Films like Se7en (1995)

Se7en plot: Veteran detective Somerset and his young partner investigate a series of chilling murders tied to punishment for the seven deadly sins. With each new victim, they realize the killer is always one step ahead.

Keywords: Crime thriller, Twist, Twist ending, Serial killer, Nihilistic, Tragic, Slow burn, Trauma, Investigation, Psychological thriller

Style characteristics: Darkness, Bleakness, Tension, Violence, Complexity, Pacing

1. The Silence of the Lambs

IMDB: 8.6

1991 · 1h 59minUnited States

Director: Jonathan Demme

Overview

A country is shaken by a series of brutal kidnappings and murders of women. Trying to track down the maniac, FBI agent Clarice Starling turns for help to the imprisoned killer and brilliant psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Tension, Darkness, Tone, ConflictNotable differences: Bleakness (-22%), Violence (-16%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Investigation

2. Memories of Murder

IMDB: 8.1

2003 · 2h 11minSouth Korea

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Overview

A provincial town is shaken by a series of brutal murders of women. An experienced detective from Seoul arrives to hunt down the maniac and serial killer, determined to get the stalled case moving again.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Tension, Pacing, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-14%), Darkness (-12%), Violence (-30%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Slow burn, Investigation

3. Prisoners

IMDB: 8.2

2013 · 2h 33minUnited States

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Overview

A six-year-old girl and her friend are abducted by unknown criminals. When the police investigation hits a dead end, one of the parents, in desperation, decides to get to the truth by his own methods.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Tension, Complexity, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-14%), Violence (-23%)

Shared keywords

Tragic, Slow burn, Investigation

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

IMDB: 7.8

2011 · 2h 38minUnited States, Sweden

Director: David Fincher

Overview

Journalist Mikael and hacker Lisbeth investigate a 40-year-old case involving a missing woman whose body was never found. Her uncle is convinced a powerful local family is behind it.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Complexity, Darkness, Tone, ConflictNotable differences: Bleakness (-14%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Slow burn, Investigation

5. Zodiac

IMDB: 7.7

2007 · 2h 37minUnited States

Director: David Fincher

Overview

The film is based on the story of the real-life serial killer known as “Zodiac,” who terrorized the residents of San Francisco from 1968 to 1983. Zodiac liked communicating with the police through the press, sending encrypted messages.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Tropes, ToneNotable differences: Bleakness (-14%), Darkness (-12%), Pacing (-16%), Violence (-30%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Slow burn, Investigation

6. The Chaser

IMDB: 7.8

2008 · 2h 5minSouth Korea

Director: Na Hong-jin

Overview

When yet another girl disappears after being called by a mysterious client, a pimp—who also happens to be a former detective—races against time to track down the maniac and save her.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Darkness, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Pacing (+16%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Tragic, Investigation

7. Insomnia

IMDB: 7.2

2002 · 1h 58minUnited States

Director: Christopher Nolan

Overview

To investigate the brutal murder of a girl, two experienced detectives from Los Angeles arrive. Under the pressure of unusual Arctic weather, the press, and a lack of evidence, they try to find the real culprit.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Complexity, Tension, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-24%), Darkness (-22%), Violence (-40%)

Shared keywords

Tragic, Slow burn, Investigation

8. Frailty

IMDB: 7.2

2002 · 1h 40minUnited States, Germany

Director: Bill Paxton

Overview

Police are searching in vain for a serial killer. Meanwhile, a mysterious man comes to an FBI agent and says that his deeply religious father had visions in childhood, urging him to kill people who are, in fact, demons.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Pacing, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-20%), Darkness (-16%), Tension (-14%), Violence (-20%)

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Serial killer, Slow burn

9. The Bone Collector

IMDB: 6.7

1999 · 1h 58minUnited States

Director: Phillip Noyce

Overview

A renowned criminologist and a young police officer are on the trail of a bloodthirsty maniac who leaves ciphers and hidden clues beside his victims. Each new discovery raises the stakes in this deadly game.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Tension, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-30%), Darkness (-16%), Violence (-20%), Complexity (-11%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Investigation

10. Oldboy

IMDB: 8.3

2003 · 2hSouth Korea

Director: Park Chan-wook

Overview

Unknown captors abduct Oh Dae-su and keep him in an improvised prison for fifteen years—only to release him one day without any explanation. Now he must, no matter what, find the person who did this to him and take revenge.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Violence, Darkness, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Complexity (+14%)

Shared keywords

Twist ending, Tragic, Investigation, KeywordLabels.tense

11. Reptile

IMDB: 6.8

2023 · 2h 16minUnited States

Director: Grant Singer

Overview

Detective Tom Nichols takes on the investigation of a brutal murder of a real estate agent. What first seems like a straightforward case begins to expose a deep web of lies, conspiracy, and corruption that reaches into the detective’s own personal life.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Pacing, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-20%), Darkness (-16%), Tension (-14%), Violence (-20%)

Shared keywords

Slow burn, Investigation

12. The Crimson Rivers

IMDB: 6.9

2000 · 1h 46minFrance

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

Overview

A series of terrifying ritual crimes sweeps the country, seemingly unrelated at first. The investigation leads a young detective and a seasoned police commissioner into the mountains, where they soon realize it’s all part of a single sinister plan.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Tension, Pacing, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-22%), Darkness (-16%), Violence (-16%)

Shared keywords

Twist, Twist ending, Tragic, Slow burn, Investigation

13. From Hell

IMDB: 6.7

2001 · 2h 2minUnited States

Director: Albert Hughes

Overview

London, 1888: Detective Fred Abberline follows the trail of one of the most infamous and terrifying serial killers — Jack the Ripper.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Pacing, Violence, Tropes, ToneNotable differences: Bleakness (-14%), Tension (-14%)

Shared keywords

Twist ending, Serial killer, Tragic, Investigation

14. Kiss the Girls

IMDB: 6.6

1997 · 1h 55minUnited States

Director: Gary Fleder

Overview

The film follows a maniac who kidnaps young women, calling himself Casanova. With the help of a witness who managed to escape the killer, veteran detective Alex Cross tries to track the criminal down.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Tension, Pacing, Tone, TropesNotable differences: Bleakness (-14%), Darkness (-12%), Action (+25%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Investigation

15. Hannibal

IMDB: 6.8

2001 · 2h 11minUnited States, United Kingdom

Director: Ridley Scott

Overview

Ten years after Hannibal Lecter vanished without a trace, agent Clarice Starling is hit by a wave of media criticism following a failed operation. Meanwhile, Lecter’s former victim, millionaire Mason Verger, plots his own hunt for the doctor—trying to use the agent to avenge past wrongs.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Violence, Complexity, Tone, ConflictNotable differences: Bleakness (-20%)

Shared keywords

Serial killer, Investigation