The detective movie genre is a favorite with most viewers: mysterious events, police investigations, shocking murders, and adaptations of famous literary works. All this makes the audience not take their eyes off the screen and wait for the long-awaited denouement.
Let’s remember the tremendous new detective movies 2022.
By the way, if you like new pictures, look into my post about Fall 2022 movie. It is a great surviving horror. And if you love reading books as much as watching films, check out these highly suspenseful thriller books.
Ten crime movies in 2022.
Where the Crawdads Sing, 2022
IMDb 7.1. Director Olivia Newman, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson.
WHO SHOULD WATCH: in general, all fans of romantic detective stories.
The 1950s–1960s A girl named Kya Clark has lived her entire life in the swamps of North Carolina. Once the girl had a huge family, but after her mother escaped from her tyrant father, the baby’s brothers and sisters left the shack one by one.
Years later, his father left home, and Kya had to learn to live alone and look for food. Residents of the town of Barkley Cove used to cast sidelong glances at the hermit and try to stay away from her. But when the handsome chief man of the neighborhood is found dead, all the evidence points to Kaya.
Marsh Girl must confront a hostile city to maintain her freedom. Kya’s journey is exciting, and her fate makes her worry.
I think that the picture turned out to be more of a melodrama against the backdrop of the picturesque south of America than a full-fledged detective story. But the film keeps the intrigue well and makes you watch the movie at least to find out the shocking truth.
By the way, the audience believes that the casting was chosen flawlessly. Especially the actress who played Kia, the talented British Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Maigret, 2022
IMDb 5.9. Director Patrice Leconte, stars Gerard Depardieu, Melanie Bernier and Jade Lateste
WHO SHOULD WATCH: everyone with a detective streak.
It is the return to the screens of legendary detective – Commissioner Maigret. The body of young Louise was found in the center of Paris. There are no witnesses to the incident or evidence; the girl’s documents and handbag are also gone. The investigation comes to a standstill, and the investigation is entrusted to Commissioner Maigret, played by Gerard Depardieu.
The audience appreciated the plot intrigue: it was unclear to many until the end who was behind the murder. The film’s pace is highly measured and unhurried. The director gives time to explore the frame space in search of clues.
Each viewer tries on Maigret’s coat, builds his logic of what is happening on the screen, studies the details, and makes theories.
Decision to Leave, 2022
IMDb 7.3. Directed by Park Chan-wook, stars Park Hae-il, Tang Wei and Lee Jumg-hyun
WHO SHOULD WATCH: neo-noir admirers.
The detective investigates the mysterious death of a man who fell from a high cliff.
The main suspect is the widow of the deceased, with whom the policeman develops romantic feelings. Forbidden attraction to a mysterious woman can lead to disastrous consequences.
It’s been six years since Park Chan-wook gave the world the outstanding erotic thriller The Maid. The acclaimed director is finally back in action to win over the critics again—the Decision to Leave won the Director’s Award at Cannes.
It is a spectacular thriller about obsession, a story devoid of predictability that will appeal to fans of the genre and devoted fans of the South Korean author. Another bonus is the unexpected ending.
Interestingly, the Chinese female lead actress Tang Wei (“Cyber,” «Lust”) learned the Korean language, especially for this film,
No Exit, 2022
IMDb 6.1 Directed by Damien Power, stars Havana Rose Liu, Danny Ramirez and David Rysdahl
WHO SHOULD WATCH: horror and detective lovers.
Upon learning that her mother is in serious condition, Darby leaves the rehabilitation facility, finds a car, and rushes at full speed to the family.
An intense snowstorm breaks the plans, and the girl is forced to wait out the bad weather in a special center. Here the heroine meets other visitors – an elderly couple and two young people.
In the parking lot, the Girl discovers that a girl is locked in a van in the parking lot, owned by one of these strangers.
One of the new acquaintances is a potential criminal. The girl needs to find out whose car is outside and try to save the hostage.
“No Exit” is a classic detective story created according to all genre patterns. There are crazy plot moves and nerve-wracking intrigue. And it is one of my favorite new detective movies in 2022.
The Weekend Away, 2022
IMDb 5.6 Director Kim Farrant, stars Christina Wolfe, Leighton Meester , Ziad Bakri.
WHO SHOULD WATCH: lovers of Balkan landscapes.
Beth recently had a baby and wants to unwind a little, so she accepts an invitation from her longtime friend Kate to spend the weekend in Croatia.
The girls stay at a luxury hotel and then go to a club where they meet two attractive men. After that, Beth remembers nothing, as if someone erased her memory. Finally, the girl wakes up in the room, but her friend is nowhere to be found, and she does not answer calls.
It seems that she is considered guilty of her friend’s disappearance. So now Beth needs to get to the bottom of what’s happening.
The Weekend Away does not bring anything original to the genre but performs an important function. It helps to completely disconnect from reality for an entire hour and a half and immerse yourself in a mysterious story. A dynamic plot, unexpected twists, and beautiful streets of Croatia help to have a good Friday night in the company of the star of the Gossip Girl series.
The audience liked the script: suspicion falls on almost every character, new clues reveal unexpected facts, and it is difficult to figure out the killer until the end.
The Wonder, 2022
IMDb 6.6. Directed by Sebastian Lelio, stars Florence Pugh, Tom Burke and Lila Lord Cassidy.
WHO SHOULD WATCH: mystery movies fans.
1862 Somewhere in the wilderness of Ireland, 11-year-old Anna is rumored to have not eaten for four months and still feels great. Some consider the baby and her family scammers. Others sincerely believe they have a real miracle in front of them.
