100 best detective movies

A list of the best detective films, selected by visitors to our site: Inception, Shutter Island, The Hunger Games, Gone Girl, Van Helsing, Constantine, Source Code, Saw, Minority Report, I, Robot, Divergent, Watchmen, The Fountain, The Bourne Identity, Cloverfield, The Lovely Bones, Paranormal Activity, Unknown, Sherlock Holmes, The Brothers Grimm
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Markimdb: 6.4
Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama, adventure, detective, military
CountryUSA
Duration01:55

A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrethriller, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:39

Wealthy, sheltered Lina McLaidlaw is swept off her feet by charming ne'er-do-well Johnnie Aysgarth. Though warned that Johnnie is little more than a fortune hunter, Lina marries him anyway and remains loyal to her irresponsible husband as he plows his way from one disreputable business scheme to another. Gradually Lina comes to the conclusion that Johnnie intends to kill her in order to collect her inheritance. The suspicion seems confirmed when Johnnie's business partner dies under mysterious circumstances.

Markimdb: 3.7
Genrefantastic, action, thriller, crime, detective
CountryUSA, Germany
Duration02:25

Jonathan Ecks, an FBI agent, realizes that he must join with his lifelong enemy, Agent Sever, a rogue DIA agent with whom he is in mortal combat, in order to defeat a common enemy. That enemy has developed a "micro-device" that can be injected into victims in order to kill them at will.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genrethriller, fantasy, drama, detective
CountryUnited Kingdom, France, Germany, USA
Duration01:40

It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrecomedy, melodrama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:38

To prove his brother's innocence, undercover officer Nick enrolls in high school again, dealing with crushes, bullies, humiliations, popularity swings, and quirky teachers and staff to find the real murderer.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genrefantastic, thriller, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:35

A top-secret government weapons designer is arrested by a clandestine government organization on suspicion of being a clone created by the hostile alien race wanting to take over Earth.

Markimdb: 7
Genrefantastic, thriller, detective
CountryUSA, Germany
Duration01:40

Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something extremely important. He's about to tell the discovery to his colleague, Douglas Hall, but knowing someone is after him, the old man leaves a letter in his computer generated parallel world that's just like the 30's with seemingly real people with real emotions.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrefantastic, action, comedy, adventure, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:38

After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent Kay and new recruit Agent Jay find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:39

A terrified stewardess is stalked by her psychotic estranged husband.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:17

Whitney Cameron is in a quandary: he's attracted to his beautiful sister-in-law, Lynn, but also harbors serious suspicions about her. Her husband, Cameron's brother, died under mysterious circumstances, and now that the death of her stepchild, Polly, has been attributed to poisoning, he suspects that Lynn is after his late brother's estate, and killing everyone in her way.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genrecomedy, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:05

A jury member discovers the defense attorney, not the defendant, is responsible for the murder.

Markimdb: 5.7
Genrecomedy, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:27

A detective is hired to locate a girl adopted 30 years earlier whose birth father wants to bequeath her his fortune.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrethriller, fantasy, comedy, melodrama, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:44

In 1900, strong-willed widow Lucy Muir goes to live in Gull Cottage by the British seaside, even though it appears to be haunted. On her very first night she meets the ghost of the crusty former owner, Captain Gregg—and refuses to be scared off. They eventually become friends and allies, after Lucy gets used to the idea of a man's ghost haunting her bedroom.

Markimdb: 7
Genremelodrama, western, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:27

When Rocklin (John Wayne) arrives in a western town he finds that the rancher who hired him as a foreman has been murdered. He is out to solve the murder and thwart the scheming to take the ranch from its rightful owner.

Markimdb: 5.4
Genrehorror, western, detective
CountryUSA
Duration00:58

John Mason returns to the Sally Ann mine to claim his half share. Janet Cater also returns although her father lost his half share to Joe Ryan. Ryan and his gang are also there to get the gold. A mysterious Phantom is also present. Mason's plan to expose Ryan as an outlaw and to force him to turn his share to Janet works. But when distracted by the Phantom, John is made a prisoner by the gang.

Markimdb: 5.5
Genrecomedy, melodrama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:26

Ordinary single girl Amanda Pierce (Monica Potter) unexpectedly finds herself sharing an awesome Manhattan apartment with four sexy supermodels. Determined to bring Amanda into their world, the models give her the ultimate makeover. The plan works fabulously as Amanda connects with next door charmer Jim Winston (Freddie Prinze, Jr.). That is, until one night...

Markimdb: 5.1
Genredrama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:51

A fictional movie star, Gray Evans, goes through the disintegration of his marriage, his gradual mental breakdown, and his increasing obsession with a young film student who reminds Gray of his own life before becoming famous. A dark psychological drama, I Love Your Work explores the pressures of fame and the difference between getting what you want and wanting what you get.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrethriller, comedy, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:34

Lionel Twain invites the world's five greatest detectives to a 'dinner and murder'. Included are a blind butler, a deaf-mute maid, screams, spinning rooms, secret passages, false identities and more plot turns and twists than are decently allowed.

Markimdb: 5.4
Genrecomedy, musical, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:49

From his hospital bed, a writer suffering from a skin disease hallucinates musical numbers and paranoid plots.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrecomedy, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:43

A suicidal doctor struggles to find meaning in his life while a murderer stalks the halls of his hospital.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genremelodrama, drama, detective, music
CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
Duration01:43

This film is about a famous jazz saxophonist, Izzy who's life is forever changed after he is accidentally shot.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genrethriller, melodrama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:37

Secret agent Harry Hannan suffers a mental breakdown when a botched mission in Mexico results in the death of his wife. He is sent to a mental asylum, after which he eventually returns to work. But, once again, he begins to doubt his sanity when he receives a bizarre death threat written in Hebrew. Not knowing which of his colleagues wants to kill him, Hannan teams up with pretty young college student Ellie Fabian to attempt to unravel the mystery.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrethriller, comedy, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:48

Richard Dreyfuss is Moses Wine, a private detective hired to by his former college girlfriend, Susan Anspach, to investigate a political smear campaign. Moses sets out to find out who is responsible, with deadly results, in this comedy-thriller.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genrethriller, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:55

Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

Markimdb: 6.9
Genrehorror, fantastic, thriller, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:55

Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.

Markimdb: 4.9
Genreaction, comedy, drama, adventure, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:47

The Angels are charged with finding a pair of missing rings that are encoded with the personal information of members of the Witness Protection Program. As informants are killed, the ladies target a rogue agent who might be responsible.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrehorror, thriller, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:51

A killer known as Ghostface begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the 'rules' of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.

Markimdb: 5.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:26

Charlie Cox should have stopped for gas in California. While he's on a cross-country trip with his teenage daughter, Joleen, his car hits empty in a creepy town in Nevada. With nary a drop of fuel to be found, Charlie and Joleen stop for the night at a dilapidated trailer park. There, Joleen catches the eye of two teenage boys, Jimmy and Pinky -- either of whom could be the serial killer currently terrorizing the town.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrethriller, comedy, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:34

A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrefantastic, thriller, crime, detective, film noir
CountryUSA
Duration01:44

One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.

Markimdb: 5.8
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:40

A killer of Detroit clergy confesses to a priest, who turns sleuth because he cannot tell the police.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genredrama, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:48

Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.

Markimdb: 6
Genredrama, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:27

When one of his patients is found murdered, psychiatrist Dr. Sam Rice is visited by the investigating officer but refuses to give up any information. He's then visited by the patient's mistress, Brooke Reynolds, whom he quickly falls for despite her being a likely murder suspect. As the police pressure on him intensifies, Rice decides to attempt solving the case on his own and soon discovers that someone is trying to kill him as well.

Markimdb: 5.8
Genrehorror, action, thriller, fantasy, drama, adventure, detective
CountryUSA, Canada
Duration01:19

One man's struggle to contain the curse he hides within... and his last-ditch attempt to free himself with the love of family. But when it looks as if he is losing his battle, and endangering all he holds most dear, the family dog, Thor, is the last hope for his family's survival... and the end to his Werewolf curse.

Markimdb: 5.7
Genrethriller, western, crime, detective
CountryUSA, Italy
Duration01:42

Tom Mix and Wyatt Earp team up to solve a murder at the Academy Awards in 1929 Hollywood.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrefantastic, thriller, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration02:30

Contact is a science fiction film about an encounter with alien intelligence. Based on the novel by Carl Sagan the film starred Jodie Foster as the one chosen scientist who must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrehorror, thriller, drama, crime, detective
CountryUSA, Canada
Duration01:26

Tells the seemingly random yet vitally connected story of a set of incidents that all converge one evening at 11:14pm. The story follows the chain of events of five different characters and five different storylines that all converge to tell the story of murder and deceit.

Markimdb: 5.4
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
Duration01:44

A man is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife. During his time in jail, he finds comfort from four women with whom he corresponds. After his second court appearance, he is finally freed from prison only to be framed for yet 2 more murders which he did not commit. With the help of his former prison guard, he once again sets out to clear his name

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrethriller, comedy, drama, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration02:06

When shadowy U.S. intelligence agents blackmail a reformed computer hacker and his eccentric team of security experts into stealing a code-breaking 'black box' from a Soviet-funded genius, they uncover a bigger conspiracy. Now, he and his 'sneakers' must save themselves and the world economy by retrieving the box from their blackmailers.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genredrama, detective
CountryUnited Kingdom
Duration01:35

The story of a mentally anguished high school history teacher going through a complete reassessment of his life. His method for reassessing his life is to narrate it to his class and interweave in it three generations of his family's history.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrehorror, comedy, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:25

After intrepid working girl Mary Carter becomes the new owner of a reputedly haunted mansion located on Black Island near the Cuban coast, a stranger phones warning her to stay away from the castle. Undaunted, Mary sets sail for Cuba with a stowaway in her trunk—wise-cracking Larry Lawrence, a radio announcer who helps Mary get to the bottom of the voodoo magic, zombies and ghosts that supposedly curse the spooky estate.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genrehorror, thriller, comedy, detective
CountryUSA, Mexico
Duration01:59

When a serial killer interrupts the fun at the swanky Coconut Pete's Coconut Beach Resort -- a hedonistic island paradise for swingers --- it's up to the club's staff to stop the violence ... or at least hide it!

Markimdb: 4.7
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:40

A top surgeon is besotted with a beautiful woman who once rebuffed him. Unable to come to terms with life without her, he tries to convince her that they need each other. She has other ideas, but a horrific accident leaves her at his mercy.

Markimdb: 5.9
Genrehorror, fantastic, thriller, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:21

A psychological thriller from the writer of the original "Twilight Zone!" In a showdown of man vs. machine, Martin plunges into a chaotic nightmare trying to save his mind from the megalomaniacal corporation!

Markimdb: 5.6
Genrehorror, thriller, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:52

A murdering spree begins to happen again, this time its targeted toward the original Woodsboro survivors and those associated with the movie inside a movie, 'Stab 3'. Sydney must face the demons of her past to stop the killer.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrehorror, thriller, crime, detective
CountryCanada
Duration01:31

Two men, both hiding a deadly secret, are on a murderous rampage through the desert.

Markimdb: 5.2
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration02:13

When New York psychiatrist Bill Capa visits Los Angeles to take over his murdered colleague's therapy group, he finds himself embroiled in the thick of a mystery when he bumps into Rose and begins a torrid affair.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
CountryCanada, USA, United Kingdom
Duration02:04

A big city cop from LA moves to a small town police force and immediately finds himself investigating a murder. Using theories rejected by his colleagues, the cop, John Berlin, meets a young blind woman named Helena, who he is attracted to. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose and only John knows it.

Markimdb: 6.5
Genrethriller, melodrama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:48

San Francisco heiress Page Forrester is brutally murdered in her remote beach house. Her husband Jack is devastated by the crime but soon finds himself accused of her murder. He hires lawyer Teddy Barnes to defend him, despite the fact she hasn't handled a criminal case for many years. There's a certain chemistry between them and Teddy soon finds herself defending the man she loves.

Markimdb: 5.2
Genrehorror, thriller, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:32

Cherry Falls is a quiet little town - until the night that a serial killer begins preying on its youth. After a third teen is found slain, the killer's modus operandi emerges: the victims were all virgins. Sheriff Marken is concerned for the safety of the teens in general and in particular his own daughter Jody, who is still a virgin...




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