Best movies like A Pure Formality
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Onoff (Depardieu,) is a famous writer, now a recluse. The Inspector (Polanski,) is suspicious when Onoff is brought into the station one night, disoriented and suffering a kind of amnesia. In an isolated, rural police station, the Inspector tries to establish the events surrounding a killing, to reach a startling resolution.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, talky, surprise ending, serious, tense, art house, mind twisting, mind bending, existential
Best tv shows and movies like A Pure Formality (1994):
Similar in 89%
The Guilty (2018)
Plot Summary:
Alarm dispatcher and former police officer, Asger Holm, answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman. When the call is suddenly disconnected, the search for the woman and her kidnapper begins. With the phone as his only tool, Asger enters a race against time to save the endangered woman. But soon he realizes that he is dealing with a crime that is far bigger than he first thought.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Denmark
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, minimal cast, exciting, psychological thriller, clever, enigmatic, captivating, psychological, depressing
Similar in 89%
Murdered (2012)
Plot Summary:
Cathy has been preparing herself since early morning. She is about to celebrate her daughter Eva's 20th birthday. But on this very day, Cathy's life is turned upside-down with the shocking news that her daughter has been murdered. At first devastated and lost when faced with the workings of the police and the justice system, Cathy becomes determined to fight to know the truth.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 243
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 75%
State of Mind (2003)
Plot Summary:
Reeling from the discovery of her husband's adultery, Grace moves back to her family home with her son. Amidst all this emotional turmoil, forensic psychologist Grace is asked by police to determine the guilt or innocence a man who killed his wife.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 163
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 75%
Under Suspicion (1981)
Plot Summary:
A police inspector, suspecting an attorney of two child sex murders, has him held for a questioning session that goes on for hours.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, disturbing, neo noir, psychological thriller, serious, gloomy, twist ending, anthology, crime drama
Similar in 83%
The Interview (1998)
Plot Summary:
A duel between a suspected murderer and a detective pressed by people who want results. But whose skin is really wanted.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: clever, suspense, surprise ending, dark, independent film, detective, psychological, tense, suspenseful, talky
Similar in 82%
The Element of Crime (1984)
Plot Summary:
Fisher, an ex-detective, decides to take one final case when a mysterious serial killer claims the lives of several young girls. Fisher, unable to find the culprit, turns to Osbourne, a writer who was once respected for his contributions to the field of criminology. Fisher begins to use Osbourne's technique, which involves empathizing with serial killers; however, as the detective becomes increasingly engrossed in this method, things take a disturbing turn.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Denmark
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: surreal, bleak, neo noir, art house, psychological, detective, suspenseful, cerebral, atmospheric, stylized
Similar in 84%
Fissure (2008)
Plot Summary:
Still reeling from a personal tragedy, Detective Paul Grunning is sent on a routine call to a local professor's home. When things turn deadly, he must navigate a fractured reality to solve the mystery before it's too late.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 139
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, scary, tense, mind bending, realistic, surprise ending
Similar in 87%
The Prophet's Game (2000)
Plot Summary:
The Prophet has arrived in the ultimate playing ground... Los Angeles. It has taken an innocent childhood game and twisted it into a deadly match of wits, where the only prize is survival. Moving from city to city, The Prophet lures unsuspecting contestants into solving the riddles it supplies. If the contestants are wrong, somebody dies... somebody famous.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, bleak, realistic, suspense, serious
Similar in 78%
13 (2005)
Plot Summary:
Sebastian, a young man, has decided to follow instructions intended for someone else, without knowing where they will take him. Something else he does not know is that Gerard Dorez, a cop on a knife-edge, is tailing him. When he reaches his destination, Sebastian falls into a degenerate, clandestine world of mental chaos behind closed doors in which men gamble on the lives of others men.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, black and white, tense, atmospheric, bleak, harsh, suspense, mindfuck, depressing
Similar in 78%
Perfect Number (2012)
Plot Summary:
Based on the series by the popular Japanese novelist Keigo Higashino, this is a mystery drama that 'faithfully but freely' adapts the 3rd part in the series, . The story revolves around 3 characters: a woman who unwittingly killed her husband, a math genius next door who sets up a perfect alibi for her out of his attraction toward her, and a detective who closely traces her, finding the alibi suspicious.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, serious, suspenseful, twist ending, captivating, surprise ending, twisted, unpredictable, realistic
Similar in 85%
Killing Words (2003)
Plot Summary:
A mild-mannered psychopath plays mind-games with a woman he has tied to a chair in his basement.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, serious, tense, psychological thriller, suspense, psychological horror, creepy, mind blowing, bleak
Similar in 79%
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 75%
36th Precinct (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Film takes place in Paris, where two cops are competing for the vacant seat of chief of police while in the middle of a search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the french police before creating this story, which in part is taken from real facts that happened during the 1980s in France.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, disturbing, suspense, intense, neo noir
Similar in 84%
Sleuth (2007)
Plot Summary:
On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, intellectual, talky, witty, minimal cast, suspenseful, stylized, surprise ending, suspense, twist ending
Similar in 82%
Under Suspicion (2000)
Plot Summary:
A lawyer is asked to come to the police station to clear up a few loose ends in his witness report of a foul murder. "This will only take ten minutes", they say, but it turns out to be one loose end after another, and the ten minutes he is away from his speech become longer and longer.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, suspense, talky, tense, detective, enigmatic, twist ending, bleak, serious
Similar in 76%
Evaru (2019)
Plot Summary:
