What Comes Around may have invoked a fresh appetite for suspenseful mystery thrillers recently, and luckily, the genre is full of great movies that can match the film’s energy. Based on a play known as The Thing With Feathers, the recent Hulu addition tells the story of a messy relationship between mother and daughter, complicated due to the latter’s romance with an older man. What Comes Around has enough twists and turns to keep eyes glued to the screen, but stands in the shadow of the best mystery movies.

Films that invoke a similar tone to What Comes Around will, of course, rely heavily on one or two driving mysteries that keep the narrative progressing. What Comes Around develops intensity and suspense in a way that makes a great apéritif for some of the greatest thriller movies of all time. An emphasis on romance, particularly those of a forbidden or twisted nature, can make things even more similar, though many thrillers manage to address these topics with a more deft touch than What Comes Around.

10

Prisoners

2013

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, recently made famous by the Dune films, Prisoners is as tense as they come in terms of developing unsettling mysteries. The film follows the father of an abducted girl who, after seeing the prime suspect of the crime released from jail, takes the law into his own hands. What follows is a dizzying descent into a mad labyrinth into depravity, in which the answers aren’t as cut and dry as they might originally seem.

Prisoners has an all-star cast more than capable of carrying the hefty mystery bestowed upon them by Denis Villeneuve. Highlights include Hugh Jackman’s vengeful Keller Dover and Jake Gyllenhaal’s tortured Detective Loki. With shocking reveals and an utterly unpredictable climax, Prisoners is a triumph of suspense that’s more than a worthy follow-up to What Comes Around for anyone who enjoyed it.

9

Gone Girl

2014

One of the most ubiquitous names in the mystery thriller genre for good reason, Gone Girl is a psychological drama that adds another laurel to David Fincher’s impressive filmography. Adapted by the 2012 novel of the same name and written by the original author, Gone Girl tells the story of a woman’s disappearance, implicating her husband in a horrific act. This premise only ends up scratching the surface of the true iceberg of mysteries Gone Girl floats on, weaving a more intricate web of lies with every minute of screentime.

What makes Gone Girl so engaging is the frayed relationship between Ben Affleck’s Nick Dune and Rosamund Pike’s Amy. While it’s clear the two have nothing if not animosity towards one another, the true lows they’re willing to sink to in order to undermine each other is left a complete mystery, making the film endlessly rewatchable as the two’s subtle performances peel back layer by layer. Gone Girl‘s narrative also goes in some truly unexpected directions that keep things fresh.

8

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

One of the best horror thrillers ever made, The Silence of the Lambs‘ pop culture reputation is well-deserved. Another novel adaptation, The Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, an upstart FBI agent tasked with hunting a serial killer with the aid of the incarcerated Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychologist and fellow murderer himself who gives his insights into the case. The only horror film to ever win a Best Picture Academy Award, The Silence of the Lambs is also a tantalizing mystery.

Dr. Lecter is an iconic enough character to have spawned his own series of Hannibal Lecter spin-offs, with Anthony Hopkins’ brilliant performance strong enough to create a whole franchise. Yet the mystery of Buffalo Bill’s identity and motives is the true core driving the excellent drama of The Silence of the Lambs. The ambiguous ending is a spine-chilling cherry of one of the strongest thrillers ever crafted.

7

He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not

2002

Few films converge at the dangerous intersection of thriller and romance quite like What Comes Around, making it somewhat unique in the genre despite its shortcomings. That being said, the little-known foreign film He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not put forth similar ideas 20 years earlier, with quiet success. Also known by its original French title, À la folie… pas du tout, the film follows a fine arts student who becomes romantically obsessed with a wealthy cardiologist.

He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not is carried by Amélie star Audrey Tautou, who utterly takes control of the story as an unreliable narrator. It’s only when the film doubles back midway through to re-tell its events through the lens of another character that the true terrifying scope of her character’s erotomania is revealed, making for a chilling final reveal in the film’s closing moments. If one can stomach subtitles, He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not just might be the most similar film to What Comes Around‘s unique take on a rancid romance.

6

Shutter Island

2010

The decade’s first hit by prestige cinema darling Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island is a welcome change of pace for Scorsese’s filmography that shows off how competent he can be with a more unsettling story. Taking place in the 1950s, the film posits Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. Marshal who travels to a mysterious psychiatric facility contained on a small island in order to investigate the inexplicable disappearance of one of its patients. But the past seems to be close at hand haunting DiCaprio’s character, and just may be connected to his current case.

