Crime backdrop

Crime movies

A deep dive into the underworld of gangsters, detectives, and heists where the line between right and wrong blurs.

Subgenres include: Organized Crime, Heist, Con Artist Crime.

11:14

991. 11:14

Thriller Comedy Crime Mind Game Thriller Dark Comedy
7.1

20031h 26min

Canada, United States

Director: Greg Marcks

Tells the seemingly random yet vitally connected story of a set of incidents that all converge one evening at 11:14pm. The story follows the chain of events of five different characters and five different storylines that all converge to tell the story of murder and deceit.

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Moral ambiguity, Interconnected consequences, Alcohol fueled danger, Crisis escalation, Policing and suspicion

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Party Monster

992. Party Monster

Comedy Drama Crime Thriller Dark Comedy
6.2

20031h 38min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Fenton Bailey

The New York club scene of the 80s and 90s was a world like no other. Into this candy-colored, mirror ball playground stepped Michael Alig, a wannabe from nowhere special. Under the watchful eye of veteran club kid James St. James, Alig quickly rose to the top... and there was no place to go but down.

Themes

Social climbing dynamics, Nightlife subculture pressures, Loyalty under peer scrutiny, Substance abuse consequences, Performative identity and fame, Crime risk

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Zero Day

993. Zero Day

Crime Drama
7.2

20031h 32min

Director: Ben Coccio

Two troubled adolescents chronicle the events that ultimately lead up to a terrifying assault on their school.


Intermission

994. Intermission

Comedy Crime Drama Dark Comedy Organized Crime
6.8

20031h 45min

Ireland, United Kingdom

Director: John Crowley

A raucous story of the interweaving lives and loves of small-town delinquents, shady cops, pretty good girls and very bad boys. With Irish guts and grit, lives collide, preconceptions shatter and romance is tested to the extreme. An ill-timed and poorly executed couple's break-up sets off a chain of events affecting everyone in town.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Fragile relationships, Romance under stress, Deception and disguises, Crime and policing, Docusoap realism

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
MUBI
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

S.W.A.T.

995. S.W.A.T.

Action Thriller Crime Buddy Action Police Procedural
6.1

20031h 57min

United States

Director: Clark Johnson

Hondo Harrelson recruits Jim Street to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough Deke Kay and single mom Chris Sanchez. The team's first big assignment is to escort crime boss Alex Montel to prison. It seems routine, but when Montel offers a huge reward to anyone who can break him free, criminals of various stripes step up for the prize.

Themes

Deception and disguise, Loyalty under pressure, Betrayal within ranks, Elite unit training dynamics, Team formation under stress, Crime monetization incentives

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Bad Boys II

996. Bad Boys II

Action Crime Comedy Buddy Action Narcotics Crime
6.6

20032h 26min

United States

Director: Michael Bay

Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey of the Miami Narcotics Task Force are tasked with stopping the flow of the drug Ecstasy into Miami. They track the drugs to the whacked-out Cuban drug lord Johnny Tapia, who is also involved in a bloody war with Russian and Haitian mobsters. If that isn't bad enough, there's tension between the two detectives when Marcus discovers that playboy Mike is secretly romancing Marcus’ sister, Syd.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Organized crime networks, Undercover deception risk, Interagency collaboration, Double lives and entanglements, Money laundering and drug trafficking

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Gozu

997. Gozu

Horror Comedy Crime Thriller Mystery
6.9

20032h 10min

Japan

Director: Takashi Miike

Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Loyalty and betrayal, Power and control dynamics, Identity ambiguity through disguise, Surreal hotel environment, Underworld coercion

Available on

Screambox Amazon Channel
Cineverse
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Veronica Guerin

998. Veronica Guerin

Drama Crime Thriller Narcotics Crime Investigation Suspense
6.8

20031h 38min

Ireland, United Kingdom

Director: Joel Schumacher

In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.

Themes

Drug trade encroachment, Working-class disruption, Public response and policy change, Media exposure consequences, Investigative risk and retaliation, Trafficker deception

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Man Who Copied

999. The Man Who Copied

Comedy Drama Romance Crime Awkward Comedy
7.6

20032h 3min

Brazil

Director: Jorge Furtado

A young photocopier operator becomes infatuated with his neighbor and, unable to afford anything from her shop, turns to shady schemes to make money.

Themes

Deception as strategy, Romance under pressure, Crime as means to security, Material wealth obsession, Social climbing costs, Illusion versus reality


The Mystery of the Yellow Room

1000. The Mystery of the Yellow Room

Comedy Crime Mystery
6.3

20031h 58min

Belgium, France

Director: Bruno Podalydès

Joseph Rouletabille, a reporter for a local newspaper, investigates the attempted killing of Mathilde Stangerson, who uses the yellow room of the title as her bedroom. At the time of the revolver shots her room was locked and the windows were barred, but when her father enters after having forced the door, there is no-one there except for Mathilde. So who did it and how did he get away?