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.

Blind Mountain

871. Blind Mountain

Drama Crime
7.5

20071h 35min

Director: Li Yang

Young student Bai Xuemei is cheated and sold as a wife by human traffickers to a remote village. Raped and beaten, she leads the life of a sex slave and child-bearer with no hope of escape because of the villagers apathy and selfishness.


This Is England

872. This Is England

Drama Crime Coming-of-Age Drama Organized Crime
7.7

20071h 41min

United Kingdom

Director: Shane Meadows

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends, even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

Themes

Alienation and belonging, Class tensions, Family fragility, Racism and nationalism, Gang belonging, Peer influence

Available on

AMC+ Amazon Channel
Philo
Plex Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes

873. The Poughkeepsie Tapes

Horror Mystery Crime Thriller Found Footage Horror
5.9

20071h 21min

United States

Director: John Erick Dowdle

When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Abuse of power, Found footage realism, Stockholm syndrome, Captivity and control, Trauma and survivor impact

Available on

fuboTV
MGM+ Amazon Channel
MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Lookout

874. The Lookout

Crime Drama Thriller Heist Tragic Drama
6.9

20071h 39min

United States

Director: Scott Frank

Chris is a once promising high school athlete whose life is turned upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to maintain a normal life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank, where he ultimately finds himself caught up in a planned heist.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Disability shapes autonomy, Rehabilitation through routine, Crime and coercion, Economic security vs vulnerability, Loyalty tested under danger

Available on

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

Zodiac

875. Zodiac

Crime Mystery Thriller Serial Killer Crime Investigation Mystery
7.7

20072h 37min

United States

Director: David Fincher

A political cartoonist becomes obsessed with unmasking the Zodiac Killer long after the cops and reporters move on. To expose a ghost, he must sacrifice his career, his sanity, and everyone’s safety. When the final clue points too close to home, does he publish the truth—or protect what’s left of his life?

Themes

Obsession and personal cost, Public attention fade, Media pressure and ethics, Investigation under scrutiny, Identity pursuit, Personal relationships strain

Available on

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

Hot Fuzz

876. Hot Fuzz

Crime Action Comedy Buddy Action Detective Mystery Crime
7.8

20072h 1min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Edgar Wright

Former London constable Nicholas Angel finds it difficult to adapt to his new assignment in the sleepy British village of Sandford. Not only does he miss the excitement of the big city, but he also has a well-meaning oaf for a partner. However, when a series of grisly accidents rocks Sandford, Angel smells something rotten in the idyllic village.

Themes

Parody of authority, Community image vs reality, Rural policing pressure, Bureaucratic priorities, Property and development, Internal conspiracies

Available on

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

Breach

877. Breach

Drama Thriller Crime History Historical Drama
7.0

20071h 50min

United States

Director: Billy Ray

Eric O'Neill, a low-level surveillance expert with the FBI, believes he is accomplishing his dream of becoming a full-fledged agent, with his unexpected promotion and assignment to clerk for Robert Hanssen, a renowned senior agent with 25 years in the FBI. However, he soon learns the reason for his promotion is to gain Hanssen's trust and find proof that he is a traitor to the country. Determined to draw the suspected double-agent out of deep cover, O'Neill finds himself in a lethal game of spy vs. spy, where nothing is as it seems.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Loyalty under pressure, Surveillance as control, Institutional trust vs betrayal, Information ethics in security, Moral costs of undercover work

Available on

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

Ex Drummer

878. Ex Drummer

Comedy Crime Drama Thriller Dark Comedy
6.9

20071h 41min

Belgium, France

Director: Koen Mortier

Three handicapped losers who form a band ask famous writer Dries to be their drummer. He joins the band and starts manipulating them.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Outsider influence on a group, Handicap as leverage, Ambition versus exploitation, Performance under constraint, Creative collaboration tensions

Available on

Kanopy
Fandango At Home
Fandango at Home Free
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Freedom Writers

879. Freedom Writers

Crime Drama Coming-of-Age Drama
7.6

20072h 3min

Germany, United States

Director: Richard LaGravenese

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

Themes

Educational equity at high school, Gang violence dynamics, Diary entries shape identity, High school pressure, Racial segregation pressures, Cross-cultural empathy in class

Available on

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

Tell No One

880. Tell No One

Drama Thriller Crime Mystery Mind Game Thriller
7.5

20062h 11min

France

Director: Guillaume Canet

A man receives a mysterious email appearing to be from his wife, who was murdered years earlier. As he frantically tries to find out whether she's alive, he finds himself being implicated in her death.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Memory and trauma, Grief and loss, False accusations, Deception and cover-up, Crime and family secrets

Available on

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