10 Best Detective Movies for With Puzzling Mysteries

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Have you ever watched a movie and spent the whole time trying to guess who did it? There is something exciting about watching a clever investigator piece together clues, talk to suspects, and slowly uncover the truth. Detective movies pull you in from the very first scene. They make you think, they surprise you, and sometimes they give you an ending you never saw coming. Whether the story is set in the 1940s or today, a great mystery never gets old.

In this list, we have gathered ten of the best detective movies that will keep you guessing until the very last minute. Each one offers a different kind of mystery, a different setting, and a detective you will not forget.

Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand

The first on our list is a true classic of the genre. Humphrey Bogart plays private detective Sam Spade, a tough and sharp man who gets pulled into a dangerous case after his partner is killed. A mysterious woman then hires him to find a small statue called the Maltese Falcon, but nothing about the job is what it seems. Directed by John Huston, "The Maltese Falcon" is one of the most important detective movies ever made and a must-watch for any fan of the genre.

Where to Watch: YouTube TV, AMC, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Plex

Jodie Foster plays FBI trainee Clarice Starling, a young woman trying to catch a dangerous serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. To get closer to the truth, she is sent to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant but deeply disturbing psychiatrist played by Anthony Hopkins, who is already in prison for his own crimes. Hopkins won an Academy Award for this role, and "The Silence of the Lambs" went on to win five Oscars in total, including Best Picture. It is intense, smart, and deeply unsettling in the best way possible.

Where to Watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or rent on Apple TV and Fandango At Home

Directed by Otto Preminger, this elegant film noir follows Detective Mark McPherson, played by Dana Andrews, who is sent to investigate the murder of a young woman named Laura. As he interviews the people who knew her, which includes a sharp journalist played by Clifton Webb and a charming suspect played by a young Vincent Price, something unexpected happens: the detective slowly begins to fall in love with a woman he believes to be dead. Then the case takes a turn that changes everything.

Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Fandango At Home

Long before director Bong Joon-ho won the Academy Award for Best Picture with "Parasite," he made this gripping Korean crime film based on a true story. Two very different detectives are assigned to investigate a series of brutal murders in a small rural town in 1986, with one relying on instinct and the other demanding hard evidence. As the case drags on without answers, both men slowly begin to fall apart. "Memories of Murder" is one of the most haunting and carefully made detective films ever produced.

Where to Watch: fuboTV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy, Hoopla

Based on Agatha Christie's famous novel, this film follows the brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, played by Albert Finney, as he tries to solve a murder that took place on a moving train where every passenger is a suspect and no one is telling the whole truth. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film brings together a stunning cast that includes Lauren Bacall and Sean Connery, all hiding something behind their polished smiles. "Murder on the Orient Express" is a beautifully crafted puzzle where the final answer is just as shocking as the mystery itself.

Where to Watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, JustWatch TV, Kanopy

Directed by Roman Polanski, this film stars Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes, a private detective hired to follow a man suspected of having an affair. What starts as a simple job slowly becomes something far more dangerous, pulling him deep into a world of lies and violence he was never meant to see. Faye Dunaway plays a mysterious woman at the center of it all, with secrets she is desperate to keep hidden. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, "Chinatown" is known for its slow-building tension, sharp writing, and one of the most memorable endings in cinema history.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, FlixFling, Plex

Directed by Rian Johnson, this modern and witty detective story begins with the death of a wealthy crime novelist on the night of his birthday, with every member of his strange and greedy family immediately becoming a suspect. Daniel Craig plays the sharp and theatrical detective Benoit Blanc, a role very different from his time as James Bond, and he is joined by a star-studded cast that includes Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, and Jamie Lee Curtis. "Knives Out" plays cleverly with the rules of the classic whodunit in ways that will surprise even the most experienced mystery fans.

Where to Watch: Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video (free with ads)

Set in 1950s Los Angeles, this crime thriller directed by Curtis Hanson follows three very different police officers who all end up investigating the same brutal massacre at a late-night diner. Russell Crowe plays a hot-headed cop who solves problems with his fists, Guy Pearce is an ambitious young detective who plays strictly by the rules, and Kevin Spacey portrays an officer more interested in fame than justice. Based on James Ellroy's novel, "L.A. Confidential" peels back the glamorous surface of old Hollywood to reveal a world full of corruption, blackmail, and buried secrets.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

Not every detective movie needs to be serious, and this one from directors Joel and Ethan Coen proves it. Jeff Bridges plays Jeffrey Lebowski, a lazy, bowling-obsessed man who goes by "The Dude," and after a case of mistaken identity leads to his rug being ruined, he finds himself tangled in a kidnapping plot involving a ransom demand, a cast of deeply strange characters, and more confusion than he ever bargained for. His loud and opinionated best friend Walter, played by John Goodman, makes things even more chaotic along the way. "The Big Lebowski" is funny, strange, and oddly satisfying as a mystery, even if the man at the center of it would rather just go bowling.

Where to Watch: Paramount Plus, YouTube, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, JustWatch TV, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Plex

Directed by David Fincher, this film is based on the real-life hunt for the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified murderer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Robert Graysmith, a newspaper cartoonist who becomes so obsessed with the case that he keeps chasing it long after the police have given up, with Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. playing the officers and reporters who were there from the very beginning. Unlike most crime thrillers, "Zodiac" does not offer a clean resolution, and that is exactly what makes it so deeply unsettling and impossible to forget.