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.

God Bless America

1011. God Bless America

Comedy Drama Crime Satire Political Drama
7.1

20121h 44min

United States

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait

Fed up with the cruelty and stupidity of American culture, an unlikely duo goes on a killing spree, killing reality TV stars, bigots and others they find repugnant.

Themes

Media sensationalism, Reality television critique, Violence as social response, Mass culture critique, Marginalization and resentment, Social commentary through violence

Available on

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

Bernie

1012. Bernie

Comedy Crime Drama Dark Comedy Con Artist Crime
6.8

20121h 39min

United States

Director: Richard Linklater

In small-town Texas, affable and popular mortician Bernie Tiede strikes up a friendship with Marjorie Nugent, a wealthy widow well known for her sour attitude. When she becomes controlling and abusive, Bernie goes to great lengths to remove himself from her grasp.

Themes

Crime and consequence, Wealth as leverage, Community complicity and loyalty, Emotional abuse and dependency, Public adoration vs scrutiny, Legal strategy and venue change

Available on

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

Safe

1013. Safe

Action Crime Thriller One-Person Army Organized Crime
6.5

20121h 34min

India, United States

Director: Boaz Yakin

After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York City politicians and police.

Themes

Trust under duress, Information as leverage, Triad influence, Police mafia collusion, Institutional power struggle, Corrupt politician leverage

Available on

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

Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy

1014. Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy

Drama Crime Mystery History
7.2

20122h 9min

Director: Marco Tullio Giordana

On December 12, 1969, a bomb kills 17 people at the Piazza Fontana national bank in Milan, Italy, marking the beginning of the Years of Lead. Local anarchists are scapegoated for the massacre by police and the media, but a lone prosecutor uncovers a conspiracy of far-right groups, corrupt secret services, and other interests that seek to undermine democracy.


Transit

1015. Transit

Action Thriller Crime Survival Thriller Heist
5.8

20121h 28min

United States

Director: Antonio Negret

Nate takes his family for a camping trip to reconnect. When they pull off at a rest stop, a gang of thieves hides their stash from an armored car robbery among the family belongings. They soon find themselves on the run and the gang will stop at nothing to get their money back.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Deception and misdirection, Crime and pursuit, Family under threat, Power struggle within criminals, Survival and escape

Available on

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

Get the Gringo

1016. Get the Gringo

Action Thriller Crime Drama One-Person Army
6.9

20121h 36min

United States, Mexico

Director: Adrian Grünberg

A career criminal nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Loyalty under pressure, Institutional corruption, Power dynamics in confinement, Prison economy, Survival through alliances

Available on

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

21 Jump Street

1017. 21 Jump Street

Action Comedy Crime Parody Undercover Sting Crime
7.2

20121h 49min

United States

Director: Phil Lord

When cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover as high school students. They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, and set out to shut down a dangerous drug ring. But, as time goes on, Schmidt and Jenko discover that high school is nothing like it was just a few years earlier -- and, what's more, they must again confront the teenage terror and anxiety they thought they had left behind.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Identity conflict through deception, Authority vs improvisation, Drug trade exposure, Peer pressure drives disguise, Youth culture tension

Available on

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

The Raven

1018. The Raven

Crime Thriller Mystery Serial Killer Crime Investigation Mystery
6.4

20121h 51min

Hungary, Serbia

Director: James McTeigue

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.

Themes

Crime mirrors fiction, Life imitates art, Deception under media glare, Public spectacle and fear, Professional reputation vs crime, Obsession with storytelling

Available on

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

Cleanskin

1019. Cleanskin

Drama Thriller Crime Political Thriller Undercover Sting Crime
6.2

20121h 48min

United Kingdom

Director: Hadi Hajaig

While working undercover as a bodyguard to arms dealer Harry, former-soldier-turned-secret-service-agent Ewan survives a bloody shootout with a member of an Islamic terrorist cell who steals Harry's briefcase full of Semtex explosives and escapes. Ewan's spymasters task Ewan with hunting down the cell members and retrieving the briefcase.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Betrayal and loyalty, Covert operations under pressure, Radicalization and recruitment, Off-the-books accountability, Information leverage and corruption

Available on

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

Columbus Circle

1020. Columbus Circle

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller Investigation Mystery
5.9

20121h 22min

United States

Director: George Gallo

An heiress who's been shut inside her apartment building for nearly two decades is forced to confront her fears after one of her neighbors is killed and a detective arrives to begin the investigation.

Themes

Privacy vs exposure, Fear of the outside world, Isolation under scrutiny, Intrusion of new occupants, Investigation-driven tension

Available on

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