Best movies like Savage Messiah
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Savage Messiah is a docudrama about Roch "Moïse" Thériault, the charismatic former leader of a small religious group based near Burnt River, Ontario, Canada. Between 1977 and 1989 he held sway over as many as 12 adults and 26 children. He used all of the nine women as concubines, and probably fathered most of the children in the group. During his reign, Thériault mutilated several members. His major crime was to kill Solange Boilard, his legal wife, by disembowelment while trying to perform surgery on her. He was arrested for assault in 1989, and convicted of murder in 1993. Along with Clifford Olsen and Paul Bernardo, Thériault is considered one of Canada's most notorious criminals.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, disturbing, rough, suspense, tense, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Savage Messiah (2002):
Similar in 85%
The Collector (2002)
Plot Summary:
Une policière, Maud Graham, suit un tueur en série qui agresse des femmes. En même temps, elle héberge un jeune prostitué et un fugueur de 12 ans. L'action se déroule dans la ville et capitale de la province du même nom, Québec.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 634
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, neo noir
Similar in 90%
She Who Must Burn (2015)
Plot Summary:
When Angela (Sarah Smyth) refuses to leave her planned-parenthood clinic after it is shut down by the state, a family of fanatical evangelists vow to make her pay.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 459
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: suspense, rough, bleak, serious, atmospheric
Similar in 80%
Watchtower (2001)
Plot Summary:
Orphan Mike O'Conner was abused from age three by his own dad, fled to Chicago to start a rock band but got dragged in bad mates' crime and convicted under probation. Mike's sister, Kate, managed to get him released and employed as assistant lighthouse guard under Adam Terrell, an author on sabbatical. However, Adam is murdered by serial killer Art Stoner, who takes Adam's place and identity. Art himself is the traumatized son of a prostitute, abandoned by the father, who had to watch his mother 'working' and got beaten, as if responsible, whenever her 'clients' hit her. 'Adam' seems to work out as Mike's substitute father, smacking him at worst, but their past starts catching up and Art being seen in action as Kate's lover poisons the triangle dramatically.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 812
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, tense, captivating, independent film, psychological thriller, psycho film
Similar in 87%
The Cold Light of Day (1996)
Plot Summary:
A troubled detective befriends a single woman and her daughter with the intention of using them as bait for a serial killer.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 996
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Netherlands, Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, noir, independent film, scary, tense, atmospheric, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
Jill Rips (2000)
Plot Summary:
A tough guy goes undercover on a personal mission of vengeance into the hardcore world of S&M, to find out who's responsible for the death of his brother.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, scary, psychological, rough, serious, realistic, independent film, slasher, stylized
Similar in 77%
The Manson Family (1997)
Plot Summary:
Jim Van Bebber's "The Manson Family" is an extremely violent and bloody horror film that reconstructs the early activities of the Family and their descent into the Tate-LaBianca killings.Van Bebber mixes this with a contemporary sub plot involving tabloid journalist Jack Wilson's quest to film a documentary on the subject.The film is loaded with plenty of sex and full-frontal nudity.The final third of "The Manson Family" is a grueling nightmare with some of the most sadistic and savage murders ever captured on screen.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, bloody, controversial, art house, terrifying, independent film, atmospheric, rough, bleak
Similar in 82%
Apprentice to Murder (1988)
Plot Summary:
Fire-and-brimstone preacher sees Satan everywhere, trains gullible young boy to "detect" evil, and the two of them commit several murders in the name of Jesus. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 735
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA, Norway
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: dark, independent film, serious, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 79%
The Lost Angel (2005)
Plot Summary:
Slight off-balance police inspector Palmer (Alison Eastwood) works with Father Brian (Judd Nelson) to solve for a religion-based killer, while she deals with her teen-aged goth sister.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 440
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, psychological, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
A Twist of Faith (1999)
Plot Summary:
Vancouver Police Detective Henry Smith is one of those investigating the murder of Roman Catholic Father Martin, who was crucified in his own church.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 423
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
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Guyana: Cult of the Damned (1979)
Plot Summary:
This horrific dramatization of the Guyana tragedy traces the steps of Reverend Jim Jones, a highly charismatic, but profoundly paranoid clergyman, who after years of evangelism and good deeds, begins his own church in the mid-western United States. When Jim Jones becomes increasingly obsessed with the belief that the CIA is "a wicked enemy" who is out to get him, he emigrates with his congregation to Guyana, where he plans to create a utopia. But Jim Jones' utopia consists of a society where he demands his followers turn their minds, bodies and possessions over to him, one that is rife with orgies, physical violence, mental torture, and sexual abuse of children and adults. Ultimately, Jim Jones' paranoia reaches a fevered pitch that culminates in him taking savage action against his own congregation. (VCI Home Video).
