Best Mystery Movies of 1998

When the grim reaper comes to collect the soul of megamogul Bill Parrish, he arrives with a proposition: Host him for a "vacation" among the living in trade for a few more days of existence. Parrish agrees, and using the pseudonym Joe Black, Death begins taking part in Parrish's daily agenda and falls in love with the man's daughter. Yet when Black's holiday is over, so is Parrish's life.

The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.

A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.

Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.

After going their separate ways, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred reunite to investigate the ghost of Moonscar the pirate on a haunted bayou island, but it turns out the swashbuckler's spirit isn't the only creepy character on the island. The sleuths also meet up with cat creatures and zombies... and it looks like for the first time in their lives, these ghouls might actually be real.

When teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan and troubled bad girl Suzie Toller accuse guidance counselor Sam Lombardo of rape, he's suspended by the school, rejected by the town, and fighting to get his life back. One cop suspects conspiracy, but nothing is what it seems...

All bets are off when corrupt homicide cop Rick Santoro witnesses a murder during a boxing match. It's up to him and lifelong friend and naval intelligence agent Kevin Dunne to uncover the conspiracy behind the killing. At every turn, Santoro makes increasingly shocking discoveries that even he can't turn a blind eye to.

A spacecraft is discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the Habitat, a state-of-the-art underwater living environment, to investigate.

A small town policeman must investigate a suspicious hunting accident. The investigation and other events result in him slowly disintegrating mentally.

Daryl Zero is a private investigator and—along with his assistant, Steve Arlo—he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Although Daryl's a master investigator, when he's not working he doesn't know what to do with himself. He has no social skills, writes bad music and drives Steve crazy.

Hired assassin John Lee is asked by Chinatown crime boss Terence Wei to murder the young son of policeman Stan Zedkov. Lee has the boy in his sights, but his conscience gets the better of him, and he spares the child's life. Afraid that Wei will take revenge on his family in China, Lee seeks out expert forger Meg Coburn to obtain the passport he needs to get out of the country, but a band of replacement killers is soon on his trail.

Ever since killing the Fisherman one year ago, Julie James is still haunted by images of him after her. When her best friend Karla wins free tickets to the Bahamas, Julie finds this a perfect opportunity to finally relax. But someone is waiting for her. Someone who she thought was dead. Someone who is out again for revenge.

Steve Clark is a newcomer in the town of Cradle Bay, and he quickly realizes that there's something odd about his high school classmates. The clique known as the "Blue Ribbons" are the eerie embodiment of academic excellence and clean living. But, like the rest of the town, they're a little too perfect. When Steve's rebellious friend Gavin mysteriously joins their ranks, Steve searches for the truth with fellow misfit Rachel.

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own. Although this version is in color, features a different cast, and is set in 1998, it is closer to a shot-for-shot remake than most remakes, Gus Van Sant often copying Hitchcock's camera movements and editing, and Joseph Stefano's script is mostly carried over. Bernard Herrmann's musical score is reused as well, though with a new arrangement by Danny Elfman and recorded in stereo.

Can it be true? Is there a murderer loose in Odyssey? Despite a warning to be careful what they put into their minds, watching a horror movie leads Connie's and Dylan's imaginations into wild areas that put them in danger.

The royal couple Odette and Derek face yet another evil magician, this time a woman named Zelda. Lusting for the treasure of the Forbidden Arts, which will give her absolute power, Zelda kidnaps Odette as ransom. Derek and several animal friends head off to rescue Odette

When Hannah Fairchild meets her new neighbor, Danny Anderson, she thinks he's a bit weird...could he be a ghost?

Mulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.

When a freak accident destroys everything in a man's life, he invades the troubled marriage of his best friends.

This film is about a famous jazz saxophonist, Izzy who's life is forever changed after he is accidentally shot.

A recently released ex-con gets involved in a fake kidnapping scheme that turns very real.

