15 mind-blowing mystery movies

Many movies go well with popcorn. They don’t make you think at all while you’re watching. People usually like it, because they came to the theater to relax from their worries. But some films are real puzzles. These are the ones we’re going to talk about.

15 mystery movies

Eternal Sunshine of the Pure Mind

1. Year: 2004

2. Rating on Kinopoisk: 8.0

3. Director: Michel Gondry

4. Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Jerry Robert Byrne, Mike Ruffalo

For a while, Jim Carrey decided to step away from his comedic personas. To that end, he starts doing dramatic movies. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is one of those. It’s also quite a mystery – you have to puzzle over it.

This film tells the story of the shy Joel. He lives an unremarkable life. One day, however, he gets on an electric train headed in a completely different direction. Arriving at the sea, Joel meets a girl with bright blue hair. And that would be okay, but the guy is starting to realize that he knows this girl from somewhere. And it soon turns out that they used to be a couple. But how could he forget that? That’s the main mystery of the movie.

Watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is best with your girlfriend or wife. You can be sure she’ll have wet eyes, because the movie is quite sad. And the camerawork! Not surprisingly, audiences and critics have awarded the film very high marks. And how well Jim Carrey did his part! And Nicholas Cage was a contender for it..

Remember

1. Year: 2000

2. Rating on Kinopoisk: 7.9

3. Director: Christopher Nolan

4. Starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantogliano

Christopher Nolan likes to play with time in his work. That’s why we’ve included several of his movies in our selection. The director used unusual editing for the first time in the film “Remember. Here, part of the film lasts in normal time, while the other follows in reverse. And not just for fun!

The plot of this movie is about a man who suffers from a serious illness. Every 10 or 15 minutes he forgets absolutely everything that happened to him before. And at the very beginning of the movie, he finds out that his wife has been murdered. Leonard (that’s the name of the main character) has to find out who is behind the murder. But with his illness, it is a very difficult task, because he constantly does not recognize the people around him. Having to use auxiliary means – writing clues on his body and taking pictures on a Polaroid.

At the time of this film, Nolan was a newcomer. However, it was given a decent budget, which at the time of the rental was completely repaid. The audience really enjoyed the fact that they had to give up in Leonard’s skin. After all, they didn’t know what had happened to the main character earlier, either. And every 15 minutes the film answers another question by providing a new flashback.

If you think about it, “Remember” is a traditional action movie. Had it been edited in the traditional way, it wouldn’t have been very interesting. The viewer would not have to puzzle over it, and certainly not everyone would want to review the film.

Games of the mind

1. Year: 2001

2. Rating on Kinopoisk: 8.6

3. Director: Ron Howard

4. Starring Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer

One of the best mystery movies ever made. And with a young Russell Crowe in the leading role, who had already shown a lot of hope. And the story is based on real events. It’s about John Forbes Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics. But it is necessary to understand that some events in the film are exaggerated. For example, in real life, the mathematician suffered from auditory hallucinations, while in the film there were also visual.

It’s about a student who can’t connect with the people around him. He doesn’t even attend classes, concentrating on his own research. Gradually the guy becomes a young scientist, and starts working as a teacher. And he even marries one of the students!

The main events start when John is approached by agent William Parcher, who offers to work for the CIA, his special division. Nash needs to analyze information from open sources to find encrypted information, supposedly this is how the enemies of the United States exchange data. But it soon becomes clear that many aspects of the mathematician’s life do not exist in reality-they are only figments of the imagination. And the viewer has to guess which ones.

Mind Games” shows that you can succeed in life even if you have schizophrenia. Moreover, the disease helped the main character to make an important discovery, for which he received a prestigious award. This allows us to call the film not only mysterious but also inspiring.

Isle of Damned

1. Year: 2009

2. Movie Guide Score: 8.5

3. Director: Martin Scorcese

4. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow

This movie has a seemingly ordinary plot. Two bailiffs are sent to a mental institution located on an island in Massachusetts. Earlier here, one of the patients disappeared. And yet she is a criminal! Bailiffs need to investigate, during which very interesting circumstances begin to emerge.

The main character is played here by Leonardo DiCaprio. And he did a wonderful job with the role! The viewer is very interesting to watch the marshal who literally goes crazy. By the way, this is the first, but not the last Leonardo DiCaprio movie in our selection.

Most of all the film “Island of the Damned” is interesting in its denouement. At first, the viewer may not even notice the mystique going on in the frame. But if he’s been paying attention, in the end, everything finally comes to light for him. You do realize that the missing glass from the patient’s hand is not a cinematic gaffe. And there’s a reason for the abundance of water in the shot. If you watch the film without thinking too much, you risk dropping your jaw on the floor at the end of the film, because the ending is so unexpected…

Mulholland Drive

1. Year: 2001

2. Rating on Kinopoint: 7.6

3. Director: David Lynch

4. Starring Naomi Watts, Laura Herring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller

If you want to not understand what’s going on while watching a movie, we recommend that you appreciate David Lynch’s work. Especially his TV series “Twin Peaks.”. But if you don’t have that much time for it, you can watch “Mulholland Drive”. It also uses a very convoluted plot.

