Best movies like The Onion Field
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Greg Powell, a disturbed ex-con, recruits Jimmy Youngblood (Smith) a petty thief, as partner in crime. Powell panics when they two of are pulled over by two cops for tail lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith goes along with his crazy scheme. They drive out to a deserted onion field in Bakersfield, where one cop is killed and the other escapes. The film explores the consequences.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: neo noir, atmospheric, psychological, realistic, rough, serious, disturbing, detective, bleak, emotional
Best tv shows and movies like The Onion Field (1979):
Similar in 78%
Shot in the Heart (2001)
Plot Summary:
AND YOU'RE TO BLAME! Honey, you give love a bad name. (The story of a man coming to terms with the sins and secrets of his notorious brother and, in the process, exploring the legacy of violence in his own family.).
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, serious, talky, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Reversible Errors (2004)
Plot Summary:
A corporate lawyer's interest in a decade-old murder case is piqued by a new confession that could clear the convicted killer, who sits on death row.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 803
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 173 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing, intense
Similar in 89%
Open Doors (1990)
Plot Summary:
Tommaso Scalia is a man who commits three murders: he killed his superior who sacked him, he kills the man who replaced him, and he kills his own wife. He wants a quick trial and an early execution, but an earnest, principled assistant judge looks for a way to save the murderer from being shot, because he does not belive in capital punishment. Although he manages to save the man initially, he will pay a high price for it.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 983
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, political, rough, thought provoking, realistic, political drama
Similar in 81%
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011)
Plot Summary:
Based on the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Marcia Gay Harden (Academy Award winner for Pollock) star in the Lifetime Original Movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy based on the international headline-grabbing story of the now infamous American exchange student accused by Italian authorities of brutally killing her roommate. Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy poses the question of whether Knox (Panettiere), the Seattle honors student accused of murdering her college roommate Meredith Kercher (Amanda Fernando Stevens) in 2007 with her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (Paolo Romio) and acquaintance Rudy Guede (Djirbi Kebe), actually committed the crime or was herself a victim.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, psychological thriller, detective, crime thriller, sincere
Similar in 79%
Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009)
Plot Summary:
Barbara Hoffman is a University of Wisconsin science student. She is a part-time employee at a local massage parlor. She is also a killer. Now all Detective Lulling has to do is prove it.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 895
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, realistic, christmas horror, suspense, mind bending, suspenseful, detective, independent film
Similar in 75%
The Killer Inside Me (1976)
Plot Summary:
A sheriff struggles to hide his violent murderous acts.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 498
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: neo noir, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, psychotronic, suspense
Similar in 89%
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)
Plot Summary:
Carl Panzram is sent to Leavenworth Prison for burglary. While there, he is brutally beaten by a guard. Neophyte guard Henry Lesser feels sympathy for Panzram, befriends him, and gets him to write his life story. Lesser learns that Panzram's past is much more violent than he thought, but also that he's capable of being a much better person than the rest of the prison staff believes - or so Lesser thinks.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, psychological, unusual plot structure, bloody
Similar in 83%
The Deathmaker (1995)
Plot Summary:
Fritz Haarmann, who has killed at least 27 boys, is questioned by a psychology professor in order to find out whether he is sane and can be held responsible for his crimes. During this interrogation Haarmann reveals his motives and his killing methods.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, serious, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, rough
Similar in 82%
Crime of the Century (1996)
Plot Summary:
In 1932, the nation was shocked when the 14-month-old son of Charles Lindberg was kidnapped, held for ransom, and murdered. Two years later, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested, convicted, and executed. This film dramatizes the investigation against Hauptmann, the trial, and the execution, painting a picture of a corrupt police force under pressure to finger a killer framing an innocent man by manufacturing evidence, paying-off and blackmailing witnesses, and covering up exculpatory evidence.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 888
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 85%
Swoon (1992)
Plot Summary:
In a film based on actual events, teenagers Nathan Leopold Jr. (Craig Chester) and Richard Loeb (Daniel Schlachet) share a dangerous sexual bond and an amoral outlook on life. They spend afternoons breaking into storefronts and engaging in petty crimes, until the calculating Nathan ups the ante by kidnapping, and murdering, a young boy. When the body is found, all evidence leads to Nathan and Richard, whose strange relationship makes the case one of the most talked-about trials of the 1920s.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: black and white, neo noir, independent film, tense, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 84%
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976)
Plot Summary:
Fact-based story of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., son and namesake of the famed pilot, and ensuing trial of accused and convicted killer, Bruno Hauptmann.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 75%
At Close Range (1986)
Plot Summary:
Based upon the true story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, and his brothers; together, they constituted one of suburban Philadelphia's most notorious crime families during the 1970's. Their criminal activities ranged from burglary, theft... and ultimately, murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: neo noir, disturbing, tense, bleak, realistic, entertaining, cynical, crime drama, independent film, rough
Similar in 80%
The Executioner's Song (1982)
Plot Summary:
