25 Puzzling Mystery Movies on Netflix You Can Stream This Month

The gang’s all here in Martin Scorsese’s new crime drama epic. Inspired by Charles Brandt’s I Heard You Paint Houses, the movie examines the life of Frank Sheeran, an Irish-American labor union official and believed mob hitman who says he killed Jimmy Hoffa. The cast is stellar. Robert DeNiro portrays Sheeran, while Al Pacino plays a wild-eyed Jimmy Hoffa. Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, and Ray Romano also star. Just get settled in on the couch before you queue it up—The Irishman runs for three and a half hours!  

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This popular 2010 sci-fi thriller is a deeply layered mind-bending romp. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a professional thief who, alongside his accomplice Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), utilizes experimental military technology to penetrate the dream-state of marks. While typically the duo enter people’s subconscious to extract information for corporate espionage, a new client (Ken Watanabe) tempts Cobb with the promise to clear his criminal record if he instead plants an idea in the head of the heir to a company (Cillian Murphy). Enlisting the help of the forger Eames (Tom Hardy), the chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao), the architectural student Ariadne (Ellen Page), and Cobb’s father-in-law Professor Stephen Miles (Michael Caine), Cobb and Arthur construct a plan to build a multi-layer dream labyrinth which twists the perception of what’s real or imagined.

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Martin Scorsese knows how to attract star power. This 2006 crime drama, based on the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs, boasts stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin. As the Massachusetts State Police works to bring down Irish-American organized crime from the inside out, the Irish mob hatches a similar plan that targets the police force. Billy Costigan is an undercover cop tasked with infiltrating Frank Costello’s crime syndicate, while undercover gangster Sargeant Colin Sullivan has wormed his way into the Massachusetts State Police. Deeply entangled in their double lives, Costigan and Sullivan race to expose the other mole's identity before their missions become compromised.

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A Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling) lives a double life as a criminal getaway driver. However, when he starts to get close to his new neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, he gets tangled up in a job that’s complicated from the get-go. Teaming up with Irene’s fresh-out-of-prison husband (Oscar Isaac), the Driver gets tangled up in a world of double-crossing, mob violence, and death.

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This exciting 2002 film directed by Steven Spielberg is a biographical film about real-life criminal Frank Abagnale Jr. Frank, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in this film, was known for pulling off cons in cunning disguises and raking in millions of dollars before he reached his 19th birthday. FBI agent Carl Hanratty (portrayed by Tom Hanks) follows Frank’s trail, determined to bring him to justice. Despite his youth, Frank is clever, and more than anything, he loves the chase.

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Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) is a law student with a big talent for poker, or so he thinks. When he lays it all on the line during a game of Texas Hold ‘Em, he ends up losing $30,000. Shaken, Mike makes a promise to his girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol) that he’s done with poker for good. But when his old friend Lester “Worm” Murphy (Edward Norton) rolls back into his life, Mike soon finds himself back in the gambling life. As the debt racks up, dangers mount as the Russian mob demands payment.

The Gift is a supernatural mystery thriller written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, allegedly based on the psychic experiences of Thorton’s mother. In a small Georgia town, Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a woman who possesses extrasensory perception—the gift of clairvoyance. When Jessica King (Katie Holmes) goes missing, Annie has a vision of the woman’s final moments. As a murder investigation unfolds, Jessica’s fiancée Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear) depends on Annie for help solving this terrible mystery.

This 1996 mystery courtroom drama is based on a novel of the same name by William Diehl. When altar boy Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton) is discovered covered in blood near the scene of the murdered Archbishop Rushman (Stanley Anderson), his involvement seems to be a given. However, flashy defense attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) is determined to prove his new client's innocence. At odds with the prosecutor (Laura Linney), Vail starts down a shadowy path of secrets and deceit.

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In the aftermath of a robbery gone wrong, three criminals—Stacy (Adrien Brody), Walker (John Malkovich), and Gage (Rory Culkin)—take refuge in a warehouse in order to evade police pursuit. Little do the thieves know, a large and vicious mastiff—owned by the violent dog-fighter Blue (Antonio Banderas)—prowls the corridors of the warehouse. With a taste for blood, the dangerous animal stalks the crooks, posing a larger threat than the looming law outside the warehouse walls.

This dramatic thriller from 2016 stars Aaron Paul and Annabelle Wallis. David and Claire are a loving couple. Yet their happy life together is disrupted when Claire goes missing. After receiving very little help from the police, David sets about searching for his girlfriend on his own. Yet the deeper David digs, the less anything makes sense. Soon one thing becomes clear: Claire was not the person he thought she was.

Though actually a 6-part limited series, this thrilling Netflix political mystery is inspired by a real-life person. In the 1960s, Eli Cohen (portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen, in a startlingly serious role) is an Israeli clerk turned Mossad spy. For years, Eli works deep undercover in Syria under the name Kamel Amin Thaabet. As he makes himself indispensable and curates a group of high society associates, Cohen begins to lose sight of where Kamel stops and Eli begins.

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This 2004 gangster thriller was adapted from the novel of the same name by J.J. Connolly. When successful London cocaine dealer XXXX (Daniel Craig) tries to get out of the drug business, mob leader Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) gives him one final set of tasks—locate an associate’s missing daughter (Nathalie Lunghi,) and monitor the sale of a large quantity of ecstasy. But of course, no one’s last job ever goes according to plan. Soon XXXX finds himself deep in the middle of a conflict with Serbian war criminals.

