10 Great Mystery Thrillers To Watch If You Loved ‘A Simple Favor’

Everyone’s buzzing about A Simple Favor 2 (aka Another Simple Favor) and all the Blake Lively drama.

But let’s not forget why we fell in love with the original film in the first place. Despite the current chaos, the first movie was genuinely fantastic, largely thanks to Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick’s electric chemistry as their characters circled each other in that dangerous friendship dance. The martini-soaked mystery with its jaw-dropping twists and killer fashion moments created something uniquely addictive that stood out from typical thrillers.

If you need something to fill the stylish mystery-shaped hole in your life, here are ten equally compelling options that deliver that same perfect combo of visual candy and “Wait, did that just happen?!” moments.

Gone Girl (2014)

Nick Dunne comes home one day to find his wife Amy missing and becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance – but nothing is what it seems in this twisted marriage. Amy Dunne basically rewrote the rulebook on scary-as-hell female characters, and Rosamund Pike is absolutely terrifying playing her. Fincher bathes everything in this sick blue filter that makes even normal suburban homes feel menacing, creating a cold, calculated vibe that’s weirdly satisfying when everything falls apart. And let’s be honest, the “cool girl” monologue alone is worth the price of admission – you’ll never look at that chill, laid-back girlfriend the same way again.

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Rachel’s an alcoholic who obsessively watches a seemingly perfect couple from her commuter train every day, until the wife suddenly disappears and Rachel realizes she was in the neighborhood that night – but can’t remember what happened. Emily Blunt delivers a knockout performance as this hot mess who could drink anyone under the table, somehow making Rachel simultaneously annoying as hell and completely sympathetic. The endless rainy suburbs and bleached-out color palette create this suffocating atmosphere where nobody’s telling the truth – especially not our blackout-prone main character.

Sharp Objects (2018)

Reporter Camille Preaker reluctantly returns to her small hometown to cover the murders of two young girls, forcing her to confront her own demons and her toxic relationship with her mother. This HBO show feels like southern humidity made visible – suffocating, sticky, and impossible to escape. The slow-burn pacing and dreamy editing style make the whole thing feel like a half-remembered nightmare, with quick-flash memories that pop up like intrusive thoughts hiding crucial clues in plain sight throughout the season.

Big Little Lies (2017 – 2019)

A group of wealthy Monterey moms become entangled in a murder investigation after someone ends up dead at an elementary school fundraiser – but we don’t know who died or who did it until the very end. These women live in glass palaces overlooking the ocean while harboring the juiciest secrets imaginable behind their perfect facades. The HBO series masterfully balances darkly comic rich-people problems with genuinely disturbing domestic violence storylines, all wrapped up in a gorgeous visual package that makes California coastal living look simultaneously idyllic and suffocating.

Rebecca (2020)

A young woman marries wealthy widower Maxim de Winter after a whirlwind romance, only to find herself haunted by the shadow of his first wife when they move to his imposing estate, Manderley. This gothic nightmare delivers serious psychological torment wrapped in some of the most stunning production design you’ll ever see. Whether you go classic Hitchcock (moody black-and-white) or the lush Netflix remake, the mounting dread and claustrophobic atmosphere will have you questioning whether the true villain is a ghost, the living, or the house itself.

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

An art gallery owner receives a manuscript from her ex-husband that tells the violent story of a man whose family vacation turns into a nightmare – a story she begins to interpret as a symbolic revenge tale about their failed marriage. Tom Ford made this movie look so stupidly gorgeous that you almost forget how messed up the story actually is. The film’s dual narratives (real life versus the fictional story) create this disorienting experience where the glossy, sterile art world contrasts brutally with the gritty Texas revenge thriller, leaving you bothered for days but unable to look away.

The Undoing (2020)

Therapist Grace Fraser’s picture-perfect Manhattan life shatters when her pediatric oncologist husband becomes the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a mother from their son’s elite private school. Nicole Kidman’s coat collection deserves top billing in this Upper East Side murder mystery where everyone is hiding something behind their privileged facades. The HBO drama creates this constant sense of unease through its eerie soundtrack and dreamlike sequences, making you question whether Grace is experiencing reality or some psychological break as her carefully constructed life implodes spectacularly.

Side Effects (2013)

After her husband gets released from prison for insider trading, Emily starts taking a new antidepressant that causes disturbing side effects, including a sleepwalking episode that ends in violence – but there might be more to her condition than meets the eye. This movie pulls the rug out from under you so hard that you’ll get friction burns when it morphs from medical drama to something entirely different halfway through. Soderbergh shoots everything like a high-end pharmaceutical commercial gone horribly wrong – all soft focus and muted colors until the violence erupts and shatters the carefully constructed facade.

Femme Fatale (2002)

A jewel thief betrays her partners during a heist at the Cannes Film Festival, then assumes the identity of a woman who looks just like her to escape – setting off a chain of double-crosses and mistaken identities. De Palma’s sexy neo-noir kicks off with this insanely tense, nearly wordless 20-minute heist sequence that’ll have you holding your breath. The whole thing feels like a beautiful, dangerous fever dream with its hyper-stylized visuals, split-screens, and voyeuristic camera angles that make you feel simultaneously complicit and manipulated – exactly how the characters in the film feel.

The Love Witch (2016)

Modern-day witch Elaine uses spells and potions to make men fall in love with her, but her magic works too well, leaving a trail of obsessed, emotionally destroyed, and sometimes dead men in her wake. This trippy gem looks like it was beamed in from some alternate-universe 1960s with its meticulously crafted sets and costumes that you’ll want to screenshot every frame of. Director Anna Biller created this perfect time capsule of Technicolor melodrama that somehow both lovingly recreates vintage horror aesthetics while serving as a razor-sharp commentary on gender roles and the dangers of the male gaze.