murder mystery movies on netflix

Best Murder Mystery Movies on Netflix That Will Make You Doubt Everyone

If you are looking for the best murder mystery movies on Netflix, you probably do not want another generic list filled with the same detective films everyone has already watched. You want stories where the victim, suspect, setting, motive, and final reveal work together — movies that let you form theories before the truth is revealed.

This guide focuses specifically on murder mysteries, not general thrillers. That means every recommended title involves a death, disappearance, suspicious incident, hidden motive, or investigation that pushes the story forward.

It also avoids titles already covered in your previous Netflix mystery, crime-thriller, investigation-thriller, serial-killer, and general thriller articles. You will not find repeated recommendations such as Knives Out, Glass Onion, Andhadhun, Talvar, Jaane Jaan, Monica, O My Darling, The Killer, The Good Nurse, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or The Usual Suspects here.

Netflix’s mystery category includes classic murder stories, gritty crime films, and psychological thrillers, so the right choice depends on whether you want a fair-play whodunit, a dark police procedural, an emotional missing-person case, or a twist-heavy psychological puzzle.

Availability note: Netflix’s catalog and language options can vary by country, profile, and time. Readers should check the movie page in their own Netflix app before watching.

Quick List: Best Murder Mystery Movies on Netflix

MovieCountry / LanguageMystery TypeBest For
ReptileUnited States / EnglishNeo-noir murder investigationSlow, moody detective stories
The Weekend AwayUnited Kingdom / EnglishVacation murder mysteryFast twists and unreliable memories
The CallSouth Korea / KoreanPsychological murder mysteryDark time-bending suspense
ForgottenSouth Korea / KoreanFamily mystery thrillerShocking identity reveals
Murder MubarakIndia / HindiEnsemble whodunitLight, stylish murder puzzles
MaharajaIndia / TamilRevenge mystery dramaEmotion-driven storytelling
Do PattiIndia / HindiDomestic mystery thrillerHidden trauma and competing stories
The StrangerAustralia / EnglishUndercover crime investigationRealistic, restrained procedural tension
Lost GirlsUnited States / EnglishMissing-person murder investigationTrue-crime-style emotional drama
In the Shadow of the MoonUnited States / EnglishScience-fiction murder mysteryUnusual crimes and long-term obsession
I Came ByUnited Kingdom / EnglishHidden-crime mysterySuspense around dangerous secrets
The GuiltyDenmark / DanishSingle-location crime mysteryHigh tension through phone calls

Reptile: A Slow-Burn Murder Mystery With No Easy Suspects

Reptile begins with the brutal murder of a real-estate agent, but the case becomes more complicated every time detective Tom Nichols follows a lead. The victim’s boyfriend appears suspicious. Her family has secrets. Business relationships create new motives. Even the people closest to the investigation seem to be hiding something.

This is not a movie for viewers who want a major reveal every ten minutes. Its power comes from atmosphere. The detective moves through quiet homes, tense interviews, empty spaces, and uneasy professional relationships, slowly realizing that the case may be connected to a much larger network of corruption.

What makes it interesting: The title reflects the movie’s core mood. Nearly every character seems cold-blooded, guarded, and difficult to read. The audience is constantly asking who is lying, who is protecting someone else, and who benefits from the victim’s death.

Reptile works best for fans of neo-noir murder mysteries where the investigation feels morally murky. It is less about a clever amateur detective and more about a professional investigator whose confidence in his surroundings begins to collapse.

The Weekend Away: A Vacation That Turns Into a Nightmare

The Weekend Away follows Beth, a woman who travels to Croatia with her best friend for a short break. After a night out, her friend disappears. Beth wakes up with incomplete memories, limited support, and a growing fear that she may be connected to what happened.

The film uses an effective murder-mystery formula: a beautiful foreign location, a missing person, an unreliable memory, suspicious strangers, and a protagonist who has to investigate despite being treated as a potential suspect.

The pace is much faster than Reptile. Each discovery changes Beth’s understanding of the weekend, and viewers get pulled into the same uncertainty. Was the disappearance an accident? Did someone target her friend? Can Beth trust the people offering help? Does she know more than she remembers?

Best for: Viewers who want an easy-to-watch, twist-driven murder mystery for one movie night rather than a long and heavy crime drama.

The Call: A Murder Mystery Across Two Timelines

The Call is a Korean psychological thriller with a unique murder-mystery setup. Two women living in the same house connect through a telephone, but they are living decades apart. Their conversations begin as a strange curiosity and quickly become dangerous when one of them discovers she can change the other woman’s past.

The mystery grows because every altered event creates a new reality. Crimes that had been solved can become unsolved. People who were alive can disappear. A person who once seemed like a victim can become a threat.

Why this movie stands out: It does not use a normal detective investigation. Instead, the central character has to investigate a shifting reality where evidence, memories, and even personal history can change.

This is one of the best murder mystery movies on Netflix for viewers who enjoy dark Korean thrillers and mind-bending concepts. It is tense, unpredictable, and more psychological than procedural.

Forgotten: When a Brother Returns Different

Forgotten begins when a young man witnesses his brother being kidnapped. Days later, his brother returns home, but he has no memory of the kidnapping — and he behaves like a completely different person.

The central character becomes obsessed with finding out what happened during the missing days. However, every answer creates another question. Is the brother pretending? Was the kidnapping real? Is the family hiding something? Is the protagonist’s own mind reliable?

The film is carefully constructed to make viewers doubt almost every detail. It moves from a family mystery to a psychological thriller and then into something even more complex.

Interesting point: The strongest murder mysteries make the audience feel like an investigator. Forgotten goes one step further by making the audience question whether the investigator is capable of understanding the truth at all.

Watch this if you like Korean thrillers with dramatic twists, hidden identities, family secrets, and a story that changes direction multiple times.

Murder Mubarak: A Stylish Hindi Whodunit

Murder Mubarak uses a more playful approach to the murder-mystery genre. Set around an elite social club, the film follows a police officer investigating a suspicious death among a group of wealthy, eccentric, and highly secretive people.

Every suspect has a reason to lie. Old relationships, hidden affairs, financial problems, jealousy, and personal grudges make it difficult to separate truth from performance. The setting gives the story a classic whodunit feel: a limited circle of suspects, a central investigator, and a crime that exposes the group’s hidden lives.

Unlike dark murder mysteries such as Reptile or The Stranger, this film has a lighter, more colourful tone. It relies on style, humour, and character interaction alongside the main investigation.

Best for: Viewers who want a Hindi murder mystery with glamorous suspects, a social setting, and less grim violence.

It is a useful choice for readers who want something different from the usual serious police procedurals.

Maharaja: A Mystery Built Around Loss and Revenge

Maharaja follows a quiet barber who goes to the police station after his home is robbed. However, he does not report stolen money, jewellery, or electronics. Instead, he insists that something called “Lakshmi” has been taken.

At first, the police believe he is confused or hiding the real reason for his complaint. As the story moves through different timelines, the audience gradually learns why he is so desperate and why the missing “Lakshmi” matters more than anything else.

The movie is not a traditional whodunit with detectives gathering suspects in a room. It is a revenge-driven mystery where the audience slowly uncovers the truth behind a traumatic crime.

Why it works: The film uses emotional misdirection. Viewers initially think they understand the protagonist’s mission, but the meaning of his actions becomes much darker and more personal as the story progresses.

Watch Maharaja if you prefer murder mysteries with emotional weight, non-linear storytelling, and a powerful final reveal.

Do Patti: Two Sisters, One Death, Many Versions of the Truth

Do Patti centres on twin sisters whose lives become entangled with a man whose charm hides a dangerous side. When a serious incident leads to an investigation, the people involved tell different versions of the same story.

The mystery is not only about what happened. It is also about who has been manipulated, who is protecting whom, and how emotional abuse can make the truth difficult to express.

The twin dynamic adds another layer of uncertainty. Because the sisters look alike but have very different personalities, identity itself becomes part of the suspense. The audience has to pay attention to behaviour, motive, and emotional context rather than assuming appearances tell the full story.

What makes it different: This is a domestic psychological murder mystery, not a standard police procedural. The tension comes from relationships, trauma, deception, and competing accounts of events.

Watch Do Patti if you enjoy Hindi thrillers with family secrets, psychological conflict, and a story that asks viewers to question who is truly the victim.

The Stranger: An Investigation Built on Trust

The Stranger is an Australian crime drama inspired by a real police operation. It follows an undercover officer trying to build trust with a man suspected of involvement in a child-abduction and murder case.

The movie does not show the crime in a sensational way. Instead, it focuses on the difficult, patient work required to gain the suspect’s confidence. The officer has to maintain a false identity, remain calm under pressure, and slowly encourage the suspect to reveal information without realizing he is being investigated.

This creates a different kind of murder mystery. The audience knows who may be responsible, but the question is whether the police can gather enough evidence before the operation falls apart.

Important: The suspense comes from conversation, silence, observation, and manipulation — not action scenes.

This is ideal for viewers who like grounded crime dramas, real-case inspiration, undercover operations, and emotionally restrained storytelling.

Lost Girls: A Missing-Person Mystery With a Real-World Edge

Lost Girls follows a mother searching for her missing daughter after authorities fail to take the case seriously. Her determination eventually exposes connections to other missing women and a larger pattern of violence.

This is a powerful murder mystery because it shifts the focus away from the killer and toward the families left behind. The mother is not a trained detective. She is simply unwilling to accept that her daughter’s life does not deserve urgent attention.

The story shows how class, prejudice, bureaucracy, and institutional indifference can slow down an investigation. That gives the film a deeper emotional impact than a conventional crime puzzle.

Best for: Viewers who want a serious, true-crime-style murder investigation that prioritizes victims and families rather than treating crime as entertainment.

Lost Girls is not a light watch, but it is an important one. It asks difficult questions about which cases receive attention and which victims are ignored.

In the Shadow of the Moon: A Science-Fiction Murder Mystery

In the Shadow of the Moon begins with a police officer investigating a series of bizarre deaths. The victims appear unrelated, the method is impossible to explain, and the suspected attacker disappears in a way that makes no sense.

As the years pass, the detective becomes obsessed with solving the case. His personal life suffers, his credibility weakens, and the mystery becomes more complicated as new crimes appear to follow the same impossible pattern.

The movie blends science fiction with murder investigation. That makes it a strong recommendation for readers who want something beyond realistic police work.

Why it is interesting: The investigator is not merely solving one case. He is chasing a pattern across decades, trying to understand a crime that seems to break the rules of time itself.

Watch this if you like mysterious deaths, obsessive detectives, unusual concepts, and stories where science-fiction elements raise the stakes of a murder investigation.

I Came By: A Secret Too Dangerous to Ignore

I Came By follows a young graffiti artist who breaks into the homes of wealthy people and leaves his signature behind. During one break-in, he discovers a horrifying secret connected to a respected public figure.

The story then becomes a cat-and-mouse suspense mystery. The young man wants to expose what he has found, but the powerful person he has targeted has the resources, reputation, and ruthlessness to make the problem disappear.

The murder-mystery angle comes from uncovering hidden crimes and trying to identify how many victims may be connected to the secret. The tension comes from the imbalance of power: one side has evidence but little protection; the other has influence and everything to lose.

Watch I Came By if: you enjoy hidden-room mysteries, dark secrets behind respectable public images, and stories where young people take on powerful adversaries.

The Guilty: A Murder Mystery Told Through One Phone Line

The Guilty is a Danish thriller set almost entirely inside an emergency call centre. A police officer assigned to dispatch duty receives a call from a woman who appears to have been kidnapped.

Because the officer cannot see the victim, the kidnapper, the vehicle, or the location, he has to build the case through fragments of conversation. Every word matters. Background sounds become clues. Pauses become suspicious. Assumptions can lead him in the wrong direction.

The limited setting makes the tension surprisingly intense. The audience receives the same incomplete information as the protagonist, so viewers become active participants in the investigation.

Why it stands out: It proves that a murder mystery does not need many locations, expensive action scenes, or a huge cast. A phone call, a voice, and a time limit can be enough.

Watch The Guilty if you like contained thrillers, real-time tension, and stories built around listening carefully.

Choose a Murder Mystery by Mood

If You Want…Watch ThisWhat Makes It Work
A slow detective investigationReptileMoody neo-noir and complex suspects
A fast holiday mysteryThe Weekend AwayMissing friend, unreliable memory, quick twists
A mind-bending Korean thrillerThe CallChanging timelines and psychological danger
Family secrets and identity twistsForgottenUnreliable reality and shocking reveals
A lighter Hindi whodunitMurder MubarakStylish suspects and social-club secrets
Emotional revenge mysteryMaharajaNon-linear storytelling and personal stakes
A domestic psychological mysteryDo PattiTwin sisters and conflicting versions of truth
Realistic undercover procedureThe StrangerTrust-building and quiet investigative tension
A serious missing-person caseLost GirlsFamily perspective and institutional failure
A sci-fi crime puzzleIn the Shadow of the MoonStrange murders across decades
Hidden crimes and class powerI Came ByA dangerous discovery inside a rich man’s home
A contained one-location thrillerThe GuiltyPhone-call clues and escalating urgency

Why This Murder Mystery List Is Different

Most articles about murder mystery movies on Netflix mix every type of mystery into one broad list. They may include detective comedies, psychological thrillers, action films, missing-person dramas, and even television series without explaining the difference.

This guide solves that problem by helping readers choose based on mood and mystery style:

  • Pick Murder Mubarak for a lighter Hindi whodunit.
  • Pick Reptile for a dark detective story.
  • Pick The Call or Forgotten for Korean psychological twists.
  • Pick Lost Girls or The Stranger for realistic, serious investigation drama.
  • Pick In the Shadow of the Moon for a science-fiction murder puzzle.
  • Pick The Guilty for a short, intense, dialogue-driven mystery.

The article also avoids the most repeated titles from older Netflix mystery lists, which gives it genuine discovery value. Netflix’s own murder-mystery guide highlights the continuing demand for films that encourage viewers to test their detective skills from home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best murder mystery movies on Netflix right now?

Reptile, The Call, Forgotten, Murder Mubarak, Maharaja, Lost Girls, and The Guilty are strong choices because they represent different styles of murder mystery, from dark detective drama to psychological suspense.

Which Hindi murder mystery movie on Netflix should I watch first?

Watch Murder Mubarak if you want a lighter whodunit with multiple suspects. Choose Maharaja for an emotional, twist-heavy revenge mystery, or Do Patti for domestic psychological suspense.

What is the best Korean murder mystery movie on Netflix?

The Call is the best choice for viewers who want psychological suspense and a high-concept mystery. Forgotten is ideal for those who prefer family secrets, identity confusion, and shocking twists.

Which murder mystery movie is best for viewers who dislike violence?

The Weekend Away and Murder Mubarak are generally better choices than darker options such as Reptile, The Call, or I Came By. They focus more on plot twists and suspect behaviour than graphic crime scenes.

Are there murder mysteries on Netflix based on real cases?

The Stranger is inspired by a real undercover police operation, while Lost Girls is based on a real missing-person investigation connected to the Long Island serial-killer case.

Which Netflix murder mystery has the biggest twist?

Forgotten, The Call, and Maharaja are strong choices if you want major reveals. Their stories are built around information that changes how viewers understand earlier scenes.

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