Suspense tease the mind and raise the heart rate when done effectively. In a world rife with distractions, you find yourself completely absorbed, hooked, and transported.
Excellent plotting and pacing are required in a superb mystery or “suspenser” script. Many titles don’t quite hit the mark since this is a nuanced, tricky craft. Those who do so should be admired.
Maybe you’ve seen all of the true-crime documentaries, or maybe you just want to watch a good movie that puts your crime-solving skills to the test. In any case, we’re here to show you the most suspenseful mystery films available on Amazon Prime Video right now.
1. Casino Royale (2006)
Director- Martin Campbell
In the form of freshly appointed double-00 Agent James Bond, the British Establishment has an ally. He’s back, and he’s returned with a vengeance. His mission is to take the ultimate risk. Put his life on the line in the arenas of terrorism and the ivory towers of power. Taking Bond around the world once more. But this battle of wits and cunning will take place in Casino Royale There he will take no prisoners and leave nothing but death in his wake.
2. The Goldfinger (1964)
Director- Guy Hamilton
Auric Goldfinger, a strong businessman, has launched “Operation Grand Slam”. A devastating conspiracy to plunder Fort Knox and demolish the global economy. James Bond, armed with his specially equipped Aston Martin (which comes with built-in machine guns, a smoke screen, and an ejection seat). He must halt the scheme by defeating a number of outlandish foes. Oddjob, the mute servant who kills at the drop of a fatal hat, is followed by the stunning Jill Masterson. He redefines the term “golden girl,” and finally, sultry pilot Pussy Galore. However, her romantic feelings for Bond complicate her participation in Goldfinger’s high-flying operation.
3. Chinatown (1974)
Director- Roman Polanski
Jake Gittes is a well-dressed private investigator and expert in adultery cases in 1937 Los Angeles. He is profoundly cynical but also empathic. Then a mysterious blonde enters his office. Sure that her husband, Hollis Mulwray, chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, is having an affair. And then Gittes finds himself caught in a tangled web of deception and murder. As a result, Gittes is being pursued by corrupt government officials and violent thugs for poking his nose into a sophisticated and hazardous scheme. Jake is beginning to suspect that he’s been duped. In this problematic scenario, though, nearly everyone has a skeleton in their closet.
4. Knives Out (2019)
Director- Rain Johnson
Except for his unexpected and unexplainable death, nothing could mar the otherwise magnificent birthday dinner at the palatial mansion of famed crime/mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey. The sharp knife in the silver-haired deceased’s hand is now a dead giveaway that something, or someone, had been worrying Harlan; yet, Benoit Blanc, the cryptic investigator, is unsure. Indeed, more than one member of the successful author’s close family has been sparing with the truth thus far—and as Blanc tries to unravel a convoluted web of half-baked leads and white lies, all eyes are on the main prize: Harlan’s enormous legacy.
5. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Director- Lewis Gilbert
When a submarine from each country vanishes and the only link is a microfilm detailing the movements of the British submarine, the British and Russians are astounded, implying that a submarine may be monitored via its “wake.” Agent James Bond is dispatched by the British, while Major Anya Amasova, also known as “Triple-X,” is dispatched by the Russians. After fighting over the microfilm, the two spies are told to team up against the actual enemy: insane shipping magnate Carl Stromberg, who plans to use the submarines to destroy the globe with nuclear missiles, forcing any survivors to live in Stromberg’s underwater dream world. James, on the other hand, must defend himself against Anya, who discovers that James killed her lover on a prior operation.
6. The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
Director- Duncan Skiles
In this disturbing look at the evil that may lurk beneath even the most wholesome exterior, a devastating revelation flips a teenage boy’s world upside down. Tyler Burnside is a Boy Scout, a volunteer at his church, and the obedient son of a community leader father. Only one thing bothers him in his tranquil Kentucky town: the unsolved Clovehitch killings, in which ten women were cruelly tortured and murdered by a psychopath known as Clovehitch more than a decade ago. When Tyler uncovers a stockpile of troubling photographs in his father’s hands, he begins to think that the man he most trusts in the world is Clovehitch, and that his murderous rampage is far from done. Duncan Skiles creates a picture-perfect ideal of the all-American family and then rips it apart piece by piece with unremitting suspense.
7. Charade (1963)
Director- Stanley Donen
The US army entrusts a large hoard of riches to a special-forces unit that turns only for the sake of greed. They decide to declare it lost and bury the gold in a plot with the intention of recovering it years later. The group begins to turn on one another in order to grab the riches for themselves alone. One makes a small but significant amount of progress. Others will face similar challenges in their quest for the riches. The money must be reclaimed. The recovery strategies differ depending on the motivations of each individual involved.
8. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Director- Guy Ritchie
As a series of ritualistic killings terrorise late-Victorian London, Sherlock Holmes, a lithe pugilist and debauched investigator with an amazing sense of deduction, and his acutely observant brother-in-arms, Dr Watson, manage to send their occultist arch-enemy, Lord Blackwood, to the gallows. However, evil knows no bounds, and as rumours that the diabolical practitioner of the black arts has avoided death spread like wildfire, a mystery copycat steps in to fill the void left by the slain aristocrat. As the seemingly resurrected Blackwood continues his reign of terror, Sherlock’s fiery old flame with a hidden motive, Irene Adler, has returned to further complicate matters.
9. A Simple Favour (2018)
Director- Paul Feig
Stephanie Smothers, a joyful YouTuber and full-time stay-at-home single mother, is unquestionably a force of nature and true connoisseur of all things domestic. Stephanie, who is always willing to volunteer for multiple jobs at her son Miles’ elementary school, will see her picture-perfect life take an unexpected turn when she befriends Emily Nelson, an elegant and cryptic New York City PR executive. After a series of boozy afternoons, curiosity transforms to friendship, and Emily asks Stephanie for a simple favour: to pick up her son, Nicky, from school. Then Emily vanishes, and as the hours grow into days, Stephanie resolves to act, and sets out on a mission to uncover the truth behind Emily’s mysterious disappearance.
10. The Fugitive (1993)
Director- Andrew Davis
Dr. Richard Kimble, a well-known Chicago surgeon, goes home from work one night to discover his wife Helen has been murdered. Before the cops come, the killer, a one-armed man, gets to flee. Kimble is caught and charged with murder despite the absence of evidence linking him to the one-armed man. The bus he’s on crashes on the way to prison, allowing him the opportunity to flee. Kimble sets out to discover who the real murderer is and why his wife was murdered. Meanwhile, a team led by US Marshal Samuel Gerard is tasked with tracking down and apprehending Kimble. However, the closer Gerard gets to apprehending Kimble, the more persuaded he is that he is innocent.
