The best films for a group don't flatten the experience - they create one. You want something that generates opinions, debates, a reason to stay up later than planned.
The 2010s produced a generation of films that refused to be just one thing. Smarter than they needed to be. Better than expected.
The best mystery films do something no other genre can: they make you a detective without leaving your seat.
True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
A young wannabe musician discovers he has bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.
Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemption.
Max and Annie's weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max's brother Brooks arranges a murder mystery party -- complete with fake thugs and federal agents. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it's all supposed to be part of the game. As the competitors set out to solve the case, they start to learn that neither the game nor Brooks are what they seem to be. The friends soon find themselves in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one chaotic night.
The films here work because they respect the audience. Every clue is planted. Every reveal is earned. Nothing is arbitrary.
A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.
Father and son coroners receive a mysterious unidentified corpse with no apparent cause of death. As they attempt to examine the "Jane Doe," they discover increasingly bizarre clues that hold the key to her terrifying secrets.
A writer stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician's assistant drowns in a mysterious accident.
Bill Marks is a Federal Air Marshall for whom every day is the same until this one. On this plane ride, he starts receiving text messages from someone claiming to be on the flight and threatening to kill passengers. In a race against the clock, he must identify and stop the killer to save everyone on board.
A college student starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable abilities.
These are films that earn their laughs - not through cheap gags, but through character, timing, and an understanding of what actually makes people laugh.
Great mystery cinema changes how you watch everything else. You start looking for the clues in every story.