10 Most Rewatchable Mystery Movies of the ’90s

The Big Picture

• The 1990s saw the production of mystery movies that are no longer made today, as they would be turned into limited series or streaming exclusives.
• The mid-budget star vehicles of the 1990s, like “Presumed Innocent” and “The Pelican Brief,” deserve recognition for their quality and entertainment value.
• Films like “Devil in a Blue Dress” and “Primal Fear” showcase brilliant performances and engaging mysteries that are worth rewatching.

The 1990s was a decade that saw Hollywood making studio films that simply don’t exist anymore. Today, many of the decade’s great “mystery movies” would be turned into limited series, tiny independent features, or streaming exclusive releases if they were green-lighted at all.

Rarely does a major studio put significant efforts behind a film that isn’t a prequel, sequel, remake, or based on a popular brand, and it’s worth celebrating the commodity that was mid-budget star vehicles. Here are ten of the best mystery films from the 1990s that deserve a rewatch.

10 ‘Presumed Innocent’ (1990)

Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Harrison Ford is best known for his heroic roles in the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, and Jack Ryan franchises, but he showed a darker side to his personality in the 1990 murder mystery Presumed Innocent. Ford starred as the highly respected lawyer Rusty Sabich, who is falsely charged in the murder of his mistress, Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi). The film benefits from the steady direction of director Alan J. Pakula, the legendary crime movie director behind such classics as All The President’s Men and The Parallax View. It also features one of John Williams’ most underrated scores.

Presumed Innocent is impressive in its ability to generate sympathy for a seemingly unlikable character. While Rusty is guilty of betraying the trust of those within his close circle, the film shows his moral failings should not land him in prison. Ford’s brilliant performance and the creepy escalation of tension make Presumed Innocent a rewatchable entry within the legal thriller genre.

Rent On Prime Video

9 ‘The Pelican Brief’ (1993)

Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Courtroom dramas and other legal thrillers were immensely popular in the 1990s, but rarely did they feature casts that were as star-studded as The Pelican Brief’s ensemble. Another gem from Pakula, The Pelican Brief follows the brilliant Tulane University legal student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts), whose brilliant legal brief regarding the assassination of two older politicians falls into the wrong hands, putting her in danger. Denzel Washington gives one of his most charismatic performances as the earnest Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham. It’s fun to see actors as typically prestigious as Roberts and Washington working with such absurd material.

Despite the occasionally sensational nature of the mystery itself, The Pelican Brief does a great job at using the characters’ interpersonal relationships to explore larger political issues. The joy of seeing Shaw and Grantham work together is seeing these two underdogs take down a corrupt system that was hoping that they would fail.

Rent On Prime Video

8 ‘Devil in a Blue Dress’ (1995)

Directed by Carl Franklin

It’s a great shame that Carl Franklin’s adaptation of the famous Walter Mosley novel of the same name didn’t inspire a recurring franchise; with its 1940s Los Angeles setting and homage to classic noir films, Devil In A Blue Dress felt like a tribute to the mystery films of the Humphrey Bogart era. If there was ever another Hollywood actor that could fill in for the Bogart role, it was Denzel Washington, who delivers one of his best performances ever as the reluctant detective Easy Rawlins. Like any of Bogart’s characters, Easy isn’t a traditional hero by any stretch of the imagination.

While the classicism of Devil In A Blue Dress gives it a strong collection to the “Old Hollywood” era of filmmaking, there’s nothing antiquated about Franklin’s style. The sharp humor, memorable side characters, and charming romance at the heart of Devil In A Blue Dress make it an immensely engaging noir that’s worth rewatching purely for its entertainment value.

Watch On Prime Video

7 ‘Primal Fear’ (1996)

Directed by Gregory Hoblit

1996 was the year of Edward Norton; Norton proved his singing abilities in Woody Allen’s musical Everyone Says I Love You, he played the straight man in Milos Forman’s eccentric satire The People vs. Larry Flynt, and delivered a dark debut performance in the shocking legal thriller Primal Fear. In this role that kept the viewer guessing until the very end, Norton starred as a seemingly good-natured young altar boy accused of killing a beloved local priest. It earned Norton his very first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Primal Fear is a great legal thriller because it revolves around the insubstantial nature of evidence. While each witness interviewed and clue discovered unlocks an aspect of the crime, the truth is only revealed once Norton’s character is capable of admitting it. The confusing nature of the case itself makes Primal Fear a film that requires multiple viewings to completely comprehend.

Rent On Prime Video

6 ‘Lone Star’ (1996)

Directed by John Sayles

Lone Star is one of the most heartbreaking independent films of the 1990s, and features Chris Cooper in the role of his career. Cooper stars as Sam Deeds, the newly elected sheriff of Frontera, Texas, a diverse community in the Rio Grande area of Texas. Deeds’ investigation into a local murder forces him to confront the complex relationship he had with his father (Matthew McConaughey), a former sheriff himself. Writer and director John Sayles uses these family connections to ask deeper questions about the nature of hero worship and the standards of masculinity.