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 569
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: Mexico
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: controversial, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, psychotronic, weird
Similar in 84%
Sins of the Preacher (2013)
Plot Summary:
After the apparent suicide of her daughter, a woman tries to prove that her son-in-law killed her.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 343
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Blood Crime (2002)
Plot Summary:
For burned-out Seattle cop Daniel Pruitt, a camping trip turns hellish when his wife, Jessica, is savagely attacked in the forest. En route to the hospital, the Pruitts collide with a semi, and Jessica identifies the driver as her assailant. Enraged, Pruitt pummels the man. Once at the ER, however, she changes her mind and names a male nurse as her attacker. But before Pruitt can make amends, he learns that his victim, the son of Sheriff Morgan McKenna, is dead.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 670
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 90%
Confession (2005)
Plot Summary:
In a small Catholic boarding school an unspeakable act has been committed. When High School student, Luther Scott, confesses to Father Michael Kelly, Kelly is bound silent to the particulars of a grisly murder. Now, framed guilty by the desperate teen, Kelly must decide to keep his silence or throw away everything the priesthood holds sacred.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 679
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, independent film, detective
Similar in 84%
An Amish Murder (2013)
Plot Summary:
In "An Amish Murder", the peaceful Amish farming community of Painter’s Mill, Ohio, is shattered when a series of brutal murders leaves the town with a sense of frailty and loss of innocence. Among the most affected by the tragedy was Kate Burkholder (Campbell), a young girl who survived the terror and, as a result, left the Amish life behind. Fifteen years later, Kate returns to Painter’s Mill as its Chief of Police. Certain she’s come to terms with her past, Kate’s renewed life in her hometown is shattered when a murder investigation triggers deep-seated emotions from her childhood and exposes a dark secret that could destroy her.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, mind bending, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Tucked Away (2007)
Plot Summary:
On the surface, Ray Ryan has it all. He's a successful advertising executive with a new promotion. He has a nice home and a beautiful fiancée. Underneath it all is a dark secret he's finding harder to hide. Ray's nightmares are giving way to visions of his abusive father, unlocking a suppressed violence he's unable to control. When ray brutally assaults a man in a parking lot, it leads to an investigation by an aging detective with a connected past. Neither is prepared as the secrets begin to unfold over a thirty-year-old murder they've both struggled to keep buried.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 29
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 87%
Last Screening (2011)
Plot Summary:
Sylvain, a film-obsessed 31-year-old, lives in the basement of a small art-house theater where he works as a programmer, projectionist and cashier. Each night, after the last showing, he goes out for a murderous ritual.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 354
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, psychological, captivating, scary, bleak, serious, realistic, slasher
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Angel of Death (2001)
Plot Summary:
The most spectacular Easter celebration in the World. Hosts of hooded Penitents parade through the ancient, narrow streets of the Old Town in time-honored ritual. But for one celebrant this Holy Week is different. For him Semana Santa is a time to kill. As the death toll mounts, it falls to detective Maria Delgado - mistrusted outsider from Madrid - to stop the bizarre killings.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 792
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: slasher, scary, psychological, serious, disturbing, rough, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, independent film
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Nuts (1987)
Plot Summary:
A high-class call girl kills a customer in self-defense. To avoid scandal, her parents try to have her declared mentally incompetent. Not helping matters is that she is very distrustful of everybody, including her court-appointed attorney, and is very disruptive during her court hearings.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, hilarious, psychological thriller, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, crying
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Beautiful (2009)
Plot Summary:
Searing and luscious, "Beautiful" tells the story of Daniel, a shy and introverted 14 year old boy residing in Sunshine Hills, a suburb living in the grip of fear following the rumoured abductions of three teenage girls. Daniel's two main obsessions are photography and Suzy, a 17 year old Lolita, a dangerous combination of youth and sexuality.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, tense, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, mind bending
Similar in 76%
Resurrection Man (1998)
Plot Summary:
Belfast, in 1970s. Victor Kelly is a young protestant man who hates the Catholics so much that one night he begins to brutally murder them. A reporter soon tries to uncover the murder and obtained prestige for himself, while Victor sinks deeper into madness.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 826
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, serious, suspenseful, independent film, tense, rough, realistic, parody, sexy
Similar in 86%
06/05 (2004)
Plot Summary:
A fictional version of the events that led to the assassination of the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn on May 6, 2002. The movie is based upon the book "The sixth of May" by Tomas Ross.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
The Infiltrator (1995)
Plot Summary:
The Infiltrator is an American film about an Israeli freelance journalist who travels to Germany circa the early 1990's and uncovers a story about a dangerously pervasive underground Neo-Nazi faction, who are intent to bring Nazism back to the forefront in Germany. It originally aired on HBO in 1995. Among its cast include: Oliver Platt, Arliss Howard, and Tony Haygarth. It is based on the book In Hitler's Shadow : An Israeli's Journey Inside Germany's Neo-Nazi Movement by Yaron Svoray.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 731
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 87%
The Lost (2006)
Plot Summary:
A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, suspenseful, realistic, rough, slasher, erotic, sexy, depressing
Similar in 81%
Nightmare in Columbia County (1991)
Plot Summary:
The recounting of a terrible crime that wracked a family and galvanized police in South Carolina in the 1980's. Southern beauty pageant winner Dawn Smith is targeted by a sadistic stalker whose obsession with her leads him to kidnap her younger sister.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 385
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 76%
Freeway Killer (2010)
Plot Summary:
For years he terrorized California motorists as he rode the endless highways searching for his next victim. The discarded bodies turned up beaten, sexually assaulted and horribly mutilated. Deceptively charming and intelligent, the scheming murderer easily avoided police at first. But as police closed in and the killer’s pattern grew more erratic, the only question was how many more will die?.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, scary, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 80%
The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer (1999)
Plot Summary:
An account of early 1970s social activist Ira Einhorn, who allegedly murdered his girlfriend and then fled the country.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 763
Genere: Thriller, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, factual
Similar in 82%
Bundy: An American Icon (2009)
Plot Summary:
Bundy, starring Corin Nemec in the title role and co-starring Kane Hodder, details the dark psyche and previously unexplored motivations of the man who became known as one of the most notorious serial killers to leave behind a legacy of evil.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, slasher, suspenseful, disturbing, scary, realistic
Similar in 77%
Rampage (1987)
Plot Summary:
Rampage delves into the subject of legal insanity, so often the default defense in modern-time gruesome crime trials. Alex McArthur plays an outwardly normal guy who goes on incredible killing and mutilating sprees until (and even after, when he escapes for a short time) he's captured. When he comes to trial, the liberal DA (Michael Biehn) is torn between his own leftist leanings and the reality of the heinous crimes for which the accused is being tried. He must argue for the death penalty.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: christmas horror, cult classic, action thriller, independent film, psychological, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
The Rosary Murders (1987)
Plot Summary:
A killer of Detroit clergy confesses to a priest (Donald Sutherland), who turns sleuth because he cannot tell the police.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, atmospheric, bleak, serious, neo noir, suspense, independent film, tense, rough, realistic
Similar in 75%
Shoot on Sight (2007)
Plot Summary:
Tariq Ali, a Muslim police officer of Scotland Yard, is asked to hunt-down suspected suicide-bombers against the backdrop of July 7 bombings in London. Tariq's task gets complicated as an innocent Muslim is killed by the commando shooters of Scotland Yard. On the other hand, Tariq - a British citizen is himself a suspect in the eyes of his boss, despite his long service in the Scotland Yard.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy