Best movies like Under the Skin
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Passion, criminal instincts and traditions melt together in this film that shakes our understanding of crime.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 349
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Peru, Spain, Germany
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Under the Skin (1996):
Similar in 89%
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (1978)
Plot Summary:
Suicide has long been used as a form of social protest in Japan. In this film, set in 1703, samurai culture is being transformed by the emergence of a new merchant class. Elements of the social contract are beginning to unravel, and some unscrupulous people took undue advantage of these changes before the social order was re-created. In this story, a rich merchant gives his clerk an I.O.U. instead of wages. When the impoverished clerk presents the paper to the merchant at the agreed upon time asking for payment, the man flies into a rage and pretends he never wrote it and claims the clerk is trying to defraud him. Then he sets his henchmen on the clerk to administer a beating.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 185
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: cult film
Similar in 87%
The Assistant (1997)
Plot Summary:
Daniel Petrie scripted and directed this Canadian-British film, an adaptation of the memorable 1957 Brooklyn-based novel by Brooklyn-born Bernard Malamud, author of The Natural. During the Depression, drifter Frank Alpine (Gil Bellows) and hobo Ward Minogue (Jaimz Woolvett) rob the small Bober family grocery. Minogue attacks frail Morris Bober (Armin Mueller-Stahl) because he has little money. Later, guilt sends Alpine back to the store, where he goes unrecognized and is hired by Bober as an assistant, despite the objections of Ida Bober (Joan Plowright). While Frank works the store, receiving miniscule wages, he falls for Bober's daughter, Helen (Kate Greenhouse), and Morris eventually learns who Frank really is.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 182
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: independent film, detective
Similar in 81%
Runaway Blues (1988)
Plot Summary:
Before he was crowned one of the "Four Heavenly Kings", Andy Lau starred in the 1989 gangster film Runaway Blues. He plays Lam, a Taiwan gangster who flees to Hong Kong after killing a rival gangster. Hiding at his uncle gang boss Lip's place, he gets embroiled in more gang conflicts and is forced to be an informant for the police. Lam runs away to Guangzhou and Macau with Lip's mistress, causing an enraged Lip to be hot on his trail.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: heroic, poliziottesco
Similar in 89%
Takkar (1995)
Plot Summary:
A convict studies law in prison and becomes a lawyer to seek revenge against the corrupt police officer who framed him on the very day of his marriage.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 258
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Life Imprisonment (1988)
Plot Summary:
The childhood traumas of a solitary young man have a determinative effect on the formation of his personality and sexual behavior and have turned him into a rapist with the angelic face. One day, the young man, Giorgos, confides his secret to a friend and colleague named Toni, who advises him to visit a psychiatrist. At the same time, he encourages him to have a relationship with a colleague of theirs named Kaiti, who seems to be interested in him. But the police, who had been looking looking for the perpetrator all this time, finally appear.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 72
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Equator (1983)
Plot Summary:
Although based on a novel by Georges Simenon, director (and songwriter) Serge Gainsbourg has superimposed several dark emotions and a subtle brutality over the weak plot about a man's trip to Africa and his unfortunate passion for a murderess whose amorality sends the disillusioned fellow back to Europe. Sometimes described as frustrating and self-centered, reactions to this film swing across a broad spectrum of complaints -- not the least might be whether or not Gainsbourg is using a clichéd and stereotypical view of "dark Africa" to convey what he sees in his characters.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 137
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, Gabon
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Naked Tango (1990)
Plot Summary:
When a young European woman assumes a false identity in 1920s Argentina, she gets more than she bargained for.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 703
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Switzerland, Argentina, Japan, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: cult classic, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 84%
Cholera Street (1997)
Plot Summary:
The film is set in a rundown, crime ridden neighborhood of Istanbul dubbed "Cholera Street" (Kolera Sokağı). Salih is a mechanic and son of a respected barber Ali. A woman Tina arrives at Cholera street where she takes up residence and works as a prostitute. Deniz is a ganster who gives himself the nickname "Reiss" ("Chief"), tries to take control of the neighbourhood through intidimation.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Turkey, Hungary, France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: lgbt cinema, art house, serious, realistic, suspenseful, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 78%
