Arguably, the best part of a horror movie is trying to figure out who is ultimately behind all of the murders and mayhem. Many audience members find themselves thinking back to seemingly innocuous instances from the previous portion of the movie, trying to remember what went wrong so they can cross off suspects in their head. Whodunit premises aren’t just something to be found in mystery movies anymore – these unbelievable chains of events serve to further the plots of scary films just as well. We get to see a different side of horror unfold in these movies, taking on a new sense of depth by adding an air of mystery. Proceeding sometimes like a game of Clue,these plot twistskeep viewers guessing around every turn.
While many horror movies that make use of this popular storytelling style stand alone in the genre, others have begun successful franchises that audiences can expect to follow down the same path. Either way, there always seems to be a more surprising development that you never could have guessed, which often completely flips the story around. Let’s count down the best horror whodunits, ranked.
7Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
Happy Birthday to Meis a unique ’80s entry, centering around a circle of elite high schoolers who attend Ginny’s birthday party with unfortunate results. As the “Top Ten” are hunted down by a killer, Ginny’s psyche begins to unravel and the audience begins to piece together her involvement in their deaths as Ginny herself comes to terms with it. The twist in this film definitely serves as a jarring reveal, offering a personal perspective we don’t always get in whodunit horror movies.Happy Birthday to Mewas even a victim of the video nasty days in the United Kingdom, as it was confiscated under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 because of its vulgarity and graphic content.
6My Bloody Valentine (1981)
The originalMy Bloody Valentineis a dark and nuanced piece of horror film history. A collection of friends find themselves in trouble after a Valentine’s Day celebration when their merrymaking invokes a crazed murderer in a mining suit. Creating an iconic antagonist that inspired a devoted fan following and a 2009 remake, this movie makes good use of heavy costuming, the holiday horror trope, and a classic bad guy hiding behind a mask – always a good option to keep important identities obscured until the reveal. This film also received critical backlash thanks to its overkill-level gore. AnAV Club articlereads, “There’s a masked killer, an abundance of ready victims, and a series of elaborate, implausible deaths. But…Valentinehas its own distinctive charm.”
5Happy Death Day (2017)
Happy Death Dayis surprisingly funny with a killer twist, the perfect recipe for a horror whodunit. Tree wakes up in a college dorm on her birthday and is eventually killed by an instantly recognizable masked maniac. The next morning, everything seems to reset, and she conceptualizes that she’sliving the same day overand over again. She grasps that she has to figure out who her killer is to stop the time loop. This comedic take on a classic thriller premise leaves plenty of room for this fun ride of an original story to unfold. Tree has to question everything she knows, even the intentions of her friends, to discover who’s to blame.
Related:Happy Death Day 3 Talks Are Happening, Jason Blum Says
4Black Christmas (1974)
The sacred space of a sorority house is shattered with the events ofBlack Christmas.Set within the holiday season, their silent night is rudely interrupted by a classic slasher setup. Scary spam calls target the girls living there – and as always in the horror world, “the call is coming from inside the house.” Disappearances and death start knocking on their doors, which leads to the sisters questioning one another as they try to figure out the culprit. The film wasn’t a clear hit when it was first released, with oneNew York Timesreview calling it “a whodunit that begs the question of why it was made.” Despite this past perspective,Black Christmasstands as a cult classic today among many horror fans, prompting a 2019 remake that garnered mixed reviews.
3Scream (1996)
Of course, a list of horror whodunits wouldn’t be complete withoutScream.The original ’90s slasher in the series gave way to a fan favorite franchise that’sstill scaring up successat theaters.Screamis one of the most well-known proponents of the idea that the killer is always someone our favorite protagonists knows. But what no one knew is that Ghostface would turn out to be two whole people – Billy and Stu, two of the closest people to Sidney, both by physical closeness and emotional connection. In more ways than one, this is an unsettling reveal as we realize that the killers have been under our noses this whole time.
Related:Scream (1996): The Victims and Who Killed Them
2Friday the 13th (1980)
The firstFriday the 13thmovie began a franchise that would takethe horror world by storm. Coming out at the very beginning of the ’80s, it surely staked its claim in the horror genre with some classic features that would later become well-known tropes. As one of the premier summer camp slashers, this film is absolutely an excellent example of murder mystery vibes within a horror setup. Dumb teenage decisions are made and the campers are picked off one by one. The double-edged reveal of Mrs. Voorhees as the killer moments before Jason’s slimy corpse crawls up and grabs Alice in the canoe is such a wild ending that initial audiences never saw coming.
1The Thing (1982)
Finally, John Carpenter’s masterpiece is perhaps one of the best ’80s horror movies, shrouding audiences in mystery and its trademark thick fog.The Thingis one of the best picks on this list simply because of its bizarre and bleak progression. With some uniquely terrifying imagery, the unexplained horrors of a remote outpost, and the unknowns of a violent extraterrestrial, this film positions the potential of The Thing to assume the behavior of any other life form. Each researcher’s world grows smaller as they find it impossible to believe their team members are who they say they are. Made more menacing by eye-popping special effects, this movie introduces audiences to one of thescariest movie alien creatures.
