25 Best Movies Like Knives Out

Directed by Rian Johnson, Knives out creates its own unique world and characters, but is influenced by murder mysteries that leave many films like Knives out which fans can check out below. Knives out was released in theaters in 2019 and was a huge success, grossing 97% in Rotten tomatoes and earning US$312 million at the box office(through Mojo Box Office). Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is a private detective from the Southern United States hired to investigate the death of the patriarch of a wealthy family.

Knives out It was kind of a throwback when it arrived. The film starred several actors best known for their work in franchises (Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, etc.) and put them in a chamber play. With an all-star cast, an intelligent script and lots of humor, Knives out sparked renewed interest in whodunnits and led to a sequel, Glass onion: a mystery with knives. While this seems like a unique film that brilliantly lives up to the genre's expectations, there are many other excellent films, such as Knives out that capture a similar feeling.

25

The Usual Suspects (1995)

A Gangster Whodunnit full of colorful characters

Knives out and Glass Onion are both so watchable because they combine a gripping mystery with a cast of vibrant personalities and unforgettable characters. For a similar, albeit grittier and more realistic setting, 1995 The usual suspects more than fits the bill. Directed by Bryan Singer, The usual suspects It's a cop show where the victims are all criminals on a boat. The only clue US Customs agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) has is a name, Keyser Soze, and that a group of five criminals previously arrested as suspects in a truck robbery were somehow involved.

The film is narrated by Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint, one of the criminals in the casting scene who The usual suspects now it is better known. Spacey and Palminteri are joined in the cast by names like Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio del Toro and Kevin Pollak. They all play characters that wouldn't feel out of place in a Rian Johnson Knives out film if a future sequel involved gangsters, and the many plot twists of The usual suspects more than corresponds to the cases of Benoit Blanc.

24

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

A murder mystery filled with colorful characters

Most films like Knives out and Glass Onion are aimed at an adult audience. However, there are some children's films that have many similarities (and also serve as great entries into the murder mystery and detective story genre). While 2016 Zootopia and 2022 Chip'n Dale: Rescue Rangers are solid examples of children's films like Knives out and glass onion, the best is undoubtedly the 1988 Who framed Roger Rabbit. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Who Framed Roger Rabbit it never lets its unique premise get in the way of being a solid detective story.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit takes place in a world where real people and cartoons live side by side. When cartoons start getting murdered, private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is hired to investigate. There are plenty of cameos from familiar cartoon characters like Donald and Daffy Duck, but it's the mystery at the center of the narrative that cements Who Framed Roger Rabbit like a cult classic. While it's definitely more light-hearted and wacky, it still stands as one of the best films like Knives out.

23

Remembrance (2001)

A deep non-linear mystery

2001 Memory is definitely one of the strangest and darkest films like Glass Onion and Knives out, though its central mystery is as satisfying as any of Rian Johnson's Benoit Blanc films. Directed by Christopher Nolan and considered by many to be his debut film, Memory focuses on a man trying to find out who murdered his wife. The problem is that the man, Leonard (Guy Pearce), suffers from severe amnesia. To compensate, he tattoos information on his body and wakes up the next day having to rely on his old self's advice from the day before.

This makes for an intriguing and gripping mystery thriller. Nolan's directional style is also incredibly notable, as Memory is told in a non-linear way – which makes the final twist all the more satisfying. It's definitely a very different tone than Knives out or glass onion, many do not cater to all tastes among Benoit Blanc's various fans. However, viewers who seek out films like Rian Johnson's Benoit Blanc detective stories because they want lots of shocking revelations will find this more than satisfying.

22

The girl with the dragon tattoo (2011)

A journalist investigates a cold case of a missing girl

Although Daniel Craig's time as James Bond is over, Knives out offers a new franchise for him and the actor has already proven his versatility in different roles. Fans who love watching him solve crimes like Benoit Blanc and want more films like Knives out you can also enjoy Adaptation into English by author Stieg Larsson The girl with the dragon tattoo.

