It’s hard to think of many crime movies out there that aren’t at least a little bit dark, since even stylish and bombastic ones like Scarface do tell violent stories about people willing to do some alarming things. Maybe there are a few family-friendly movies that can technically fit into the crime genre (see Home Alone, possibly, and The Bad Guys), but most crime films are some kind of intense and/or grim.
The following ones are especially so, since they all rank among the darkest crime films ever made. Some of these movies follow a reliable rise-and-fall story structure, while others find more unexpected ways to create a sense of hopelessness and sadness. They’re not recommended to watch if you’re after something to lift your spirits, but if you want to sample some of the most impactful crime films out there, then they’ll probably all do the job.
10
‘A Brighter Summer Day’ (1991)
For much of its runtime, A Brighter Summer Day feels like a coming-of-age movie, since it centers on a young boy growing up in Taiwan during the 1960s. Gradually, though, the film starts creeping into the crime genre a little more, with youthful rebellion intensifying in a way that eventually turns dangerous, and later becomes devastating.
It’s challenging to watch, owing to its length and some of the brutal places its narrative eventually goes, but A Brighter Summer Day is undeniably rewarding.
It does this very slowly, though, and certainly has the runtime to pace itself, since A Brighter Summer Day is ultimately just a few minutes shy of four hours in length. It’s challenging to watch, owing to its length and some of the brutal places its narrative eventually goes, but A Brighter Summer Day is undeniably rewarding for those up for some dense and intense, and it’s understandably considered Edward Yang’s second-best film by most, behind only Yi Yi (2000).
9
‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)
Since it was based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, bleakness was pretty much inevitable when it came to No Country for Old Men. This one tells a story about the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, which leaves a bunch of cash available for the taking in the middle of the desert. One man seizes the opportunity, and then finds himself the target of a pretty much unstoppable assassin.
Thanks to its setting, and the way it explores justice and some other broad themes, No Country for Old Men also functions as a Western (well, a neo-Western) while mostly feeling like a crime/thriller film. Whatever it is, or however you want to define it, it’s intense and unwaveringly gripping stuff, even if you might come away from it all feeling a bit despondent about life and the world around you. Again, thank you, Mr. McCarthy.
8
‘Se7en’ (1995)
Sure, Se7en doesn’t really stand out from the pack if you just want to look at its premise, since it’s one of many movies that mostly revolve around the hunt for a serial killer at large. But it’s the intensity of this one that makes that premise feel like something different, as Se7en moves from being unsettling to being deeply troubling the further it goes along.
All the while, it is exciting in a dark sort of way, but you do come away from the whole thing feeling pretty upset, and maybe even a bit exhausted. But without going as hard as it does in certain areas, Se7en wouldn’t be as memorable or bold as a neo-noir film, so even if a lot of it hurts, it’s easy to admire the way Se7en ultimately tries to hurt you.
7
‘In Cold Blood’ (1967)
In Cold Blood is all about true events, and is done in a way that feels very stark and uncompromising for a film of its age, which does make it an intentionally miserable watch. It’s about two men who commit a horrifying crime, with the aftermath – including their time on the run and eventual capture – being recounted in a very matter-of-fact way that makes things almost feel like a documentary.
So, you can see it as influential on true crime, as a sub-genre, to some extent, but it’s also carefully done and much more thought-provoking than some of the movies, shows, and documentaries it likely inspired. In Cold Blood is executed in a balanced and sobering manner, and it certainly does justice to the famed Truman Capote non-fiction novel of the same name.
6
‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974)
Make no mistake: The Godfather (1972) was already pretty dark, especially in terms of showing a good deal more violence than many of the gangster movies that came before it. There’s a sense of tragedy to that first movie for sure, but it does also make mob life look a little romantic and grand, which is done away with almost entirely in The Godfather Part II.
