Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide, death, and vomit
Do you like the idea of scary movies, but watch through your fingers if your friends actually put one on? Horror movies are a classic Halloween activity, and scaredy-cats often feel left out. My favorite Halloween movies that won’t keep you up at night include: Hocus Pocus, Coraline, and campy slashers like Friday the 13th. While these are suspenseful and spooky, they won’t leave you feeling shaken or grossed out. However, only a handful of Halloween movies meet this criteria, so I’ve turned to another fall movie genre altogether. Murder mysteries are the perfect solution. Casts of dynamic suspects, compelling stories, brilliant detectives, satisfying reveals — when a whodunit is done right, it’s electric. Murder mysteries are horror movies in the past tense — something terrible and scary happened, and now the suspense lies in finding out how and why. Below is a list of my top five favorite whodunit movies and TV shows; they are perfect for the scary movie fix that scaredy-cats like me secretly crave.
- Knives Out
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Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Knives Out is one of my favorite movies of all time that delves into the mysterious, supposed suicide of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), a wealthy author. My favorite part of the movie is the small details about the characters that really stand out to me, like the fact that Thrombey’s nurse, Marta Cabrera, can’t lie without vomiting. Another plus of Knives Out is Chris Evans in his iconic knit sweater.
- The Afterparty
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Where to watch: Apple TV
These two brilliant seasons focus on Aniq (Sam Richardson), an escape room designer who finds himself at an afterparty with a dead body upstairs. Each episode of The Afterparty focuses on a different character, and is filmed in that character’s style, telling their story the way they tell it to Aniq. Some notable examples of this are Season 2, Episode 2, which was filmed like a Jane Austen period piece; Season 2, Episode 4, which was filmed like a Wes Anderson movie; and Season 1, Episode 2, which was filmed like a Die Hard-esque action movie.
- The Residence
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Where to watch: Netflix
Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) is an endearing play on the quirky detective trope, and The Residence breathes new life into the whodunit genre. When the Chief Usher of the White House is found dead during a dinner party, Detective Cupp is pulled from her birdwatching to investigate the killer of A.B. Winters, or if he died by suicide after all. The Residence is incredibly heartfelt and one of those rare murder mysteries that doesn’t focus on gore — instead, this whodunit delves into the life of A.B. Winters, taking the question of who did it seriously and with tremendous respect.
- Clue
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Where to watch: Youtube TV
Find yourself thrown into the iconic board game that will have you wonder who killed Professor Plum with a candlestick in the observatory. Clue is a cozy yet suspenseful whodunnit classic that will leave you wanting more.
- Death on the Nile (2022)
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Where to watch: Hulu, Disney+
Although Death on the Nile has been popping up in memes about Gal Gadot’s monotone acting, her costars make up for her somewhat deadpan delivery. With exemplary performances from Sex Education’s Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, and once again Branagh as Detective Poirot, Death on the Nile is my favorite installment of the Christie-Branagh franchise.
Whodunnits aren’t just about finding out who did it; the thrill of tracking down and chasing the culprit and the plot twists are what make them so special — these films add the seasonal spookiness scaredy-cats are looking for.
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