Best movies like Zero Effect
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Daryl Zero is a private investigator. Along with his assistant, Steve Arlo he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Though a master investigator, when he is not working, Zero doesn't know what to do with himself. He has no social skills, writes bad music, and drives Arlo crazy. In his latest case, Zero must find out who is blackmailing a rich executive, and when his client won't tell him, why.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: detective, neo noir, dark comedy, cult classic, witty, black comedy, sincere, humorous, realistic, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Zero Effect (1998):
Similar in 87%
A Slight Case of Murder (1999)
Plot Summary:
In the midst of a spat, film critic Terry Thorpe (William H. Macy) accidentally kills his lover. Though Thorpe covers his tracks, he raises the suspicions of a private investigator (James Cromwell), who then tries to blackmail him. Thorpe also falls under the watchful eye of Detective Fred Stapelli (Adam Arkin), a cop who is intent on becoming a screenwriter. Before long, Thorpe's girlfriend, Kit (Felicity Huffman), and Stapelli's wife, Patricia (Julia Campbell), are roped into the case.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: detective, crime thriller, neo noir, clever, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, cynical, semi serious, biting
Similar in 81%
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)
Plot Summary:
Writer, ex-con and 40-something bottle-baby Tim Madden, who is prone to black-outs, awakens from a two-week bender to discover a pool of blood in his car.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful, mind bending, neo noir, dark comedy, surreal, grindhouse
Similar in 76%
Trixie (2000)
Plot Summary:
Emily Watson stars as Trixie, an eccentric woman who aspires to quit her job as a security guard and become a private detective. However, comedy intervenes and the mess begins.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: humorous, enigmatic, stylized, semi serious, suspense, detective, independent film, offbeat, realistic, witty
Similar in 75%
The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975)
Plot Summary:
Film noir parody with a private eye trying to solve the murder of his milkman.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 265
Genere: Comedy, Mystery, Crime, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: spoof, dark comedy, parody, independent film, humorous, neo noir, realistic, suspenseful, witty, not serious
Similar in 90%
The Cannibal's Daughter (2003)
Plot Summary:
Lucia, an children's book author, tells the story of her husband's disappearance. One day on their way to Brazil he just disappears. She goes to the police, gets a ransom note, and makes friends with the old dude downstairs and the young dude upstairs as she tries to find him. Things take a bit of a twist as she realized the kidnapping may not be as simple as it seems on the surface.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Mexico, Spain, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, semi serious, humorous, witty, crying, soap opera
Similar in 82%
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Plot Summary:
Director Billy Wilder adds a new and intriguing twist to the personality of intrepid detective Sherlock Holmes. One thing hasn't changed however: Holmes' crime-solving talents. Holmes and Dr. Watson take on the case of a beautiful woman whose husband has vanished. The investigation proves strange indeed, involving six missing midgets, villainous monks, a Scottish castle, the Loch Ness monster, and covert naval experiments. Can the sleuths make sense of all this and solve the mystery.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: satirical, detective, atmospheric, clever, humorous, witty, psychotronic, funny, cult classic, crime thriller
Similar in 79%
Malibu Express (1985)
Plot Summary:
In this erotic spy tale private eye Cody Abilene teams up with the Contessa Luciana and policewoman Beverly McAfee to infiltrate a mansion and discover who is sending computer secrets to the Russians.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sexy, cult classic, parody, psychotronic, sex comedy, detective, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, not serious
Similar in 88%
The Late Show (1977)
Plot Summary:
Over-the-hill gumshoe in Los Angeles seeks to avenge the killing of an old pal, another detective who had gotten himself involved in a case concerning a murdered broad, stolen stamps, a nickel-plated handgun, a cheating dolly, and a kidnapped pussycat.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, clever, offbeat, funny, entertaining, slasher, sentimental, touching, humorous
Similar in 78%
The Cheap Detective (1978)
Plot Summary:
Spoofing the entire 1940s detective genre, and his own performances as a bumbling private detective, Peter Falk plays Lou Pekinpaugh, a San Francisco private detective accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress, the partner's wife, Georgia Merkle.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: parody, spoof, detective, funny, slapstick, cult classic, humorous, noir, neo noir, black comedy
Similar in 81%
Love at Large (1990)
Plot Summary:
Vampish miss Dolan hires hardboiled P.I. Harry Dobbs to tail her shady boyfriend. Harry realizes that the man leads a double life but then his client disappears. Harry teams up with his own tail, P.I. Stella Wynkowski, to clear things up.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, neo noir, hardboiled detective
Similar in 88%
Feeling Minnesota (1996)
Plot Summary:
Sam Clayton's (Vincent D'Onofrio) marriage to ex-stripper Freddie (Cameron Diaz) comes about when she's strong-armed into the match by Red (Delroy Lindo), a club proprietor who once did her a favor. But Freddie falls in love with Jiaks (Keanu Reeves), Sam's brother, and the pair tries to escape the situation together. It isn't long before both Sam and Red catch up with them, resulting in threats against the two of them -- although tension also starts to build between Sam and Red.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, independent film, black comedy, clever, talky, retro, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty
Similar in 88%
Rick (2003)
Plot Summary:
"Rigoletto" retold at Christmas time in Manhattan's corporate world. Rick, an executive at Image, is a jerk to a woman applying for a job. That evening, he's out for drinks with his much younger boss, Duke, and the same women is their waitress. Rick's continued rudeness leads to her getting fired. She puts a curse on him. A potential rift with Duke quickly surfaces; Rick is approached by the hail-.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 913
