Best Mystery & Thriller Movies 2023

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 remote town in the French... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Justine Triet

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) brace themselves for their twins... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Todd Haynes

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 timely thriller that is part... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Daniel Goldhaber

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.

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

Directed By: David Fincher

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 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Alice Diop

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 enthusiasm reeks of patronizing privilege... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Rodrigo Sorogoyen

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, the more it haunts those... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Dominik Moll

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 answers is hindered by international... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Will Merrick, Nicholas D. Johnson

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 (Jaeden Boadilla). Soon she secures... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Paris Zarcilla

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 adventure, convinces Hanna to take... View Full Synopsis

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

Directed By: Kitty Green