10 Movies Where The Killer’s Identity Is Never Revealed

While finding out the killer is often the best part of a mystery, there are some successful movies where the antagonist’s identity is never revealed. From murder mysteries to slashers, many sub-genres center on the moment that their killer is finally unmasked. The Scream movies even fused Agatha Christie-style whodunit storytelling with gorier horror elements to leave viewers guessing who the killer was while simultaneously cringing in terror. However, a subpar killer reveal can sink a movie just as quickly as a great twist can elevate a genre outing.

For example, although there are a few great movies where the hero is the killer, this twist is so well-known that few modern releases attempt to pull it off. This is true for many classic mystery twists, from the once-shocking “Every suspect is guilty” to the ever-popular “It was the hero’s love interest.” Now that many of the genre’s potential surprises have become rote, it is increasingly difficult for writers and directors to come up with new spins on old twists. As a result, several movies never reveal their killer’s identity at all, with mixed results.

10 Zodiac

This real-life thriller never uncovers its mysterious murderer

2007’s Zodiac saw director David Fincher bring the harrowing story of the Zodiac murders to life onscreen. The movie follows a cop, a political cartoonist, and a journalist who attempt to bring the killer to justice by decoding the cryptic letters that he sent the police. However, since the real-life Zodiac killer was never caught, the movie inevitably ends ambiguously. Although this could have proven frustrating, Zodiac manages to make its ending feel tragic and terrifying by focusing on unsettling recreations of the killer’s crimes.

9 The Town That Dreaded Sundown

This ‘70s horror couldn’t unmask a killer due to its real subject matter

While The Town That Dreaded Sundown’s remake did reveal its killer, the original 1976 movie stuck to the facts of the tragic case that inspired the movie. The Texarkana Moonlight Murders were committed by a killer known only as the Phantom, and The Town That Dreaded Sundown brings their crimes to life onscreen with unnerving accuracy. Shot around Texarkana and utilizing local citizens as extras, The Town That Dreaded Sundown feels like a grounded portrayal of a real-life tragedy that has left police baffled to this day.

8 Memories of Murder

This 2003 masterpiece ends with a devastating lack of closure

The haunting Memories of Murder saw director Bong Joon-ho recount the true story of two detectives who pursued a serial murderer through Hwaseong throughout the late ‘80s. In a devastating twist, the police never catch the culprit and the movie ends with an unusual moment that breaks the fourth wall. A young girl tells the hero, Park Doo-man, that she saw a man reminiscing at the site of one of the murders. She informs the detective that this man looked ordinary and Park stares into the camera without a word. Years after the movie’s release, the culprit was identified as Lee Choon-jae in 2019.

7 The Poughkeepsie Tapes

2007’s indie horror leaves its infamous serial killer at large

2007’s found footage movie The Poughkeepsie Tapes takes an interesting approach to its unknown killer since the police do know that his name is Edward Carver. However, this information is effectively useless since they have never seen his face and, despite the killer creating numerous disturbing snuff movies that give the movie its title, they never do. The Poughkeepsie Tapes ends with the despondent detectives wondering whether Carver will watch the movie itself before it is implied that he claims yet another victim off-screen.

6 Megan is Missing

This found footage horror shows plenty but never its killer’s identity

Like The Poughkeepsie Tapes, 2011’s Megan is Missing is a found footage horror that does technically feature its villain onscreen. However, the antagonist of Megan is Missing is harder to identify since viewers never see him clearly and never learn his name. He films the assault and murder of the movie’s heroine Amy in the disquieting finale of Megan is Missing, eventually leaving the still-living Amy to perish in a barrel that contains her friend’s decomposing body. With such a grim and brutal ending, it is easy to see why Megan Is Missing’s remake never happened.

5 The Little Things

This Denzel Washington misfire was a little too ambiguous

2021’s The Little Things owes a lot of inspiration to earlier dark detective stories such as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs. However, unlike those hits, this psychological thriller failed to provide viewers with a satisfying ending to its mystery. Denzel Washington’s obsessive veteran Deke is convinced that Jared Leto’s strange loner Albert Sparma is behind a string of killings, but he and Rami Malek’s rookie Jim can’t find any evidence to prove this. As a result, The Little Things ends as Jim warns Deke not to let this unsolved mystery take over his life.

4 The Open House

2018’s indie horror movie offered viewers no answers

Between Don’t Breathe and his role as Scream 2022’s supporting star Wes, Dylan Minette is no stranger to horror. However, his 2018 movie The Open House is unlikely to win the genre any new fans. This uniquely bleak affair sees Minette play Logan, the son of a woman who moves into the titular remote home while it is on the market. Logan and his mother are systemically hunted down by an unseen murderer who not only gets away with killing both characters but never explains who they are or what their motive is. It’s an ending that should feel disarming but instead feels pointless.

3 The Strangers

Keeping the Strangers motive-less makes this horror uniquely terrifying

2008’s home invasion horror movie The Strangers sees an unhappy couple besieged by a trio of masked intruders who stalk and kill them in their secluded home. In a bold departure from genre conventions, the killers never reveal their identity or their motives. Unlike The Open House‘s ending, this makes their killing spree all the more scary, although only time will tell whether the upcoming Strangers reboot trilogy will be able to keep their identities mysterious without ruining the franchise.

2 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

The killer is never caught in Martin McDonagh’s moving dramedy

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is not a horror-adjacent movie, but its story is set in motion by the brutal murder of a teenage girl. Although various offbeat characters from the eponymous small town learn, grow, and change a lot as the story progresses, the person who committed this crime is never brought to justice. Instead, the movie encourages viewers to question their perception of the concept of reprisal as the antiheroes set off to kill someone they knew was guilty, even if they weren’t the murderer in question.

1 Black Christmas (1974)

This classic slasher movie never actually explains its villain

Black Christmas set many of the slasher movie’s tropes in stone, from the secluded location to the young, largely female cast, to the P.O.V shots from the villain’s perspective. However, unlike most slasher movies, Black Christmas never actually portrays its villain onscreen. For most of the movie, Keir Dullea’s Peter is heavily implied to be the killer, so there is some relief when he is finally killed. However, when the calls begin again, the terrifying ending of 1974’s original Black Christmas makes it clear that the villain is still at large.