15 Top Movies like Knives Out

If you’re like me and love a good murder mystery movie, you’ve no doubt watched Knives Out.

The movie has an all-star cast, including the likes of Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Along with an excellent cast, the movie’s storyline isn’t bad either and will make you put your thinking caps on.

However, once you’ve watched the movie, you’re probably left wondering what movies you can watch next.

In this article, you’ll discover 15 movies similar to Knives Out that you can watch until your heart’s content.

Read through the list and pick one to watch next; the last one is my favourite.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Before Daniel Craig starred in Knives Out, he had already solidified himself as a top actor. One of his best roles has been in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The movie is an excellent adaption of the book of the same name and is technically a remake of the Swedish version.

If you loved seeing him in his role as Benoit Blanc in Knives Out, you would undoubtedly enjoy him in this movie.

It tells the story of a journalist hired by the head of a wealthy family to investigate the murder of his niece. The only problem is the murder happened decades earlier. As you can imagine, investigating a death from decades ago is challenging, but it’s even more complicated when there are other parties determined to stop you.

However, I must warn you the movie is a much darker mystery than Knives Out.

Alongside Daniel Craig are Christopher Plummer, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard, and Michael Nyqvist.

Mystery Team

While making Knives Out, Rian Johnson drew inspiration from the Agatha Christie novels. Mystery Team is another movie influenced by mystery novels, but with an R-rated twist.

The movie follows three school friends who’re obsessed with solving crimes in their local neighbourhood. Their hobby has made them high school outcasts, but they don’t care.

However, when they’re hired to solve the murder of a local woman’s father, they find themselves thrown into the deep end and could well be in over their heads.

The group find all eyes are on them, and the pressure is on to solve the crime using all the tricks in the book.

Mystery Team is a funny yet dark movie that’ll remind you of Knives Out. Vulture.com believes the film “deserves cult classic status”, and I can’t argue with that statement.

It stars Donald Glover, Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson, Aubrey Plaza, and Ellie Kemper.

Murder By Death

If you enjoyed the comedic aspect of Knives Out, then you’ll love Murder By Death which was released in 1976. This movie is more of a parody, but I’m convinced you’ll enjoy watching it.

Five famous private detectives are invited to a mysterious castle by an eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain for a dinner party. However, when they arrive, they’re told that Twain plans to have an insolvable murder in the house at midnight.

The private eyes must solve the murder, and whoever does it first will get $1 million… not bad for a night’s work, eh?

However, when Mr Twain’s butler mysteriously dies, the stakes rise for all the detectives.

This movie stars Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Truman Capote.

Game Night

This American action/comedy is a fantastic movie to watch if you love Knives Out. It has the perfect combination of mystery, humour and action. What more could you want?

When Annie and Max play a murder mystery game with some friends and Max’s older degenerate brother, things take an unexpected twist when dangerous gangsters kidnap one member of the group.

Their murder mystery game quickly changes into a serious mystery that poses deadly consequences if they don’t locate their friend in time.

I enjoyed watching this movie, it has a brilliant cast that delivers some hilarious moments, and the storyline is pretty interesting too.

Starring in the movie is Jason Bateman, best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Bad Words, Zootopia, Horrible Bosses, and The Gift. He’s joined by Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan, and Michael C Hall.

The Nice Guys

Like Knives Out, The Nice Guys plays into the crime-comedy genre perfectly. It combines many of the expected conventions from the murder mystery genre but adds a lot of fun to the story.

Set in 1970s Los Angeles, the movie tells the story of two low-life private detectives who decide to team up in order to solve a missing person case. However, along the way, they end up investigating the mysterious death of a porn star.

If you enjoyed Knives Out, you’ll love every minute of this movie. It flew under the radar for me, but I was pleased when I discovered it six years after its initial release.

The movie is headed by Ryan Gosling, best known for his roles in The Notebook, La La Land, Crazy Stupid Love and The Grey Man. He’s joined by Russell Crow, known for Gladiator, Man Of Steel and Cinderella Man.

Sleuth

It’s a well-known fact that certain movies take inspiration from past movies. Knives Out director has often spoken about Sleuth and the influence it had on the movie.

He even called Sleuth “one of my favourite movies”.

Sleuth follows a famous detective novelist who invites his wife’s lover to his mansion. His mansion is filled with elaborate games and automations. When the lover arrives, the two men battle it out in a game of cat and mouse that could have deadly consequences for the pair.

However, a detective is on the prowl, searching for the “missing” lover, and investigates the situation.

Who wins, the husband, the lover, the detective? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out.

Even though the movie was made in the early 1970s, it’s a fun film to watch if you enjoyed Knives Out.

The movie stars Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, Alec Cawthorne and John Matthews.

The Royal Tenenbaums

If watching the dysfunctional family element of Knives Out had you enthralled, then The Royal Tenenbaums could be the next movie you watch.

The Tenenbaum family are wealthy and intelligent, but they always turn into petty little children when things don’t go their way.

While there isn’t a murder mystery in this movie, their family have similar characteristics to the one in Knives Out. And they come together during a large gathering, making them even more dysfunctional than usual.

The movie has a legendary cast with stars such as Bill Murray, Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, and many others.

