399 Best Mystery Movies to Watch (Page 14)

A delightful blend of romance, humor, and intrigue (as expected of many historical K-Dramas), this series takes us on a whimsical journey as Crown Prince Lee Yul, suffering from amnesia, is convinced to wed the headstrong Hong Sim due to his own decree. The drama plays into the comedic potential of his lost memory as he maintains his air of nobility—rendering him useless at daily chores and acts of labour to everyone's dismay. As the effects of political secrets and conspiracies affect the poor of the kingdom, Yul begins to use his intelligence, martial arts skills, and literacy to help people learn and protect themselves. Doh Kyung-soo and Nam Ji-Hyun beautifully perform a fun enemies-to-lovers dynamic of a foolish prince and a justice-oriented woman. 100 Days My Prince delivers ornate kingdoms, cherry blossom-filled sets, and secret coups, all in a comfortable watch.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Ahn Suk-hwan, Cho Han-cheul, Cho Seong-ha, Do Ji-han, Doh Kyung-soo, Han So-hee, Heo Jung-eun, Heo Jung-min, Ji Min-hyuk, Jo Han-chul, Jo Hyun-sik, Jung Hae-kyun, Jung Ji-hoon, Kim Jae-young, Kim Ki-doo, Kim Seon-ho, Lee Jun-hyeok, Lee Min-ji, Nam Ji-hyun, Oh Yeon-ah

Director: Lee Jong-jae

Rating: N/A

On the surface, The Woman in the Wall is immediately scary. It’s riddled with jumpscares, shrieks, haunting Latin songs, blood-hued flashbacks, and, of course, incessant Catholic and Gothic imagery. But while it’s effective as a horror, it’s more meaningful as a tribute to the survivors of the Magdalene Laundries, that is, Catholic convents where nuns took care of “wayward women,” which ranged from teen girls who’ve engaged in premarital sex to prostitutes. They’re often abused and forced to work long hours, and in the case of some pregnant women, their babies were taken away from them as punishment for their sins. That’s what happened all those years ago to Lorna (Ruth Wilson), who’s never learned how to cope with her loss and trauma in the years since the laundries were banned in ‘96. She becomes the main suspect in the case of a murdered priest, and the more we learn about it, the more we question Lorna’s memories and recollections. Is she capable of this brutality? Where is her baby? And what does the detective, played ably by Daryl McCormack, have to do with all this? The show can seem too much at first, but it weaves all these questions and prickly themes deftly by the end.

Genre: Crime, Mystery

Actor: Abby Fitz, Daryl McCormack, Dermot Crowley, Frances Tomelty, Hilda Fay, Mark Huberman, Ruth Wilson, Simon Delaney

Rating: TV-MA

Child kidnapping is any parent’s nightmare, and it’s the nightmare that drives the events of Spanish crime thriller The Snow Girl. Based on the 2020 novel of the same name, the limited series takes a unique double-pronged approach to the case at hand. The show goes through the regular police investigations we’ve seen previously, but it also comes mainly from the perspective of journalist Miren Rojo, whose previous trauma understandably limits her trust with the authorities. As the show moves the story from New York to Malaga, and switches between perspectives, and timelines, The Snow Girl adeptly maintains the novel’s original suspense, without over sensationalizing the crime at hand.

Genre: Crime, Mystery

Actor: Aixa Villagrán, José Coronado, Loreto Mauleón, Milena Smit, Tristán Ulloa

Rating: TV-MA

Cassie Bowen (Kaley Cuoco) is a hot mess. She’s flirty, flighty, and constantly blackout drunk, so when she wakes up one day to find a dead man next to her, it’s not entirely beyond the realm of possibility that she's responsible for it. But as Cassie uncovers new memories over time, it gets harder and harder to track the truth. Is she a murder suspect or a frame-up victim? 

That’s what Cassie sets out to solve, but with the FBI and multiple hitmen on her tail, not to mention bouts of alcoholism and PTSD getting in the way, it’s up to her to figure things out on her own before it’s too late. 

To be sure, The Flight Attendant is a well-crafted thriller, with rousing music and noir-like editing adding to the classic whodunnit experience. But it’s also refreshingly not that serious. The performances are big and loud and self-ridicule often drives the characters’ dialogue. What makes The Flight Attendant stand out from its darker counterparts is that it has a sense of humor about itself, which makes it all the more engaging to watch. It's pulpy good fun, and it knows it.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Callie Hernandez, Cheryl Hines, Deniz Akdeniz, Griffin Matthews, Joseph Julian Soria, Kaley Cuoco, Mo McRae, Rosie Perez, Zosia Mamet

Rating: TV-MA

With its first episode, The Changeling might feel less scary and more romantic and historical than how a horror fantasy would seem like. The series shifts in and out of flashbacks, sometimes even having a flashback within a flashback, with dreamlike sequences that makes it take a while to figure out when and where the story is taking place. This causes the series to have some unusual pacing that might turn off viewers wanting a quick scare. But there’s a certain mystery to it, a certain anxiety captured as Apollo and Emmy disobey the Brazilian witch, as it recalls those negligent parents in familiar fantastic fairy tales. And as the series makes their flashbacks, there’s a certain fear that Apollo and Emmy might redo the same mistakes their immigrant parents have done before them. It makes for an intriguing take on the novel by Victor LaValle, one that captures a realistic fear that isn’t easy to depict.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Adina Porter, Alexis Louder, Clark Backo, Jared Abrahamson, Lakeith Stanfield, Samuel T. Herring

Rating: TV-MA

Set in 1930s Hollywood, a decadent city festering with crime and corruption, Perry Mason is a stylish noir series that fully recalls the crime classics of its era. It has the hallmarks of an old-fashioned mystery, the most prominent of which is the titular detective himself, Perry Mason—a boozy antihero with a heart of rusty gold—but it keeps plenty of secrets up its sleeve, making it fresh and surprising at almost every turn. 

Sometimes, it gets ahead of itself and takes on too many plot lines for its own good, but if you can forgive the occasional convolutedness, the show rewards you with shocking twists and rich performances.  

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Chris Chalk, Eric Lange, Juliet Rylance, Justin Kirk, Katherine Waterston, Matthew Rhys

Rating: TV-MA

As is sometimes the case with multi-genre shows, Paper Girls starts off slow and gives us a lot to process at the onset. But if you give it some time, the eight-episode series delivers both on the sci-fi and drama fronts. Sure, it could benefit from a bigger CGI budget, but the world it imagines about timekeepers and time benders is inspired and intriguing, certainly worth exploring as much as we do the lore behind shows like Doctor Who and Loki. 

That said, the series is at its best when it centers on its mundane leads, the titular paper girls. The conversations they engage in and the epiphanies they have are gut-wrenching, not only because of their sentiment but also because of their truth. These 12-year-olds are confused and anxious and awkward and lonely—preteen girls on the brink of adolescence. The show doesn’t shy away from those qualities and parallels their volatility with sci-fi elements. The result is a nicely balanced story, equal parts thrilling and touching. It’s the perfect watch for people who enjoy fares like Back to the Future, E.T., and Stranger Things, which are themselves perfect blends of the sci-fi and coming-of-age genres. 

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction

Actor: Adina Porter, Fina Strazza, Riley Lai Nelet, Sofia Rosinsky

Rating: TV-MA