10 Greatest Neo-Noir Mystery Movies of All Time
Experts have never quite been able to come to a consensus on whether film noir was a movement, a genre, or a filmmaking style; but what’s absolutely undeniable is that it revolutionized Hollywood cinema, redefining what the crime and mystery genres could do. During the New Hollywood era, neo-noir emerged, a genre modernizing and subverting traditional noir themes and sensibilities.
There are still plenty of masterful neo-noir movies being produced nowadays, from Hollywood productions like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to international gems like Decision to Leave. Several of these masterpieces are nail-biting mystery movies that perfectly demonstrate why this genre is perfect for stories all about twists, surprises, and intellectual puzzles.
10
‘Decision to Leave’ (2022)
No one does mystery thrillers quite like South Korean filmmakers, and if there’s one South Korean auteur who deserves to be hailed as the thriller king of his home country, it’s Park Chan-wook. One of the director’s latest is Decision to Leave, a neo-noir romantic drama that earned Park a Best Director victory at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
It’s one of the best-ever movies about dysfunctional romantic relationships, a profoundly nuanced and layered tale with a labyrinthine approach to plotting and a richly intimate approach to its characters. Imbued with the kind of intoxicating style and atmosphere that characterizes Park’s work, it’s a fascinating study of love and obsession that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud.
9
‘Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’ (1993)
It’s not often that superhero movies fall into the neo-noir category, but if there’s one comic book character who’s perfect for these sorts of stories, it’s the Caped Crusader himself. Over 30 years later, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is still one of the greatest Batman movies that have ever graced the big screen, even if the short notice with which it was released in theaters caused it to become a box office flop.
Regardless of finances, Mask of the Phantasm is almost universally regarded as one of those Batman movies that are downright perfect. The animation is phenomenal, the voice performances (particularly the late Kevin Conroy as the Dark Knight) are timeless, and the enthralling story about trauma and pain is engrossing beyond description. It may seem like just an extended episode of Batman: The Animated Series on the surface, but it’s actually the most psychologically complex portrait of the character that the big screen has ever seen.
8
‘Brick’ (2005)
Nowadays, he’s one of the most notorious filmmakers working in Hollywood; but even the greatest have to start somewhere, and in Rian Johnson‘s case, that “somewhere” was the neo-noir Brick. High school students aren’t typically the kind of character that you’d expect to lead a hard-boiled detective tale inspired by the works of authors like Dashiell Hammett, but that’s precisely the kind of creativity that only a genre like neo-noir can possibly allow for.
Brick is one of those forgotten mystery movies that are perfect from start to finish, a rousing debut that simultaneously functions as an exquisite homage to classic noirs and a brilliant subversion of the genre’s most absurd side. Creative, sharply energetic, and as stylish as you’d expect any neo-noir to be, Brick is undoubtedly a must-see for fans of the genre.
7
‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ (2005)
Written and directed by Shane Black, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is based on the 1941 Brett Halliday novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them. But of course, this is no traditional neo-noir, nor any kind of non-ironic homage to the genre. Instead, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang takes this classic piece of hard-boiled pulp fiction and uses it as a vehicle for its tongue-in-cheek satirization of the genre.
Even still, this never feels like a mockery or a parody of film noir. Instead, what makes Kiss Kiss Bang Bang one of the most perfect thrillers that nobody seems to remember anymore is its clever meta-commentary on the genre and its delightfully pulpy approach to its story. It’s funny, it has a delectably unique voice, and Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. are dynamite together.
6
‘L.A. Confidential’ (1997)
Based on James Ellroy‘s 1990 novel, the third chapter in his L.A. Quartet Series, Curtis Hanson‘s L.A. Confidential is one of the best neo-noir crime movies ever made. It’s about as close as a film can possibly come to the usual tone, aesthetics, and setting of traditional noir while still very much qualifying as a neo-noir film, and that’s exactly why it’s such a timeless masterpiece.
