Best movies like Zulu
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
As a child, Ali Neuman narrowly escaped being murdered by Inkhata, a militant political party at war with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Only he and his mother survived the carnage of those years. But as with many survivors, the psychological scars remain.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, South Africa
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, rough, serious, disturbing, social, dramatic, cult classic, neo noir
Best tv shows and movies like Zulu (2013):
Similar in 82%
8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Plot Summary:
Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his drinking problem and this alcoholism causes him to lose his job, as well as his marriage.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, serious, realistic, psychological, cult classic, captivating, suspense, retro, perverse
Similar in 85%
The Son of No One (2011)
Plot Summary:
A rookie cop is assigned to the 118 Precinct in the same district where he grew up. The Precinct Captain starts receiving letters about two unsolved murders that happened many years ago in the housing projects when the rookie cop was just a kid. These letters bring back bad memories and old secrets that begin to threaten his career and break up his family.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, serious, rough, realistic, surprise ending, disturbing, suspenseful, twisted, independent film
Similar in 78%
Slow Burn (2000)
Plot Summary:
The murder of the ex-wife of Doctor Sam Charney (Rutger Hauer) leads Detective Della Wilder (Pam Grier) to uncover a series of women's murders somehow linked to a big pharmaceutical company.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 542
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, detective
Similar in 82%
No Code of Conduct (1998)
Plot Summary:
A cop (Charlie Sheen), his partner (Dacascos), and his father (Martin Sheen) uncover a plot by city elders to smuggle drugs from Mexico into Phoenix, Arizona.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 85%
L.627 (1992)
Plot Summary:
Lulu is a tough streetwise narcotics cop who, like a Frank Serpico or a Dirty Harry Callahan, doesn't play by the rules or kowtow to his weak and/or corrupt superiors. Lulu thrives in this violent world, where sheer guts can overcome his squad's deficiencies of money and equipment. Despite the ruthless environment that he lives and works in every day, he still manages somehow to maintain his humanity.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: anthology, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense
Similar in 84%
The New Centurions (1972)
Plot Summary:
An idealistic rookie cop joins the LAPD to make ends meet while finishing law school, and is indoctrinated by a seasoned veteran. As time goes on, he loses his ambitions and family as police work becomes his entire life.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: neo noir, crime drama, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, tension, suspense
Similar in 81%
Johan Falk: De 107 patrioterna (2012)
Plot Summary:
It's a beautiful day in Slottsskogen, Gothenburg idyllic city park, when suddenly the unthinkable happens - gunfire amidst all people. Two gangsters shooting game against each other and a large police operation starts. The conflict grows rapidly to involve several gangs from Gothenburg underworld. GSI switched to try to identify a new thread which proves to be both larger and better armed than any other. The only clue is a tattoo on one of the killed gang members. The plot thickens when it turns out that the same tattoo worn by Rydell gang's new.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Sweden, Germany
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, rough, realistic
Similar in 85%
One Good Cop (1991)
Plot Summary:
When his loyal longtime partner, a widower, is killed in the line of duty and leaves behind three young children, Artie Lewis (Michael Keaton), a dedicated New York City cop and his wife, Rita (Rene Russo), decide to take the kids in. But the lives of his new family members are quickly on the line as Artie investigates his partner's death. Can he find the killer -- and keep the girls safe?.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: exciting, emotional, intense, suspenseful, serious, detective, crime drama, realistic, independent film, sentimental
Similar in 79%
Impunity (2014)
Plot Summary:
Investigating the gruesome murder of a cabinet minister's daughter, a special investigator and a local police detective find themselves knee-deep in political corruption and conspiracy, in this sizzling noir thriller set in post-apartheid South Africa.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 43
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: South Africa
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 75%
Freelancers (2012)
Plot Summary:
The son of a slain NYPD officer joins the force, where he falls in with his father's former partner and a team of rogue cops. His new boss, Sarcone, will see if he has what it takes to be rogue through many trials and tribulations of loyalty, trust and respect. When the truth about his father's death is revealed revenge takes him over and he won't stop until justice has been truly served.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 78%
Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
Plot Summary:
