10 Greatest Mystery Movies Where the Ending Resolves Nothing

Many people love mystery movies for that feeling at the end when their wildest guesses are finally answered by the writers and justice prevails. And it doesn't matter if you're watching a police procedural, a thriller, a horror, or even a comedy.

But sometimes not revealing the main mystery of the movie is a carefully structured intention. In this case, the focus of the movie is on the characters rather than the plot. Here are the best examples of such movies in the industry.

Who’s the Killer In Zodiac?

The 2007 David Fincher’s movie focuses on the killer hunt that lasted for 13 years and ended with no expected result. Jake Gyllenhaal 's character, Robert Graysmith, made it his life's work to reveal the identity of the real-life self-titled Zodiac Killer. However, he never did, but his own story happens to be much more captivating.

Who Was the Murderer In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri?

The controversial film centers on a mother seeking justice after the rape and murder of her teenage daughter. Throughout the film, she tries to find at least one person responsible. She became obsessed with the idea of revenge-murder to the point that it nearly drove her insane. The identity was never revealed in the movie, making it less about justice and more about the ethical ambiguity of making heroes out of those who channel their grief into violence.

What Happened to the Girls In Picnic at Hanging Rock?

Australian director Peter Weir, before he became a Hollywood sensation, made a movie based on a novel by Joan Lindsay about a St. Valentine's Day outing at an all-girls school that ends with the disappearance of several students and a chaperone. Although one student somehow returned later, it was never revealed where he was and where the rest of the girls were. The main idea of the movie is not to find out what happened, but to set the mood.

What’s The Killer’s Name In The Pledge?

Despite the fact that the movie started out as a classic "catch the villain" one, in the end we never find out who the murderer was. The story revolves around a detective, played by Jack Nicholson, who tries to solve the murder of a young girl. The ending leaves him devastated, because even with the case closed, he wasn't able to find the killer, and he knows he never would have succeeded.

What Happened To Percy Fawcett In The Lost City of Z?

The Lost City of Z follows the disastrous Amazon expeditions of real-life British explorer Percy Fawcett, who was determined to prove that there was a hidden civilization in the Brazilian jungle, but disappeared with his son after one expedition. The movie expands the story by showing them being captured by Indians. However, the rest of their fate is unclear, as the movie ends with Percy's wife, Nina, reflecting on everything that has happened during those last years.

Who Is The Father In Mamma Mia?

The mystery of Mamma Mia! is funny, yet truly controversial, as it focuses on a woman (albeit portrayed by the iconic Meryl Streep ) who has a sexual relationship with more than one man in a given period of time. There are three men who ended up being the main candidates for the role of the father. However, the mystery was never solved in the movie, although it was largely implied that Pierce Brosnan 's character was the father.

Who Wrote Don The Letter In Broken Flowers?

The iconic movie stars Bill Murray as an aging womanizer, Don Johnston, who receives an anonymous note on a pink piece of paper telling him he has a 19-year-old son who may be looking for him. So Don decides to visit four women who may be the boy's mother, but all his efforts have brought him nowhere near solving the mystery.

Later, a boy appears who may have been his son, but we will never know if it was in fact him. The movie ends with Don left alone again, but something inside him has changed.

Who Was Sending The Video Tapes In Caché?

Georges and Anne live with their son Pierrot in a nice apartment in Paris, but one day everything changes when they receive an anonymous VHS tape with surveillance footage of their home. And then one, and then another with disturbing drawings. Georges began to suspect Majid, an Algerian boy who had lived with them as a child. Although he was not sure, Georges drove himself to paranoia but never found out that it was really Majid who sent the tapes. Neither did we.

What Was The Deal With The Teeth In A Serious Man?

The story revolves around a loser of a man, physics professor Larry, who realized that almost every aspect of his life was falling apart. In order to get himself back on track, he decided that there was a huge spiritual meaning behind these things and went to several rabbis looking for answers.

He then heard a story about how a local dentist once had a non-Jewish patient who had Hebrew letters engraved in his lower incisors that read "help me, save me." The meaning of the story was "let go," and we never found out what the deal was with the man's teeth.

Who Was The Killer in Black Christmas?

The story of this slasher movie revolves around a group of sorority sisters who are brutally murdered before Christmas break by a faceless killer who has moved into their attic. And after each murder he made a phone call. The police get involved and immediately suspect another girl's boyfriend, Peter. Later in the movie they found him killed and thought the case was closed.

But the last shot showed us the attic door opening and the killer's voice can be heard just before the phone starts ringing. So we never actually find out who the murderer was.

The controversial film centers on a mother seeking justice after the rape and murder of her teenage daughter. Throughout the film, she tries to find at least one person responsible. She became obsessed with the idea of revenge-murder to the point that it nearly drove her insane. The identity was never revealed in the movie, making it less about justice and more about the ethical ambiguity of making heroes out of those who channel their grief into violence.