Tragedy strikes when FBI agent Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and L.A. district attorney investigator Jess Cobb (Julia Roberts) discover the body of Jess’ teenage daughter Carolyn (Zoe Graham) in a dumpster. As Jess falls apart, Ray feels responsible and commits himself to finding the man who killed Carolyn. With the help of the new assistant district attorney (Nicole Kidman), they sink into a web of secrets that get darker and darker.

Directed by Anthony Byrne, this film is rife with dark suspense. When blind pianist Sofia (Natalie Dormer) overhears a murder in the apartment above her, she begins to fear for her own life. After crossing paths with the accused war criminal that happens to be the murder victim’s father (Jan Bijvoet), Sofia sinks into a whirlwind of corruption and intrigue. However, as Sofia ventures deeper into the dark crime world, links to her past slowly unravel.

This dark 2015 drama is based on the novel of the same name by author Gillian Flynn. When Libby Day (Charlize Theron) was eight years old, she emerged from her Kansas farmhouse as the only survivor after the brutal murder of her mother and sisters. Decades after testifying that her brother was the murderer, Libby is lured into discussing the tragedy for financial gain. As she thinks back to that awful night, she begins to doubt what she had always believed.

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This film uses offbeat comedy to bring some levity into the mystery genre. When depressed nurse Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) comes home from work to find her house has been ransacked, the police are less than helpful. As she goes looking for her own answers, she finds some unexpected encouragement and aid from her intense neighbor, Tony (Elijah Wood). As their amateur sleuthing begins to give them a sense of purpose, it also leads them into more trouble than they bargained for.

When disgraced former cop Mike Kendall (John Hawkes) stumbles upon a woman as she lies dying on the side of the road, he vows to find her killer. Hired by her grandfather (Robert Forster), Kendall takes on the case as a private investigator. The growing mystery takes him down a dark path, and though he is driven by the search for redemption, he gets wrapped up in several shady characters and unwittingly puts his own family in harm’s way.

Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether,” this film embraces the inherently unsettling nature of insane asylums. In the early 1900s, Oxford graduate Dr. Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) arrives at Stonehearst Asylum to take up an apprenticeship under Dr. Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley). When Newgate becomes infatuated with one of the patients, Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale), he also begins to realize that Lamb’s methods for treatment are wildly unconventional. Nothing is as it seems in the asylum, and no one is safe.

In the Shadow of the Moon combines the thrill of mystery with the excitement of science fiction. In 1988, a Philadelphia police detective, portrayed by Boyd Holbrook, becomes obsessed with a string of murders. The serial killer, portrayed by Cleopatra Coleman, is unpredictable and elusive. Her victims have no apparent motive or connection. However, the evidence starts to slot into place even as the detective’s family life starts to unravel. Unfortunately, the closer he gets to the truth, the more he appears unhinged.

This South Korean mystery is one wild ride. The film follows Lee Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in), an aspiring writer who does various jobs around Paju, a city in South Korea. When he runs into Shin Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), a childhood classmate, she asks if he can feed her cat while so goes on a trip to Africa. Lee agrees, and the two get intimate just before Shin takes off. When she returns, she is accompanied by a man named Ben (Steven Yeun), a rich and confident man who seems to be hiding more than he lets on. When the trio hangs out together, Lee becomes increasingly jealous and suspicious of Ben’s motives. And when Shin goes missing, Lee takes it upon himself to investigate the matter, with Ben as the prime suspect.

This critically acclaimed Australian crime thriller is a mystery film that you won’t forget. The movie takes place almost entirely inside an interrogation room where Eddie Fleming (Hugo Weaving) is getting grilled by detective John Steele (Tony Martin) for crimes he claims he didn’t commit. At first, he gets questioned about a stolen vehicle. Later down the road, however, Eddie appears to have a connection to a string of killings. Both actors play well off each other, and the shocking twists and power plays in the mystery movie will have viewers glued to their screens. 

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This 2014 Canadian thriller weaves a nonlinear mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) and Tina Lane (Mireille Enos) have their daughter Cassandra (Peyton Kennedy/Alexia Fast) abducted on a simple Winter’s day. The loss tears what remains of their family apart. Eight years later, the parents receive evidence that indicates their daughter might still be alive. Matthew, Tina, and the police race to follow the disturbing trail of clues back to the truth.

This Spanish film will have amateur detectives mystified. Businessman Adrian Doria is blackmailed after being found with the body of his lover. Yet nothing about his story is as it seems. 

This sequel to the 1997 film Kiss the Girls stars Morgan Freeman back in the role of Detective Alex Cross. Following the death of his partner, Cross comes out of retirement to investigate the kidnapping of a U.S. senator’s daughter (Mika Boorem). Special Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter) joins Cross to track down science teacher Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott), who took the young girl from school. They discover, however, that the kidnapping plot may not be as simple as it seems.

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Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, The Night Of) stars as Tommy Akhtar, a private detective looking for a missing sex worker. Put on the job by her roommate, Akhtar is soon in over his head and caught up in his own past. This old-school homage is worth watching for Ahmed and Billie Piper’s performances.

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