11+ Best Movies Like Knives Out For an Epic Mystery Thrillers

Rian Johnson’s film Knives Out is a murder mystery. It’s quite a fun, comforting watch, and there are plenty of enjoyable movies like it. Directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out is made after classic murder mysteries but also given a modern and stylish touch, and fans of movies like Knives Out will be glad to know there are a lot of films in a similar mold. Knives Out was released in theaters in 2019 and was a huge success, it had a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and made near about $312 million at the box office. In this movie, Benoit Blanc is a private detective from the American South, hired by a wealthy family to solve the crime of the passing away of their family head and more importantly, give away his large inheritance as quickly as possible. Knives Out is a movie that starred a number of actors best known for their franchise work. With an all-star cast, a clever script, and a lot of great humor, Knives Out sparked a renewed interest in a mysterious murder enigma. Though it feels like a unique film that goes on par with expectations, there are many other great movies like Knives Out that capture a similar feel. Some of them we’re mentioning down below!

10. Ready Or Not (2019)

Ready Or Not is a movie directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and it’s penned down by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. Great movies like Knives Out managed to be hugely entertaining murder mysteries while also making some interesting themes. That was a theme shared by a lot of 2019 films, including this horror-comedy film, Ready or Not. In this movie, Samara Weaving broke out as a young woman marrying into a wealthy tycoon family. However, on her wedding night, she finds herself in a deadly game of hide-and-seek. It is a wild, hilarious, and frisky movie and Weaving has an important role as a strong-willed outsider who fights her way out of danger.

9. Brick (2005)

Brick is a American mystery thriller film, released in 2005, written and directed by Rian Johnson in his debut, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Johnson had made movies like Knives Out long before he became well-known for his mastery of the mystery genre. The movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a high school student investigating the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. It centers around a cynical detective story set in California. Though it is set in a modern high school setting, the movie is presented as an old-school detective film. The central mystery in the film keeps viewers guessing throughout. This film won the Special Jury Prize for the originality of vision.

8. Scream (1996)

Scream is an American murder mystery movie that includes six films and also a television series. The first four films were directed by Wes Craven while the fifth and sixth installments were directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Scream follows a group of teens who are stalked by the murderous killer Ghostface. The film brilliantly uses horror tropes to its advantage, as Scream is a self-aware slash movie full of characters who know all the clichés. The movie does a great job of playing with those expectations to keep the audience guessing until the killer is finally revealed.

7. Bad Times At The El Royale (2018)

Another movie with a similar setup as Knives Out is Bad Times at the El Royale. This thriller movie is written, directed, and produced by Drew Goddard and stars Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth as strangers who meet up at an eponymous motel. The movie slowly reveals what each of the characters is hiding and how their own journeys collide with one another. Bad Times at the El Royale and Knives Out both introduce their whole characters as one-dimensional, but it quickly becomes apparent there is much more lurking beneath the surface.

6. Identity (2003)

Identity, similar to other movies like Knives Out, directed by James Mangold, written by Michael Cooney, and starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta and Amanda Peet. Inspired by Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’, the film follows ten strangers in an isolated hotel, who are temporarily cut off from the rest of the world, and are mysteriously killed off one by one. Just like And Then There Were None, the guests begin to get picked off while as the others try to determine which of them is the killer. The movie is a twisty thriller with a great crime thrill. The movie maintains an effective dark and threatening feel that keeps viewers hooked to it regardless of it’s similar kind of feeling of a completing puzzle like in Knives Out. And it grossed around $90 million.

5. Game Night (2018)

Game Night is a 2018 American action mystery comedy film directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and written by Mark Perez. Knives Out deals with an apparent murder and it is not light on its comedy unlike Game Night which is full of it. The film stars Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams act as a couple in this movie who host a game night with friends which turns into a real-life mystery after one of them is kidnapped. When their murder mystery turns out to be real, they find themselves in a world of danger. The fantastic cast helps bring a lot of energy to this clever and great story. As the stakes continue to rise and things get more ridiculous, the laughs just get bigger and bigger.

4. Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 mystery film co-produced and directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is an obvious influence on movies like Knives Out and on the filmmaker himself by Johnson’s own admission . The legendary author has written some of the world’s most famous mystery novels, including Murder on the Orient Express. There are a few film adaptations of this story worth checking out, with Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 remake being the most recent. Branagh plays renowned and eccentric detective Hercule Poirot who investigates the murder of a passenger onboard a luxury train. The all-star cast, the stirring mystery thriller, and Branagh’s fun performance make for an exciting adventure. His mustachioed turn as the detective is equally bold and quite flavorful.

3. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy crime film written and directed by Shane Black, and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen. The hard-boiled detective stories share a lot of similarities with movies like Knives Out and the whodunnit genre. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang follows a similar mystery setup to Knives Out while bringing down the genre clichés. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer star as a mismatched pair who find themselves investigating the death of a young woman, only to discover a larger conspiracy. The hilarious script from Shane Black mixes disdainful humor with a complex and compelling postmodern mystery. It’s a great buddy action ride that has echoes of Benoit and Marta.

2. Gosford Park (2001)

Gosford Park is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. A murder at a party in a posh English country home sounds very cliché, but in the hands of director Robert Altman, the movie becomes more than the sum of its parts. Actors like Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Clive Owen boost a familiar but engrossing story. Gosford Park is a mystery movie, but it’s also a dissection of class differences and who holds the power in a household like this. “Gosford Park” brings out a group of rich and famous people together for a weekend of relaxation at a resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect. Its class themes mirror those in Knives Out.

1. Get Out (2017)

Not all movies like Knives Out have the detective character as an outsider looking in; sometimes the potential victim has to solve the mystery himself which creates a different buzz around the stage. In Get Out, a 2017 American psychological horror film is one such movie. It’s written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele, starring Chris Washington who goes to spend the weekend with his girlfriend’s family but discovers they have threatening plans for him. Get Out deals with themes of race, neoliberalism, and what it’s like to live in modern America as a Black person. Both Get Out and Knives Out have the same ironic claustrophobic setting of a large house, and their respective acts reveal present twists that will shock even the most shrewd and sharp viewer.