30 Great Movies Like Clue You Should Watch Next

When "Clue" hit theaters in 1985, only the most eagle-eyed detectives could have imagined that a film based on a bestselling board game would be one of the best comedy movies of all time. Jonathan Lynn's comedic sendup of parlor room murder mysteries opened to mixed reviews ("Stick with the game," wrote The Washington Post) and poor box office, only to be reappraised years later by a fervent fan base that turned "Clue" into a cult classic.

Set in 1954, "Clue" brings six strangers to a secluded mansion on a stormy night. These colorful characters — Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mr. Green (Michael McKean), and Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren) — have been summoned by the butler, Wadsworth (Tim Curry), to confront their mutual blackmailer, Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving). When Mr. Boddy turns up dead, everyone is a suspect and everything is a possible murder weapon.

With its unusual pedigree and multiple endings, "Clue" is a unique viewing experience. But audiences who are still hungry for more mystery, more comedy, and more madcap adventures are in luck. To make a long story short ("Too late!"), here are thirty films like "Clue" that amateur sleuths should seek out next.

"Werewolves Within" (2021) has a special kinship with "Clue" — it is the only other film on this list based on a game. Adapted from the 2016 Ubisoft video game of the same name, "Werewolves Within" updates the game's medieval setting to a small, snowy Vermont town. But the goal remains the same: identify the werewolves within your midst.

Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson in a star-making performance) is the new forest ranger in Beaverfield, Vermont. He quickly connects with vivacious mail carrier Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), but the other residents are a motley, bickering crew of loners, gentrifiers, and busybodies. A blizzard causes a power outage, forcing Finn and his neighbors to convene in a local lodge. A series of strange, violent attacks follow, and Finn and Cecily confront one impossible idea: someone among them is a werewolf.

The AV Club noted the thematic similarities in its review, calling the film a "spirited attempt to do 'Clue' with werewolves." A quirky, comedic spin on small-town terror, "Werewolves Within" is ahead of the pack, and the highest-rated movie based on a video game.

At first, "Gosford Park" (2001) seems like a contradiction in terms: a polite murder mystery. But that is before the viewer senses the violence simmering under the film's polished, luxurious surface. Gosford Park is the setting for an elaborate dinner party hosted in 1932 by industrialist Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his wife Sylvia (Kristen Scott Thomas). As the guests arrive, it becomes clear that there are two different Gosford Parks: one for the upper class and one for the people who serve them. Their affairs almost distract from ominous events like the disappearance of a carving knife or the stray shot that grazes Sir William. Then there is a murder.

Written by "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes and directed by Robert Altman, "Gosford Park" is a carefully observed, elegantly-constructed black comedy of manners. It is a true ensemble piece, populated with familiar faces like Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Kelly Macdonald, and Clive Owen. Robert Altman fills the estate with messy, self-absorbed people and then studies their reactions to death's intrusion on their holiday weekend. What makes "Gosford Park" great is that it also observes the people who clean up after them.

"Murder on the Orient Express," Agatha Christie's mystery novel featuring mustachioed detective Hercule Poirot, has been adapted for the screen four times since its publication in 1934. The most recent film, Kenneth Branagh's "Murder on the Orient Express" (2017), proves that there is still steam in the old engine.

Doubling as director and star, Branagh plays Hercule with the seriousness of Henry V and Hamlet. He is on the titular train when a con artist, Ratchett (Johnny Depp), approaches him, claiming to need a bodyguard. Ratchett is found dead with twelve stab wounds, just as an avalanche halts the Orient Express with all the suspects on board. Reviewing the film for Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt descriptively called it "a lushly old-fashioned adaptation wrapped in a veritable turducken of pearls, monocles, and international movie stars." As a mystery, "Murder on the Orient Express" is perhaps known for its ingenious solution, which "Clue" slyly references in its final act.

