10 Best Whodunit Films From Unusual Genres

6. Sleepy Hollow (Gothic Supernatural Horror)

In 1999, Tim Burton took the famous ghost story by Washington Irving and fleshed it out into a gothic whodunit.

This film also includes an impressive ensemble cast featuring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, and the great Christopher Walkin, playing the Headless Horseman. Depp’s version of Ichabod Crane has been turned into a New York City forensic scientist at the turn of the 19th century. Crane is sent upstate to use his wacky Burton-esque science gadgets to solve a series of decapitations—and the killer has been taking the heads . . . somewhere.

The film oozes environment and the action scenes and gross-out horror visuals make it a joyful ride. Depp turns in a splendid performance, just a few years before he played Jack Sparrow and was not quite the household name that he is today. As for the whodunit element, there is no shortage of suspects in the insular little town of Sleepy Hollow, and each time Crane thinks he has a prime suspect, another red herring loses their head.