Two roommates plan to kill a third to take advantage of college policy giving a 4.0 grade to a suicide's roommates.

Women dress and undress while pretending to be vampires.

Police investigate when a man having an affair with his brother's wife disappears suddenly.

Bristling with equipment, two enthusiastic local access cable TV producers recruit an assistant and venture into a forest in search of the mythical and horrifying Jersey Devil. Days later, only one of the trio emerges. He becomes the prime suspect in the disappearances of the other two. However, a local filmmaker examines extensive footage found at the scene and arrives at a different conclusion.

A man is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife. During his time in jail, he finds comfort from four women with whom he corresponds. After his second court appearance, he is finally freed from prison only to be framed for yet 2 more murders which he did not commit. With the help of his former prison guard, he once again sets out to clear his name

When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.

From the Irish countryside to London to New York and back again, Maggie reenters the world as a countess and shady art dealer. With her panache and charisma, she finds more than an auction, a rekindled interracial love affair, helpful relatives and a painting of great price. She finds more than she bargained for in the labyrinth and milieu of stolen art.

The fictional tale of the murderous 19th century barber (Ben Kinglsey) who sold his kills to a neighboring butcher (Joanna Lumley) for her renowned meat pies. A young innocent (Selina Boyack) and the dashing inspector (Campbell Scott) who tries to solve the murders are also thrown into the mix.

An attorney uncovers a political conspiracy in the brutal killing of a wealthy young woman.

U.S Postal Inspectors are called in when a suburban couple are killed by a mail bomb. Suspicion immediately falls on the couple's estranged and heavily in debt son, who also just happens to be a Navy munitions expert. But investigations reveal that he is on the run from a past event in his life that is associated with the bombings.

This all-Native production, by director Shelley Niro (Mohawk), is part of the Smoke Signals new wave of films that examine Native identity in the 1990’s.

Johnny Scardino is working for blackmailers, photographing wealthy guys in seedy motels. One such assignment turns the wrong way and blackmailers die one by one. Is Johnny the next on the list?

A detective is obsessed with catching "The Femme Fatale" killer, especially because his father, who was also a detective, was murdered several years previously while investigating the same killings.

Dr. Feinstone escapes from the mental hospital where he has been held ever since his wife's adultery sent him on a deranged killing spree. Hoping to resume a normal life, he makes his way to a quiet Midwestern town and establishes himself in a new practice under an assumed name. Things are starting to look up for Dr. 'Caine' – that is, until the day he catches his new love in the arms of someone else. As before, the impact of romantic betrayal sends him over the edge into madness and murder, with his unfortunate patients once again bearing the brunt of his hostility.

Private eye Philip Marlowe and his bride move to a desert town, where he uncovers a land scheme.

Fritz Brown is an ex-LAPD, recovering alcoholic who now splits his time repossessing cars for a used car lot and staffing his one-man private detective agency. When a filthy caddie named Freddy "Fat Dog" Baker wanders into Fritz's office one day, flashing a wad of cash, Fritz is hired to follow Fat Dog's kid sister Jane, who is holed up with a Beverly Hills sugar daddy named Sol Kupferman. Kupferman is a 70 year-old bag man for the mob, and Fat Dog claims that "Solly K" is up to something evil that may harm Jane. The trail leads Fritz to an encounter with his dark past in the person of Haywood Cathcart, current head of LAPD internal affairs and the person who kicked Fritz off the police force.

The story is about the murder of Venetia Aldridge, a QC (Queen's Council) in a London "Chambers" and a very ambitious barrister who has a track record of winning her cases. She doesn't necessarily prove that her clients are innocent, she simply disproves the prosecution's case against them. In the course of her career ,she has made enemies and one of them kills her and she is found in a very ritualistic setting.

A mysterious creature is killing a farmer's livestock.

A small-town cat-and-dog detective duo investigate a new neighbor who they believe may have committed a murder, but the snag is, locals are attempting to pair him off with their owner.

