24 underrated crime thrillers (and where to watch them)
You may have missed these unsung gems of the detective genre…
From big-budget shows to low-budget shoot-’em-ups, the crime genre is one of the most popular forms of action movies available to audiences.
Kino Lorber
Yet for every classic crime movie, there are a handful of thrillers that don’t quite hit the mark at the box office or with audiences. Fortunately, time heals all wounds, and it’s time these 24 underrated crime thrillers got the attention they deserve.
1.
cop car
Focus / Courtesy Everett Collection
Before entering Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Verse, Jon Watts directed this intense minimalist thriller about two children (James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) who stumble upon a seemingly abandoned police car that holds the key to a shocking crime. orchestrated by a corrupt local. Sheriff (Kevin Bacon).
Where to watch: cop car is available for rental on all video-on-demand platforms.
2.
The Seven Ups
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy of Everett Collection
Between his iconic roles in The French connection and JawsRoy Scheider stars in this engrossing mystery thriller about an unscrupulous but efficient detective who must solve a series of kidnappings targeting mob figures.
Where to watch: The Seven Ups is available for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray.
3.
Love and a .45
Prod.DB / Trimark Pictures / Alamy
Gil Bellows, Renée Zellweger, Rory Cochrane, Jeffrey Combs and Jack Nance star in this stylish, offbeat blue-collar thriller about a short-time robber artist who flees with her fiancé after killing two dirty cops, along with a pair of goons eccentrics and a drug addicted ex-partner on their heels.
Where to watch: Love and a .45 is available for rental on all video-on-demand platforms.
4.
den of thieves
STX Entertainment / Courtesy of Everett Collection
Gerard Butler, Pablo Schrieber, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and O’Shea Jackson Jr. headline this fun, modern take on Heat which pits an elite crime task force against a tactical gang of ex-military bank robbers.
Where to watch: den of thieves is available to stream on Netflix.
5.
cop lands
Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection
James Mangold’s star-studded drama-thriller follows a meek sheriff (a Sylvester Stallone counterpart) who must choose to expose the dark underbelly of a suburban town mostly populated by NYPD officers.
Where to watch: cop lands is available to stream on HBO Max.
6.
Trance
Fox Projector / Courtesy Everett Collection
Slumdog Millionaire Director Danny Boyle has constructed this twisty thriller about an unstable criminal (Vincent Cassel) who tasks a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) with extracting the location of a missing stolen painting from an amnesiac thief (James McAvoy).
Where to watch: Trance is available for rental on all video-on-demand platforms.
seven.
Upright
Newmarket Release/ Courtesy Everett Collection
Thomas Jane stars in this incredible true story about a South African police captain, disillusioned with apartheid, who spontaneously decides to start robbing banks using undercover disguises from his neighborhood.
Where to watch: Upright is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Starz.
8.
widows
Twentieth Century Fox / Courtesy of Everett Collection
Strangely forgotten despite a critical and commercial success at the end of 2018, 12 years of slavery Director Steve McQueen’s haunting thriller follows four widows (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo) of recently deceased thieves who must pull off a dangerous robbery to pay off the large criminal debt left behind by their husbands.
Where to watch: widows is available to stream on FXNOW.
9.
Kill Zoe
October Movies/Courtesy Everett Collection
Directed by the co-writer of pulp Fictionthis chaotic, ultra-violent drama follows an American cracker (Eric Stoltz) who travels to Paris to help an old friend in a bank robbery, only to discover that one of the cashiers is a call girl he slept with. previous night.
Where to watch: Kill Zoe is available for rental and purchase through Vudu.
ten.
the lookout
Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection
The directorial debut of Scott Frank, who would later find success as co-creator of The Queen’s Bet, the lookout surrounds a traumatized young night janitor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for a small-town bank who reluctantly joins a gang of amateur criminals for a robbery gone horribly wrong.
Where to watch: the lookout is available for rental on all video-on-demand platforms.
11.
Harry Brown
Samuel Goldwyn Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Largely overlooked in the wake of post-Taken boom in action movies with older veterans as unlikely leads, Harry Brown is a vigilante thriller about an elderly ex-soldier (Michael Caine) who decides to bring justice to the local thugs responsible for murdering his best friend in a senseless act of violence.
Where to watch: Harry Brown is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Vudu.
12.
Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia
United Artists / Courtesy of Everett Collection
Widely considered the latest masterpiece from gritty action pioneer Sam Peckinpah, Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia follows a rugged mercenary (Warren Oates) who is hired by a vengeful crime boss to find and recover the head of a wanted criminal with whom he shares an uneasy connection.
Where to watch: Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia is available on DVD/Blu-ray.
13.
Lost bullets
Screen Media Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
A taut indie thriller enhanced by multiple solid performances, Lost bullets surrounds a pair of teenagers (Asa Spurlock and director Jack Fessenden) who are tasked with cleaning up an old motorhome in which three dangerous fugitives have taken refuge.
Where to watch: Lost bullets is available to stream on Vudu.
14.
western red rock
Freeing Roxie/Courtesy Everett Collection
Starring Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle and Dennis Hopper, this modern noir about mistaken identities and hitmen remains one of the most underrated thrillers of its time.
Where to watch: western red rock is currently available on DVD.
15.
state of grace
Orion Pictures Corp / Courtesy Everett Collection
This excellent ensemble crime thriller, which follows an undercover cop and his erratic childhood friend as they become entangled in New York’s treacherous Irish crime syndicate, was sadly overshadowed by Freedmen when it was first released in 1990.
Where to watch: state of grace is available on DVD/Blu-ray.
16.
The Impasse at Sparrow Creek
RLJE Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
In this jaw-dropping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, James Badge Dale plays a jaded ex-cop who must uncover which member of his anti-government fringe militia is responsible for a mass shooting in the funeral of a policeman.
Where to watch: The Impasse at Sparrow Creek is available for rental on all video-on-demand platforms.
17.
The ice cream man
Millennium Entertainment / Alamy
Based on a disturbing true story, this bloodthirsty thriller starring Michael Shannon, Chris Evans and Winona Ryder tells the story of sadistic hitman Richard Kuklinski, who notably hides the remains of his victims in an ice cream truck to prevent the police to learn precisely their time of death.
Where to watch: The ice cream man is available to stream on Peacock, Tubi, Roku Channel, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.
18.
Narc
Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
Ray Liotta revitalized his career with his transformative performance in Joe Carnahan’s provocative and gripping crime thriller about a pair of haunted and ethically compromised detectives investigating the murder of an undercover agent.
Where to watch: Narc is streaming on Showtime.
19.
Layer cake
Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Daniel Craig has proven himself capable as a leading man (and James Bond, for that matter) as an ambitious drug smuggler who hopes to leave the criminal underworld behind him in the wealthy and unconventional gangster image of Matthew Vaughn.
Where to watch: Layer cake is available to stream on Showtime.
20.
The place Beyond the Pines
Focus / Courtesy Everett Collection
Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper and Dane DeHaan star in this gripping triptych about the intertwined fates of a rebellious bank robber, a guilty cop and their troubled children.
Where to watch: The place Beyond the Pines is streaming on Peacock.
21.
Johnny Beau
Tristar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Walter Hill’s sensational story of a disfigured criminal (Mickey Rourke) who is double-crossed by his partners and plotting revenge after undergoing experimental plastic surgery that renders him completely unrecognizable.
Where to watch: Johnny Beau is available for rental on all video-on-demand platforms.
22.
Let the corpses tan
Kino Lorber / Courtesy Everett Collection
Drawing inspiration from their neo-giallo roots, directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani deliver their best work yet with the thrilling story of an artist and her lovers in an isolated estate that becomes an impromptu battlefield between two policemen and a group of violent gold thieves.
Where to watch: Let the corpses tan is available to stream on Tubi, the Roku Channel, and Plex.
23.
Best of Brooklyn
Opening Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
One of the most underrated films of training day the director Antoine Fuqua, Best of Brooklyn follows a trio of desperate NYPD detectives (Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle and Richard Gere) who struggle to maintain their moral compass as their personal and professional lives fall into chaos.
Where to watch: Best of Brooklyn is available to stream on HBO Max.
24.
Cold in July
IFC Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson are simply stellar in Jim Mickle’s unpredictable and gripping story of an ordinary man who accidentally kills an intruder at home, which puts him on the path to the vengeful father of the man and a charismatic private detective. while setting up a chain of events that will leave your jaw firmly on the ground.
Where to watch: Cold in July is available to stream on AMC+.