As in Knives outCraig here plays a kind of investigatorjournalist hired by the patriarch (Craig's Knives out co-star Plummer) from a wealthy family to solve his niece's murder decades earlier. This is a much darker mystery story, without any of the comic coloring. Knives out.

David Fincher should create a sequel following the book series. However, poor box office doomed the future of the franchise and the studio rebooted it with a new actress playing star Lisbeth Salander.

21

Mystery Team (2009)

Three naive aspiring detectives investigate a murder

Rian Johnson was inspired by Agatha Christie's novels when making Knives out. In the same way, Mystery Team and influenced by mysteries like the Hardy Boys, but adds an R-rated twist for these healthier stories. The film follows a group of three friends whose childhood obsession with solving neighborhood crimes made them outcasts in their high school years.

However, the young people are confused when they are hired to solve a murder. Mystery Team It's a movie like Knives out in this, although death is at the center of each story, the humor is never lost behind the dark plot. It also provides an early role for Donald Glover years before his stardom. The film received mixed reviews, but as a feature film debut for a sketch comedy group (Derrick Comedy), it works as a funny film that shows teenagers trying to solve mysteries.

20

The Bloom Brothers (2008)

Con brothers try one last job

Before Rian Johnson Star Wars fame changed his career, his filmography became closer to films like Knives out. The Brothers Flourish and Johnson's second feature film and stars Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody as two con-artist brothers who decide to take on one last daring job.

The film is another example of how Johnson can pay loving homage to a genre while also playing with tropes. The result is a hugely entertaining adventure, elevated by its talented cast of characters. Johnson uses the genre to tell a moving story about brotherhood. The film was a quirky comedy, very different from his first film, Brickbut also a More complex story with a bigger stellar caset. The film received mixed to positive reviews, with most of the praise going to the acting and performances of Ruffalo, Brody, and Rachel Weisz.

19

Murder by Death (1976)

A dinner party full of detectives turns murderous

However Knives out it certainly plays with the murder mystery formula in hilarious and clever ways, but it never goes into parody territory. However, for fans looking for films like Knives out which are also complete comedies, Murder by Death is a great option. The film follows the classic dinner murder mystery plotonly the guest list is filled with the world's most famous detectives.

When a mystery actually presents itself, it's a lot of fun to watch these various detective archetypes fight each other to solve the case. It's as if each character in Knives out spent time studying with Benoit Blanc. The big difference is that there are a lot more smart detectives here rather than one who solves the crime. The cast was also top notch, as was the case with Knives outwith Peter Sellers, David Niven, Maggie Smith and Peter Falk starring in the film.

18

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Guy Ritchie's Box Office Hit Against Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Detective

With the success of Knives out and its celebrated sequel, Benoit Blanc has entered the conversation as one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. However, it's difficult for any character to beat Sherlock Holmes in this category.. Although there are several detective films like Knives outfew star the literary icon himself, and the character received the big-budget treatment in Guy Ritchie's film Sherlock Holmes.

It's a stylish period film with some appealing mystery elements. Sherlock Holmes is more action-packed than Knives out but the way each detective systematically pieces together clues in satisfying flashback sequences is very similar. Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes is a fitting entry into the character's legacy and the friendship between Holmes and Watson is a highlight of the film. The film also had a sequel two years later – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

17

The Nice Guys (2016)

A team of detective and enforcers to solve a missing person case

Films like Knives out benefit from a director like Rian Johnson, who can create a film that fits into the murder mystery genre and still plays with the conventions of the genre in unexpected ways. The cool guys Shane Black pulls off a similar trick. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as two private detectives who team up to solve a missing person case. Black's passion for the hard-boiled detective genre it allows him to play with the rules of this type of film.

In The cool guysas in Knives outThe stakes are high, but the story has a whimsical and appropriately silly tone. That's it one of the films closest in tone Knives outand the chemistry between Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling compares well to characters from Shane Black's previous films, such as Riggs and Murtaugh in Lethal weapon.

