Grim Cold Blooded Mystery Thrillers. Like Se7en, The Crimson Rivers, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Grim Cold Blooded Mystery Thrillers. Like Se7en, The Crimson Rivers, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rules for the List :
1. No Feel good or light mood thrillers are allowed, movies have to be dark in mood.
2. Must have murders, investigation, anxiety amongst investigators, clues that takes investigators forward but also raises false alarms. Murders or dead body shown on screen is also a must for the list.
3. Action movies with similar elements will be discarded.
4. Superhero movies will be discarded.
5. Horror movies heavy on gore, like saw, will be discarded.
Rules for the List :
1. No Feel good or light mood thrillers are allowed, movies have to be dark in mood.
2. Must have murders, investigation, anxiety amongst investigators, clues that takes investigators forward but also raises false alarms. Murders or dead body shown on screen is also a must for the list.
3. Action movies with similar elements will be discarded.
4. Superhero movies will be discarded.
5. Horror movies heavy on gore, like saw, will be discarded.
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22 titles
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsJean RenoVincent CasselNadia FarèsA murder detective must follow the footsteps of a brutal killer within the secrets of a classist college.To me, this is the best of the genre.
Its template, 2 people investigating a crime separately come together to solve it, was later copied or adapted by The Girl with the dragon tattoo series.
You can try its sequel too, but that movie is muddled with many other themes and comes off more as a Indiana Jones meets Se7en theme that might put off may lovers of this genre. - DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.Probably the one that defines this genre, or has all the elements of the genre.
- DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa FrölingA journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.Rekindled the genre. Has many similarities with the crimson rivers.
- DirectorChris NahonStarsJean RenoArly JoverJocelyn QuivrinA disgraced policeman helps a young detective to hunt down a serial killer who targets Turkish women in Paris.Tries to imitate the crimson rivers. Stars Jean Reno as almost the same character as in the crimson rivers, just that he is retired now.
Not as good as any other movie on the list, but still it qualifies in the list more than most. - DirectorGeorge SluizerStarsBernard-Pierre DonnadieuGene BervoetsJohanna ter SteegeRex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.Predates se7en, and has one of the sickest ending ever filmed.
- DirectorMikkel NørgaardStarsNikolaj Lie KaasPer Scheel KrügerTroels LybyPolice inspector Carl Mørck is put in charge of a department of cold cases, joined only by his assistant Assad. They dig into a case about a missing woman.If you like the girl with the dragon tattoo series, you'll also like this movie series.
This is also one of the rare movie series without a single bad movie. 4 movies have released by now. - DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.Must watch korean thriller about trying to catch a serial killer.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.Investigating the Zodiac Killer. Must watch this and memories of murder as they are the best "trying to catch a serial killer" movies.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHugh JackmanJake GyllenhaalViola DavisWhen Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.Brilliant Thriller. Also comes in the category of "two people trying to solve a crime separately come together in the end to solve it" category.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.One of the best serial killer investigation movies of all time. Kurosawa's best movie till date.
- DirectorErik SkjoldbjærgStarsStellan SkarsgårdSverre Anker OusdalMaria MathiesenIn a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.Nolan remade it, but the original is my favorite.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Probably the oldest movie that ticks all the columns of the genre. Serial Killer, Gruesome murders, Investigation, mystery, twist.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.This list could be renamed to "movies like the silence of the lambs" too. Lead actors make this movie special.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsNicolas CageJoaquin PhoenixJames GandolfiniA private investigator is hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not.From the writer of Se7en. Not at the same level, but completely qualifies for our list.
- DirectorOriol PauloStarsJose CoronadoHugo SilvaBelén RuedaA detective searches for the body of a femme fatale which has gone missing from a morgue.If you can guess the mystery before the last 10 minutes of the movie, you are Hitchcock level storyteller.
- DirectorJuan José CampanellaStarsRicardo DarínSoledad VillamilPablo RagoA retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.One of the best movies ever made, qualifies for our list but just borderline qualification.
- DirectorAlberto RodríguezStarsJavier GutiérrezRaúl ArévaloMaría VarodTwo cops lost in the deep south of Spain. One serial killer to catch. A lot of secrets and lies to disclose.The plot is :- "In the MARSHLAND a serial killer is on the loose. Two homicide detectives who appear to be poles apart must settle their differences and bring the murderer to justice before more young women lose their lives."
Must watch if you love se7en - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsSean PennTim RobbinsKevin BaconThe tragic murder of a 19-year-old girl reunites three childhood friends still living in Boston--the victim's gangster father, a detective, and the disturbed man they both suspect of killing her.Qualifies, but borderline qualification.
- DirectorJon AmielStarsSigourney WeaverHolly HunterDermot MulroneyAn agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.Another Borderline qualification
- DirectorHans HerbotsStarsGeert Van RampelbergIna GeertsJohan van AsscheA police inspector haunted by the childhood abduction of his brother becomes obsessed with the disturbing case of a dangerous serial kidnapperIf you liked "the girl with the dragon tattoo" you'll like it too
- DirectorChris GerolmoStarsStephen ReaDonald SutherlandMax von SydowDuring the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.Serial killer movies don't get any better than this.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsGene HackmanJennifer WarrenEdward BinnsLos Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.Barely qualifies, but lovers of the genre must see this as a companion piece.