on the streets on rainy days and always leaving a card with the name "S. López".
Director: Carlos Hugo Christensen | Stars: Olga Zubarry, Guillermo Battaglia, Eduardo Cuitiño, Nicolás Fregues
Votes: 149
WHODUNIT One of, if not my favorite movie. True masterpiece of the Argentinian golden era of movies. Based on Stanislas-André Steeman novel. There is a french version of this movie: [link]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034478/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_15[/link]
2. I, Robot (2004)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
In 2035, a technophobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.
Director: Alex Proyas | Stars: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, Alan Tudyk
Votes: 575,210 | Gross: $144.80M
TWIST in the plot. A very good Sci-Fi/Mystery movie
3. Clue (1985)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Six guests are anonymously invited to a strange mansion for dinner, but after their host is killed, they must cooperate with the staff to identify the murderer as the bodies pile up.
Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd
Votes: 109,251 | Gross: $14.64M
WHODUNIT This is a mystery/comedy movie with 3 different endings. This movie has a twin that you can watch: "Murder by death" [link]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937/?ref_=nv_sr_1[/link] also starring Eileen Brennan. But, while i liked "Clue", I did not like "Murder by death" and that is why is not on the list.
4. Source Code (2011)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.
Director: Duncan Jones | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 549,645 | Gross: $54.71M
TWIST with a little whodunit movie. Michelle Monaghan was lovely on this one. This movie is also set on a train. I love trains.
5. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
R | 113 min | Crime, Romance, Thriller
A very rich and successful playboy amuses himself by stealing artwork, but may have met his match in a seductive detective.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary, Ben Gazzara
Votes: 100,500 | Gross: $69.30M
TWIST movie. Clever plot and well directed. And, of course, a very sexy Rene Russo.
6. Total Recall (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
Director: Len Wiseman | Stars: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale
Votes: 266,308 | Gross: $58.88M
TWIST A very Philosophical movie full of brainers
7. The Tourist (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Action, Thriller
Revolves around Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path.
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Stars: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton
Votes: 256,383 | Gross: $67.63M
TWIST. Some of the twists of this movie are a little forced but overall I say is a good twisty movie.
8. The Illusionist (2006)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
Director: Neil Burger | Stars: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell
Votes: 389,603 | Gross: $39.87M
TWIST.
9. And Then There Were None (1945)
Approved | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Seven guests, a newly hired secretary and two staff are gathered at a manor house on an isolated island by an unknown absentee host and are killed off one-by-one. They work together to determine who the killer is before it's too late.
Director: René Clair | Stars: Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, Roland Young
Votes: 16,637
WHODUNIT movie based on Agatha Christie´s mystery classic.
10. S1m0ne (2002)
PG-13 | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
A producer's film is endangered when his star walks off, so he decides to digitally create an actress to substitute for the star, becoming an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Rachel Roberts, Benjamin Salisbury
Votes: 62,459 | Gross: $9.68M
MYSTERY. Ok, this one isn´t a whodunit or brainer and has little twists. It´s more like a romantic comedy with some mystery but i think that the ending and how things unfold make the movie deserve to be here. And the fact that i liked of course.
11. So Long at the Fair (1950)
Approved | 86 min | Drama, Mystery
Vicky Barton visits Paris with her brother Johnny, only to discover the following morning he has gone missing and the hotel staff have no recollection of his presence.
Directors: Antony Darnborough, Terence Fisher | Stars: Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde, David Tomlinson, Honor Blackman
Votes: 2,326
TWIST. Somebody´s missing and no one saw it. Jean Simmons is sweet and charming in this one.
12. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
Votes: 303,859 | Gross: $90.76M
TWIST and whoduni-tish movie.
13. The Bedroom Window (1987)
R | 112 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A young executive starts an affair with his boss's wife which then escalates into a nightmare after he lies to the police in order to protect her.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, Isabelle Huppert, Paul Shenar
Votes: 6,808 | Gross: $12.64M
TWIST. Great twist here.
14. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
Director: Juan José Campanella | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Carla Quevedo
Votes: 222,327 | Gross: $6.39M
TWIST. Campanella´s Masterpiece
15. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
PG | 152 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris
Votes: 855,829 | Gross: $317.58M
TWIST. A very hard to predict kind of twist.
16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
PG | 142 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths
Votes: 691,378 | Gross: $249.36M
TWIST and more that just one. Some brainers too.
17. Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)
Approved | 87 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
At Kimberley Prescott's villa, a stranger shows up and claims he is her brother who supposedly died the previous year in a car accident.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox
Votes: 1,464
TWIST. Excellent. I mean excellent twist here.
18. Nine Queens (2000)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps (the "nine queens").
Director: Fabián Bielinsky | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Graciela Tenenbaum, María Mercedes Villagra
Votes: 57,104 | Gross: $1.22M
TWIST. A very good hard to predict twist.
19. Karthik Calling Karthik (2010)
Not Rated | 135 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A much abused loner achieves success, and even wins the heart of his gorgeous co-worker, after getting early morning mysterious phone calls from someone.
Director: Vijay Lalwani | Stars: Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah
Votes: 13,622 | Gross: $0.26M
TWIST. Very good bollywood movie but it felt too long. This movie should have been an hour shorter. In fact if you watch this movie, you will feel that you are watching two movies instead of one. The first half of the movie is a drama/romance. The second half is a thriller.
20. Le dernier des six (1941)
90 min | Mystery, Thriller
Six friends promise to share their fortune in 5 years. The moment is very close, but one of the six is mysteriously murdered, then another... Superintendent Wenceslas Woroboyioetschik (aka Wens) is in charge of the investigation...
