Whodunits and murder mysteries are some of the most fun stories out there. The thrill of continuous guessing and theorizing throughout a 2-hour movie, or book, or even the board game Clue. It’s fun! The newest whodunit Knives Out is no exception. Director Rian Johnson weaves a thrilling tale of false appearances and family betrayal. This movie is so clever and surprising, with car chases and shady meet-ups. It has everything you want in a murder mystery, while also flipping tropes upside down.

As with any good murder mystery, Knives Out has a lineup of mysterious people, who are mostly part of the deceased’s family. There’s also the the dead man’s nurse and maid. The man investigating the situation is an inquisitive detective with an accent (played by Daniel Craig). The family is made up of an all-star cast including Chris Evan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, and more. When the movie is over, an obvious main character can be picked 0ut, but that might be considered a spoiler. Every family member seems to have some motive or secret they’re not telling anyone. The death is considered a suicide, but the detective doesn’t agree. The nurse knows more than she lets on. Chris Evans gives a very different performance then we’re used to(he is no Captain America this time). The all-star cast of this movie really make it super fun!

Johnson knows how hard it is for people to be tricked. Nowadays, everyone knows old murder mystery tropes and how they turn out. We use logic to solve everything. To make this an actually engaging mystery that’s not easy to figure out, Johnson kind of tricks the audience by not tricking them. When you think you’ve figured it out, or when you think the characters solved the mystery, the movie goes nope! Even if you guess correctly, there’s definitely a part of the mystery that you did not think of because it’s so crazy! By the end you’ll be scratching your head, and then you’ll have an aha! moment. The movie starts out throwing away murder mystery tropes by having a reveal extremely early on in the story. The story only gets spicier. There’s family conflict with lots of yelling, a background lesson about honesty, love affairs, and so much more contributing to the continuous guessing. This all takes place (mostly) in a huge mansion. The creepy, eerie feeling murder mysteries give off is definitely present, considering anyone could be a murderer. It’s also a hilarious movie, with the nurse having a ridiculous medical condition and family members constantly bickering. Knives Out has so many factors contributing to its engaging story.

The mystery, humor, eeriness, surprises, and overall thrill of the movie is done so well and executed beautifully by the cast. They all contribute to this whodunit being a masterpiece. There’s not really anything wrong with it. It’s one of the most fun you’ll have in a theater. When you walk out of the theater, you and your family or friends will be staring at each other shocked. So go watch Knives Out in theater now!

10/10