The 40 most popular 1990s mystery movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Se7en
1995 · 2h 7m · US
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.


Contact
1997 · 2h 30m · US
A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.


Scream
1996 · 1h 52m · US
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.


Eyes Wide Shut
1999 · 2h 39m · UK
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.


The Sixth Sense
1999 · 1h 47m · US
Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.


Sleepy Hollow
1999 · 1h 45m · US
Skeptical young detective Ichabod Crane gets transferred to the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where he is tasked with investigating the decapitations of three people – murders the townsfolk attribute to a legendary specter, The Headless Horseman.


The Devil's Advocate
1997 · 2h 24m · DE
Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.


Basic Instinct
1992 · 2h 8m · US
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.


Twelve Monkeys
1995 · 2h 9m · US
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.


L.A. Confidential
1997 · 2h 18m · US
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.


The Game
1997 · 2h 9m · US
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.


Scream 2
1997 · 2h · US
Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life while someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.


The Blair Witch Project
1999 · 1h 21m · US
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.


Event Horizon
1997 · 1h 36m · UK
In 2047, a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the starship Event Horizon which disappeared mysteriously seven years before on its maiden voyage. However, it soon becomes evident that something sinister resides in its corridors.


Entrapment
1999 · 1h 52m · UK
Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.


Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
1994 · 1h 26m · US
He's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The Ace is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man… or beast!


Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
1992 · 2h 15m · US
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.


Dark City
1998 · 1h 41m · AU
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.


I Know What You Did Last Summer
1997 · 1h 42m · US
After an accident on a winding road, four teens make the fatal mistake of dumping their victim's body into the sea. Exactly one year later, the deadly secret resurfaces as they're stalked by a hook-handed figure.


Dream Lover
1994 · 1h 43m · US
Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.


Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
1998 · 1h 17m · US
After going their separate ways, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred reunite to investigate the ghost of Moonscar the pirate on a haunted bayou island, but it turns out the swashbuckler's spirit isn't the only creepy character on the island. The sleuths also meet up with cat creatures and zombies... and it looks like for the first time in their lives, these ghouls might actually be real.


Kiss the Girls
1997 · 1h 55m · US
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.


The Firm
1993 · 2h 34m · US
Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, he is totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two Associates are murdered. The FBI contact him, asking him for information and suddenly his life is ruined. He has a choice - work with the FBI, or stay with the Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it. Mitch figures the only way out is to follow his own plan...


Eraser
1996 · 1h 55m · CA
Eraser, an elite federal marshal who "erases" the pasts of jeopardized informers and relocates them into safe anonymity, must protect a moving target who stands to uncover a conspiracy that could shift the balance of power in the world forever.


Lost Highway
1997 · 2h 14m · FR
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.


Cure
1997 · 1h 51m · JP
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.


Society
1990 · 1h 40m · US
Bill Whitney is worried that he is different to his sister and parents. They mix with other upper-class people while Bill is more down to earth. Even his girlfriend seems a bit odd. All is revealed when Bill returns home to find a party in full swing.


The Deep End of the Ocean
1999 · 1h 46m · US
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.


Double Jeopardy
1999 · 1h 45m · DE
Libby Parsons, wrongly convicted of her husband Nick's murder, thinks he is still alive. She survives the long years in prison with two burning desires sustaining her -- finding her son and solving the mystery that destroyed her once-happy life. Standing between her and her quest, however, is her parole officer, Travis Lehman. Libby poses a challenge to the cynical officer, one that forces him to face up to his own failings while pitting him against his superior and law enforcement colleagues, as she plunges into a desperate fight for justice, survival, and revenge.


Wes Craven's New Nightmare
1994 · 1h 52m · US
A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?


The Long Kiss Goodnight
1996 · 2h 1m · US
Samantha Caine is a small-town schoolteacher and mom with no memory of her life before washing up on a beach eight years ago. After a car accident and a violent home invasion trigger flashes of her past, she discovers she used to be a deadly CIA assassin. Teaming up with a wisecracking private investigator, Samantha must return to her old ways to take down the people who tried to erase her.


Jacob's Ladder
1990 · 1h 53m · US
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.


Wild Things
1998 · 1h 48m · US
When teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan and troubled bad girl Suzie Toller accuse guidance counselor Sam Lombardo of rape, he's suspended by the school, rejected by the town, and fighting to get his life back. One cop suspects conspiracy, but nothing is what it seems...


Three Colors: Red
1994 · 1h 40m · FR
Part-time model Valentine unexpectedly befriends a retired judge after she runs over his dog. At first, the grumpy man shows no concern about the dog, and Valentine decides to keep it. But the two form a bond when she returns to his house and catches him listening to his neighbors’ phone calls.


Urban Legend
1998 · 1h 40m · US
A college campus is plagued by a vicious serial killer murdering students in ways that correspond to various urban legends.


The Client
1994 · 1h 59m · US
A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.


Three Colors: White
1994 · 1h 32m · FR
Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.


The Ninth Gate
1999 · 2h 13m · ES
A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.


Conspiracy Theory
1997 · 2h 15m · US
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.


In the Mouth of Madness
1995 · 1h 35m · US
An insurance investigator visits a small town while looking into the strange disappearance of a popular horror novelist. He soon finds that the impact of the author’s books is far more than inspirational.
The 1990s were the independent film decade, when Sundance and Miramax pushed low-budget American filmmaking into the mainstream. It's also when Hong Kong action, Japanese animation, and Iranian art cinema found large Western audiences.
Mystery films are structured around withheld information, trusting the audience to work alongside the investigator. The genre ranges from cozy whodunits to bleak, unresolved character studies.