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, clever, serious, suspenseful, dark comedy, black comedy, realistic, witty, biting
Similar in 80%
The Drowning Pool (1975)
Plot Summary:
Harper is brought to Louisiana to investigate an attempted blackmail scheme. He soon finds out that it involves an old flame of his and her daughter. He eventually finds himself caught in a power struggle between the matriarch of the family and a greedy oil baron, who wants their property. Poor Harper! Things are not as straight-forward as they initially appeared.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, suspense, cult classic, thrilling, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 77%
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
Plot Summary:
A professional hit man and hit woman fall in love, only to discover that they have each been hired to kill the other.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, black comedy, neo noir, clever, humorous, cynical, funny, epic, cult classic, atmospheric
Similar in 78%
The Ice Harvest (2005)
Plot Summary:
A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: neo noir, dark comedy, black comedy, suspenseful, intense, semi serious, witty, harsh, clever, spiritual
Similar in 82%
Harper (1966)
Plot Summary:
Harper is a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, cynical, detective, psychological, noir, enigmatic, suspenseful, tense, clever
Similar in 83%
The Two Jakes (1990)
Plot Summary:
This sequel to the classic Chinatown finds private detective Jake Gittes still haunted from the events of the first film. Hired by a man to investigate his wife's infidelities, Jake once again finds himself involved in a complicated plot involving murder, oil, and even some ghosts from his past.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: neo noir, stylized, clever, cult classic, suspense, period piece, visually stunning, twisted, tense, serious
Similar in 86%
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
Plot Summary:
Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, tense, serious, suspenseful, atmospheric, realistic, surprise ending, noir, cult classic
Similar in 79%
Charade (1963)
Plot Summary:
After Regina Lampert falls for the dashing Peter Joshua on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband's World War II cronies, Tex, Scobie and Gideon, who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines. But why does Peter keep changing his name?.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, humorous, atmospheric, exciting, feel good, entertaining, clever, witty, funny
Similar in 76%
Inherent Vice (2014)
Plot Summary:
In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: surreal, neo noir, psychedelic, atmospheric, detective, sexy, confusing, cult classic, meditative, non-linear
Similar in 85%
Shattered (1991)
Plot Summary:
Dan Merrick comes out from a shattering car accident with amnesia. He finds that he is married to Judith who is trying to help him start his life again. He keeps getting flashbacks about events and places that he can't remember. He meets pet shop owner and part time private detective Gus Klein who is supposedly done some work for him prior to the accident. Klein helps Merrick to find out more.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, erotic, psychological, disturbing, psychological thriller, sexy, suspense, psychosexual thriller, noir
Similar in 77%
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Plot Summary:
A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 235000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: neo noir, funny, black comedy, dark comedy, detective, humorous, sexy, suspense, entertaining, absurd
Similar in 86%
Night Moves (1975)
Plot Summary:
Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case, as a former Hollywood actress whose only major roles came thanks to being married to a studio mogul wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, psychological, detective, grim, meditative, serious, suspenseful, surprise ending
Similar in 88%
The Player (1992)
Plot Summary:
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: suspense, dark comedy, neo noir, clever, black comedy, talky, satirical, cynical, psychological, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Broken City (2013)
Plot Summary:
In a broken city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure, the mayor. Billy's relentless pursuit of justice, matched only by his streetwise toughness, makes him an unstoppable force - and the mayor's worst nightmare.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, rough, political, tense, intense, serious, realistic, detective, cult classic
Similar in 84%
Thursday (1998)
Plot Summary:
Casey has given up drug dealing for a suburban idyll in Houston, a job as an architect and a new wife. They are even planning to adopt a child. But Casey's past arrives on the doorstep in the shape of Nick, an old business partner. And all hell breaks loose!.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: neo noir, witty, dark comedy, intense, suspenseful, surreal, funny, grindhouse, cult classic, independent film
Similar in 75%
Twilight (1998)
Plot Summary:
A retired ex-cop and private detective gets mixed up in murder when he is asked to deliver blackmail money and walks into a 20 year old case involving the mysterious disappearance of an actress' former husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, clever, talky, detective, serious, realistic, witty, smart, cynical
Similar in 76%
The Caller (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jimmy Stevens, a senior VP at an international energy firm, blows the whistle on his company's deadly and corrupt practices in Latin America. Knowing he will be assassinated for his betrayal, he places an anonymous call securing the services of private detective Frank Turlotte to trail him from a distance.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychological thriller, detective, neo noir
Similar in 77%
The Last Seduction (1994)
Plot Summary:
Looking to escape her unhappy marriage, villainous femme fatale Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to sell cocaine, then steals the profits and runs out on him. She stops in a small town en route to Chicago, where she ensnares her next conquest, insurance man Mike Swale (Peter Berg). After getting a job at his insurance company, Bridget convinces Mike to run a scam -- but things take a deadly turn when she recruits him to help get rid of her husband.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sexy, neo noir, erotic, sexual, suspense, black comedy, tense, suspenseful, sensual, psychological
Similar in 77%
Blood Simple (1984)
Plot Summary:
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 103000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, suspenseful, psychological, independent film, tense, cult classic, atmospheric, dark comedy, serious