Well, the flashback scenes in The Godfather Part II do continue to paint Vito Corleone as something of an honorable man, at least by gangster standards, but these scenes feel bittersweet at best when contrasted with how far his son, Michael, falls morally in the non-flashback scenes. The Godfather Part II gets cynical and upsetting pretty frequently, but the approach works in making an already riveting and narratively/emotionally complex story even more thought-provoking and intricately structured.
5
‘The Irishman’ (2019)
Using the wisdom that comes with getting older, Martin Scorsese returned to the gangster genre he’d already been well-associated with in 2019 to direct The Irishman. This one is a little more polarizing than, say, Goodfellas or Casino, but if you approach it as something a bit more reserved and downbeat, then it succeeds immensely, since few films – crime-related or otherwise – have explored aging, legacy, and regret quite like this one.
It is reserved, yes, but The Irishman isn’t slow-paced, and when it decides to go through certain events with a touch more patience than you might expect, there’s always a good reason for it. Among gangster movies of the 21st century so far, few can claim to be better than The Irishman, haters be damned (though they have a point about certain instances of the de-aging technology, which can look a little funky here, especially at first).
4
‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971)
While it might be more easily definable as a bleak sci-fi movie, A Clockwork Orange is also a bleak crime movie, since it explores justice and human nature in a dystopian world that doesn’t seem to be too far in the future (beyond 1971). The main character is an absolute terror, engaging in horrific crime sprees, but he’s eventually imprisoned and treated with an experimental procedure that removes his free will, making him physically sick whenever he’s exposed to violent thoughts or images.
And then once he’s been “treated,” the world hits back at him, and the whole thing is like a conflict of one kind of evil clashing with another. There’s no heroism or positivity to take from A Clockwork Orange, but it’s also admirable in how it presents such a conflict and refuses to offer any easy answers, with the whole thing still being as striking and thought-provoking today as it was 50+ years ago.
3
‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984)
Once Upon a Time in America does what a lot of great epic movies do by feeling sprawling in some ways and then rather personal/intimate in others. It’s about a group of young boys who grow up to be ruthless gangsters, making much of their money during the Prohibition era, with at least one of them surviving into old age, and finding himself regretful about certain things he did when he was younger.
But that regret doesn’t make him sympathetic or tragic, it just makes him more complicated, and makes the film more complex, by extension. This is because Once Upon a Time in America feels like it goes one step further than even the aforementioned The Godfather Part II in unflinchingly depicting the real dark side of being a mobster. It’s not easy to watch, and the runtime also makes this one look daunting, but it’s well worth spending time with so long as you’re prepared to watch something heavy-hitting.
2
‘A Short Film About Killing’ (1988)
A feature-length expansion of one segment from the acclaimed Dekalog miniseries, A Short Film About Killing is exactly what you’d expect based on that title, though it is feature-length rather than a short film in the traditional sense. But it works in the sense that it’s on the shorter side of feature-length, at just 85 minutes, with the plot being appropriately simple for something that’s not very long.
In A Short Film About Killing, a murder is committed, and then the aftermath of the violent crime in question is explored, and there are other ways that it is indeed “about killing.” It’s very well-made and powerful, but also nauseating and difficult to recommend. A Short Film About Killing pulls no punches and aims to unsettle, and on that front, it’s a huge success, easily being one of the grimmest films of the entire 1980s.
1
‘Chinatown’ (1974)
Of all the mystery movies ever made, Chinatown’s among the best, and it’s also a neo-noir/crime film about corruption, greed, politics, and all sorts of other heavy things. It follows a private detective on a case that gets more complicated with every new scene, as he uncovers a conspiracy that proves to be mortifyingly wide-reaching… but you probably knew that already.
If you didn’t, and are still able to watch Chinatown through to its ending without knowing what’s in store, then you should probably drop whatever you’re currently doing to watch it. Few films of its kind have hit as hard, and though it was made in the 1970s, and takes place decades earlier, so much of what it has to say remains depressingly relevant decades later. It’s one of those movies that’s timeless in a kind of unfortunate way, but don’t forget, that’s Chinatown.
