Crimethrillersare the best option when it comes to watching a movie that is fully comitted to surprising the audience. Either through big twists or a powerful atmosphere of mystery and distrust, good crime thrillers sure know how to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. However, these kinds of movies are the most likely to go down an easy patch; that’s why it’s always a delight to find one determined to disrupt genre conventions.
Movies that follow the traditional formula will often go in a familiar direction: there’s a body that is found, and the killer must be hunted down. Or the morally ambiguous hero must retrieve a valuable artifact from real dangerous people. The list goes on, but these great recent crime thrillers are interested in swimming against the current.
20The Killer (2023)
The Killer
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After establishing himself as one of the most respected voices in the crime thriller genre, David Fincher finallymade a serial killer moviefrom the perspective of one. More specifically, a meticulous hitman.The Killermarks the filmmaker’s return to the caustic style that made him famous in the first place, following Michael Fassbender battling himself and a range of dangerous opponents after a fateful near-miss leads him to an international game of cat and mouse.
A Tightly Wound Character Unravels
The movie is weirdly funny, though methodically self-contained. For a story that revolves entirely around a character who plans every single move, it’s the thoughtless actions and consequences that dictate the course of the narrative.Stream on Netflix
19Holy Spider (2022)
Holy Spideris a politically-charged thriller that explores the dark underworld of an Iranian holy city as a series of sex workers are discovered brutally murdered. Tackling themes of religious extremism and the role of women in society, the movie stirs a heated debate around the motivations of the so-called “Spider Killer.”
From the Perspectives of Killer and Investigator
Holy Spidersuccessfully balances two opposing storylines without ever losing the rhythm of tension: one following the protagonist going down a rabbit hole to single-handedly solve the case overlooked by the police, and the other showing things from the perspective of a ruthless killer who truly believes in the integrity of his heinous acts.Stream on Netflix
18Nightmare Alley (2021)
Nightmare Alley
Guillermo del Toro’s take on the classic 1947 thriller is as full of life as one could expect from a movie made by him, giving a new tone and style to the story. The movie follows a small-time man trying his luck in the carnival business, getting his hands on a precious secret that quickly launches him to stardom, but not without a dangerous cost.
Slowly Builds to a Satisfying Pay-Off
There’s a whole noir atmosphere going in favor ofNightmare Alley, and the chemistry between Bradley Cooper and the charactersplayed by Rooney Maraand Cate Blanchett are the polar opposites that keep the narrative on track. The sudden outbursts of violence in the film’s latter half are worth the patient set-up, and the whole carnival ambiance perfectly suits del Toro’s inventive style.Stream on Hulu
17Sick (2023)
Sickdidn’t have a lot in its favor besides being written by theScreamfranchise’s screenwriters, Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crab: its premise wasn’t all that different, its cast is made up of mostly unknown actors, and it was released directly on Peacock’s streaming platform. The movie is set at the peak of the pandemic, following two best friends withdrawing to a remote lake house to be alone, unaware that a strange man is lurking in the shadows.
One of the Best Pandemic Thrillers Ever Made
However,Sickis the kind of slasher that doesn’t need to push its brutality to shocking extremes because the whole atmosphere of imminent danger crafted by John Hyams is more than enough to convey hard-boiling tension. It’s also one of the few pandemic thrillers that actually does a great job of capturing the nauseating isolation of those times.Stream on Peacock
16Nitram (2021)
Nitramis a harrowing movie that revolves entirely around the enigmatic figure of Martyn Byrant, an infamous Australian mass shooter whose crimes completely altered the laws about gun control in the country. Rather than focusing on the crime, the movie is a disquieting character study, focusing on Martyn’s relationship with his family and an old woman he befriends.
The Character Behind the Crime
The thing about crime thrillers based on real events is that they tend to be much more subtle and reflexive, revolving almost entirely around causes rather than consequences. In the case ofNitram, even the explosive nature of the fateful crime is left in the background, bringing the movie much closer to Gus Van Sant’s highly subjectiveElephantthanDavid Fincher’sZodiac, for example.Stream on Hulu
15Dragged Across Concrete (2018)
Ever since his debut feature in 2015,Bone Tomahawk, S. Craig Zahler has evidently perfected the art of conducting a hopeless mood through vicious brutality. No wonder most of his movies can be labeled as horror, andDragged Across Concreteisn’t any different. The movie follows two corrupt cops forced to descend into the criminal underworld after their extreme actions cause them to get suspended from the police force.
Abuse of Power at Its Most Horrifying
Subvertingthe traditional cop duo tropewith two morally ambiguous main characters,Dragged Across Concreteis a multi-layered tale of abuse of power and class inequity, often leaving the main storyline aside to explore the motivations of other characters and where they stand at the film’s final clash of interests.Stream on Netflix
14The Golden Glove (2019)
The Golden Gloveis the complete opposite of a crime thriller in its traditional form. While it does effectively construct great moments of suggestive danger, it plays out as a wicked slice-of-life story from the perspective of a grotesque murderer. The film is centered around Fritz Honka, a real-life serial killer who terrorized the streets of Hamburg in the 1970s.
From a Serial Killer’s Point of View
The Golden Glovedoes a great job of reconstructing the dirty side of Germany five decades ago, but its trump card is putting the viewers in the shoes of the horrific main character. Honka was famous for his recklessness, and the serial killer kept the bodies of all his victims in his own flat.The Golden Glovedepicts all the facets of his routine and his double life in graphic detail, to the point one can actually smell the fetid scent that takes over Honka’s home.Stream on AMC+
13The Devil All the Time (2020)
The Devil All the Timeis a truly perverse film in its spirit, introducing a genuine depiction of hell on Earth with no chance of redemption for its characters. The film opts for a non-linear narrative where an array of different storylines diverge and collide, always centered in and around Knockemstiff, Ohio, and the sinister woods that surround this cursed piece of land.
Evil Exists in All of Us
The characters vary in nature, but they’re all connected by a seed of evil that threatens to take over their hearts. Among abusive priests, serial killers, and religious extremists,Tom Holland’s characterstruggles to fight the devil inside him.Stream on Netflix
12Kimi (2022)
An agoraphobic Seattle tech worker uncovers evidence of a crime. Zoë Kravitz stars in this Steven Soderbergh thriller.
Kimiis one of those few post-pandemic movies that acknowledge COVID without centering its narrative completely around it. In the film, an agoraphobic woman uncovers evidence of a violent crime and must use her tech expertise to seek justice for herself.
A Powerful Product of Its Time
Kimiworks as a powerful product of its time, but most importantly, indulges itself in plenty of liberties with the thriller genre, introducing a unique relationship between its main character, Angela Childs, and the exterior world. To back up its ideas, technology plays a key role when it comes to unfolding the mystery, working almost like a character itself.Stream on Max
11Uncut Gems (2019)
Uncut Gems
Uncut Gemsis an intense character study determined to make the audience feel constantly stressed. It follows its main character at all times: Howard Ratner, an unreliable New York jeweler trying to come to terms with the ruin of his business, a pile of debts, and a deteriorating household all at once. The answer to all his problems seems to be a high-risk sports bet, but staying alive to witness the big win won’t be easy.
An Underrated Gem
Uncut Gemsrepresented a major turning point in the careers of both the Safdie brothers andcomedy veteran Adam Sandler. For the filmmakers, it reinforced their talent in maintaining a steady rhythm of tension from start to finish. For the actor, it finally ended the debate about whether he could handle a complex dramatic role.Stream on Netflix or Paramount+