Director: Georges Lacombe | Stars: Pierre Fresnay, Michèle Alfa, Suzy Delair, Jean Tissier
Votes: 372
WHODUNIT. Another jewel of the belgian author Stanislas-André Steeman. Like in Agatha Christie´s "and then there were none", the friends who split a fortune start dying one by one.
21. Midnight Lace (1960)
Approved | 103 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
In London, a recently-wed American woman's sanity comes into question after she claims to be the victim of a threatening stalker.
Director: David Miller | Stars: Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy
Votes: 6,024 | Gross: $7.40M
WHODUNIT.
22. Fermat's Room (2007)
Not Rated | 89 min | Mystery, Thriller
4 mathematicians are invited to solve an enigma. Once there, they're locked in a mechanically shrinking room and given 1 minute to solve each puzzle via cellphone while also figuring out why they're there.
Directors: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña | Stars: Alejo Sauras, Elena Ballesteros, Lluís Homar, Santi Millán
Votes: 22,806
WHODUNIT movie and great twist. Not in the end but in the plot.
23. Charade (1963)
Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Mystery, Romance
Romance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Whom can she trust?
Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn
Votes: 85,547 | Gross: $13.47M
TWIST and a very clever one.
24. The Net (I) (1995)
PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When Angela Bennett, a computer programmer, stumbles upon government secrets, she finds herself on the run from an unknown enemy hell-bent on destroying her completely.
Director: Irwin Winkler | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller, Diane Baker
Votes: 73,790 | Gross: $50.73M
MYSTERY. Like in "Simone" this movie doesnt fit in any category but is a very enjoyable mystery plus Sandra Bullock.
25. The Wolverine (2013)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Sci-Fi
Wolverine comes to Japan to meet an old friend whose life he saved years ago, and gets embroiled in a conspiracy involving yakuza and mutants.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima
Votes: 491,959 | Gross: $132.56M
TWIST Definitely didn´t saw that coming
26. The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Approved | 83 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In 1916, a shadowy serial killer is targeting women with "afflictions"; one night during a thunderstorm, the mute Helen feels menaced.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith
Votes: 11,259
WHODUNIT
27. Body Double (1984)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A young actor's obsession with spying on a beautiful woman who lives nearby leads to a baffling series of events with drastic consequences.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton
Votes: 38,167 | Gross: $8.80M
TWIST. Deborah Shelton was hot and hot and oh a little hot in this one. Did i mention she was hot?
28. Rear Window (1954)
PG | 112 min | Mystery, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 521,933 | Gross: $36.76M
MYSTERY and Grace Kelly.
29. Eagle Eye (2008)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
Jerry and Rachel are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move.
Director: D.J. Caruso | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis
Votes: 195,206 | Gross: $101.11M
TWIST
30. Rebecca (1940)
Approved | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson
Votes: 146,683 | Gross: $4.36M
TWIST.
31. Dial M for Murder (1954)
PG | 105 min | Crime, Thriller
A former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams
Votes: 188,737 | Gross: $0.01M
TWIST.
32. Never Open That Door (1952)
85 min | Mystery, Thriller
Two separate episodes that have in common the door which separates good from evil. In the first segment, "Alguien al teléfono", Ángel Magaña tries to avenge the death of his sister, a girl ... See full summary »
Director: Carlos Hugo Christensen | Stars: Ángel Magaña, Renée Dumas, Nicolás Fregues, Diana de Córdoba
Votes: 279
TWIST. The twist of the first segment is GREAT. It is an exception for the happy-ending rule but it was worth it.
33. Groundhog Day (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 684,905 | Gross: $70.91M
TWIST
34. The Exterminating Angel (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy
The guests at an upper-class dinner party find themselves unable to leave.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, Enrique Rambal, José Baviera
Votes: 35,538
TWIST. Surreal movie.
35. Yesterday's Guys Used No Arsenic (1976)
110 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Mara Ordaz, a former diva who lives in a mansion away from the city and sorrounded by memories together with her husband, her doctor and the person in charge of the administration of her ... See full summary »
Director: José A. Martínez Suárez | Stars: Mecha Ortiz, Arturo García Buhr, Narciso Ibáñez Menta, Mario Soffici
Votes: 221
TWIST. This twist was clever and i don´t remember seeing the same twist in other movie.
36. Following (1998)
R | 69 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A young writer who follows strangers for material meets a thief who takes him under his wing.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell, John Nolan
Votes: 101,712 | Gross: $0.05M
TWIST. Ok, no happy ending here. But what a twist. The chronollogical shuffle was good. Anyway a "happy ending" in this movie is difficult because the characters were all bad guys
37. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 137,796 | Gross: $8.18M
TWIST.
38. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 986,731 | Gross: $170.74M
39. The Last of Sheila (1973)
PG | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A year after Sheila is killed by a hit-and-run driver, her wealthy husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt mystery game. The game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Richard Benjamin, James Coburn, James Mason, Dyan Cannon
Votes: 8,409
TWIST and brainer.
40. Dangerous Crossing (1953)
Approved | 75 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
When a beautiful bride boards an ocean liner with her new husband, he goes into hiding, and she becomes the target of a murder conspiracy.
Director: Joseph M. Newman | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Michael Rennie, Max Showalter, Carl Betz
Votes: 2,431
TWIST. Ok this movie isn´t very good but makes the list because sweet Jeanne Crain is on it
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