Best movies like Impulse
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Impulse is a 1990 thriller film about a female police officer who works undercover as a prostitute on the streets of Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: neo noir, erotic, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Impulse (1990):
Similar in 80%
8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Plot Summary:
Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his drinking problem and this alcoholism causes him to lose his job, as well as his marriage.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, serious, realistic, psychological, cult classic, captivating, suspense, retro, perverse
Similar in 87%
Busting (1974)
Plot Summary:
LA cops Gould and Blake get in over their heads when they don't heed orders from above and go after a big crime boss.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, exciting, rough, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, poliziottesco
Similar in 81%
Mike's Murder (1984)
Plot Summary:
Betty has a crush on her tennis instructor Mike. He promises to call her for a date, but never does – she doesn’t know he sells drugs on the side. After botching a deal on someone else’s turf, Mike has to disappear for a while. He contacts Betty – then he’s killed before they can meet. Betty tries to find out what happened, leading her straight into a hornet's nest of vice.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: neo noir, depressing, rough, mind bending, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, erotic
Similar in 79%
Face of Terror (2004)
Plot Summary:
A police officer searching for his missing sister in Spain uncovers a terrorist cell.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 484
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, realistic, exciting, tense, captivating, suspense
Similar in 89%
Cisco Pike (1971)
Plot Summary:
Cisco is an ex-rock star who has become a drug dealer. A corrupt cop blackmails Cisco to sell marijuana for him. Cisco has one weekend to sell it to his friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspenseful, serious, neo noir, surprise ending
Similar in 84%
One Way Out (2002)
Plot Summary:
Harry Woltz is a homicide cop with a gambling problem; a problem that leaves him owing a great deal of money to the Russell brothers. To clear the debt they ask him to train John Farrow to murder his wife, Evans, without leaving the usual clues or making the usual mistakes. However when Harry's ex-partner is put on the case, she begins to get closer than Harry had thought before the case takes some unexpected twists.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 685
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, suspense
Similar in 82%
Frame by Frame (1996)
Plot Summary:
A pair of romantically entangled cops become suspects in the brutal murder of one of their mates.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 313
Genere: Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: crime drama, tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
The Last of the Finest (1990)
Plot Summary:
An elite group of vice cops are fired from the L.A.P.D. for being over-zealous in their war against drugs. It is immediately apparent that some of their superiors are involved in the drug ring. Banded together, four of the banned cops (which quickly becomes three when one is killed early) band together to fight the drug ring undercover. They gain capital for weapons by ripping off minor drug dealers. Then well-armed they go after the kingpin (Boyd).
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 85%
Brown's Requiem (1998)
Plot Summary:
Fritz Brown is an ex-LAPD, recovering alcoholic who now splits his time repossessing cars for a used car lot and staffing his one-man private detective agency. When a filthy caddie named Freddy "Fat Dog" Baker wanders into Fritz's office one day, flashing a wad of cash, Fritz is hired to follow Fat Dog's kid sister Jane, who is holed up with a Beverly Hills sugar daddy named Sol Kupferman. Kupferman is a 70 year-old bag man for the mob, and Fat Dog claims that "Solly K" is up to something evil that may harm Jane. The trail leads Fritz to an encounter with his dark past in the person of Haywood Cathcart, current head of LAPD internal affairs and the person who kicked Fritz off the police force.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing, detective, rough, captivating, realistic
Similar in 80%
Vice (2008)
Plot Summary:
Michael Madsen stars as Max Walker, a down-and-out cop who becomes the target of a bloodthirsty drug cartel after he leads a narcotics bust to intercept a large shipment of heroin. When someone starts picking off his team members -- and the drugs seized in the raid suddenly disappear -- Walker pairs up with one of his detectives (Daryl Hannah) to uncover a conspiracy that may go straight up the chain of command.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 937
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 77%
Splinter (2006)
Plot Summary:
A gang member, suffering from severe memory loss, searches for his brother's murderer. He secretly enlists the aid of the investigating Detective, while other members of his gang are mysteriously and sadistically murdered.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, suspenseful, psychological thriller, crime drama, serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
Guilty by Association (2003)
Plot Summary:
There is no honor without truth. When gang wars spin out of control in downtown Washington D.C., one man steps onto the battlefirld to hunt down a ruthless killer. A young man has been released from prison and is determined to build a new life for himself. Unfortunately, without any prospects in sight, he gets lured back into the only world he knows....crime. He gets in touch with his former best friend who has since "made it big" as a drug dealer during his time in prison. But what starts out as a partnership which promises to get them both out of the projects, soon turns rotten as money comes between the two. As loyalties are divided, anger and violence erupt... destroying anyone who gets in the way. Innocent victims get caught in the crossfire and its up to one man, Police Lieutenet Redding (Morgan Freeman) to take matters into his own hands and stop the needless deaths before it's too late.
