Spooky Mysteries
Rainstorm? Check. Flashlight? Check. Old neglected structure? Check. Hidden Passage? Check. Long-buried secrets? Check. Obnoxious Talking Dog? Hell no.
While a few of these films veer close to 'Thriller' or 'Horror' territory, I would describe each of them as a 'Mystery' that is spooky.
I'm putting in a few Giallo films, but only those that are more atmospheric mystery than bloody slasher.
MINOR SPOILER: I'm keeping this list strictly non-supernatural. Supernatural Mysteries go here.
Now, the problem with some of these supernatural fake-out mysteries is that once you accept that nothing supernatural is really happening, you can usually tell who the killer is right away. Because only one person could've set up the hoax/ claims to have been attacked by the monster/ had the opportunity to slip our protagonist hallucinogens. People need to make movies where anyone could be the hoaxer.
There is some overlap with my other list, Recycled plot twist #2b2.
While a few of these films veer close to 'Thriller' or 'Horror' territory, I would describe each of them as a 'Mystery' that is spooky.
I'm putting in a few Giallo films, but only those that are more atmospheric mystery than bloody slasher.
MINOR SPOILER: I'm keeping this list strictly non-supernatural. Supernatural Mysteries go here.
Now, the problem with some of these supernatural fake-out mysteries is that once you accept that nothing supernatural is really happening, you can usually tell who the killer is right away. Because only one person could've set up the hoax/ claims to have been attacked by the monster/ had the opportunity to slip our protagonist hallucinogens. People need to make movies where anyone could be the hoaxer.
There is some overlap with my other list, Recycled plot twist #2b2.
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- DirectorPaul LeniStarsLaura La PlanteCreighton HaleForrest StanleyRelatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsBarry FitzgeraldWalter HustonLouis HaywardSeven guests, a newly hired secretary and two staff are gathered at a manor house on an isolated island by an unknown absentee host and are killed off one-by-one. They work together to determine who the killer is before it's too late.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsDorothy McGuireGeorge BrentEthel BarrymoreIn 1916, a shadowy serial killer is targeting women with "afflictions"; one night during a thunderstorm, the mute Helen feels menaced.The father of all Giallo, grandfather of all slasher.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsAna TorrentFele MartínezEduardo NoriegaWhile doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student in her faculty...
- DirectorSeth HoltStarsSusan StrasbergAnn ToddRonald LewisA wheelchair-bound young woman returns to her father's estate after 10 years, and although she's told he's away, she keeps seeing his dead body on the estate.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsSean ConneryChristian SlaterHelmut QualtingerAn intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioEmily MortimerMark RuffaloTeddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffMelvyn DouglasCharles LaughtonSeeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsRichard GreeneBoris KarloffStephen McNallyMan investigates the disappearance of two of his friends who were the guests of a sinister Austrian count.Boris Karloff. Swordfight. Alligator pit. If this doesn't pique your interest, you'd better leave this list.
- DirectorRoland WestStarsChester MorrisUna MerkelWilliam BakewellA master criminal terrorizes the occupants of an isolated country mansion.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsVincent PriceChristopher LeePeter CushingAn American author finds a dilapidated Welsh manor perfect for writing until the residents host a bizarre family reunion.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsEdward G. RobinsonLon McCallisterJudith AndersonAn old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.More of a twisted family melodrama, but it brings enough spooky and enough mystery that I'm counting it.
- DirectorTheodore GershunyStarsPatrick O'NealJames PattersonMary WoronovA man inherits a mansion which once was a mental home. He visits the place and begins to investigate some crimes that happened in old times, scaring the people living in the region.This one definitely crosses the line into slasher horror, I'm counting it anyway.
- DirectorPupi AvatiStarsLino CapolicchioFrancesca MarcianoGianni CavinaStefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village.My favorite Giallo
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsDavid HemmingsDaria NicolodiGabriele LaviaA jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.The best Giallo
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsTony MusanteSuzy KendallEnrico Maria SalernoAn American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJames FranciscusKarl MaldenCatherine SpaakBlind puzzle writer Franco Arno and snoopy reporter Carlo Giordani try to solve murders connected to the Terzi Institute, a pharmaceutical company where people are conducting secret genetic experiments. Soon the two men become targets.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsMichael BrandonMimsy FarmerJean-Pierre MarielleA musician is stalked by an unknown homicidal maniac, who blackmails him for the accidental killing of another stalker.
- DirectorLuigi BazzoniMario FanelliStarsFlorinda BolkanPeter McEneryNicoletta ElmiAfter being tormented by dreams about astronauts on the moon, a translator visits a deserted seaside town whose inhabitants know her, although she does not know them.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsFlorinda BolkanStanley BakerJean SorelThe potentially unhinged daughter of a British politician is accused of killing her hedonistic neighbor after she witnesses the murder in a dream.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsFlorinda BolkanBarbara BouchetTomas MilianWhen a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.
- DirectorFred WaltonStarsDeborah ForemanGriffin O'NealClayton RohnerNine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend, but nothing is as it seems.It's Agatha Christie updated for 1980s teens with a slasher movie veneer. I love this one and I can't understand the 55% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- DirectorLynn ShoresStarsSidney TolerVictor Sen YungC. Henry GordonAn escaped convicted murderer hides out at a New York wax museum where he hopes to get plastic surgery, which will help him revenge himself on Charlie Chan.
- DirectorHarry LachmanStarsSidney TolerSheila RyanRobert WeldonA treasure map in four pieces, the ghost of a hanged pirate, a talking parrot, and a ship full of red herrings complicate Charlie's search for a murderer on board a docked ship.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsBasil RathboneNigel BruceDennis HoeyDuring WWII, several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff, and the patients recovering there.