16

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

A deadbeat dad lies to reunite with his dysfunctional family

One of the best aspects Knives out it's the dysfunctional family at the center. The Thrombeys in Johnson's film are a family of rich, intelligent people who They immediately show their true, ugly colors when they don't get what they want. Although there is no murder mystery at the center of Wes Anderson's story, The Royal Tenenbaums, the titular family is a lot like the Thrombeys. The disconnection from the real world is one of the closest comparisons to the two cinematic families.

The Tenenbaums are also a group of talented and wealthy people who cannot live together in a healthy way. In both films, the family patriarch's actions directly result in their families' inability to connect. It's one of Wes Anderson's best films and won an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.

15

Detective (1972)

A mystery novelist confronts his wife's lover

Although there are several films like Knives outsome specific films directly inspired the story. Johnson spoke about several of those inspirations, including the Joseph L. Mankiewicz mystery film Detective. The 1972 film stars Laurence Olivier as a famous crime novelist who invites his wife's lover (Michael Caine) to his home, where the two men engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

There are even some Easter eggs in Knives out which are direct references to Detective. When Blanc first appears to handle the case, he mentions that he had just solved a case about a tennis player. This directly references Detectivewhich begins with the mystery writer explaining that he is writing a book about a murder involving a tennis court. Olivier and Caine received Oscar nominations for their performances as well as Mankiewicz for directing this film, which has an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

14

Deadly Trap (1982)

A failed playwright plots to assassinate a rival

Artists are always interesting characters in a murder mystery. Deadly trap is a 1982 film directed by Sidney Lumet (12 angry men) and stars Michael Caine as a struggling playwright who plots to murder a promising, more talented writer (Christopher Reeves) and steal his work. The film is another smart and unique take on the genre. It has often been strongly compared to Detectivewhich also starred Caine.

Films like Knives out and Deadly trap succeed because of darkly funny tone that can give audiences goosebumps and laughter. Feelings of jealousy permeate both films and are inevitably what ends up being the central motive for murder (or attempted murder). This film, as well as Knives outincludes not just one shocking twist, but in this case, several that lead to a big finale that almost no one saw coming.

13

Ready or Not (2019)

A new bride must hide from her murderous in-laws

Knives out can be one hugely entertaining murder mystery while also making interesting commentary on privilege. This was a theme shared by many 2019 films, including the horror comedy Ready or Not. Horror movie star Samara Weaving broke out when a young woman married into a wealthy family of board game moguls. However, on her wedding night, she finds herself involved in a deadly game of hide and seek.

It's a wild, hilarious and bloody romp and Weaving has a Ana de Armas-like role as the headstrong outsider who fights to get out of danger. There are differences between the two films, as Knives out is a classic detective story who doesn't know, while Ready or Not it's more action-packed and has more of the tropes of a horror film than a mystery. As such, the Saturn Awards nominated it for Best Horror Film.

12

Brick (2005)

A noir mystery set in high school

Rian Johnson's directorial debut was an underrated noir mystery called Brick. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a high school student who investigates the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. Although it is set in a modern high school environment the film is presented as an old school crime film. Like all good films of this genre, the central mystery keeps viewers guessing.

There are cores of the style that would take center stage later Knives out spicy throughout Brick. The film is an acquired taste, as all of the characters in the film (all high school students) speaks in a slang that might appear in old-school Detective Noirs, by authors such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. However, even with the dialect, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a magnificent performance in the lead role. The film won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and is now considered a cult classic.

11

Scream (1996)

A teenage police killer

Films like Knives out are similar to horror films in the way they both use detective mystery in their stories. Scream follows a group of teenagers who are chased by the murderous assassin Ghostface. This sounds like a standard horror movie, but the film brilliantly uses horror tropes to its advantage, like Scream is a self-aware horror film, full of characters who know every cliché.

Scream does a great job of playing with these expectations to keep the audience guessing until Ghostface's identity is revealed. The film is mainly a renewal of the slasher genre, which went out of fashion in the 1990s. However, with A Nightmare on Elm Street Director Wes Craven helming the film, he was able to take what made his old horror formula so popular and infuse it with something new that created the most modern self-referential horror films. This is a characteristic that also exists in Knives out.

