Keeping the little grey cells active. Seeking book, movie or games.
May 2, 2020 2:40 PM Subscribe
I have discovered a love of a genre of media I cant' really describe. In the past few weeks I've fallen in love with being intrigued/puzzled and I'm seeking more of the experience. It started with Knives Out then straight to Agatha Christie movies, took a detour through the computer games Oxenfree & Outer Wilds, Gone Girl also hit the spot and ended in a glorious late night binge last night of Russian Doll. I am seeking your recommendation for entertainment that scratches that whodunnits/whydunnits/whatdunnits itch.
The entertainment doesn't have to necessarily be who dunnits, though they can be. They don't have to tackle existential issues either, though again they can. I would prefer interesting non traditional characters, or at the very least for the women in them to not be the "prize" if it's an older movie/book. I love me an unreliable narrator. Something you can consume a second time after you've reached the end & see how it was all there all along if only you'd known what to look for. Conclusions don't have to give all the answers or even be happy, but at least end with some sense of satisfaction. Please help me find my. All suggestions appreciated but please, no horror or terror porn or gratuitous violence or gore. ie murders, if they happen, take place off screen or not in great detail.
The entertainment doesn't have to necessarily be who dunnits, though they can be. They don't have to tackle existential issues either, though again they can. I would prefer interesting non traditional characters, or at the very least for the women in them to not be the "prize" if it's an older movie/book. I love me an unreliable narrator. Something you can consume a second time after you've reached the end & see how it was all there all along if only you'd known what to look for. Conclusions don't have to give all the answers or even be happy, but at least end with some sense of satisfaction. Please help me find my. All suggestions appreciated but please, no horror or terror porn or gratuitous violence or gore. ie murders, if they happen, take place off screen or not in great detail.
Devs!
posted by jmfitch at 3:16 PM on May 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by jmfitch at 3:16 PM on May 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
The Leftovers might give you a sense of wonder and "what the heck is going on?"
Lost might also do this, but it's a lot more scattered.
posted by bondcliff at 3:16 PM on May 2, 2020
Lost might also do this, but it's a lot more scattered.
posted by bondcliff at 3:16 PM on May 2, 2020
I really enjoyed and recommend the following as media in the vein you describe:
Games:
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Kentucky Route Zero
- Night in The Woods
Books:
- A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman
posted by Goblin Barbarian at 3:39 PM on May 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Games:
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Kentucky Route Zero
- Night in The Woods
Books:
- A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman
posted by Goblin Barbarian at 3:39 PM on May 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Books:
Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz
Eight Perfect Murders, by Peter Swanson
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
In the Woods, by Tana French
The Stranger Diaries, by Elly Griffiths
The Grownup, by Gillian Flynn
TV: (try not to read anything about these ahead of time, if you haven’t already)
Maniac (Netflix)
Forever (Prime)
The Good Place (Netflix)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:14 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz
Eight Perfect Murders, by Peter Swanson
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
In the Woods, by Tana French
The Stranger Diaries, by Elly Griffiths
The Grownup, by Gillian Flynn
TV: (try not to read anything about these ahead of time, if you haven’t already)
Maniac (Netflix)
Forever (Prime)
The Good Place (Netflix)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:14 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Firewatch is a game that comes to mind.
I very much enjoyed Lone Echo (a VR title). Probably not relevant.
Rime is a rather beautiful game. A lovely story, and one to puzzle over as things unfold.
Tacoma is a narrative adventure - so it leads you in one direction throughout, but it's a well-told story.
posted by pipeski at 4:19 PM on May 2, 2020
I very much enjoyed Lone Echo (a VR title). Probably not relevant.
Rime is a rather beautiful game. A lovely story, and one to puzzle over as things unfold.