Bolstered by its star-studded cast and its exceptional production values, L.A. Confidential subverts the stricter moral boundaries of traditional noir by blurring the line between heroes and villains in a way that’s irresistibly compelling. Visually stunning, perfectly written, and never suffering from the kind of censorship that often limited the reach of old noir, it’s one of the most quintessential examples of neo-noir at its most classical.
5
‘Memories of Murder’ (2003)
Yet more proof that South Korean filmmakers understand the neo-noir genre every bit as well as Hollywood artists do, Bong Joon Ho‘s Memories of Murder is the type of mystery movie that keeps you hooked throughout. It’s based on the real story of the investigation that went after the Hwaseong serial killer during the ’80s and ’90s, a case that was still unsolved at the time of the film’s release.
This lends what many still call Bong’s magnum opus an air of bitingly cynical darkness that characterizes many of history’s best neo-noirs, but the director still finds ways of injecting some unexpectedly effective dark humor into the mix. Impeccably directed and with one of the most unforgettable endings of any movie of the 2000s, Memories of Murder is the peak of Asian mystery neo-noirs.
4
‘The Long Goodbye’ (1973)
Robert Altman was one of the biggest names of the New Hollywood film movement, and all these years later, he’s still widely acclaimed as one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation. Rarely did he exemplify his greatness more clearly than when he made the satirical neo-noir The Long Goodbye, one of those great neo-noirs that marked the end of an era.
Though it’s adapted from Raymond Chandler‘s 1953 novel of the same name, the sixth novel featuring private investigator Philip Marlowe (one of the most iconic film noir characters ever), it’s an idiosyncratic satire rather than a straightforward adaptation. It’s a sharp revisionist take on the traditional hard-boiled hero, a brilliant deconstruction of the genre that critiques the very concept of nostalgia in a distinctly neo-noir fashion.
3
‘Blue Velvet’ (1986)
As one of the greatest filmmakers in history and the most important voice in cinematic surrealism that came after Luis Buñuel, David Lynch consistently made films that defy traditional genre categorization. Even so, there’s no denying that Blue Velvet is a neo-noir—and one of the best and most original of the 20th century, at that, built on the foundation of one of the best screenplays of the ’80s.
Though its graphic sexual and violent content made it pretty contentious back in 1986, audiences today have been far more receptive to Lynch’s exploration of the perverted underbelly of American suburbia. The way the director juxtaposes the bright and colorful aesthetic of suburban America with the dark, morally ambiguous, and paranoia-filled tropes of the neo-noir genre hasn’t gotten old in the slightest.
2
‘Memento’ (2000)
As his blockbusters keep getting bigger and more ambitious, it’s fun to look back at Christopher Nolan‘s days as an up-and-coming indie director. This era produced his sophomore feature effort, one that many would still confidently call the best film in his catalog: Memento, whose reverse-chronological-order structure is far more than just a gimmick.
Supported by Nolan’s airtight direction and his downright genius screenplay, Memento comes across as one of the most meticulously constructed thrillers of all time. Leonard Shelby is nothing if not an entirely atypical neo-noir protagonist, and the rest of the elements—from a fascinating femme fatale to some engrossing moral ambiguity—are also all there to make this an exquisitely unique example of the genre.
1
‘Chinatown’ (1974)
Saying that Chinatown is one of the heaviest thrillers of all time would almost be an understatement. But as grim and overwhelmingly pessimistic as it may be, it is still arguably the most revolutionary and defining neo-noir masterpiece in movie history. Emotionally compelling and aesthetically engrossing, it’s easily one of the greatest movies in history.
But as much as it should be considered essential viewing for virtually all cinephiles, Chinatown is not for the faint of heart. For one, those who prefer noirs where the mystery is solved by the end and all becomes clear will be mortified by this quintessential American tragedy, where the mystery that drives the narrative eventually grows too large for any one detective to handle or understand. Flawlessly written by Robert Towne and with an impeccable cast at the forefront, it’s the greatest neo-noir mystery movie of all time.