This film is a parochial thriller. This was supposed to be the pilot episode of the series. But the studio refused to give money for it, so Lynch had to finish shooting scenes, turning his work into a feature film. Pretty surreal, I must say.

The film lets us know that a girl named Laura Herring gets into an accident in her limousine, and before she does, they want to kill her. After an unfortunate blow to the head, a girl sneaks into a dark-haired stranger’s house, where she stays to sleep. When she wakes up, she realizes that she has completely lost her memory. She can’t even remember her name. Throughout the rest of the movie, she tries to remember the events that happened, and the stranger Betty tries to help her.

Do not think that the film fits into the description above. In fact, it is much more complicated than that. It can be interpreted in many different ways. Fans have already built up a lot of theories. Some of them go so far as to say that the whole movie is nobody’s dream.

If you like the movie, you’ll spend the next few hours in contemplation. But it can also happen that everything that happens seems to make no sense to you… In this case, the motion picture could easily become one of the most unloved. Strictly speaking, this is why Mulholland Drive is far from the highest rating on Kinopoisk and other similar sites.

Deja Vu

1. The year is 2006

2. Kinopoisk Score: 7.8

3. Directed by: Tony Scott

4. Starring Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, James Caviezel

Want to see a movie that’s just trying to sound smart?? In that case, you might want to check out “Deja Vu,” starring Denzel Washington. This movie tells the story of ATF agent Doug Carlin. He comes to town to investigate a terrorist attack on the New Orleans ferry. The explosion took many lives, including the one of his partner.

The story could have been the most mundane. But the filmmakers included an element of sci-fi. At the same time, the ATF decides to test the equivalent of a time machine. It doesn’t let him travel back in time, but it does help him see it on the big screen. You can only see what happened four and a half days ago, and at a certain distance from the equipment installed. How, with such restrictions, to identify the perpetrator of the explosion, who, apparently, was somewhere outside the ferry, so he remained alive?

The plot of “Deja Vu” is also interesting because Doug Carlin observes the events that took place a few days ago, during which he manages to fall in love with one of the victims. He’s trying to help her, to keep her from dying. Which, by the way, has already happened! But is it realistic?? And whether the lives of those five hundred people who died in the explosion could be saved?

This is a very interesting story that ends rather abruptly. It is one of the most poignant works of Tony Scott, who died six years later. Perhaps it was this director who knew best how to bring out Denzel Washington’s talent best. It is impossible not to admit that in this film, he plays almost perfectly. And that’s what the movie is based on – Denzel’s character is given maximum screen time. By the way, critics didn’t appreciate the movie much, finding it purely entertaining. But the film was loved by ordinary viewers, and sometimes that’s much more important.

Fight Club

1. Year: 1999

2. Rating on Kinopoint: 8.6

3. Director: David Fincher

4. Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Jared Leto

The David Fincher-directed film is one of the best of Brad Pitt’s career. He must be known to every Expertology reader. If you’ve actually seen it, you can safely move on to describing the following. If not, we recommend that you correct that omission as soon as possible.

The film is about a man suffering from chronic insomnia. That would be all right, but he’s living a very boring life. What else could it be, if you work in an office?? One day the main character, played by Edward Norton, is sent on a business trip. In it, he meets Tyler Durden. This man is the exact opposite of him. He thinks that self-improvement leads to nothing good. On the contrary, there is a need to engage in self-destruction! And an insurance company employee starts to get caught up in this philosophy.

There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual about the plot. The office clerk and his new friend decide to start a fight club, what’s the big deal?? Yes, its popularity is steadily growing. But the beauty of the film lies in its denouement. You’d be surprised. What’s more, you’ll want to revisit the film to make sure the director didn’t screw up. Afterwards, you’ll realize that Tyler really isn’t who he seems, and throughout the film, the viewer was given clues to this. In short, it is no wonder that this motion picture regularly takes the highest places in all sorts of ratings. In any, not just those dedicated to the most mysterious movies.

Game

1. Year: 1997

2. Rating on Kinopoint: 8.3

3. Director: David Fincher

4. Starring Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn

Another film, masterfully directed by David Fincher. And he, too, often ends up in all sorts of top ten. The leading role in it was played by Michael Douglas, who at the time was a world-class actor. A solid budget was allocated to the motion picture. However, something went wrong when it was rented. The competitors were good, and the audience could not appreciate the mystery of the film – all this resulted in a fairly small collection, which barely allowed him to pay off.

We’re talking about Nicholas Van Orton here. This is a successful man who keeps his life under absolute control. But one day he gets a ticket to be in “The Game.”. Whether to take advantage of it? It is promised that after that he will regain the taste for life. But at what price? It soon becomes clear that the main character’s life is at stake.

Despite the great performances, there are some flaws in this film. The main one is the predictability of the action. If you are an experienced viewer, you will already be able to guess what the ending will be by the 20th minute. It is because of this that this film by no means opens our rating. All the more surprising that the critics gave it such high marks. It’s possible that the film is just a little outdated – now we’re used to movies with a much more elaborate plot. Still, we’d venture to recommend that you spend some time watching The Game. It may not make your brain work too hard, but it will inspire you.

Vanished

1. The Year: 2014

2. Rated 7 on Kinopoints.9

3. Director: David Fincher

4. Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon

Once again, David Fincher! It so happens that this director is one of the few who can be called a master of mystery films. And he tries to use different actors in his work. In this case, they took Ben Affleck in the lead role, who in a few years will attempt to play Batman. Here, though, he’s an ordinary husband preparing to celebrate five years of married life. But there’s a problem. The culprit of the celebration goes missing.

Every year, the main character’s wife would set up a so-called “treasure hunt” for him, a game with a chain of clues. Similar clues are discovered on the day of the disappearance. Everything would be okay, but there is a possibility that the wife was kidnapped or even killed – as evidenced by the traces of blood in the house, which clearly tried to erase.

The plot of the film is not only about the investigation, but also about the memories of Amy, which is the name of the main character’s wife. Gradually, the viewer discovers a number of facts that make him wonder. As in the case of other films by David Fincher, the ending tries to surprise. And she succeeds in it, and it is not for nothing that critics awarded the film a very high rating. And Rosamund Pike was so good in her role that she got a nomination for an Oscar, albeit without the final win.

We recommend this motion picture to watch also because after it David Fincher has decided to suspend its activity for a while. He left for television, where he became executive producer of two TV series. And it wasn’t until 2020 that a new feature film by this director was to be released, called “Munk.”. But a pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19 has pushed back the release indefinitely.

The beginning

1. Year: 2010

2. Kinopoint rating: 8.7

3. Director: Christopher Nolan

4. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard

You’ve probably noticed that you’re unable to fall asleep for any length of time? This inevitably leads to you immediately waking up, shuddering violently. And you can also sometimes notice that you’ve experienced so much in just 10 minutes of sleep that you don’t even experience in half an hour. And those are the two themes that Inception artfully plays around with. And it also reminds us that everything is possible in dreams – even the laws of physics.

The main role in this work of Christopher Nolan is played by the inimitable Leonardo DiCaprio. His character is a so-called “extractor” – a man who, with the help of special equipment, infiltrates other people’s dreams in order to steal this or that information. But this time he’s on a mission to introduce an idea. Up until now, it seemed impossible! To carry out such an undertaking, the main character has to descend to a deeper level of sleep. He also needs to enlist the help of Ariadne, an architecture student who manages to project dreams. She is played by Ellen Page.

“Inception” isn’t exactly a mystery movie. If you don’t get distracted while watching it, it all seems quite logical. And only the finale leaves a legitimate question. Does the main character stay somewhere in the deepest layers of sleep? Or he was able to escape into reality after all?

The film is considered one of Christopher Nolan’s best works. It was greatly enjoyed by audiences and critics alike. The director got a couple of Oscar nominations for it (he was also a screenwriter). But the film only received statuettes for camerawork, sound, sound editing and visual effects. Which, however, is also pretty good.

The Fountain

1. Year: 2006

2. Rating on Kinopoint: 7.5

3. Director: Darren Aronofsky

4. Starring Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weins, Ellen Burstyn, Stephen McHattie

It was a smash hit at the box office. However, this is only due to the fact that the studio spared money on advertising. As a result, very few potential viewers learned of the existence of “The Fountain”. Too bad, because the main role in this movie was played by Hugh Jackman. And he did a great job!

This movie really makes you puzzle. The fact is that the events of it take place in the present, past and even illusory time! These are three different stories, but they are all connected by one great love. The main character here is Thomas Creo. He is in search of the Tree of Life. He needs the juice that supposedly gives him eternal life. By doing so, he wants to cure his terminally ill wife.

Critics have awarded the film with mixed reviews. Of course, this is not the best film in the career of Hugh Jackman, known to many for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men franchise. But if you seriously want to see some atypical movie, this is not a bad choice. In a word, we risk to recommend this film, but we won’t insist.

The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button

1. Year: 2008

2. Rating on Kinopoint: 8.0

3. Director: David Fincher

4. Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Jason Fleming

Our selection could not do without the film with one of the most unusual plots. “The mysterious story of Benjamin Button” tells the story of a man who was born old and then began to grow younger. The doctors who delivered the baby were stunned. It turned out that the baby by all measures corresponds to an 80-year-old man. Fortunately, his health allowed the “baby” to survive. What’s more, he gradually got younger and younger. And so it goes all the way to the end of the movie, which isn’t really about.

This film is about a great love that was held by two people for many years. The leading role was brilliantly played here by Brad Pitt. And for much of the movie, he had to wear makeup that made him look like a frail old man. “The Mysterious History of Benjamin Button” even won an Oscar for this. The second statuette went to visual effects. Well, the third went to the motion picture for the masterful scenery. As a reminder, we live with Button throughout his life – from birth to death. During this period, the environment changes many times – cars, apartment buildings, and factories. And the viewer has no sense of falseness at all – it seems that the filmmakers got a time machine, personally going to the middle of the XX century.

You can’t say that the film has any mystery, despite its title. The main character is unlucky enough to get an extremely atypical disease that has never before been seen in any corner of the globe. But the film is sure to inspire. And that’s why it’s in our selection. And thanks to the great work of the producers, of course.

Side effect

1. Year: 2013

2. Kinopoint rating: 7.0

3. Director: Steven Soderbergh

4. Starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum

This psychological thriller tells the story of Martin Taylor, released from prison, where he served time for revealing inside information. And after a few days, the main character’s wife tries to commit suicide by driving her car into a wall. After that, a psychiatrist takes her into treatment, who notices some abnormalities in the patient’s behavior. He gives her an experimental drug called Ablixa. Unfortunately, it reveals an unpleasant side effect. In particular, a woman begins to suffer from somnambulism. And that’s just the beginning of the movie!

This film can not be called a blockbuster. It went almost unnoticed at the box office. But that doesn’t make it bad. Critics have awarded it high marks, including for its highly original plot. That’s why we would risk recommending Steven Soderbergh’s work for viewing. However, some people are bound to find it boring. We have been warned.

Stay

1. Year: 2005

2. Rating on Kinopoisk: 7.3

3. Directed by Mark Forster

4. Starring Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, Kate Burton

Another thriller in our selection. Once again, it can be called a failure if you look solely at the box office. Surprising, because among the actors who played here – the stars of first magnitude. Or they seem so only now? In 2005, Ryan Gosling was young, he appeared mostly in romantic films. It was not yet known to the public. Well, it’s all the more interesting to see where his career began.

The plot of “Stay” is about a student Henry Letham, who is on the verge of insanity. One day he sees a psychiatrist. In a private conversation he says he’s going to kill himself next Saturday. The doctor doesn’t want his patient to die, so he does what he can. And no longer within the confines of a cramped office. He takes Henry on a journey through the city to show the beauty of life. But it only leads to the fact that the psychiatrist himself balances on the edge between life and death, plunged into the nightmarish illusions of his patient.

Many people find this film too dark and boring. That’s why it received mixed reviews from critics. It’s hard to argue with that. But it’s still worth seeing. But get ready to rack your brains, because gradually here begins an atypical narrative that will leave you bewildered if you decide to watch the film, for example, with a beer.

Mr. Nobody

1. Year: 2009

2. CinemaPoisk Score: 7.9

3. Director: Jaco Van Dormel

4. Starring Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Lin Dan Pam

Never watch a European movie? For nothing! Among the works of German, French, Belgian, British, and other filmmakers, there are regularly little masterpieces. For example, that’s what you might call the feature film “Mr. Nobody.”. This movie took a huge amount of money by the standards of Europe. And the sadder thing is that it was a complete failure at the box office.

The film was directed by Jaco van Dormael. This Belgian director prefers to make intelligent films. At the same time he can easily mix it with completely different genres, getting even more unusual movies at the output.

The film “Mr. Nobody” is about a feeble old man who finds himself the last mortal in a grotesque future. Everyone else is already immortal. Nemo Nobody’s life is being turned into a TV show. The audience watches him live out his last days. Well, shortly before his approaching death, a journalist comes to Nobody, in an interview with whom the old man tells the alleged story of his life. In doing so, he begins to jump into parallel lives, in which he even managed to die several times. It’s delusional? Or the person in front of the journalist is really not what he appears to be?

The movie about the 118 year old man turned out to be quite clever. However, it is impossible not to admit that because of this, not everyone is able to appreciate it. By the way, the music for this film was written by Pierre Van Dormel – the director’s brother, who passed away not long before the premiere. This makes this work even more tragic.

Conclusion

We advise you to definitely watch all of the movies listed above, if you haven’t already done so. So you can understand that there is a separate category of films, forcing at least a little strain on the brain. It’s not out of the question that you’ll love the experience of watching it, and as a result, you might as well get hooked on movies like this.