When a high-ranking police officer is killed by his alleged rape victim, Sub-inspector Vikram Vasudev is entrusted with investigating what seems like an open-and-shut case. However, as he delves deeper, Vikram finds the case spiralling into a dark tale filled with unexpected surprises.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, rough, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, twist ending, detective, twisted
Similar in 79%
The Tenant (1976)
Plot Summary:
A quiet and inconspicuous man (Trelkovsky) rents an apartment in France where the previous tenant committed suicide, and begins to suspect his landlord and neighbors are trying to subtly change him into the last tenant so that he too will kill himself.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: psychological, black comedy, surreal, atmospheric, offbeat, disturbing, suspense, psychological thriller, scary, mind bending
Similar in 88%
Dead Again (1991)
Plot Summary:
In 1949 composer Roman Strauss is executed for the vicious murder of his wife Margaret with a pair of scissors. In 1990s Los Angeles a mute amnesiac woman shows up at an orphanage and private eye Mike Church is called in to investigate. Under hypnosis both the woman and Church seem to have a strange link back to the Strauss murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: neo noir, psychological, suspenseful, suspense, tense, psychological thriller, surprise ending, twisted, detective, noir
Similar in 89%
The Body (2012)
Plot Summary:
A woman’s body disappears mysteriously from the morgue without a trace. Police inspector Jaime Peña investigates the strange occurrence with the help of Álex Ulloa, the widower of the missing woman.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, suspenseful, atmospheric, tense, suspense, mind blowing, detective, serious, psychological thriller, mind twisting
Similar in 83%
Deceiver (1997)
Plot Summary:
The gruesome death of a prostitute brings suspicion on one of her clients, James Wayland, a brilliant, self-destructive and epileptic heir to a textile fortune. So detectives Braxton and Kennesaw take Wayland in for questioning, thinking they can break the man. But despite his troubles, Wayland is a master of manipulation, and during the interrogation, he begins to turn the tables on the investigators, forcing them to reveal their own sinister sides.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, suspense, psychological, suspenseful, neo noir, clever, talky, twisted, detective, psychological thriller
Similar in 82%
Cold in July (2014)
Plot Summary:
How can a split-second decision change your life? While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of low-life burglar Freddy Russell. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father, Ben, rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, tense, realistic, psychological, suspense, atmospheric, tricky, bleak, serious
Similar in 88%
The Cure (1997)
Plot Summary:
A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims. In each case, the murderer is found near the victim and remembers nothing of the crime. Detective Takabe and psychologist Sakuma are called in to figure out the connection, but their investigation goes nowhere.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, scary, tense, enigmatic, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir, surreal, detective
Similar in 76%
Unknown (2006)
Plot Summary:
Five men wake up in a locked-down warehouse with no memory of who they are. They are forced to figure out who is good and who is bad to stay alive.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, surprise ending, suspenseful, disturbing, tricky, tense, mind bending, suspense, talky, psychological thriller
Similar in 90%
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012)
Plot Summary:
A cop, investigating the mysterious death of a filmstar, meets a sex-worker, while he faces some personal problems psychologically. The mystery connects these people in a way, that ultimately changes their lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense thriller, psychological thriller, neo noir, suspense, surprise ending, mind bending, psychedelic
Similar in 77%
Fracture (2007)
Plot Summary:
A husband is on trial for the attempted murder of his wife, in what is seemingly an open/shut case for the ambitious district attorney trying to put him away. However, there are surprises for both around every corner, and, as a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse is played out, each must manipulate and outwit the other.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 215000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, intellectual, twist ending, psychological thriller, clever, serious, enigmatic, suspenseful, surprise ending
Similar in 85%
The Best Offer (2013)
Plot Summary:
Virgil Oldman is a world renowned antiques expert and auctioneer. An eccentric genius, he leads a solitary life, going to extreme lengths to keep his distance from the messiness of human relationships. When appointed by the beautiful but emotionally damaged Claire to oversee the valuation and sale of her family’s priceless art collection, Virgil allows himself to form an attachment to her – and soon he is engulfed by a passion which will rock his bland existence to the core.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 126000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Italy
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: twist ending, surprise ending, psychological, atmospheric, enigmatic, captivating, serious, cerebral, suspense, tense
Similar in 90%
Dream House (2011)
Plot Summary:
Publisher, Will Atenton quits a lucrative job in New York to relocate his wife, Libby and their daughters to a quaint town in New England. However, as they settle into their home the Atentons discover that a woman and her children were murdered there, and the surviving husband is the town's prime suspect. With help from a neighbor who was close to the murdered family, Will pieces together a horrifying chain of events.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 69000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, twist ending, suspenseful, suspense, tense, psychological, scary, serious, enigmatic, intense
Similar in 88%
The Machinist (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Machinist is the story of Trevor Reznik, a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ability to sleep. This is no ordinary insomnia.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 410000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, UK, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, depressing, mind bending, surreal, bleak, neo noir, enigmatic, atmospheric
Similar in 76%
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Plot Summary:
FBI trainee, Clarice Starling ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal. Starling needs clues to help her capture a serial killer. But her Faustian relationship with Lecter soon leads to his escape, and now two deranged killers are on the loose.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 15000000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, suspense, scary, psychological thriller, tense, dark, neo noir, serious, thrilling
Similar in 84%
Se7en (1995)
Plot Summary:
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Sommerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 18000000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, detective, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir, suspense, scary, tense, bad ending, atmospheric