Last updated March 2024
Want to watch sensationally awesome Best Mystery Movies 2006 ? We assembled 30 marvelous Best Mystery Movies 2006 with universal acclaim from revered IMDB critics and our own legion of discerning users. Available for instant viewing, these world-class titles are as jaw-droppingly good as entertainment gets. Help fellow fans uncover buried treasures by voting for the titles you feel are keepers. We appreciate members who take the time to pay it forward with great recommendations!
The Prestige (2006)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 14000000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: twists and turns, obsession, plot twist, magic, rivalry, uninhibited rivalry, magician, secret, magic trick, illusionist, illusion, deception, secrets, revenge, great ending, nikola tesla, stage magic, teleportation, magical, partner, peril, twins, murder, vengeance, suicide
The Lives of Others (2006)
Plot Summary:
A tragic love story set in East Berlin with the backdrop of an undercover Stasi controlled culture. Stasi captain Wieler is ordered to follow author Dreyman and plunges deeper and deeper into his life until he reaches the threshold of doubting the system
Duration: 137 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 405000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Plot tags: surveillance, cold war, berlin wall, spy, stasi, communism, iron curtain, secrets, loneliness, voyeurism, interrogation, politics, suicide, secret police, life philosophy, murder, corruption, espionage, paranoia, conspiracy, propaganda, fighting the system, writers, tragedy, moral dilemma
Paprika (2006)
Plot Summary:
When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it: Paprika
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 93000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: dream, surveillance, virtual reality, lucid dream, surrealism, villain, trippy, scientist, mental illness, hallucination, psychiatrist, introspection, doctors and patients, cyberpunk, philosophy, investigation, research, human nature, alternate reality, storytelling, dystopia, twists and turns, paranoia, cognitive science, erotica
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
Plot Summary:
When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to, quite literally, "leap" backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends
Duration: 98 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 70000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Plot tags: time travel, high school, friendship, supernatural ability, teenage girl, school, classmate, changing the past or future, time loop, coming of age, teenage love, friends, love, shyness, frustration, stopped time, imaginary, teenage life, tragedy, vengeance, transformation, imagination, storytelling, fantasy world, twists and turns
Inside Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
Bank robber Dalton Russell enters a Manhattan bank, locks the doors and takes hostages, working methodically and without haste. Detective Frazier is assigned to negotiate, but his mind is occupied with the corruption charges he is facing. With an army of police surrounding the bank, the thief, the cop and a high-profile 'fixer' enter high-stakes negotiations
Duration: 129 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 392000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: heist, hostage, bank, bank robbery, robbery, twists and turns, perfect crime, manipulation, police, criminal, master criminal, thief, police detective, deception, caper, strategy, bank robber, investigation, swat team, plot twist, conspiracy, bank vault, mysterious character, kidnapping, money
Fireworks Wednesday (2006)
Plot Summary:
On the day before their holiday trip to Dubai, a wife who believes her husband is unfaithful enlists the help of Roohi, a young woman sent by an agency to clean the house. She asks Roohi to make an appointment and gather information at the salon of the woman she suspects. Roohi is betrothed, innocent of marital discord. Over the course of the day, she, the couple, their small son, the wife's sister and husband, and the beautician engage in a series of exchanges, confrontations, and prevarications. Are the wife's suspicions unwarranted; is her behavior imperiling her marriage? Acts of kindness may go awry. And the trip to Dubai?
