Since the advent of the movie industry, cinema-goers have always been engrossed by detective movies. Right from modern-day mystery thrillers to noir classics, the love for detective movies has grown over all these years. The below-listed movies might vary vastly in accordance with place, era, and subject matter. However, all of these stood against time and can be easily considered as some of the best detective movies ever made. Read on to know more.
- L.A Confidential: L. A Confidential is an American neo-noir crime movie released in 1997 and co-written and produced by Curtis Hanson. This movie narrates to us the story of a few LAPD officers of 1953 and the intersection of Hollywood celebrity and police corruption. The entire movie is based on a 1990 novel having the same name and written by James Ellroy. Also, the title of the movie refers to a scandalous magazine called confidential and is portrayed in the movie as Hush-Hush.
- Zodiac: This movie got released in the year 2007 and is a typical American historical mystery thriller directed by David Fincher. The entire movie is based on true events that took place during the late ’60s and the ’70s in San Francisco. The plot of the movie follows a murder spree by a killer having the same name. All reporters and investigators get determined to unveil the actual identity of the killer and put him behind the bars. Also, the movie steps out from any regular serial killer detective movies by following a comic artist’s obsession with the killer.
- Prisoners: This movie was released in the year 2013 and is an American thriller movie directed by Denis Villeneuve. The key plot of the movie mainly focuses on the abduction of two young girls in Pennysylvania and their search for the suspected abductor of the police. This movie was both a critical and financial success, grossing approximately 122 million USD worldwide. The movie Prisoners also got chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top 10 movies of 2013.
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: This movie The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo got released in the year 2011 and is an American neo-noir psychological thriller movie based on a novel having the same name and written by a Swedish writer called Stieg Larsson. The whole movie tells us the story of a Blomkvist investigation that occurred in order to find out what actually happened to a girl belonging to a wealthy family who disappeared almost forty years ago. The development of this movie was done by Sony Pictures Entertainment and was a co-production of the United Kingdom, United States, and Sweden in the year 2009.
- Gone Baby Gone: Gone Baby Gone is a 2007 release American thriller and crime movie directed by Ben Affleck. This movie was Ben Affleck’s first feature-length directorial debut and is based on a novel having the same name by Dennis Lehane. The movie is known to star Michelle Monaghan and Casey Affleck as two investigators, hunting for a young girl who got abducted from her single mother’s apartment in the neighborhood of Boston in Dorchester. The movie was well-received by critics and grossed approximately $34 million worldwide. Also, Ben Affleck was well-lauded for his directorial debut and Amy Ryan even received the Oscar for the best-supporting actress.
- Bad Times At The El Royale: The movie Bad Times At the El Royale is a 2018 release American neo-noir thriller movie, that was directed and written by Drew Goddard. The real plot of the movie follows an employee and 6 strangers of the El Royale, a hotel which is located along the Nevada-California border. The movie even arrives with several dark secrets that eventually intersect on a fateful night. The movie got theatrically released in the US on the 12th of October, 2018, and was a box office hit, grossing around $31.9 million worldwide. The movie also received several positive reviews for its soundtrack, ensemble cast, and cinematography.
- Memento: This movie was released in the year 2000 and is an American psychological neo-noir thriller directed and written by Christopher Nolan. The overall plot of the movie is based on a pitch written by Jonathan Nolan. In the movie, Guy Pearce acted like a man who has got anterograde amnesia caused due to an accident and has short time memory loss approximately after every fifteen minutes. It also shows how Guy Pearce is in search of the man who killed his wife and attacked him with the help of an intricate system of Polaroid photographs to track information that he couldn’t remember. The movie is also known to receive several accolades including an Oscar nomination for the best film editing and best original screenplay.
- Scream: Scream is a 1996 release, American meta slasher movie, written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The plot of the movie follows the character of Sidney Prescott, a young high school student situated in the fictional town of Woodsboro. Furthermore, he becomes the target of a mysterious killer, who can always be seen in Halloween costume and is known as Ghostfire. The movie screen was always considered to be unique during the time of its release featuring characters who were always aware of real-world horror movies.
- The Girl Hunters: The Girl Hunters is a 1963 release British-made crime drama movie directed by Roy Rowland and adapted from a book of the same name written by Mickey Spillane. In this movie, Spillane himself acted as a private detective named Mike Hammer, and it is one of the very few occasions in world film history where an author of a popular literary hero portrayed his own character. The movie also stars veteran actor Lloyd Nolan and newspaper columnist Hy Gardener as himself.
- Night Moves: Night Moves is an American neo-noir movie released in 1975 and directed by Arthur Penn. The plot of the movie follows a private investigator of Los Angeles, uncovering a series of sinister events while in search of a missing teenage daughter of an old movie actress. Also, Hackman was nominated for the BAFTA award for his portrayal as a private investigator named Harry Moseby.