The villagers organize a special committee, inviting the English nurse Lib Wright and a nun to the settlement. Together, they must follow the girl for two weeks and find out what is really going on in Anna’s house.
The Wonder is based on the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue. Unfortunately, this adaptation of the work of an Irish author came to Netflix unfairly quietly.
It is a movie about the confrontation between blind faith and science, which is better to watch without any knowledge of the plot. But the main advantage of the Oscar-winning film by Sebastian Lelio, of course, is Florence Pugh. She once again proves that any era, outfit, and scenery suits her.
The Batman, 2022
IMDb 7.8 Director Matt Reeves, stars Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz and Jeffrey Wright
WHO SHOULD WATCH: Bruce Wayne and Robert Pattinson fans.
This is a reboot of the Batman film series. The new film came out as a gloomy and depressing detective story. The viewer does not know who is under the mask of a serial killer who preys on Gotham’s elite.
Other well-known characters in the universe – Catwoman, Penguin, and Carmine Falcone – change their roles in the course of action, acting as assistants, suspects, and temporary allies.
Nothing is clear in the movie: is the Riddler really the villain and Batman, the hero?
Reflections on the nature of evil and the duality of Batman’s goals provide the basis for a dark atmosphere. The superhero fights crime, and the main villain hunts high-ranking officials.
Today’s Gotham is a place for psychological dilemmas and reasoning about the nature of power, not a space for fun testing new superhero gadgets.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, 2022
IMDb 7.3. Director Rain Johnson, starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton and Kate Hudson
WHO SHOULD WATCH: if you love sequels.
On the beautiful Greek island, the eccentric billionaire Miles Bron, the king of the world of high technologies, invites his friends to relax, including detective Benoit Blanc.
The theme of the party is “Murder Mystery.” Then, suddenly, a lifeless body is discovered, so the eminent detective has to start another investigation.
It is an American detective film, the sequel to the successful and rather profitable film of 2019. The sequel also turned out to be bright, playful, and witty, which does not happen so often with the second part.
The original film director, Rian Johnson, again manages to maneuver smoothly between genres and pull his storylines so that there are many. As a result, they attract interest and are clear with each other.
As for the theme of social injustice, when rich people wallow in luxury while the poor cannot always pay their bills, it flourishes here. In the first film, such a motif was also present, but for the most part, it was veiled.
The Night of the 12th, 2022
IMDb 7.2. Director Dominik Moll, stars Bassein Bouillon, Bouli Manners and Theo Cholbi
WHO SHOULD WATCH: if you are interested in European movies and witches.
The young investigator Johan gets a new interesting case, but the main character does not even suspect it will soon drive him crazy. Charming 21-year-old Clara, the daughter of loving parents, was burned as a witch.
Interrogating suspects, talking to witnesses, and examining evidence does nothing to advance the investigation but, on the contrary, further confuse it. The only thing that is known for sure is that the girl died on the night of the 12th.
This Franco-Belgian tense detective story is based on true events. The film creators tried to make it as reliable and believable as possible, for which they spent a lot of time before filming, studying the materials of various crimes. In addition, the film touches on social issues and tries to ask philosophical questions.
God’s Crooked Lines, 2022
IMDb 7.0. Directed by Oriol Paulo, starring Barbara Lennie, Eduard Fernandez and Lorento Mauleon
WHO SHOULD WATCH: if you miss «One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.»
Alice Gould, a beautiful young woman, finds herself in a psychiatric clinic because she tried to take her husband’s life. Still, she believes that it was the other way around – that her husband wanted to take over their general condition and therefore wanted to get rid of her.
It soon turns out that Alice is in the hospital, perhaps for a different reason – the girl is investigating the murder of a patient that happened within these walls some time ago.
The new tape of this masterful director turned out to be less bright and balanced than his previous works. The film is 154 minutes long and is a medium-temperature cauldron of mysteries mixed in, unreliable arguments in favor of each of the main versions of what happened, and many meaningful or meaningless details.
However, without a doubt, this is one of the most curious detectives of this year.
ALSO READ
Overlooked New Hollywood Movies 2023.
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My husband is a huge lover of detective movies! we watched no exit together and I loved it a lot. Captivating story and a generally pleasant experience. I need to go through your whole post: it makes a wonderful hard day nights movie list.
I watched no exit on apple TV and it was a good movie. The Batman movie is also available on Netflix now.
Detective movies are my kind of movie. I’m so looking forward to watching these especially Decision to leave. I love Korean movies and dramas. They are fascinating and always dramatic.
There’s quite a few movies on this list that I’m looking forward to seeing. The Weekend Away and The Wonder both sound really good.
I have recently watched the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, 2022. It’s perfect.
I really enjoyed Where the Crawdads sing. The Batman was alright, being a batman fan though I had hoped it would be more. A new detective movie you might enjoy is “The Pale Blue Eye” on Netflix, it is interesting and I enjoyed it.
I haven’t saw any of these! No Exit is on my list to watch. It sounds really good.
Thanks for making this list of movies to watch. I often ask friends what to watch and now I can recommend these!
I have watched the wonder and I absolutely loved it. I loved how the story unfolded. I just got glass onion, I’ll watch it soon. Thanks for this list. I’m saving it.
I am a huge fan of detective movies and was happy to have watched most of these films. I really loved the newest take on The Batman and Where The Crawdads Sing.
I just watched Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and that is surely a must watch movie.
I loved Where the Crawdads Sing. No Exit is one that caught my attention on your list, and I’m going to watch it this weekend. It sounds like it will be a good one, for sure. I didn’t realize there was a new Batman movie out either. That one is being added to the list as well. Now to catch up as I check movies off this list!