A girl is in love with a gas station attendant and sees him against her father's wishes. The father is the sheriff and shortly after a confrontation with the boy friend, he is killed by escaped convicts and the daughter is kidnapped. Everyone, including the deputy, is convinced that the boy friend committed the murder and ran away with the girl. This sets up a chase of the convicts by the boy friend and of the boy friend by the police.

Private Dick Max Warner investigates the disappearance of a young heiress Sandra Applewhite. He is convinced that she was murdered by her fiancé - but without her body, he can not prove anything. So he sees a poster with a model who is an identical copy of Sandra. One by one the pieces are falling into place and Max realizes that much more than a legacy is at stake.

Jackie Ivers is a Los Angeles nurse who returns home to the small town of San Vicente to find that her friends and family have taken on bizarrely different personalities. Jackie notices that everyone who goes into the town's lake come out different. As the movie progresses, Jackie first-handedly witnesses what is happening to everyone around her as she is kidnapped by aliens from a parallel world which is the duplicate to Earth but is now polluted and the ozone layer gone. In order to survive, the aliens intend to take over Earth the entrance to the duplicate Earth called the vortex, which are located in major bodies of water, ponds, and lakes.

After a car accident, Lizzie lies dead on the roadside - slowly she is taken into the light - but is pulled back to earth when she is revived by the doctors. Lizzie feels sure that during the 184 seconds that she lay dead, something latched on to her and came back into her world. The nightmares and visions that follow only crystallize her belief that she should have died in the crash... Then the disturbances start, at first merely tappings and bad smells - but soon the activity escalates. Lizzie seems to be the focus, but according to others, she's just playing games for attention. Only when Kate, her mother, is confronted with inexplicable events does she face the possibility that they may be the victims of a poltergeist infestation

Dr. Carter Elson is a man who finds a list of men's names among his wife Alex's possessions. When Carter discovers his own name at the bottom of the list, and that some of the other names are those of dead men, he confides in his friend/agent Betty. Time is ticking as they try and figure out what the list means before his name reaches the top. Alex, a small town girl who marries the up-and-coming doctor as an entry to the social-climbing world she always coveted, is frustrated when obstacles are placed in her path. She meets two other "unhappy wives," played by Sonja Smits and Donna Pescow, and discovers a way out that may be the answer to all of her prayers. The women conspire to 'shorten the list!'

A psychological thriller that takes you through the mind of convicted killer, Michael Raine, and his experiences on death row. Was he guilty of killing his girlfriend or was he a victim of a conspiracy to frame him for a crime he didn't commit? As the story unfolds Jessica Foster, an assistant to the Governor of Tennessee begins to interview Raine while on death row, claiming that she's writing a book about the inmates. Through various circumstances, Raine puts two and two together and builds a case that he believes can prove his innocence...or does he? Ms. Foster is the only one on the 'outside" who can give Raine a voice, but is she working for those who framed him? As time draws near to the date of his execution, in his most desperate hour Raine finds the missing pieces to the puzzle to prove his innocence, but is it too late...? Was this story told from Raine's point of view or from the book writers or from yours, the viewer - you decide.

Hayden K. Lorry is a British military operative who gets embroiled in a caper to track down an ancient Grecian Urn, called the Icarus Urn, or more appropriately named, the "Urn of Death." Lisabeth O'Shaughnessy is the elusive femme fatale who seduces Lorry into thinking he can save both himself and O'Shaughnessy by locating the urn.

A detective suspects that the wife and mistress of an abusive man conspired to kill him.

Michael D'Angelo is a washed-up alcoholic cop. Demoted from his job and living in the past, he takes out his pain by exploring the nightlife of Los Angeles. Theresa, the only woman he's ever loved, is a powerful Assistant D.A. married to a prominent doctor, Peter, and is about to take on the most important case of her firm's history. But all things erupt when personal issues that have been repressed begin to surface in horrifying ways, bringing everyone together in an explosive triangle of betrayal.