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From Freddy Krueger to Annie Wilkes, iconic villains with memorable backstories are a hallmark of popular horror media, but there’s more than one way to terrify audiences. For example, some horror flicks task viewers with unmasking the mysterious antagonist alongside our main characters in scare-centric whodunit mashups.
And with the continued success of the Scream franchise proving that audiences are hungry for more mystery alongside the traditional blood and guts, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six lesser-known whodunit horror flicks for your viewing pleasure.
Since this list is meant to highlight underseen scary movies, we won’t be including more popular whodunits like the original Friday the 13th, Happy Death Day or any of the aforementioned Scream films. However, feel free to comment below with your own favorite whodunit horror flicks if you think we missed a particularly underrated one.
Now, onto the list…
6. Cry Wolf (2005)
When fans bring up horror movies featuring Supernatural’s Winchester brothers, they’re usually referring to either the Friday the 13th or My Bloody Valentine remakes. However, long before he faced Jason Voorhees, Jared Padalecki was already battling a masked killer in Jeff Wadlow’s Cry Wolf, an underrated thriller about the dangers of instant messaging.
Sure, the film’s subject matter is more than a little dated nowadays and the music-video-styled direction is a bit too much for modern filmmaking sensibilities, but there’s an undeniable charm to Cry Wolf’s antiquated approach to edgy teen murder mysteries. Plus, you get to see Jon Bon Jovi in a horror movie – what more could you possibly want?
5. My Soul to Take (2010)
Telling the story of a group of seven teenagers born immediately after the death of a notorious serial killer, My Soul to Take is a decidedly silly movie with quite a few logical inconsistencies, but even one of Wes Craven’s lesser efforts is still worth revisiting due to the director’s undeniable knack for murderous thrills.
While streaming this one at home isn’t quite the same as experiencing it for the first time at a schlocky midnight premiere (in hastily post-converted 3D, no less!), there’s an undeniable earnestness to this odd little movie and its supernatural scares. In fact, Craven insisted on how proud he was of the film long after the negative reviews came out, and that’s why My Soul to Take makes it onto this list.
4. Bastard (2015)
Probably the most obscure film on the list, Powell Robinson and Patrick Robert Young’s Bastard suffers from a low budget and no-name actors, but that doesn’t stop this inventive little slasher from surprising audiences with some unexpectedly brutal whodunit elements. The film’s baby-faced killer may not be the most original villain, but the shocking ending more than makes up for these little blunders.
Bastard’s unique cast of characters is also a far cry from your average horror movie victim pool, featuring everyone from serial-killing couples to suicidal cops, making this much more than the bargain-bin slasher flick that many have dismissed it as. While it’s not as polished as a Kevin Williamson production, I highly recommend this one to both horror and whodunit fans alike.
3. Werewolves Within (2021)
Werewolf myths were already popular in ancient Greece, so it stands to reason that we’d feature at least one lycanthrope-centric mystery on this list. A tragically underseen videogame adaptation, Josh Ruben’s Werewolves Within is way more fun than it has any right to be, functioning as a solid horror comedy while also delivering a satisfying killer reveal.
Sure, it’s a little light on monstrous special effects, but the mystery element remains consistently entertaining due to a lovable main character (brought to life by the hilarious Sam Richardson) and an entertaining ensemble of full moon suspects. Hell, even What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén makes a memorable appearance, so you know this one is worth a watch.
2. Devil (2010)
John Erick Dowdle is mostly known for his Found Footage scares in The Poughkeepsie Tapes and As Above So Below, but the director was also responsible for a claustrophobic whodunit that mixes Agatha Christie with The Twilight Zone. A brisk, 80-minute thrill ride about strangers trapped in an elevator with Satan himself, Devil isn’t exactly a subtle experience, but it sure is an entertaining one.
What the movie lacks in scale it more than makes up for in style and mystery, with the suspicious main cast keeping you guessing until the very end. While it wasn’t exactly loved by critics back in 2010, I think it’s pretty clear why M. Night Shyamalan thought that this strange little premise deserved a chance on the big screen.
1. Cherry Falls (1999)
Subversive horror satires became all the rage after the original Scream, but very few of these movies managed to accurately capture the magic of a genuinely entertaining slasher film. One of the rare exceptions was Geoffrey Wright’s Cherry Falls, a unique take on the horror whodunit that turns slasher tropes on their heads by featuring a masked killer that only targets virgins.
While this psycho-sexual murder mystery was barred from a theatrical release after it was refused a rating by the MPAA, a lovably self-aware script and the incredibly charming Brittany Murphy make this one of the best TV horror movies of all time. While it’s a shame that the flick never found the audience it deserved, it’s pretty cool that we can now enjoy Cherry Falls in its full high-definition glory thanks to Shout! Factory’s excellent rerelease.