One of the better collaborations between Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island is a victory on many fronts. From the hair-raising thriller sequences to the atmosphere of the creepy titular island, the film is drowning with an overwhelming sense of dread with a source seemingly always just out of reach. For any lover of mystery thrillers, Shutter Island should be an easy staple.

5

Secret Window

2004

A lesser-known entry in Johnny Depp’s esteemed filmography, Secret Window is a tense dramatic thriller that pulls no punches. Adapted from the Stephen King short story Secret Window, Secret Garden, the film introduces Depp as Mort Rainey, a mystery writer who isolates himself in a secluded cabin during the messy proceedings of a divorce with his unfaithful wife. When another writer starts harassing him over a case of plagiarism, Rainey’s life quickly becomes even more complicated.

Secret Window is absolutely dripping with style, maintaining the claustrophobic quarters of Rainey’s self-imposed exile with brutal efficiency. The film does an excellent job slowly ratcheting up the tension over time, leading to a climactic finale which is anything but a happy ending. Extremely similar in execution to both Shutter Island and What Comes Around, Secret Window is an underrated mystery thriller that’s more than worth a look.

4

Memento

2000

One of the most ingenious films of visionary director Christopher Nolan, Memento may very well be the impossible standard by which all other mystery films are enjoyed. Something of a cross between a neo-noir mystery and a modern-day thriller, Memento tells the story of Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia, a rare condition in which the mind is unable to create new memories. With his mind wiped clean every day, Shelby must struggle to piece together the identity of one of his wife’s killers.

What makes Memento so genius is its unique non-linear storytelling, a format Nolan would go on to experiment with time and time again. With a traditional sequence of events told normally paired with black-and-white scenes that are presented in reverse order, Memento is endlessly re-watchable, as every clue is technically right in front of the viewers’ nose from the very beginning. The unique fractured narrative of Memento makes for an unforgettable experience no mystery lover should miss.

3

The Rear Window

1954

As great as modern-day thrillers have evolved to be in the ever-competitive film landscape, sometimes the classics are classics for a reason. Enter The Rear Window, one of the most celebrated thrillers of all time, which also makes a strong argument for one of the best movies ever made, full stop. Directed by the famed master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, The Rear Window tells the story of a seclusive voyeur who, during one of his routine stalkings, believes himself to have witnessed a murder.

The logline alone of The Rear Window is smart enough to allude to the inherent tension of the premise, as the protagonist grapples with seeing something he shouldn’t have. The film also hints at deeper themes of morbid curiosity and the human impulse to bear witness to horrific events, adding some rich layers of thematic significance to the already impressive mystery. One of the most culturally important films ever made, every modern thriller owes something to The Rear Window.

2

The Usual Suspects

1995

While directors like M. Night Shyamalan might be better known for their twist endings, it’s hard to beat the gut punch of The Usual Suspect‘s brilliant ending. The crime thriller depicts a police interrogation of a small-time con man, one of the few survivors of a brutal massacre. Using the interrogation as a framing device, the film slowly guides the viewer through the convoluted chain of events leading up to the massacre, orchestrated by the mysterious crime lord Keyser Söze.

The criminally fantastic performances of the titular group of suspects’ all-star cast keeps the film engaging from the very beginning. As the twisting narrative goes on, The Usual Suspects deftly weaves an intricate web of violence and subterfuge until only one man remains standing. For having one of the best reveals of a thriller movie ever, The Usual Suspects will more than satisfy an appetite for mystery following the uncertainty of What Comes Around.

1

Get Out

2017

The film that single-handedly transformed Jordan Peele’s reputation from one-half of an irreverent comedy duo to a horror thriller genius, Get Out is one of the strongest modern-day mysteries. The film revolves around a black photographer who goes on a trip to an isolated affluent neighborhood to meet the family of his white girlfriend. But the town soon reveals itself to have a dark side, and the intrepid Chris must survive the eerie machinations of his racially-motivated hosts.

Deserving of its lofty reputation, the ultimate reveal of Get Out‘s mystery is well-worth the experience. Chris’ initial uncomfortable feelings as a clear fish-out-of-water around his girlfriend’s rich white family are merely the surface of a deeply-justified sense of dread. Get Out forces its viewer to walk on eggshells before sinking deep beneath the surface, creating a mystery thriller that would easily be enjoyed by any fan of What Comes Around that missed out on it.