Tacoma is a narrative adventure - so it leads you in one direction throughout, but it's a well-told story.
posted by pipeski at 4:19 PM on May 2, 2020
Oh you totally want Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. There are on-screen deaths but I wouldn't say they're gruesomely described to my memory. The plot is really well done and the female narrator is either autistic or pretty darned close, while also dark and complicated like the wife in Gone Girl.
posted by teremala at 7:20 PM on May 2, 2020
posted by teremala at 7:20 PM on May 2, 2020
True Detective for recent TV
For movies Terry Gilliam? Both Brazil and 12 monkeys have a lot of mystery, confusion, and puzzles.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:58 PM on May 2, 2020
For movies Terry Gilliam? Both Brazil and 12 monkeys have a lot of mystery, confusion, and puzzles.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:58 PM on May 2, 2020
-The Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley, the first of which is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. A 11 year old girl chemistry genius is your main character, I think they are cute and the mysteries are interesting enough that I don't usually figure them out!
-Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I've only listened to the audiobook, but HBO made a series on it that is probably good, too!
-we were liars by E. Lockhart - it's a YA novel, but it's a fun, summery read.
The show Lost. The ending is.. not the best, but I think if you went into the series knowing it doesn't actually manage to wrap everything up in the end it would be better than finding out after watching it on tv for years and years.
The movies Memento and Inception if you haven't seen them.
posted by euphoria066 at 8:14 PM on May 2, 2020
-Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I've only listened to the audiobook, but HBO made a series on it that is probably good, too!
-we were liars by E. Lockhart - it's a YA novel, but it's a fun, summery read.
The show Lost. The ending is.. not the best, but I think if you went into the series knowing it doesn't actually manage to wrap everything up in the end it would be better than finding out after watching it on tv for years and years.
The movies Memento and Inception if you haven't seen them.
posted by euphoria066 at 8:14 PM on May 2, 2020
Probably a bit more violent than you want, but Bad Times at the El Royale kept me guessing. It's rare that a movie's plot will surprise me, but this one did. Great performances too.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:40 PM on May 2, 2020
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:40 PM on May 2, 2020
"Damages" maybe?
posted by mzurer at 9:36 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mzurer at 9:36 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Movies: A Simple Favor, Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River are all good complex mysteries. You might also like complex but stylish and non gory thrillers like Sneakers, Oceans 11, Momento etc
There are also several Harbin Cohen mini series on Netflix that scratch this itch for me. Really twisty plots. They are murder mysteries though not particularly gruesome that I recall, mostly they look at entwined lives of a small social group.
Some books you'll probably like are The Girl on The Train, The Instance of the Fingerpost and The Couple Next Door.
posted by fshgrl at 10:10 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
There are also several Harbin Cohen mini series on Netflix that scratch this itch for me. Really twisty plots. They are murder mysteries though not particularly gruesome that I recall, mostly they look at entwined lives of a small social group.
Some books you'll probably like are The Girl on The Train, The Instance of the Fingerpost and The Couple Next Door.
posted by fshgrl at 10:10 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
I see someone else has already recommended In the Woods by Tana French, and I want to add that her whole Dublin Murder Squad Series is excellent. The most recent in the series, which has a compelling detective at the lead, is The Trespasser. Her most recent novel, the only so far not part of this series, is The Witch Elm, which is probably best to go into knowing as little as possible about the plot in advance. When I realized what French was up to in this one it was just So. Satisfying.
If you enjoy mysteries where the pieces are all carefully laid out and then revealed (which I'm guessing you do, since you mentioned both Agatha Christie and Knives Out), I strongly recommend Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama. It was so carefully plotted that I want to re-read just to see all the breadcrumbs left for the reader to find.
Ruth Ware has written a number of mysteries that might fit the bill. She also writes narrators who are at times unreliable. Purely for atmosphere, I recommend The Death of Mrs. Westaway.
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 11:41 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you enjoy mysteries where the pieces are all carefully laid out and then revealed (which I'm guessing you do, since you mentioned both Agatha Christie and Knives Out), I strongly recommend Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama. It was so carefully plotted that I want to re-read just to see all the breadcrumbs left for the reader to find.
Ruth Ware has written a number of mysteries that might fit the bill. She also writes narrators who are at times unreliable. Purely for atmosphere, I recommend The Death of Mrs. Westaway.