The mystery formula mastered in Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" gets a gruesome remix in "Identity." James Mangold's 2003 thriller takes place at an isolated Nevada Motel sheltering a disparate group of strangers. Among them are a cop (Ray Liotta), a sex worker (Amanda Peet), an actress (Rebecca De Mornay), and her limo driver (John Cusack), who used to carry a badge himself. An unknown assailant begins killing the travelers one by one, and Cusack's ex-cop may be the key to stopping them.

But how are these events connected to the upcoming execution of murderer Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince)? And who can explain strange coincidences like our imperiled travelers Paris Nevada (Peet), Samuel Rhodes (Liotta), and Ed Dakota (Cusack) sharing names with U.S. states? "Identity" begins as a conventional thriller, but a series of sharp left turns takes the viewer to an unexpected destination in the third act. "'Identity' is more than an entertaining thriller," according to SFGate. "It's a highly original one."

"Clue" is a game, but "Game Night" (2018) is about the players. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are Max and Annie, a couple that bonded over their shared love of gaming and is now facing more adult responsibilities such as parenthood. During their annual game night with friends, masked men kidnap Max's brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) — but because Brooks had just introduced a new live-action role-playing game, everyone thinks it's part of the show. The group splits to see who can find Brooks first, unprepared for the game night fate has in store for them.

"Game Night" is funny and unpredictable, reinventing itself whenever the plot takes a left turn, or when a shady character appears with a new MacGuffin. As Annie, Rachel McAdams brings an infectious energy to every scene, especially her slow dance with what she thinks is a prop gun. Meanwhile, Jesse Plemons steals the film at a completely different energy level, playing Max and Annie's dead-eyed, extremely divorced neighbor Gary. The film pranks the audience with fake-outs, special guest stars, and surprise reveals, but it earns its laughs by never cheating. Maybe next time, Max and Annie will stay in and play "Clue."

The locked-room werewolf mystery of "Werewolves Within" is played straight in the 1974 horror film "The Beast Must Die." Wealthy big game hunter Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) invites five people to join him and his wife (Marlene Clark) at their mansion in the English countryside. Newcliffe dashes all hope for a pleasant dinner party when he announces that one of the guests is a werewolf, and he will expose and kill them.

"The Beast Must Die" is a creature feature perfect for late-night viewing. Calvin Lockhart prevents the film from sliding into camp with his sturdy performance as Newcliffe, along with suspected werewolves played by brilliant British character actors Michael Gambon and Peter Cushing (imagine Dumbledore as a werewolf). 

As amusing as it is to watch Newcliffe's guests inhale wolfsbane pollen and taste silver bullets, this is a film that believes in its story. For all the movie mysteries on this list, "The Beast Must Die" is the only one that gives viewers a 30-second "Werewolf Break" to make their final predictions.

"That's how it could have happened," reads the title card after the first of three alternate endings in "Clue," only to be followed onscreen by, "But here's what really happened." Sidney Lumet's labyrinthian "Deathtrap" could have used similar cards. Adapted from Ira Levin's Tony Award-nominated Broadway play, "Deathtrap" (1982) is as twisted as a noose.

Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) is a once-successful playwright itching for another hit. A young student, Clifford (Christopher Reeve, a long way from Metropolis and "Superman"), shows Sidney his new manuscript, a seemingly perfect play titled "Deathtrap." Sidney kills Clifford and steals the sole copy of the manuscript, to the horror of his wife Myra (Dyan Cannon). At least, that's how it could have happened — but nothing is what it appears to be, and there will be more murders before the final curtain call. "Deathtrap" offers slick, skillfully written entertainment, but it is the crackling, unpredictable chemistry between enemies Caine and Reeve that makes this mystery essential viewing.

One key to understanding "Clue" is that the murder mystery itself is unimportant. The movie isn't a "whodunnit," because (as the three different endings show) if anyone could have done it, it doesn't matter who did it. The real excitement isn't in solving the crime but watching talented actors bounce off each other with precision and acid-tongued wit.