Carmen, Baby (1967)
Plot Summary:
Carmen, a free-spirited young woman who sometimes earns money as a prostitute, lives a bohemian existence in a small town where most of the locals allow her to do as she pleases. Jose, a naive young man who has just been hired as the town's new police officer, arrests her. However, Jose is soon drawn into Carmen's sensual spell, and he is compelled to do her bidding as she slowly brings him to his doom.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 196
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: West Germany, Yugoslavia, USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: independent film, erotic, sexy, serious, captivating, realistic, experimental, stylized, sexual, art house
Similar in 90%
Cellblock Sisters: Banished Behind Bars (1995)
Plot Summary:
Sam Connor kidnaps his young daughters, April and May, sells them to strangers, and accidentally kills his wife when she attempts to intervene. Sixteen years later, April is an out of control outlaw who has come into a life of drugs and crime, while May has grown into a straight laced, refined woman. The plot thickens when April avenges her mother's death by killing her father, and May is sent to jail as the prime suspect. Fortunately, Detective Arman, instantly taken with May, fights for her innocence and tries to get her out before she is taken down by other hostile prisoners.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, detective
Similar in 81%
Women in Cell Block 7 (1973)
Plot Summary:
A woman goes behind bars in order to save her father's life.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 281
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, grindhouse, poliziottesco
Similar in 82%
Blue City (1986)
Plot Summary:
Returning to the small Florida town where he grew up, Billy Turner (Nelson) learns that his father has been killed. With little help from the police, Billy will take matters into his own hands and go up against a ruthless local mob boss in a desperate search to find the killer.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, eighties
Similar in 85%
Gangsters (2002)
Plot Summary:
Franck Chaievski and Nina Delgado are two undercover detectives of a French special force trying to identify two corrupts members of the Paris Police Force. Franck is pretending to be a gangster and Nina a prostitute living with him, and involved in a robbery of a fortune in diamonds, having seven deaths and some injured persons.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 916
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful, psychological, erotic, neo noir
Similar in 76%
Dear Wendy (2005)
Plot Summary:
In a blue-collar American town, a group of teens bands together to form the Dandies, a gang of gunslingers led by Dick Dandelion. Following a code of strict pacifism at odds with the fact that they all carry guns, the group eventually lets in Sebastian, the grandson of Dick's childhood nanny, Clarabelle, who fears the other gangs in the area. Dick and company try to protect Clarabelle, but events transpire that push the gang past posturing.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Denmark, France, Germany, UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: harsh, disturbing, serious, realistic, offbeat, stylized, allegory, dark comedy, art house, psychological
Similar in 75%
Traffic Department (2012)
Plot Summary:
Seven policemen, seven deadly sins, a murder case, secrets and the filth of everyday police work: Traffic Department transports the viewer into the darkest Warsaw streets.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, contemplative, crying, black comedy
Similar in 87%
Too Late Tomorrow (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young convict named Antonis, takes a 48 hour discharge from prison. His brother wants to spent this time together, but Antonis has other plans. He meets Olia, a girl who has abandon her household and her boyfriend has pimp her. The two fall in love and the deicide to get married.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 116
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Greece
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
May (2008)
Plot Summary:
After success of Kytice, which is based on the famous collection of poems of K.J.Erben, one of the most well-known character of classic Czech literature, Mr. Brabec went for even more famous poem Máj of K.H. Mácha, which is considered the peak of Czech romanticism.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 234
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, campy
Similar in 85%
Frozen City (2006)
Plot Summary:
Looking to outrun the horrors of his past, a tormented cabbie flees Helsinki for an apartment complex in the suburbs, only to discover that new neighbors bring new problems. What ensues is a raw, realistic tragedy with an unwaveringly humane core.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 767
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Finland
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
Blind Shaft (2003)
Plot Summary:
Two Chinese miners, who make money by killing fellow miners and then extorting money from the mine owner to keep quiet about the "accident", happen upon their latest victim. But one of them begins to have second thoughts.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, neo noir, contemplative, crying, independent film
Similar in 90%
Massacre for an Orgy (1966)
Plot Summary:
A police officer attempts to shut down an illegal girls-for-drugs operation (American version).