Duration: 102 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Iran
Plot tags: marital problem, marital infidelity, maid, social differences, iranian, couples, society, family problems, crumbling marriage, dishonesty, couple relations, housewife, wedding preparations and rituals, husband wife relationship, other woman, family relations, teenager, muslim, marriage, hidden treasure, new year, holiday, beautician, profanity, unfulfillment
Death Note (2006)
Plot Summary:
Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the mysterious murderer. An all out battle between the two greatest minds on earth begins and the winner will control the world
Duration: 126 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: investigation, serial killer, vigilantism, supernatural, supernatural ability, rivalry, mind game, vigilante, twists and turns, youth, notebook, investigator, interpol, brutality, moral ambiguity, vengeance, manipulation, life & death, creativity, battle of wits, god, artifact, fbi, intelligence, death
Tell No One (2006)
Plot Summary:
A man receives a mysterious e-mail appearing to be from his wife, who was murdered years earlier. As he frantically tries to find out whether she's alive, he finds himself being implicated in her death
Duration: 131 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, UK
Plot tags: twists and turns, investigation, frame up, murder, serial killer, torture, loss of wife, surveillance, brutality, grief, corpse, disappearance, dishonesty, whodunit, plot twist, paranoia, dark secret, love, extramarital affair, murder of a nude woman, life is a bitch, psychology, conspiracy, murder mystery, lawyer
The Illusionist (2006)
Plot Summary:
With his eye on a lovely aristocrat, a gifted illusionist named Eisenheim uses his powers to win her away from her betrothed, a crowned prince. But Eisenheim's scheme creates tumult within the monarchy and ignites the suspicion of a dogged inspector
Duration: 110 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 386000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Czech Republic
Plot tags: twists and turns, magic, forbidden love, wizards and magicians, plot twist, investigation, murder, love triangle, magic trick, death, duchess, nobility, rivals, love story, fame, secret, dishonesty, police investigation, magical, magician, love, revenge, conspiracy, unrequited love, police inspector
The Unknown Woman (2006)
Plot Summary:
Irena, a Ukrainian woman coming to Italy looking for a job as a maid. She does everything she to become a beloved nanny for an adorable little girl Thea. However, that is just the very beginning of her unknown journey
Duration: 118 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Italy, France
Plot tags: prostitute, twists and turns, immigrant, family relations, haunted by the past, uncover truth, housekeeper, dark past, nanny, european, murder, audition, sex, serial killer, strong female lead, psycho, human trafficking, immigration, cleaning lady, femme fatale, social injustice, scam, plot twist, violent content, police
Death Note: The Last Name (2006)
Plot Summary:
In the second installment of the Death Note film franchise, Light Yagami meets a second Kira and faithful follower Misa Amane and her Shinigami named Rem. Light attempts to defeat L along with Teru Mikami (a Kira follower) and Kiyomi Takada (another Kira follower) but in the end will Light win? or will a Shinigami named Ryuk make all the difference in Light's victory or his ultimate death?
Duration: 141 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan, USA
Plot tags: serial killer, supernatural ability, supernatural power, law enforcement, investigation, police investigation, murder, supernatural, mysticism, fight, murder mystery, escapades, secret, showdown, dark secret, superhero, demon, witchcraft, magician, conspiracy, comic hero, asian, social criticism, wizard, ethical dilemma
The Fountain (2006)
Plot Summary:
Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world
Duration: 97 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 247000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Plot tags: metaphysics, spirituality, cancer, afterlife, buddhism, surrealism, multiple storylines, immortality, death, obsession, loneliness, love, love story, eternity, meditation, reincarnation, tree, tragic love, life philosophy, loss of loved one, love of one's life, destiny, medicine, obsessive quest, alternate reality
The Bothersome Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
Forty-year-old Andreas arrives in a strange city with no memory of how he got there. He is presented with a job, an apartment - even a wife. But before long, Andreas notices that something is wrong. Andreas makes an attempt to escape the city, but he discovers there's no way out. Andreas meets Hugo, who has found a crack in a wall in his cellar. Beautiful music streams out from the crack. Maybe it leads to "the other side"? A new plan for escape is hatched
Duration: 95 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Norway, Iceland
Plot tags: dystopia, suicide attempt, parallel universe, exile, accountant, nightmare, emotionless, new job, isolation, captivity, confined, confusion, friendship, couples, surrealism, solitude, suicide, post apocalypse, consciousness, lonely, death, time travel, psychology, mental disorder, fantasy world
Time (2006)
Plot Summary:
To save her relationship, a woman puts herself through extensive plastic surgery
Duration: 97 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: South Korea, Japan