The Royal Tenenbaums was even nominated for an Oscar (which it narrowly missed), and they won 11 other movie awards.

Give this movie a watch; you’ll love it.

Ready Or Not

The horror-comedy Ready Or Not shares a few things in common with Knives Out. Firstly, it follows a group of wealthy and extravagant individuals. Secondly, it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The movie follows newly married Grace on her wedding night. She’s married into a family who’ve made millions in the board game industry.

However, her wedding night takes an unexpected turn when she partakes in the newlywed family tradition, where the rest of the family tries to kill her while restricted to a set of rules (like a game).

Luckily for Grace, she gets to pick the game, and she finds herself in a deadly game of hide and seek.

Should Grace survive the night, she’ll officially be a part of the family… talk about in-laws from hell.

It stars Samara Weaving, known for Guns Akimbo, Bill & Ted Face The Music, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.

Scream

Scream will be a major hit of nostalgia if you were lucky enough to live through the 90s. It’s still one of the best mystery horrors around and is the definition of “who done it” murder mysteries.

The film follows a group of young adults living in a small US town who’re being picked off one by one by a mysterious killer known as “Ghostface”. Throughout the movie, it keeps you in suspense as you wait to find out who the killer really is.

It’s a murder mystery movie with a slasher horror twist; you’ll enjoy this one. There are even four sequels and a popular TV show to watch.

The movie stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore, and others.

Bad Times At The El Royale

I don’t know about you, but for me, the best part of Knives Out was watching a bunch of A-list actors sharing the screen together. It’s not often you get to see Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Jamie Lee Curtis on the screen together.

However, Bad Times At The El Royale is one of those movies; you get an all-star cast with an excellent storyline. To be honest, the movie went under the radar for many people.

The movie follows seven shady individuals who meet in a derelict hotel with a dark past. As the film continues, secrets are discovered, and the characters find themselves in a spot of bother.

This movie stars Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this one.

Brick

Before Knives Out, Rian Johnson directed another movie in the mystery genre, Brick. As a matter of fact, it was his debut as a director, and the film is highly underrated.

The mystery noir movie follows a high school student investigating his ex-girlfriend’s disappearance.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… “who’d want to go looking for their ex?”, I understand that sentiment, but Brendan does, leading him into the depths of a high school crime ring.

Even though it has a relatively modern high school setting, the movie is shown in the style of an old-school detective movie. Brick has a unique feel, and like any good mystery movie, it keeps you guessing until the end.

It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, best known for Looper, Don Jon, Inception, 50/50, and 10 Things I Hate About You. He’s joined by Emilie De Ravin, Meagan Good, Lukas Haas, and Nora Zehetner.

Murder On The Orient Express

As I mentioned earlier in the article, Agatha Christie’s novels undoubtedly had a huge influence on Knives Out.

The Murder On The Orient Express is one of her most famous mystery novels, and the movie is well worth checking out if you enjoyed Knives Out.

There are several versions of the story, but in the 2017 movie, eccentric detective Hercule Poirot investigates a murder onboard a luxury train. With numerous suspects, Poirot must use his expertise to find the killer before they strike again.

As the train is luxurious, the character shares the same sense of fashion as those from Knives Out and only adds to the murder mystery theme.

The movie has an all-star cast including Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, and Michelle Pfeiffer… talk about star-studded.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

In this 2005 black comedy, a thief pretending to be an actor becomes involved in a murder investigation, and a private detective befriends him drawing him even deeper into his lie.

While the pair investigates the murder, they’re pulled into a large conspiracy that neither of them is ready for.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the perfect mix of comedy and mystery with a sprinkle of “buddy cop”.

It stars Robert Downey Jr, known for Iron Man, Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, and Due Date. He’s joined by Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in The Doors, The Saint, The Salton Sea, Top Gun: Maverick, Heat, and Batman Forever.

Identity

Identity follows a similar storyline to Bad Times At The El Royale yet doesn’t have as many legendary cast members.

One thing it does have, though, is an excellent murder mystery storyline, similar to Knives Out.

The movie follows a group of strangers who are staying in a dark and dingy motel on a rainy night. All seems well until they start getting picked off one by one, leaving the others trying to figure out who the killer is before it’s too late.

This thriller has plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked until the end. Considering it came out in 2003, it still holds up well, even by today’s standards.

It stars John Cusack, known for Grosse Pointe Blanke, High Fidelity, 1408, and Say Anything. He’s joined by Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Narc, Revolver, and Something Wild) and Amanda Peet (2012, A Lot Like Love, and The Whole Nine Yards).

Sherlock Holmes

Ah yes, my favourite movie on this list. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this fantastic movie, but I do know I visited the cinema at least 6 times to watch it… a bit much, maybe… but it’s a brilliant film.

The movie is similar to Knives Out in the sense that it follows a famous detective. And you don’t get any more famous than Sherlock Holmes.

When Detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr Watson send a notorious killer, Blackwood, to the gallows, they’re shocked to discover he’s still alive.

As the murderous Blackwood appears to be back, he attempts a plot that’ll threaten all of Victorian England.

The movie has an all-star cast with Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, and Kelly Reilly.