Mystery movies
Puzzles and secrets to solve along the way.
Swipe this deck
Chinatown
1974
Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
← no→ yes↑ maybeCtrl Z undo
Swipe this deck with friends →
In the mood for something else? Build your own deck →
Everything in this deck
Chinatown1974
Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
Rear Window1954
Thriller · Mystery · Drama
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
The Maltese Falcon1941
Mystery · Crime · Thriller
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
The Usual Suspects1995
Drama · Crime · Thriller
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
Vertigo1958
Mystery · Romance · Thriller
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
The Third Man1949
Thriller · Mystery
In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.
Clue1985
Comedy · Crime · Mystery
Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackmailing all of them. With the killer among them, the guests and Boddy's chatty butler must suss out the culprit before the body count rises.
Se7en1995
Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
Memento2000
Mystery · Thriller
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
Brick2006
Drama · Mystery · Crime
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Gone Baby Gone2007
Crime · Drama · Mystery
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.
Prisoners2013
Drama · Thriller · Crime
After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.
Witness for the Prosecution1957
Drama · Mystery · Crime
An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.
L.A. Confidential1997
Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Shutter Island2010
Drama · Thriller · Mystery
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
Knives Out2019
Comedy · Crime · Mystery
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.
Mystic River2003
Thriller · Drama · Mystery
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo2011
Thriller · Crime · Mystery
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.
Primal Fear1996
Crime · Drama · Thriller
Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.
The Silence of the Lambs1991
Crime · Thriller · Drama
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Murder on the Orient Express2017
Mystery · Drama · Crime
Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American tycoon aboard the Orient Express train.
Laura1944
Drama · Mystery
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Zodiac2007
Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Police conduct a manhunt for the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers.
Oldboy2003
Thriller · Mystery
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
…and more in the deck
About this deck
The films come from published “best of” lists for this mood, checked by hand and ordered by how often they're recommended. The list above names the top 24. Picks include Chinatown, Rear Window, and The Maltese Falcon.
Swipe it on your own and the deck deals 12 cards at random from the whole list — yes, no or maybe. Your yeses become a shortlist, and if you still can't choose, the dice pick one. No account needed.
Deciding with others? Swipe with friends: everyone swipes the same cards on their own phone, and pickaru finds the one you all said yes to — or your top picks.