While Lone Star isn’t a traditional western, it examines the genre by showing how stories can become mythologized and simple deeds can be conflated with heroism. Although the story concludes with a heartbreaking twist that changes the context of the central relationship, Lone Star‘s engaging mystery makes it an underrated gem worth rediscovering by genre fans.

Watch On Tubi

5 ‘Lost Highway’ (1997)

Directed by David Lynch

David Lynch does not make movies that audiences are meant to understand in a literal sense; there’s no use in trying to “solve” one of Lynch’s films, as they’re best enjoyed as stylistic exercises from a brilliant auteur that has the unique ability to capture what it’s like to be dreaming. Lynch’s 1997 mystery Lost Highway feels like a “spiritual prequel” to his future masterpiece Mulholland Drive in many ways with its surrealist examination of Los Angeles and haunting use of doppelgängers. Patricia Arquette is terrific as one of Lynch’s best femme fatales.

Lynch’s best films invite subsequent viewings because of the enigmatic nature of their hidden ideas. While Lost Highway may continue to provoke questions when it comes to its story, each rewatch may grant the viewer more insight into the thematic novelties that Lynch is interested in.

Rent On Prime Video

4 ‘Breakdown’ (1997)

Directed by Jonathan Mostow

Breakdown feels like the perfect anecdote to overlong blockbuster movies that confuse viewers with their various subplots, as it’s hard to think of a film that’s as simple and straightforward. There’s a beauty in lean, mean thrillers that don’t waste unnecessary time on exposition and jump right into the action. Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) stars as Jeff Taylor, a man stranded in the middle of a desert on a road trip, who finds that his wife has been kidnapped. What follows is 90 minutes of a gleefully absurd mystery that features practical car chases that fit within the film’s larger-than-life tone.

Despite the simplicity of its premise, Breakdown feels evocative of Alfred Hitchcock classics about ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. Russell’s empathetic performance serves as the perfect “audience avatar,” as he experiences the strange plot developments at the same time as the viewer does. It’s a perfect escalation of a simple story that features extraordinary stunt sequences worthy of rewatching.

Watch On Prime Video

3 ‘Se7en’ (1995)

Directed by David Fincher

David Fincher’s breakthrough 1995 film Se7en may technically fall within the “investigative thriller” genre, but its use of graphic death sequences and perpetual sense of dread gives it a strong association with the horror genre. While the film’s now-iconic ending leaves the viewer with a particularly brutal taste in their mouth, Se7en is so detail-oriented in its approach to the mystery that it demands multiple viewings.

One of Se7en’s greatest attributes is its nuanced depiction of conflated morality. As the detectives William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills (Brad Pitt) delve deeper into a series of murders inspired by the Biblical “seven deadly sins,” they find that their priorities and long-term goals are much different. This nuanced understanding of character is what elevates Se7en above other thrillers of its era; as shocking as its jump scares are, its dark themes are even more disturbing.

Rent On Prime Video

2 ‘The Game’ (1997)

Directed by David Fincher

Fincher has a knack for using intricate crime stories to explore human nature, and The Game became an unforgettable examination of mankind’s capacity for violence. Although the film is grounded in reality, the surrealist imagery and unnerving plot twists help drag the viewer into a literal nightmare as the egocentric investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) becomes caught playing an enigmatic game orchestrated by a malevolent organization. The shocking imagery and disturbing implications of Nicholas’ inherent nature make The Game one of the stronger entries in Fincher’s filmography.

While its premise is seemingly simplistic, The Game proves to be a complex analysis of wealth, trauma, and conspiracy, as Nicholas’ corruption serves as the perfect gateway to discussing larger themes. It’s thanks to Douglas’ repellent performance that the viewer is able to stomach seeing Nicholas sink into such disturbing levels of depravity.

Rent On Prime Video

1 ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)

Directed by Bryan Singer

While a great twist in of itself does not make a great movie, the shocking conclusion to The Usual Suspects stands as one of the most satisfying conclusions in film history. Christopher McQuarrie’s Academy Award-winning screenplay does a great job at exposing the audience to selective information about an enigmatic crime lord known as “Keyser Soze.” Its through the conversations between Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) and the small-time criminal Verbal (Kevin Spacey) that the mythology surrounding this mysterious villain grows even greater.

Although the climactic ending is absolutely propulsive, The Usual Suspects is endlessly entertaining throughout its entire runtime thanks to the snappy dialogue, shocking plot developments, and memorable side characters. Knowledge of how the story concludes does not impede The Usual Suspects’ entertainment value, but the success of its subversion of expectations makes it an even greater outlier compared to the other “whodunit” capers of its era.

Rent On Prime Video

KEEP READING: The 10 Best ’90s Movies, Ranked According to IMDb