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 35
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Luxembourg, France
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Without Compassion (1994)
Plot Summary:
Lima, 1980s. Based upon Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 142
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Peru, Mexico, France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Say Yes (2001)
Plot Summary:
In Seoul, when the aspirant writer Jeong-hyun finds an editor for his book, he buys a car and calls his wife and translator Yoon-hee to travel to Sokcho to celebrate in style their first anniversary of marriage. He promises an unforgettable trip to her, and their happiness is briefly interrupted when the couple has an incident with a drifter that asks them for a lift. The guy chases them and irritates Jeong-hyun, provoking his reaction in public. Along the next days, the expressionless man proves to be a psychopath to the couple, but always without witnesses. When Jeong-hyun and Yoon-hee believe they have escaped from the man, they find that he is a sadistic murderer in their tail and they have to fight to survive.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 518
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, tense, suspense, psychotronic, suspenseful, disturbing, surprise ending, detective, remake of cult film
Similar in 80%
Friends (1993)
Plot Summary:
Three female friends, in the end of the eighties, share a house in Johannesburg, South Africa. Each of them has her own way to live the apartheid. Thoko is a black teacher, she practices non-violent passive resistance. The afrikaner Aninka takes refuge in archaeology not to see the reality. Sophie is a white militant, putting bombs in public places... Each of them respect the other two's ideas, but one of Sophie's bombs will change everything.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 134
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France, South Africa
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: crying, independent film
Similar in 83%
Captives (1994)
Plot Summary:
A beautiful young dentist working in a tough British prison starts to become attracted to a violent inmate after the break-up of her marriage, and embarks upon an illicit affair with him, with terrible consequences for all.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, erotic, tense, serious, realistic, sexual, independent film, tension, light, romantic
Similar in 90%
Down Time (2001)
Plot Summary:
Slim Williams, a small-time dealer, is poised to make his big score with his partner Paulie. But the easy deal becomes a nightmare when Slim is caught in deadly police sting and ends up in a maximum-security penitentiary. Sold out by his partner, Slim is forced to learn the rules of survival behind bars - forget what you know. Inside these walls, there are no laws.
IMDB Rating: 3.2
IMDB Votes: 451
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, independent film, detective, hispanic, cult film
Similar in 89%
Love the Hard Way (2001)
Plot Summary:
Claire, a brilliant student, seeks answers to the meaning of life in the calm of her biology laboratory. One day, she meets a mysterious young man, Jack, at the cinema, and is intrigued by his style, assurance and audacity. Apart from his artistic activities, Jack has a regular scam going, ripping off foreign businessmen with his loyal mate Charlie and two actresses. But his tough guy exterior conceals a secret passion for old books, and he dreams of writing a novel one day. Jack falls hard for Claire's purity and curiosity. An unusual romance develops between them. But Jack is scared of their growing intimacy and rejects Claire, withdrawing into his shell. Abandoned and confused, Claire gradually begins to neglect her studies and embarks on a spiraling course of self-destruction, whilst Jack, who tries to ignore her, concentrates on his criminal activities. However, a sharp detective, named Linda Fox, is following his dodgy tracks.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Crime, Romance
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: neo noir, bleak, serious, realistic, romantic, romantic drama, independent film, gloomy, detective
Similar in 76%
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 83%
Carmen (2003)
Plot Summary:
In director Vicente Aranda's adaptation of the classic opera, a French writer documents the seductive power of the beautiful Gypsy Carmen, who turns her charms on a young soldier, awakening his passions but ultimately leading to tragedy. Jose becomes obsessed with Carmen and finds himself unable to control his jealousy, which forces him to make a deadly decision in this fiery story of love and betrayal.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Spain, UK, Italy
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: sexy, captivating, emotional, erotic, sad, serious, realistic, sexual, historical romance, period drama
Similar in 86%
The Enemy (2020)
Plot Summary:
Prominent politician Louis Durieux is accused of having murdered his wife, found dead in their hotel room. The case blows up into an intense media storm. Is he guilty or inno- cent? Nobody knows. Perhaps not even him.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 269
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Luxembourg
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Body Heat (1981)
Plot Summary:
In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman convinces her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: neo noir, sexy, sexual, atmospheric, suspenseful, suspense, detective, tense, surprise ending, intense