The Raven

If you want a crime drama that treats its mystery as more than a puzzle, The Raven is available in the US on Philo and Starz Apple TV Channel right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 1,454 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. John Cusack anchors it, but the writing does the real work. Start it on Philo whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, The Raven earns its spot. The Raven treats its mystery as a means, not an end in itself. A fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet is in pursuit of a serial killer whose murders mirror those in the writer's stories. John Cusack and Luke Evans lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2012. What makes The Raven hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone who wants their crime drama to earn its twists, The Raven delivers. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Watch John Cusack work — it is a masterclass in the genre. Few crime dramas earn their twists this consistently.