In this fact-based film, Gary Gilmore, an Indiana man who just finished serving a lengthy stay in prison, tries to start anew by moving to Utah. Before long, Gary begins an ill-advised romance with the troubled Nicole Baker, a teenage single mother. As their relationship quickly deteriorates, Gary goes on a murderous rampage, leaving two dead. During his trial, he demands capital punishment; a media circus ensues and outsiders look to profit from his story.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense
Similar in 89%
Rampart (2011)
Plot Summary:
Follows veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, as he struggles to take care of his family, and fights for his own survival.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: bleak, intense, rough, psychological, neo noir, suspense, harsh, thought provoking, detective, cult classic
Similar in 87%
Prince of the City (1981)
Plot Summary:
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 167 min
Plot tags: tense, neo noir, detective, bleak, realistic, epic, political, crime drama, grim, sincere
Similar in 82%
The Glass Shield (1994)
Plot Summary:
J.J. is a rookie in the Sheriff's Department and the first black officer at that station. Racial tensions run high in the department as some of J.J.'s fellow officers resent his presence. His only real friend is the other new trooper, the first female officer to work there, who also suffers similar discrimination in the otherwise all-white-male work environment. When J.J. becomes increasingly aware of police corruption during the murder trial of Teddy Woods, whom he helped to arrest, he faces difficult decisions and puts himself into grave personal danger in the service of justice.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, harsh, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir, thought provoking
Similar in 85%
Hardcore (1979)
Plot Summary:
A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in the porno pits of Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: neo noir, disturbing, erotic, psychological, art house, retro, depressing, slasher, social, controversial
Similar in 84%
The Chamber (1996)
Plot Summary:
Having survived the hatred and bigotry that was his Klansman grandfather's only legacy, young attorney Adam Hall seeks at the last minute to appeal the old man's death sentence for the murder of two small Jewish boys 30 years before. Only four weeks before Sam Cayhall is to be executed, Adam meets his grandfather for the first time in the Mississippi prison which has held him since the crime. The meeting is predictably tense when the educated, young Mr. "Hall" confronts his venom-spewing elder, Mr. "Cayhall," about the murders. The next day, headlines run proclaiming Adam the grandson who has come to the state to save his grandfather, the infamous Ku Klux Klan bomber. While the old man's life lies in the balance, Adam's motivation in fighting this battle becomes clear as the story unfolds. Not only does he fight for his grandfather, but perhaps for himself as well. He has come to heal the wounds of his own father's suicide.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: emotional, suspense, thought provoking, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, talky, anamorphic, contemplative
Similar in 76%
Too Young to Die? (1990)
Plot Summary:
An abused 15 year old is charged with a murder that carries the death penalty in this fact-based story.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: emotional, retro, neo noir, sad, cult classic, teen, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Helter Skelter (1976)
Plot Summary:
The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: disturbing, slasher horror, spooky, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, talky
Similar in 86%
The Boston Strangler (1968)
Plot Summary:
Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story, the film follows the investigators path through several leads before introducing the Strangler as a character. It is seen almost exclusively from the point of view of the investigators who have very few clues to build a case upon.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, disturbing, rough, suspense, detective, suspenseful, slasher, psychosexual thriller, retro
Similar in 79%
Helter Skelter (2004)
Plot Summary:
A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, captivating, detective, psychological, psychedelic, suspense
Similar in 81%
Silent Witness (2011)
Plot Summary:
Prominent defense attorney Tony Lord returns to his hometown to defend an old friend, a teacher accused of murdering one of his students. The case re-opens the heartache from Tony's own high school days, when he was a student falsely accused of murdering his first love.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 585
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Dark Blue (2002)
Plot Summary:
Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Germany
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, detective, harsh, intense, stylized, serious, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 79%
In Cold Blood (1967)
Plot Summary:
A 1967 film based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: black and white, disturbing, suspense, neo noir, bleak, tense, controversial, road movie, detective, inspirational
Similar in 75%
Night Falls on Manhattan (1996)
Plot Summary:
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, talky, serious, realistic, neo noir, suspense thriller, tense, bleak, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 81%
The Riverman (2004)
Plot Summary:
A series of interviews are conducted with convicted serial killer Ted Bundy in hopes of gaining insight into the Green River Killer who is terrorizing Seattle.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, mystical, detective, realistic, suspense
Similar in 90%
The Zodiac (2005)
Plot Summary:
An elusive serial killer known as the Zodiac terrorizes the San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s, while detectives aim to stop him before he claims more victims. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 158 min
Plot tags: rough, psychological, bleak, scary, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, detective, independent film, realistic
Similar in 90%
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Plot Summary:
A justice drama based on a true story about a man on death row who in his last days forms a strong relationship with a nun who teaches him forgiveness and gives him spirituality as she accompanies him to his execution.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, thought provoking, sad, emotional, atmospheric, suspense, depressing, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989)
Plot Summary:
The true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killing cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers, is told in this TV drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 754
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful