10 Mystery Movies That Have the Most Fun, Ranked

From true-crime documentaries to gruesome fictional portrayals, there’s more than enough doom and gloom to go around the murder mystery genre. The whodunnit category of the genre provides a much-needed breath of fresh air, laughter, and most importantly, fun. With bumbling detectives, comedic writing, and well-executed formulaic tropes, the tried and true mystery movies allow for death but focus more on the investigation and suspects than the violence of the killing. These movies open the door to ensemble casting that take the source material or original cases and elevates them to the next level with top-tier chemistry.

Whodunnit movies encourage audience buy-in and participation to see who is paying more attention, those onscreen or off. Everyone watching is sharing a collective while individualized experience as they interpret the clues and the foreshadowing in the hopes of a triumphant payoff. The fun of comedic mystery movies lies in the structure of the cast, the distribution of knowledge, and the clichés of the genre, making the most fun movie one that contains all that and so much more.

10 ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009)

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Packing in all the action and adventure of a Guy Ritchie movie, Sherlock Holmes is an updated take on the classic literary character. Robert Downey Jr. stars as the titular detective with Jude Law alongside as Watson, the pair tracking down the brutal killer terrorizing London, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Ritchie’s version of Sherlock Holmes is a visual experience paired with the charisma RDJ and Lawn, their talent compensating for the film’s departure from the traditions of the source material.

Sherlock Holmes is a show-and-tell type of mystery where the fun is cultivated more from the visual and action sequences than from the narrative. It’s the perfect hybrid genre movie for audiences seeking a refreshing change of pace from the formulaic standards of whodunnit movies.

9 ‘See How They Run’ (2022)

Directed by Tom George

The leading duo of See How They Run has the most fun of the entire production, making them worthy of whodunnit genre recognition. Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan star as the weather Inspector Stoppard (Rockwell) and the eager newbie Constable Stalker as they are called to investigate the death of a stage production crew member. The BAFTA-nominated moviefeatures ingenious comedic performances from its Oscar-caliber leads, with chemistry that can’t be written.

See How They Run may not be the best in the genre with its start-to-finish narrative crafting, but the investment in comedic writing and delivery by Rockwell and Ronan makes the film. It’s an engaging watch that invites audiences in on the whodunnit fun without requiring a ton of brainpower.

8 ‘Death on the Nile’ (1978)

Directed by John Guillermin

In the case of the famous Agatha Christie novel, the original is better than the remake. While Kenneth Branagh took his second swing at the novelist’s work with his 2022 version of Death on the Nile, the original 1978 version remains the go-to. While Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) attempts to enjoy a luxury cruise down the Egyptian Nile, a woman is found murdered aboard the boat, sparking the inquisitive detective to solve the case before the cruise ends. The lavish locations and idyllic cruise raise the stakes and amplify the fun of the investigation.

The gathering and analysis of the suspects is a crucial sequence that, when done right, leaves viewers conflicted in the best way possible as to who the killer is, making it almost impossible to guess. With this adaptation, critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel fell victim to this, proving that the right whodunnit movie can fool the best of them.

7 ‘Murder by Death’ (1976)

Directed by Robert Moore

The title is a dead giveaway indication of the style of dinner party mystery viewers were in for watching. Murder by Death is a parody of every genre whodunnit movie and its cast of eccentric characters. The movie stars Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, and a lineup of classic icons as five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks as they trek to a lavish mansion during a storm to solve a mystery.

Murder by Death solidifies its entertainment value with its comedic dedication to the ambiance of a genre mystery tale. From the downpour with lightning to the eyes of the pictures following every movie, the bumbling feature pokes fun at the enthralling nature of the genre it imitates. While some of its bits and gags haven’t aged particularly well, Murder by Death remains a fun installment in the mystery genre.

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6 ‘Werewolves Within’ (2021)

Directed by Josh Ruben

Putting safety in numbers to the ultimate whodunnit test, Werewolves Within is an underappreciated horror comedy that blends all the right ingredients for a wildly entertaining watch. The movie is based on the Ubisoft video game of the same name featuring rookie forest ranger Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson) as he is snowed and locked in with a group of strange townsfolk who are being stalked and picked off by a werewolf. The video game adaptation is one of the highest-rated regardless of genre.

The standard horror movie with one-by-one gruesome eliminations remains faithful here, but infuses it with comedy and wit, making it just as transformative as its titular creature. Richardson is gold as the authentic, honest ranger in charge of maintaining some version of order. Werewolves Within offers just as much horror as it does comedic mystery to cater to individual genre audiences while creating a hybrid whodunnit for the modern ages.

5 ‘Evil Under the Sun’ (1982)

Directed by Guy Hamilton

Gathering all the tropes of the genre and its famous source material, this Agatha Christie adaptation is a clever installment of the whodunnit canon. Evil Under the Sun features Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) solving the mysterious death of a Balkan actress.

What makes this film, and other Christie adaptations, entertaining is the serendipity in which Poirot, a murderer, and a roll call of suspects all end up in the same place by chance.

Evil Under the Sun is a total do-it-for-the-plot murder mystery where the actual deaths don’t mean as much as the body of evidence does. Audiences form little attachment to the murdered, only the clues leading to the killer are of the utmost importance with intentional reveals and AHA moments. The fun of movies like Evil Under the Sun is getting to the finger-point reveal and wondering if you got it right.

4 ‘Glass Onion’ (2022)

Directed by Rian Johnson

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Glass Onion is a stellar sequel that launches the Knives Out franchise into notoriety as one of the best murder mystery franchises. The meticulous Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns, this time to a tech billionaire’s private getaway where one of his guests turns up dead. The Netflix original assembled yet another all-star cast to provide colorful suspects for both the audience and Blanc to investigate while simultaneously eliminating the opportunity to be a carbon-copy redo of the first film.

Setting aside the familiar faces behind the performances, Glass Onion hinges its success on the cohesion between the performances and writing, inviting the viewers to see if they can solve the mystery before the characters do. The fun and entertainment value lies in the well-placed comedic timing and the investment in character development to make the over-the-top moments seem incredibly authentic despite the lavish circumstances.

3 ‘Charade’ (1963)

Directed by Stanley Donen

All’s fair in love and murder mysteries for Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. The pair starred together for one time in their illustrious careers in Charade, a rom-com mystery about a widowed woman whose murdered husband left behind a stolen fortune that a lineup of men wants to take from her. The chemistry between Grant and Hepburn is seamless despite their two-decade-plus age gap, the reason this was their only film together. It’s Hitchcockian without the iconic man of mystery and suspense but still succeeds in building the tension to fun-filled pay-offs.

Charade is a movie about cautionary trust when everyone is after you; however, the orchestrated comedic chaos paired with romance shifts the movie’s tone from psychological thriller to just plain fun. Hepburn’s magnetic personality opposite Grant’s charm sweeps viewers away into the excitement of the pursuit of unraveling each lead.

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2 ‘Knives Out’ (2019)

Directed by Rian Johnson

This blockbuster mystery is proof of the power of an excellent ensemble cast and meticulous writing to breathe life into an untimely death. Following the death of crime novelist and family patriarch Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) investigates the mysterious circumstances around his sudden death and how each member of his dysfunctional family fits into the narrative. It’s difficult to tell who has more fun, the Thrombey’s throwing jabs at each other or the audience watching the zingers take place.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out is a thrilling, fun-filled semblance of a star-studded cast, each of whom provides unique and stellar performances. What makes the comedic whodunnit so entertaining is the personalities of every character and how they fit together into the mysterious puzzle of Harlan’s death.Knives Out thrives on witty writing and crafted direction that uses technical expertise to convey the investigative antics of the harrowing feature.

1 ‘Clue’ (1985)

Directed by Jonathan Lynn

Having the most fun while bringing the beloved board game to the big screen, Clue is a slapstick feature that is equal parts whodunnit and comedy. After getting an anonymous invitation to a dinner party at a strange mansion, six guests and the butler are thrown into a whirlwind murder investigation after the host is found dead. Tim Curry leads the iconic film as Wadsworth, the expository butler/surrogate host who does his best to wrangle in the cast of personalities, all of whom are suspect.

From its choose-your-own ending to the corny bits and gimmicks, Clue brings out the cinematic fun of the classic parlor while embodying the entertainment of a good dinner party. The source material and film inspire offscreen fun of murder mystery parties while creating a genre foundation that leaves a lasting legacy no matter which version audiences break out. Clue is an all-around fun time and the best mystery movie that has the most fun.

NEXT: Mystery Movies That Are Perfect From Start to Finish