The blueprint for such a confoundingly entertaining mystery is "The Big Sleep" (1946), directed by Howard Hawks and adapted from the novel by Raymond Chandler. Humphrey Bogart plays the definitive version of Chandler's iconic protagonist, the L.A. private investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is summoned by the aging General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to keep an eye on the affairs of his rebellious daughters Vivian (Lauren Bacall) and Carmen (Martha Vickers), but that is only the beginning.

The plot of "The Big Sleep" is notoriously thorny. Including it on his list of "Great Movies," Roger Ebert described the film as "a lust story with a plot about a lot of other things," singling out the romantic chemistry between real-life couple Bogart and Bacall. Whenever they're onscreen together, exchanging verbal barbs or sharing sultry glances, everything else, even the murders, fade into the background.

Murder, but make it fashion. That's the ethos behind "Blood and Black Lace," the 1964 spine-chiller by Italian director Mario Bava. "Blood and Black Lace" would make an excellent double feature with Wes Craven's "Scream." Both appeal to viewers looking for an edgier, gorier take on "Clue" and its multiple scenes of black-gloved killers murdering people in dark rooms.

In Rome, a black-hatted killer in a featureless white mask stalks the beautiful models of the Christian Haute Couture fashion house. These gruesomely-shot murders are linked to the mystery of a victim's secret diary, which supposedly possesses enough information to blackmail the entire fashion house. To the distress of manager Countess Cristiana (Eva Bartok) and her husband Massimo (Cameron Mitchell), anyone could be a suspect. 

"Blood and Black Lace" has been recognized as a key influence on modern slasher movies and the lurid giallo thrillers of the 1970s. Style and atmosphere drip from the film like blood, and in the nearly sixty years since its release, it still has the power to shock.

Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau steamrolls over his suspects (and anyone else in his path) in "A Shot in the Dark" (1964). The immediate follow-up to 1963's "The Pink Panther," this satirical take on law and order is helmed again by Blake Edwards.

A chauffeur is shot dead in the country home of the millionaire Ballon family, and the bumbling, pompous, aggressively French-accented Inspector Clouseau is on the case. The main suspect is the maid Maria (Elke Sommer), found with a smoking gun in her hand, but Clouseau is instantly smitten and determined to prove her innocence.

The plot seems straightforward, but Edwards and Sellers hit the gas and drive Clousseau into increasingly absurd scenarios, including the events that lead to Maria and Clouseau being stuck in Paris traffic in a tiny car, completely nude. The film is essentially a supervillain origin story for Clouseau's long-suffering boss, Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom). Driven mad by Clouseau's inanity, he has an explosive solution to everyone's problems. With this, "A Shot in the Dark" pushes the finale into near-surrealism.

Lucy Ricardo and... Frankenstein's monster? The underseen "Lured" (1947) turns two Hollywood icons into unlikely costars: Lucille Ball and Boris Karloff. Years before she cemented her status as a comedy legend on "I Love Lucy," Lucille Ball starred in this black-and-white noir by Douglas Sirk, a man who would also gain fame years later as a director of Technicolor melodramas. None of these cinematic components should work together, yet "Lured" has all the makings of a cult classic.

Ball plays our heroine, Sandra, a brassy American taxi dancer working in London. The cobblestone streets are haunted by "The Poet Killer," a monster modeled after Jack the Ripper who has a taste for young women and fine verse. After her friend goes missing, Scotland Yard recruits Sandra to work undercover and find the killer. She crosses paths with several dangerous men, including an unstable artist (Karloff), a human trafficker (Joseph Calleia), and, worst of all, the dashing Brit (George Sanders) she loves. "Lured" may be one of the most obscure movies on this list, but it's a thrilling showcase for Lucille Ball's many talents.

Mel Brooks suffers from "High Anxiety." Brooks writes, directs, and stars in this 1977 spoof of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous suspense films, including "Vertigo," "Psycho," and "The Birds." Dr. Richard Thorndyke (Brooks) works at the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous and quickly finds out that the doctors (including a kinky Cloris Leachman) are more dangerous than their patients. "Clue" co-star Madeline Kahn plays the part of the beautiful Hitchcock Blonde, helping Thorndyke uncover a conspiracy while dodging hired killers, angry bellboys, and a flock of very messy pigeons.

