Best movies like Blue Velvet
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of criminals who have kidnapped her child.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 212000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: neo noir, surreal, dark, detective, cerebral, disturbing, postmodern, controversial, erotic, atmospheric
Best tv shows and movies like Blue Velvet (1986):
Similar in 83%
Lost River (2014)
Plot Summary:
A single mother is swept into a dark underworld, while her teenage son discovers a road that leads him to a secret underwater town.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, surreal, enigmatic, neo noir, captivating, tense, suspenseful, dark, artsy, art house
Similar in 79%
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious, tall, blonde woman, wearing sunglasses murders one of a psychiatrist's patients, and now she's after the prostitute who witnessed it.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: neo noir, sexy, erotic, suspense, scary, sensual, slasher, psychological, tense, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Perfect Blue (1997)
Plot Summary:
A retired pop singer turned actress' sense of reality is shaken when she is stalked by an obsessed fan and seemingly a ghost of her past.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: surreal, suspense, adult animation, anime, suspenseful, scary, atmospheric, tense, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Plot Summary:
Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: neo noir, black comedy, atmospheric, surreal, dark comedy, suspense, psychological, captivating, twist ending, cerebral
Similar in 83%
Inland Empire (2006)
Plot Summary:
An actress's perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Poland, USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, enigmatic, atmospheric, experimental, psychedelic, serious, mindfuck, mind bending, confusing
Similar in 89%
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
Plot Summary:
The long-awaited missing pieces from the original version of the film – nearly an hour-and-a-half of deleted/alternate scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me – often referred to as the “holy grail” of Twin Peaks fandom.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, psychological, disturbing, scary, mysterious, detective, cult classic, independent film, post modern
Similar in 79%
Irreversible (2002)
Plot Summary:
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass. Her boyfriend and ex-lover take matters into their own hands by hiring two criminals to help them find the rapist so that they can exact revenge. A simultaneously beautiful and terrible examination of the destructive nature of cause and effect, and how time destroys everything.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: art house, bleak, disturbing, psychological thriller, surreal, non-linear, stylized, sexy, offbeat, harsh
Similar in 84%
Twin Peaks (2017)
Plot Summary:
Picks up 25 years after the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town are stunned when their homecoming queen is murdered.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 74000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 1032 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, mind bending, captivating, tense, offbeat, atmospheric, disturbing, experimental, esoteric
Similar in 77%
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Plot Summary:
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 103000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, dark, atmospheric, psychedelic, mind bending, avant garde, cerebral, scary, art house
Similar in 85%
Basic Instinct (1992)
Plot Summary:
A police detective is in charge of the investigation of a brutal murder, in which a beautiful and seductive woman could be involved.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 214000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: sexy, erotic, neo noir, sexual, suspenseful, detective, psychological, surprise ending, suspense, psychological thriller
Similar in 83%
Eraserhead (1977)
Plot Summary:
Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 125000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: surreal, avant garde, art house, psychological, disturbing, psychedelic, experimental, atmospheric, black and white, dark
Similar in 87%
Wild at Heart (1990)
Plot Summary:
Young lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: surreal, road movie, black comedy, avant garde, dark comedy, sexy, atmospheric, erotic, art house, mindfuck
Similar in 87%
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Plot Summary:
After Dr. Bill Hartford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 366000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 159 min
Plot tags: sexual, psychological, sexy, artsy, neo noir, atmospheric, psychological thriller, disturbing, surreal, suspense
Similar in 85%
Antichrist (2009)
Plot Summary:
A grieving couple retreats to their cabin 'Eden' in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 134000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Denmark, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Poland
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, scary, atmospheric, psychological thriller, bleak, art house, minimal cast, sexy, dark
Similar in 84%
Red Rock West (1993)
Plot Summary:
When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialise 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.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, sexy, atmospheric, road movie, suspense, rough, independent film, black comedy, clever
Similar in 90%
Lost Highway (1997)
Plot Summary:
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgangers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: surreal, neo noir, mind bending, atmospheric, confusing, disturbing, psychedelic, cerebral, gothic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Chinatown (1974)
Plot Summary:
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 343000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, twist ending, suspense, atmospheric, bleak, suspenseful, enigmatic, noir, psychological
Similar in 86%
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Plot Summary:
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 377000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, art house, neo noir, atmospheric, mind bending, disturbing, cerebral, surprise ending, enigmatic
Similar in 77%
American Psycho (2000)
Plot Summary:
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 690000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, psychological thriller, surreal, brutal, stylized, disturbing, twist ending, neo noir, dark, mind twisting
Similar in 90%
Black Swan (2010)
Plot Summary:
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 808000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, cerebral, atmospheric, surreal, sexy, twist ending, psychological thriller, mind bending, visually appealing
Similar in 88%
Oldboy (2003)
Plot Summary:
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate businessman seeks revenge on his captors.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 619000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: twist ending, bleak, intense, psychological, neo noir, clever, mindfuck, brutal, atmospheric, surprise ending
Similar in 80%
Mystic River (2003)
Plot Summary:
A story about friendship and loyalty, guilt and vengeance, and the fateful affect the past has on the present.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 477000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, emotional, twist ending, neo noir, depressing, tense, bleak, psychological thriller, disturbing
Similar in 90%
8MM (1999)
Plot Summary:
A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 141000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, suspense, psychological thriller, suspenseful, rough, grim, detective, enigmatic, captivating
Similar in 75%
Donnie Darko (2001)
Plot Summary:
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 837000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, atmospheric, mind bending, philosophical, cult classic, clever, psychological thriller, cerebral, independent film
Similar in 80%
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Plot Summary:
A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war life isn't what he believes it to be when he's attacked by horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit him.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: surreal, twist ending, psychological, disturbing, scary, bleak, surprise ending, atmospheric, psychedelic, psychological thriller
Similar in 84%
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Plot Summary:
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 607000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: neo noir, captivating, tense, noir, suspense, atmospheric, clever, suspenseful, detective, serious
Similar in 77%
Pi (1998)
Plot Summary:
The debut film from Darren Aronofsky in which a mathematical genius Maximilian Cohen discovers a link in the connection between numbers and reality and thus believes he can predict the future.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 185000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, cerebral, black and white, mind bending, independent film, atmospheric, psychedelic, philosophical, dark
Similar in 76%
Twin Peaks (1990)
Plot Summary:
The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 211000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 1505 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, psychological, enigmatic, suspenseful, mind bending, neo noir, surreal, offbeat, captivating, gloomy
Similar in 81%
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 78%
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