Murder mysteries have long been a prominent movie genre. Classics like The Maltese Falcon in 1941 and Rear Window in 1954 are staples in the genre; Basil Rathbone’s portrayal of detective Sherlock Holmes also rose to fame in the 1940s. The genre would remain popular into the 1950s and 1960s. After the 1970s, the genre faded a bit, and saw splintering into horror-thrillers, like Scream, and police-focused crime movies, like Seven, while seeing TV fame with crime procedurals.
Lately, however, it seems that the classic, detective-led, whodunit murder mystery is making a comeback. In 2017, Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. The film was a faithful adaptation and a big box office success. 2019 saw Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, an original mystery about a family that drew high praise and financial success. In the years since, the murder mystery genre has grown in popularity; both Branagh and Johnson got sequels for their movies, and other mystery films, like See How They Run and Enola Holmes, met with favorable reviews. The murder mystery genre seems to be thriving, and here are some reasons why it has been so popular lately.
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Large, Star-Studded Casts With Memorable Characters
20th Century Studios
A large-scale murder mystery with a huge cast of stars has become a big part of the genre, and a main factor in its success. 1974’s version of Murder on the Orient Express was filled with major actors, including Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, and Sean Connery. The 2017 version was similarly packed with stars, like Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, and Willem Dafoe; the same would be true of Branagh’s second outing as Detective Poirot, 2022’s Death on the Nile. Knives Out stars Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc, who investigates suspects played by Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis, to name just a few. Though a smaller cast, Enola Holmes features great performances from Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill.
These large casts have great appeal to a variety of viewers. Most movies have a few major actors, but these movies have a cast full of them. Having such an array of actors brings in many of their fans, even those who may not be big mystery fans. This brings a big audience to the genre, and it also gives something for everyone to enjoy. With a cast as prestigious as the one in Knives Out, surely everyone can find an actor they enjoy in the movie. It’s also awe-inspiring and fun to see so many stars share the screen, and this draws a big crowd.
With such impressive casts, another aspect of note is the memorable characters the casts bring to life. Craig’s quirky Benoit Blanc was immediately enjoyable in Knives Out, and audiences liked following him through the murder case of Harlan Thrombey, patriarch to a dysfunctional family. Similarly, as Harlan’s nurse, Marta, Ana de Armas makes a lovable and intriguing character that seems truly human among the cold Thrombeys; ScreenRant considers her performance one of the best in the movie. Branagh as Hercule Poirot and Cavill as Sherlock Holmes bring two of fiction’s most famous detectives to life in their respective movies, while Brown leads Sherlock’s sister Enola into her own detective stardom. Finally, in See How They Run, Saoirse Ronan and Sam Rockwell play two quirky inspectors investigating a murder, with appearances from Adrien Brody and Shirley Henderson. Even as the mystery unfolds, there is great fun in seeing which major actor will pop up next. Murder mysteries are a great way to feature a stellar cast, and their strong characters make it even better.
Contained Stories With the Potential for More
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Though these detective-led movies are easy to continue with new cases, another appeal of murder mysteries is their contained, stand-alone nature. Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile are two separate movies, just anchored by the same detective. Each one works on its own. The same is true of Glass Onion, the Knives Out sequel, which has new suspects and a new case. In a time of major series, it’s refreshing to watch a contained mystery that is started and resolved in a single movie. No extensive watching commitments need to be made, and you can even watch the sequel without seeing the previous movie. While there is easy potential for more movies – and Nerdist reports that a third Branagh-led Christie movie, A Haunting in Venice, is in the works – continuations and sequels offer some variety with new cases and new stars. It keeps things from getting boring and expected.
Fun and Intriguing Mysteries
Netflix
Finally, the central part of the murder mystery is the mystery, and just how fun and intriguing it can be. Mysteries are designed to be suspenseful and enticing; it’s very easy to begin a murder mystery, see the crime, and get hooked on the case. There are constant twists and turns that keep the audience on the edge of their seats, waiting for the final reveal. This suspense and intrigue is matched by the unexpected fun involved. Nearly everyone can enjoy playing detective, and there’s great fun in following the investigation and trying to guess the murderer yourself. It’s a fun experience that fuels the genre’s popularity among viewers, as they share theories and discuss clues they might have missed.
Mystery movies make great use of their casts to present suspenseful, complex mysteries that are carried by memorable characters. They engage wide varieties of audiences and keep them guessing throughout. How long this resurgence of mysteries will last is unknown, but in the meantime, there are plenty of suspenseful cases you can enjoy watching.
