A Glean movie guide
Hidden Crime Thrillers
Beyond the mainstream.
Uncover the tense, gritty, and overlooked gems that deserve a spot on your watchlist.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Blue Ruin
This lean, independent revenge thriller maintains relentless tension with minimal dialogue.
When the quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news, he sets off for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. However, he proves an inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
- 02
One False Move
A masterclass in realistic tension that follows three criminals on a collision course with a small-town sheriff.
Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.
- 03
Deep Cover
Laurence Fishburne delivers a powerful performance in this stylish, overlooked 90s neo-noir.
Black police officer Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LA—the Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss.
- 04
A Simple Plan
Sam Raimi directs this chilling exploration of psychological deterioration after a fortune is found in the snow.
Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.
- 05
Brick
A bold, stylized experiment that transplants hardboiled noir dialogue into a modern high school setting.
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
- 06
Cure
This influential Japanese masterpiece offers a slow-burn, deeply unsettling look at a series of inexplicable crimes.
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
- 07
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Sidney Lumet’s final film is a gripping, non-linear descent into a family heist gone wrong.
When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store, the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that send them and their family hurtling towards a shattering climax.
- 08
Red Rock West
Nicolas Cage shines in this taut, deceptive neo-noir about a drifter mistaken for a hitman.
When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.
- 09
Cop Land
An ensemble cast anchors this gritty, realistic police drama about corruption in a small town.
Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.
- 10
The Lookout
Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a nuanced performance in this clever, often-overlooked heist thriller.
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.