10

Bad times at the El Royale (2018)

Several characters with mysterious origins converge on a roadside motel

Part of the great fun of films like Knives out it's seeing a group of first-rate actors sharing the screen and playing characters with their individual secrets and peculiarities. Another film with a similar setup is Bad times at the El Royale. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm and Cynthia Erivo as strangers converge on the titular motel. It also features an impressive performance by Chris Hemsworth, who appears and represents a new danger for the motel's residents.

The film slowly reveals what each of the characters is hiding and how their own journeys collide. Bad times at the El Royale and Knives out Both present their characters as one-dimensional, but it quickly becomes apparent that there is more hidden beneath the surface.. It's also a great comparison, as it shows that everyone has something to hide, even if they're not guilty of the current crime under investigation.

9

Identity (2003)

People trapped in a motel during a storm discover that there is a killer among them

As Bad times at the El Royale, Identity also follows a group of strangers who meet together at a roadside motel in Nevada. Before long, the guests begin to be picked off one by one as the others try to determine which of them is the killer. This is a clear tribute to And then there were none by Agatha Christiewhich Johnson also pays homage to in his Knives out films. The film is a twisty thriller with a great cast, including John Cusack, Amanda Peet and Ray Liotta.

Although the final twist doesn't have the same feeling of completing a puzzle as in Knives out, the film maintains an effective, dark and ominous feel that keeps viewers hooked. It's also more of a psychological thriller than Knives outas the reveal here is less about solving a mystery and more about searching for clues to figure out what's real and what's not. It's also a great movie to watch again, as it plays out very differently the second time around.

8

Green for Danger (1946)

A death during surgery is investigated as murder

Green for danger is an old murder mystery film starring Alastair Sim as detective investigating a group of doctors after a death during surgery is considered murder. When the nurse who reveals the death also dies, it becomes clear that a killer is in the hospital. Much like Craig's southern private eye in Knives outYes play an unusual detective who adds a lot of levity to the murder investigation. The film slowly reveals layers of its mystery until the final, satisfying reveal that has been front and center the entire time.

Green for danger is based on a novel by author Christianna Brand and the film is considered one of the best adaptations of a Golden Age mystery novel. The book was also adapted into an episode of Father Brown on BBC television. The film received much critical praise and even received an early release from the Criterion Collection, when the prestigious company was still releasing laserdisc editions.

7

Game Night (2018)

A murder mystery game turns into a real crime

Another film that manages to get a lot of laughs even with the threat of death hanging in the air is Game night. The film stars Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams as a couple who organize a game night with friends. However, when the murder mystery turns out to be real, they find themselves in a world of danger. The film has a lot in common with the Knives out sequence, Glass Onionwhich also has a murder mystery party turns into a real murder, although Game night goes much further into the gameplay aspects of the story.

As Knives outIt's the cast that helps bring a lot of energy to this smart and hilarious story, with fun minor appearances from the likes of Jeffrey Wright and Michael C. Hall, as well as a scene-stealing role from Jesse Plemons. As the stakes continue to rise and things get more ridiculous, the laughs only get louder. The film has an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

6

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

A star-studded Agatha Christie mystery

Agatha Christie is an obvious influence Knives out by Johnson's own admission (via Variety). The legendary author wrote some of the world's most famous mystery novels, including Murder on the Orient Express. There are a few film adaptations of Christie's famous story worth checking out, with Kenneth Branagh's 2017 remake being the most recent. Branagh plays the renowned and eccentric detective Hercule Poirot which investigates the murder of a passenger aboard a luxury train.

The all-star cast, thrilling mystery, and Branagh's entertaining performance create a thrilling adventure. From him mustache as the detective is as bold and flavorful as Craig's Benoit. While Johnson's franchise went for more laughs and quirks, Branagh opted for a more loyal adaptation of Christie's murder mystery novels. Branagh also adapted Death on the Nile and A haunting in Venice.