Best Mystery & Thriller Movies 2023

It may not have been able to overcome Talk to Me as Best International Movie, but Justine Triet’s mystery Anatomy of a Fall has been firmly embedded in the awards conversation since it premiered at Cannes and won the coveted Palme d’Or. Not only has it gone on to rack up a number of other accolades since, it also takes home our Golden Tomato for Best Mystery & Thriller Movie.

#1

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
96%

#1

Adjusted Score: 112135%

Critics Consensus: A smart, solidly crafted procedural that's anchored in family drama, Anatomy of a Fall finds star Sandra Hüller and director/co-writer Justine Triet operating at peak power.

Synopsis: For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a... [More]

Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz

Directed By: Justine Triet

#2

May December (2023)
91%

#2

Adjusted Score: 109480%

Critics Consensus: Swaddling its difficult fact-based story in a blanket of campy humor, May December is a seductively discomfiting watch.

Synopsis: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu and her husband Joe (twenty-three years her junior)... [More]

Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Cory Michael Smith, Charles Melton

Directed By: Todd Haynes

#3

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)
95%

#3

Adjusted Score: 103998%

Critics Consensus: An explosive adaptation of Andreas Malm's treatise, How to Blow Up a Pipeline delivers a high-stakes eco-thriller ignited by riveting and complex antiheroes.

Synopsis: A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline, in Daniel Goldhaber's taut and... [More]

Starring: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck

Directed By: Daniel Goldhaber

#4

The Killer (2023)
85%

#4

Adjusted Score: 101556%

Critics Consensus: The Killer finds director David Fincher on firm footing with a stylish and engaging thriller that proves a perfect match for leading man Michael Fassbender.

Synopsis: After a fateful near-miss an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.... [More]

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Tilda Swinton

Directed By: David Fincher

#5

Saint Omer (2022)
95%

#5

Adjusted Score: 102116%

Critics Consensus: A gut-punching contemplation of a woman's immigrant experience, Saint Omer puts a mother on the stand and the audience in the jury box to find humanity in the inhumane.

Synopsis: Saint-Omer court of law. Young novelist Rama attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her... [More]

Starring: Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit

Directed By: Alice Diop

#6

The Beasts (2022)
99%

#6

Adjusted Score: 102058%

Critics Consensus: Rodrigo Sorogoyen throws us into rural Galicia with The Beasts, where tension and unease spread like wildfire in a scorching tale of decayed human nature.

Synopsis: An expatriate French couple (Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs) operate an organic farm in the Spanish countryside. However, their earnest... [More]

Starring: Denis Ménochet, Marina Foïs, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido

Directed By: Rodrigo Sorogoyen

#7

The Night of the 12th (2022)
94%

#7

Adjusted Score: 96940%

Critics Consensus: A grim, well-crafted thriller, The Night of the 12th takes a finely layered look at the toxic ripple effect of violence.

Synopsis: In nearly every police precinct, detectives are inevitably confronted with a case that goes unsolved. The more heinous the crime,... [More]

Starring: Bastien Bouillon, Bouli Lanners, Anouk Grinberg, Mouna Soualem

Directed By: Dominik Moll

#8

Missing (2023)
89%

#8

Adjusted Score: 96898%

Critics Consensus: Missing can strain credulity in its efforts to keep the audience guessing, but a fast pace and relatable fears keep this twisty techno-thriller from completely losing its way.

Synopsis: When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June's (Storm Reid) search for... [More]

Starring: Storm Reid, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker

Directed By: Will Merrick, Nicholas D. Johnson

#9

Raging Grace (2023)
94%

#9

Adjusted Score: 96247%

Critics Consensus: Dispensing social commentary shrouded in gothic dread, Raging Grace smartly balances its messaging against vivid atmosphere and absorbing character-driven drama.

Synopsis: Joy (Max Eigenmann) is an undocumented Filipino immigrant struggling to do the best she can to support her daughter, Grace... [More]

Starring: Max Eigenmann, Jaeden Boadilla, Leanne Best, David Hayman

Directed By: Paris Zarcilla

#10

The Royal Hotel (2023)
89%

#10

Adjusted Score: 96718%

Critics Consensus: A chilling immersion into a place and time fraught with constant danger, The Royal Hotel reunites Kitty Green and Julia Garner to electrifying effect.

Synopsis: Americans Hanna and Liv are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an... [More]

Starring: Jessica Henwick, Julia Garner, Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville

Directed By: Kitty Green