Plot tags: love affair, existentialism, obsession, women, memory, paranoia, character study, surgery, unfulfillment, psychology, relationships, time loop, plastic surgery, friendship, self discovery, prejudice, insanity, face, identity, time travel, suicide, moving, enlightenment, mission, asian
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Plot Summary:
An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result
Duration: 100 min
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: cyberpunk, drug abuse, trippy, schizophrenia, losing-it hero, addiction, dystopia, dystopian future, society, fighting crime, consciousness, drug, undercover, twists and turns, surveillance, disorder, conspiracy, philosophy, surrealism, unfulfillment, life is a bitch, working undercover, hallucination, greed, suicide attempt
Inland Empire (2006)
Plot Summary:
An actress's perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed
Duration: 180 min
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Poland, USA
Plot tags: surrealism, macabre, filmmaking, danger, alternate reality, insanity, curse, murder, nightmare, mysticism, doppelganger, couples, infidelity, abusive husband, brutality, actress, obsession, lifestyle, dangerous attraction, woman in danger, society, chaos, jealous spouse, sex, violence
Red Road (2006)
Plot Summary:
Jackie is a CCTV operator. Each day, she watches over a small part of the world, protecting the people living their lives under her gaze. One day, a man shows his face on her monitor, a man she thought she would never see again, a man she hoped never to see again. Now she has no choice and is compelled to confront him
Duration: 113 min
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Denmark
Plot tags: surveillance, voyeurism, stalking, revenge, couples, couple relations, female nudity, voyeur, sexual relations, vengeance, danger, ex convict, dishonesty, wedding, friendship, male female relationship, husband wife relationship, video surveillance, sex, erotica, rape, women, macabre, cocaine, deception
The Dead Girl (2006)
Plot Summary:
The clues to a young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated people begin to intersect
Duration: 85 min
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: missing person, murder, serial killer, investigation, prostitute, uncover truth, family relations, life is a bitch, promiscuous daughter, child abuse, parents and children, society, loss of daughter, violence against women, dead body, stranger, social relations, women, death, runaway, mind game, husband wife relationship, gory, friendship, domineering mother
Scoop (2006)
Plot Summary:
An American journalism student in London scoops a big story, and begins an affair with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls
Duration: 96 min
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: magic, journalist, journalism, investigation, serial killer, plot twist, police investigation, murder investigation, student, uncover truth, suspicion of murder, danger, dangerous attraction, murder, reporter, death, magician, media, strong female character, swimming pool, scoop, tarot card, twists and turns, magical, female protagonist
Monster House (2006)
Plot Summary:
Monsters under the bed are scary enough, but what happens when an entire house is out to get you? Three teens aim to find out when they go up against a decrepit neighboring home and unlock its frightening secrets
Duration: 91 min
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
IMDB Votes: 135000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Family, Mystery
Country: USA, Canada
Plot tags: halloween, haunted house, suburbs, monster, supernatural, children, old dark house, ghost, neighbor, human versus monster, friendship, holiday, child, house, three friends, babysitter, haunted, mysticism, giant monster, spying, best friend, childhood, spirit, chase, good versus evil
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Plot Summary:
When the curator of the Louvre is found murdered in the famed museum's hallowed halls, Harvard professor, Robert Langdon and cryptographer, Sophie Neve must untangle a deadly web of deceit involving the works of Leonardo da Vinci
Duration: 149 min
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
IMDB Votes: 453000
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Malta, France, UK
Plot tags: conspiracy, holy grail, treasure hunt, religion, twists and turns, christianity, investigation, ancient mystery, conspiracy theory, riddles and clues, secrets, secret society, uncover truth, religions or cults, escapades, vatican, illuminati, disorder, artifact, obsessive quest, murder, ancient, professor, mastermind, freemason
Hollywoodland (2006)
Plot Summary:
The complicated life and controversial suicide of George Reeves is investigated by a fictional private detective who finds that there are reasons to suspect that Reeves may not have killed himself after all. The detective also finds that there is a little of George Reeves in himself, and maybe, each of us
Duration: 126 min
IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Plot tags: private detective, murder, showbiz, hollywood, biopic, fame, uncover truth, starlet, actor's life, dishonesty, husband murders wife, filmmaking, suicide, superman, superhero, death, actor, blackmail, investigation, new year, mafia, batman, winter, politics, past
Silent Hill (2006)
Plot Summary:
The eerie and deserted ghost town of Silent Hill draws a young mother desperate to find a cure for her only child's illness. Unable to accept the doctor's diagnosis that her daughter should be permanently institutionalized for psychiatric care, Rose flees with her child, heading for the abandoned town in search of answers – and ignoring the protests of her husband. It's soon clear this place is unlike anywhere she's ever been. It's smothered by fog, inhabited by a variety of strange beings and periodically overcome by a living 'darkness' that literally transforms everything it touches. As Rose searches for her little girl, she begins to learn the history of the strange town and realizes that her daughter is just a pawn in a larger game
Duration: 125 min
IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
IMDB Votes: 241000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Canada, France
Plot tags: supernatural, monster, demon, supernatural horror, survival, macabre, insanity, torture, mysterious place, ghost town, ghost, good versus evil, missing child, revenge, evil, gore, evil child, small town, parallel world, another dimension, suffering, adopted daughter, creature, blood, self sacrifice
Unknown (2006)
Plot Summary:
Five men wake up in a locked-down warehouse with no memory of who they are. They are forced to figure out who is good and who is bad to stay alive
Duration: 85 min
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: memory loss, confined, twists and turns, kidnapping, murder, hostage, trapped, suicide, loss of friend, survival, puzzle, trap, isolation, locked in a room, danger, race against time, dishonesty, amnesia, caper, torture, conspiracy, memory, mind game, plot twist, confined space
Saw III (2006)
Plot Summary:
Jigsaw has disappeared. Along with his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detective scramble to locate him, Doctor Lynn Denlon and Jeff Reinhart are unaware that they are about to become the latest pawns on his vicious chessboard
Duration: 108 min
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
IMDB Votes: 209000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Plot tags: torture, serial killer, game of death, trap, mind game, sadism, psychopath, brutality, gory, gore, mutilation, sadistic horror, kidnapping, blood, plot twist, vigilante, captivity, vigilantism, master criminal, race against time, revenge, violence, deathtrap, trapped, female serial killer
Half Light (2006)
Plot Summary:
Rachel Carson, a best-selling crime novelist, is devastated and filled with guilt over the accidental death of her son. Hoping that a change of scenery will help alleviate her suffering, she leaves her home in the city and moves into a vacant country house owned by a friend and begins a relationship with charming local Angus. But, just as her life is taking a turn for the better, Rachel realizes she's being romanced by a ghost, leading her to doubt her own sanity
Duration: 110 min
IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany, UK, USA
Plot tags: ghost, supernatural, murder, lighthouse, death of child, mentally unstable, uncover truth, loss of child, woman in danger, writers, afterlife, death in the family, danger, redemption, stranded, female protagonist, death, rain, supernatural ability, death by drowning, investigation, island, small town, psychology, nature
The Good German (2006)
Plot Summary:
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover
Duration: 105 min
IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Plot tags: murder, world war two, investigation, nazi, justice, journalism, haunted by the past, uncover truth, sex shop, love of one's life, love affair, cold war, spy, prostitution, adultery, espionage, corruption, betrayal, black market, war criminal, world war, violence, reporter, mysticism, hitman
The Night Listener (2006)
Plot Summary:
In the midst of his crumbling relationship, a radio show host begins speaking to his biggest fan, a young boy, via the telephone. But when questions about the boy's identity come up, the host's life is thrown into chaos
Duration: 91 min
IMDB Rating: 5.9/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: radio, gay, listener, book, mental illness, aids, amateur detective, mysterious character, pedophile, snow, lgbt, winter, investigation, child abuse, radio station, father son relationship, liar, illness, hospital, blindness, terminal illness, drinking, twists and turns, cold, basement
The Pink Panther (2006)
Plot Summary:
When the coach of the France soccer team is killed by a poisoned dart in the stadium in the end of a game, and his expensive and huge ring with the diamond Pink Panther disappears, the ambitious Chief Inspector Dreyfus assigns the worst police inspector Jacques Clouseau to the case
Duration: 93 min
IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Country: Czech Republic, USA
Plot tags: robbery, pink panther, law enforcement, danger, goofy hero, riddles and clues, incompetent police, farce, police, investigation, bank robber, murder mystery, thief, agent, death, chase, secret agent, bank robbery, kids and family, bank, mission, occupation, satire, buddy cop, interracial
Population 436 (2006)
Plot Summary:
A census-taker (Sisto) is sent to investigate why a certain small town has had the same population -- 436 residents -- for the last 100 years
Duration: 92 min
IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Plot tags: brainwashing, small town life, religions or cults, danger, small town, curses spells and rituals, isolation, murder, conspiracy, trap, prophecy, religious fundamentalism, religion, riddles and clues, ritual, survival, magical, village, women, sect, puzzle, occult, social experiment, working class, religious fanaticism