A first date movie needs to do several things at once: be engaging enough to talk about, not so intense it kills the mood, and ideally leave you both with something to say when the credits roll.
Despite everything, the 2020s have produced some genuinely remarkable cinema. Films made under pressure that somehow carry none of it.
The best mystery films do something no other genre can: they make you a detective without leaving your seat.
Aaron Falk returns to his drought-stricken hometown to attend a tragic funeral. But his return opens a decades-old wound - the unsolved death of a teenage girl.
Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can't help questioning exactly what they're doing in Victory, and why.
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past.
The films here work because they respect the audience. Every clue is planted. Every reveal is earned. Nothing is arbitrary.
When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. But despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne, and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there's something sinister hiding beneath the island's lush façade.
Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own life.
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.
After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.
Reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole bravely pursue the story of the Boston Strangler at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.
Great films that make you cry do so because they've made you care. By the time the emotion lands, you're not surprised - you're just not ready for it.
The best mystery films send you back to the beginning the moment they end. You want to watch them again knowing what you know.