IMDB Rating: 2.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, rough, serious
Similar in 78%
Ready 2 Die (2014)
Plot Summary:
After a violent bank robbery, the trio of hoods make their way across East L.A. carrying a blood-soaked bag of money. When word gets out, they must fend off gangs and crooked cops alike as they strive to keep the loot and stay alive.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 851
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 82%
Fatal Beauty (1987)
Plot Summary:
Rita Rizzoli is a narcotics cop with a plethora of disguises. When a drug shipment is hijacked, the thieves don't know that the drug is unusually pure and packs of 'Fatal Beauty' begin turning up next to too many dead bodies. Mike works for the original owner of the drugs and tries to tell himself that since he does not handle the drugs, he is 'clean'. Mike becomes Rita's constant companion.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: detective, crying, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, romantic, atmospheric, sexy
Similar in 87%
Sketch Artist (1992)
Plot Summary:
A sketch artist for the police helps a witness recall who she saw leaving the scene of a murder, and discovers that the person is his wife. Not willing to believe she was responsible, he resketches the pictures so they don't look like her, and he begins his own investigation of the murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, captivating, neo noir
Similar in 90%
Dead Connection (1994)
Plot Summary:
After a series of murders in motel rooms are connected, a cop, Dickson, heads out on the trail to find a serial killer. He discovers that he signs the motel guest-books with the names of boxers, and hence gets a lead on him. However, when he just fails to catch up arrest him, the chase becomes personal.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 587
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: detective, independent film, tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sexual, neo noir
Similar in 75%
Dot.Kill (2005)
Plot Summary:
The morphine-addicted detective Charlie Daines is on the trail of a sophisticated psychopath who is setting up murders and broadcasting them live on the internet. As he closes in on the killer, he realizes that it has become personal and that he is to be the final victim. Will he catch the killer before it's too late or will his old-school methods mean his death?.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 851
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: suspense, serious, suspenseful, tense, detective, independent film
Similar in 80%
Sunset Heat (1992)
Plot Summary:
A former drug-dealer photojournalist (Michael Paré) returns to Los Angeles and helps friends terrorized by his ex-partner (Dennis Hopper).
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 480
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: erotic, independent film, neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Double Bang (2001)
Plot Summary:
An honest cop enters the dark world of murder and corruption.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 86%
Black Widow (1987)
Plot Summary:
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sexy, neo noir, suspenseful, suspense, exciting, surprise ending, erotic, noir, tense, sensual
Similar in 78%
Dead Sexy (2001)
Plot Summary:
A female detective gets involved with a murder suspect in a series of serial killings.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 898
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexy, rough, suspenseful, detective, tense, serious, realistic, slasher, sexual
Similar in 85%
True Blue (2001)
Plot Summary:
Rembrandt Macy (Tom Berenger) is a maverick cop assigned to a case where the primary evidence is a woman's hand found in a pond. Investigators identify the dead, and Macy is lead into a young woman's past. Macy's primary path to understanding the victim is through one of her roommates, Nikki. Through Nikki and others, Macy learns of the victim's shady contacts at City Hall, the involvement of a gang of Asian drug runners, and the sordid affairs of one of the city's bigwigs. As Macy begins to understand how all these crimes fit together, he learns that his new friend Nikki is not an innocent bystander.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 905
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, suspense, intense, neo noir, serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
Playing God (1997)
Plot Summary:
Stripped of his medical license after performing an operation while high on amphetamines, famed LA surgeon Dr Eugene Sands abandons his former life only to find himself crossing paths with Raymond Blossom, an infamous counterfeiter. Employed as a "gun-shot doctor" when Raymond's associates cannot risk visiting a hospital, Eugene is lured deep into the criminal world and becomes entangled with his boss's girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, intense, tense, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, erotic, neo noir, scary
Similar in 84%
Cement (2000)
Plot Summary:
What's the bond between partners, between brothers, and between spouses? In L.A., Bill Holt handcuffs Sean Rickhart inside a rebar frame for a freeway pillar at a construction site; Bill's going to bury Sean in quick-drying cement. Guided by the narration of Nin, Bill's coke-snorting partner, we go back and forth over the past 48 hours to find out what brings Bill and Sean to this deadly scene. Missing money, cops on the take, Sean's two brothers (one the leader of the mob, the other a camera-carrying simpleton), Bill's wife, dead young police officers, infidelity, and Bill and Nin's partnership make a mix as volatile and unstable as the cement is solid and immobile.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, dark, independent film, tense
Similar in 89%
Monument Ave. (1998)
Plot Summary:
Bobby O'Grady a low level member of a Boston Irish gang run by Jackie O'Hara. Jackie demands absolute, total loyalty to him. When Jackie kills one of Bobby's buddies, Teddy, Bobby and others have to keep it an absolute secret, even from their and Teddy's relatives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, tense, serious, independent film, neo noir, cult classic, rough, bleak, realistic
Similar in 77%
Mulholland Falls (1996)
Plot Summary:
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, detective, serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, hood, thrilling
Similar in 83%
El padrino (2004)
Plot Summary:
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 762
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 90%
Snitch'd (2003)
Plot Summary:
When the South Side Gang and the Cut Throat Mafia start a drug war at a local high school in Santa Ana, CA, detective McClure goes undercover to investigate the brutal murder of a young Latina student. The gang members are the key suspects but nobody is talking. And as McClure continues to dig for answers, it becomes clear that the two gangs are fighting for territory - and nobody is getting in their way.
IMDB Rating: 2.1
IMDB Votes: 205
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, bleak
Similar in 80%
Blue Steel (1990)
Plot Summary:
A female rookie in the police force engages in a cat and mouse game with a pistol wielding psychopath who becomes obsessed with her.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: neo noir, exciting, tense, suspenseful, detective, rough, disturbing, erotic, cult classic, stylized
Similar in 85%
Cop (1988)
Plot Summary:
An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, psychological, suspenseful, suspense, perverse, cult classic, scary, rough, serious