Diksha Sundriyal
One of the most effective forms of entertainment is a good murder mystery. All the Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie remakes by BBC are not just because they have run out of material. A good mystery never gets old, even if you know exactly how it ends. Every watch lets you focus on the details you missed the first time, and learning from your mistakes makes you better at it. Who knows when this knowledge might come in handy!
However, with time, the perspective with which murder mysteries are made has increased. While some offer us a look into the killer’s mind via a hearing or in some other manner, some make the killer the protagonist, some leave the killer unidentified, while others show us how the killer is tracked down. And these are only a few ways to look at murder mysteries, and Hulu features quite a variety of them.
10. An Amish Murder (2013)
Stephen Gyllenhaal’s ‘An Amish Murder’ is based on Linda Castillo’s book ‘Sworn to Silence.’ The film follows Chief of Police Kate Burkholder, who returns to her Amish community of Painter’s Mill, Ohio, after 15 years. She left the town as a young girl after being traumatized by a string of brutal murders. When a new murder investigation knocks on her door, she is forced to revisit old wounds that trigger buried emotions and threaten to expose a dark secret. A bingeworthy murder mystery with a gripping plot, ‘An Amish Murder’ stars Neve Campbell and Christian Campbell. You can watch it here.
9. Saint Omer (2022)
‘Saint Omer’ is inspired by the legal case of Fabienne Kabou, who was convicted of killing her 15-month-old daughter Adélaïde in Berck on 19 November 2013. She left the baby by the sea after dusk, and the little girl’s drowned dead body was discovered the next day by fishermen. Kabou was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2016. She is still serving the sentence. In the film, we look at the case of Laurence Coly, who, too, killed her 15-month-old girl child in the same manner as above, from the perspective of a pregnant novelist, Rama. While being a murder mystery on the face, the film delves deep into the psychological aspects of Coly’s character, exploring her experiences and emotions, and how they might just have made her do something that sounds impossible. You may watch the film here.
8. The Oxford Murders (2008)
Álex de la Iglesia’s ‘The Oxford Murders’ delves into a string of murders wherein the corpses are marked with mathematical symbols. While the cops are looking into the case, the mathematical angle piques the curiosity of Oxford University professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), who recruits his new mathematics student Martin (Elijah Wood). Together, they try to decipher the symbols with the belief that it will lead them to the killer. With an intriguing approach to the crime genre, ‘The Oxford Murders’ establishes itself as an interest-brewing binge based on a “logical series of serial murders.” You can watch it here.
7. Sleeping Dogs (2024)
Russell Crowe stars as retired homicide detective Roy Freeman, who reopens an old murder case wherein the cops had apparently made a mistake and arrested the wrong suspect. As his investigation moves forward, all the people associated with the victim start disappearing, making it difficult for him to find clues. What makes things worse is his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, which keeps him from remembering stuff, especially old ones. Amidst uncertain events and memories, Freeman has to race against time to find the real culprit and those removing evidence. Intricate, captivating, and powered by Crowe’s performance and onscreen presence, ‘Sleeping Dogs’ is directed by Adam Cooper and based on E.O. Chirovici’s novel ‘The Book of Mirrors.’ It can be streamed here.
6. Boston Strangler (2023)
Based on killings that occurred in Greater Boston in the 1960s wherein 13 women were murdered, ‘Boston Strangler’ showcases the hard work of female reporters Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), who connected the murders, and her co-reporter Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) and how they fought the largely prevalent sexism of the time to report on the serial killer and keep people, especially women, well-informed. The film, directed by Matt Ruskin, is very accurate, including the details of the investigation, and this, more than anything else, makes the murder mystery worth watching. Knowing that something very close to what you are watching actually happened makes the events in the film more palpable and thus effective. You can watch the movie here.
5. Deep Water (2022)
An insane arrangement between a husband and wife to avoid the harassment of divorce gives birth to a mind-boggling murder mystery. Vic (Ben Affleck) has no problem with Melinda (Ana de Armas) sleeping with other men but seems to be responsible for killing one or more of her lovers. Is it Vic who killed the men, or is it someone else? Swinging between love and infidelity, ‘Deep Water’ offers an erotic take on the murder mystery genre. Directed by Adrian Lyne, the film is based on the 1957 eponymous novel by Patricia Highsmith. You can watch it here.
4. Spiral (2021)
Starring Chris Rock in a never-before-seen role, ‘Spiral’ is a spin-off/sequel of the ‘Saw’ horror film franchise and has been directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. It follows Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock), his rookie partner (Max Minghella), and Zeke’s father/retired chief Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson), who investigate a series of brutal murders that are a clear reminder of the city’s sinister past. Soon, it is revealed that Banks is connected to the killer. But how? To find out, you can watch the film here.
3. Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Directed by Justine Triet, ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is a French murder mystery/legal drama that won the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival (2023) with many awards and even more accolades. The film finds a mother, Sandra (Sandra Hüller), and her visually-impaired son, Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), in a court of law after the former is suspected of her husband Samuel Maleski’s (Samuel Theis) murder while her son becomes the sole witness. We do not know whether it was a murder or an accident, but the conflicted accounts of the two and autopsy inconsistencies make the case complex. The question is: even if Daniel knows the truth, and maybe the truth is that his mother killed his father, will he say it in court and send his mother to jail? Or did Samuel kill himself? ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is as intimate as a murder mystery can get, and that is where its charm lies. You can watch the film here.
2. Longlegs (2024)
FBI agent Lee Harker finds herself at the center of a series of bizarre murder-suicides in Oz Perkins’ horror thriller ‘Longlegs.’ The investigation soon brings her face to face with a face from her past that may be responsible for the deaths. The question is how? With satanism and psychology at its heart, ‘Longlegs’ is a rare serial killer flick that doesn’t wait to reveal the truth but will get you glued to the screen as you wait to find out who or what led to what and how. Starring Maika Monroe as Lee Harker and Nicolas Cage as the face from the past, AKA the titular character, the movie is a must-watch purely for its execution and effect. It can be streamed here.
1. Death on the Nile (2022) and A Haunting in Venice (2023)
‘Death on the Nile’ and ‘A Haunting in Venice’ are standalone movies in the same cinematic universe. They are directed by Kenneth Branagh and showcase Agatha Christie’s immortal creation, detective Hercule Poirot, as he tries to solve mysterious murder cases. In ‘Death on the Nile,’ he looks into the murder of just-married heiress Linnet Ridgeway, who is killed aboard the S.S. Karnak on the Nile in Egypt. In ‘A Haunting in Venice,’ Poirot is called for a séance in Venice, where he again deals with a killer bent on taking the lives of those connected to the palazzo’s past. While Branagh plays Hercule Poirot, both movies have stellar star-casts, including Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Emma Mackey, Ali Fazal, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, and Kelly Reilly. Known for their visuals and stylised retelling of Agatha’s stories, the movies are a must-watch for fans of the detective and crime genre. ‘Death on the Nile’ can be streamed here, while ‘A Haunting in Venice’ can be streamed here.
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