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 11:41 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Broadchurch is pretty classic whodunnit.
Recently I’ve been loving Counterpart, another crime and espionage series with a very complex plot.
Both of these are British or feel very British, which seems to be king of the whodunnit genre
posted by christiehawk at 12:09 AM on May 3, 2020
Recently I’ve been loving Counterpart, another crime and espionage series with a very complex plot.
Both of these are British or feel very British, which seems to be king of the whodunnit genre
posted by christiehawk at 12:09 AM on May 3, 2020
The Westing Game!
(and others by the same author)
posted by trig at 12:31 AM on May 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
(and others by the same author)
posted by trig at 12:31 AM on May 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
What Remains of Edith Finch is a wonderful game that revolves around a young woman visiting her childhood home for the first time seeking answers after her mother's passing. First and 3rd (skip the 2nd) season of True Detective. Devs, another TV show. The Outsider (1 season but very good)
posted by FirstMateKate at 6:49 AM on May 3, 2020
posted by FirstMateKate at 6:49 AM on May 3, 2020
Canadian movie Foolproof (which happens to have Ryan Reynolds as one of the stars), is a fun one you might try.
posted by gudrun at 7:16 AM on May 3, 2020
posted by gudrun at 7:16 AM on May 3, 2020
I think you might like the interactive fiction game Harmonia. It's about the protagonist slowly working out what's going on at a remote college where she is a temporary lecturer. There's a review here and another one here.
posted by paduasoy at 7:50 AM on May 3, 2020
posted by paduasoy at 7:50 AM on May 3, 2020
I love Enigma by Robert Harris (book and film but I think the book is better)
It's a spy/mystery thriller set amongst the code breakers as Bletchley Park so as well as a twisty plot you get a brilliant evocation of a community of brainy people problem solving under duress, and there are some great female characters including some fighting against the prejudices of the time
posted by Heloise9 at 11:50 PM on May 3, 2020
It's a spy/mystery thriller set amongst the code breakers as Bletchley Park so as well as a twisty plot you get a brilliant evocation of a community of brainy people problem solving under duress, and there are some great female characters including some fighting against the prejudices of the time
posted by Heloise9 at 11:50 PM on May 3, 2020
Seconding Broadchurch, 1st season True Detective, Memento, Inception and the game Firewatch. Her Story is another good puzzle/mystery game I've enjoyed.
You might like Dorothy L Sayers' books, to continue in the Agatha Christie and Knives Out path. I'm a little biased, but the character Harriet Vane is no mere prize for the protagonist to win. There are some tv adaptations but they might be difficult to get hold of.
Also Carter Beats The Devil for a different historical setting if you like things that include real-life detail. And you could follow up with the movie The Prestige if you want to keep the magician theme going.
Pretty much anything by Kazuo Ishiguro has an unreliable narrator, but The Remains of the Day is his most popular and Never Let Me Go is my favourite.
posted by harriet vane at 6:47 AM on May 5, 2020
You might like Dorothy L Sayers' books, to continue in the Agatha Christie and Knives Out path. I'm a little biased, but the character Harriet Vane is no mere prize for the protagonist to win. There are some tv adaptations but they might be difficult to get hold of.
Also Carter Beats The Devil for a different historical setting if you like things that include real-life detail. And you could follow up with the movie The Prestige if you want to keep the magician theme going.
Pretty much anything by Kazuo Ishiguro has an unreliable narrator, but The Remains of the Day is his most popular and Never Let Me Go is my favourite.
posted by harriet vane at 6:47 AM on May 5, 2020
From back in the day:
The Sixth Sense
The Usual Suspects
posted by miles1972 at 9:41 PM on May 6, 2020
The Sixth Sense
The Usual Suspects
posted by miles1972 at 9:41 PM on May 6, 2020
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If you don't know anything about Westworld, the first season is definitely twisty and intriguing. (I'm still enjoying it, but wouldn't recommend S2 - S3.)
posted by betweenthebars at 2:59 PM on May 2, 2020