"High Anxiety" aims for big, broad laughs, pushing the already heightened reality of Hitchcock's thrillers into something surreal and cartoonish. (A sample of the madcap dialogue: "You want to x-ray the celery? What, do you think we're smuggling dope in the celery? The celery's not for dope, it's for dip!") Mel Brooks not only parodied the Master of Suspense but was fortunate enough to collaborate with him, too. Interviewed in 2013, Brooks told NPR that Alfred Hitchcock read the script and suggested one of the film's scatological jokes.

Two years after writer Neil Simon, director Robert Moore, and star Peter Falk spoofed whodunnits and private eyes in "Murder by Death" (1976), they reteamed to take on Humphrey Bogart in "The Cheap Detective." Falk slips easily into the trench coat and fedora of Lou Peckinpaugh, a Bogart pastiche whose nickname refers to his relative affordability as a private eye as well as his penny-pinching personality. ("No, I'll keep the change," he says while exiting a taxi.)

Peckinpaugh's cases have eerie and hilarious similarities to "Casablanca" (1942), "The Big Sleep," and "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), with the Cheap Detective juggling a murder rap, an elderly industrialist with a "Jezebel" wife (Ann-Margret), and a mysterious Tibetan treasure. Peter Falk is excellent in the role of the deadpan, world-weary detective, and "Clue" fans should look for both Eileen Brennan and Madeline Kahn in the murderer's row of femme fatales who keep popping up in Peckinpaugh's life.

Before there was "Pulp Fiction" (1994), there was simply "Pulp" (1972). This caustically comedic ode to cheap, hardboiled paperbacks reteams star Michael Caine with "Get Carter" director Mike Hodges.

Mickey King (Caine) writes pulp fiction with hacky titles like "My Gun is Long." When a high-paying offer to ghostwrite a celebrity memoir lands in his lap, King travels to a remote island to meet his subject, gangster-turned-actor Preston Gilbert (Mickey Rooney). Gilbert is murdered in what first appears to be a practical joke gone wrong, and King must solve the mystery before whoever stopped Gilbert from spilling his secrets kills his ghostwriter, too.

"Pulp" is a sly combination of mystery and humor, with the wily Caine bouncing off colorful characters that include a clairvoyant, a killer dressed as a priest, and a princess played by a noir icon (Lizabeth Scott, in her final film role). A musical score by The Beatles' producer George Martin adds to the film's uniquely British charm.

A dark and stormy night. Several stranded motorists. A most unusual butler. Is this the beginning of "Clue" or "The Old Dark House"? Helmed by "Frankenstein" (1931) director James Whale, this mordant black comedy from 1932 casts a long shadow in film history. The British Film Institute praises "The Old Dark House" as "vastly influential ... containing premonitions of many of horror cinema's go-to narrative clicks, including isolated groups, remote rural houses, mysterious inhabitants hiding secrets and even the ominous sound of whistling wind."

The old, dark house of the film's title belongs to the eccentric Femm family, among them waspish Horace (Ernest Thesiger) and hulking butler Morgan (Boris Karloff). Their unlucky guests (including Gloria Stuart, 65 years before "Titanic") soon find themselves embroiled in a frightening family drama, complete with a doomed dinner party and the escape of the pyromaniac cousin locked upstairs.

As a product of Pre-Code Hollywood, Whale's film is surprisingly frank on subjects like religion, class, and sexuality, just as "Clue" would touch on the cultural anxieties of the 1950s. With its witty, circular dialogue and playful scares, "The Old Dark House" shares much of its DNA with "Clue." And if you think you remember the stormy opening from at least one more film, you're probably right. "The Old Dark House" influenced another classic film starring Tim Curry — "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."