TimeOut's 40 Best Murder Mysteries

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It’s safe to say that the murder-mystery is back. After decades of being woefully out of fashion, the classic whodunnit has returned to cultural prominence, thanks in large part to the leftfield success of 2019’s Knives Out and its even bigger follow-up, Glass Onion. Now, it seems like you can’t look through a magnifying glass without seeing a dead body that’s turned up under suspicious circumstances, either in cinemas (the recent remakes of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile) or on television (Only Murders in the Building, Poker Face).

It’s a welcome return for many reasons. For one thing, murder-mystery movies are one of cinema’s foundational genres, and having them back in style has a way of reconnecting viewers with film history. Also, in the age of streaming, when most of us struggle to pay full attention to whatever’s on television while doomscrolling on Twitter, movies that force us to engage, follow clues and essentially become a participation serve as an ideal antidote to distracted viewing. With a renaissance now in full swing, we felt it was time to round up some of the genre’s classics, along with its hidden gems. Here are 40 of the best.