John Shaft is back as the lady-loved black detective cop on the search for the murderer of a client.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: epic, neo noir, hood, grim, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, poliziottesco
Similar in 80%
Gang in Blue (1996)
Plot Summary:
A black police officer discovers a cell of white supremacist vigilantes within his department.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 492
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 86%
Breaking Point (2009)
Plot Summary:
"Breaking Point" is a dramatic tale of corruption and self-realization, in which one man has to overcome a deep seeded conspiracy and his own lingering past in order to gain the redemption he desires.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 740
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic, hood, detective, crime drama, independent film, extraordinary
Similar in 90%
Nowhere to Hide (1999)
Plot Summary:
Over the next 72 days, Detective Woo will push his skills to the limits and his team of cops to the edge as they conduct a manhunt for an elusive criminal. Woo takes the law into his own hands as the hunt becomes personal, and as his target may get away.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: stylized, neo noir, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, tense, noir
Similar in 88%
Confession of Pain (2006)
Plot Summary:
A detective helps a friend investigate the mysterious death of his father.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China, Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, neo noir, crime drama, twisted, detective
Similar in 76%
36th Precinct (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Film takes place in Paris, where two cops are competing for the vacant seat of chief of police while in the middle of a search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the french police before creating this story, which in part is taken from real facts that happened during the 1980s in France.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, disturbing, suspense, intense, neo noir
Similar in 82%
Infernal Affairs III (2003)
Plot Summary:
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the original.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, psychological, bloody
Similar in 82%
Blood Ties (2013)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, stylized, rough, neo noir, dark, hood, crime drama, cult classic
Similar in 87%
Across 110th Street (1972)
Plot Summary:
In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police? Written by Ken Miller.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: neo noir, grindhouse, grim, bleak, realistic, cynical, hood, suspense, absurd, crime drama
Similar in 83%
Texas Killing Fields (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, rough, serious, bleak, detective, scary, perverse, cult classic, crime thriller
Similar in 81%
The French Connection (1971)
Plot Summary:
Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 133000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: detective, neo noir, atmospheric, tense, realistic, breathtaking, cerebral, grim, crime drama, exciting
Similar in 81%
Consignment (2007)
Plot Summary:
Consignment is the authentic and brutal story of an East Coast drug dealer forced to flee to California only to realize state lines don't erase past sins.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 99
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 76%
Easy Money III: Life Deluxe (2013)
Plot Summary:
JW now lives in exile and is more than ever determined to find out what happened to his missing sister Camilla. Every trace leads him to the world of organized crime in Stockholm. Jorge is about to do his last score - the largest robbery in Swedish history. But during the complicated preparations he meets a woman from his past - Nadja. Martin Hägerström is chosen to go undercover into the Serbian mafia, in order to get its notorious boss Radovan Krajnic behind bars. When an assassination attempt is made on Radovan, his daughter Natalie is pulled into the power struggle within the Serbian mafia.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, suspense, non-linear
Similar in 79%
Snitch'd (2003)
Plot Summary:
When the South Side Gang and the Cut Throat Mafia start a drug war at a local high school in Santa Ana, CA, detective McClure goes undercover to investigate the brutal murder of a young Latina student. The gang members are the key suspects but nobody is talking. And as McClure continues to dig for answers, it becomes clear that the two gangs are fighting for territory - and nobody is getting in their way.
IMDB Rating: 2.1
IMDB Votes: 205
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, bleak
Similar in 75%
Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (2008)
Plot Summary:
This South African movie tracks the rise of a once-petty criminal to the heights of the criminal underworld. After cutting his teeth on hijacking, before moving onto bigger game, an ambitious man hits a setback when most of his gang are shot.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, hood, social, crime drama, epic
Similar in 81%
Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
Plot Summary:
Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 66000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspense, neo noir, hood, depressing, stylized, detective, bleak, rough
Similar in 83%
Caught in the Crossfire (2010)
Plot Summary:
Two detectives investigating a gang-related find themselves targeted by both gang members and crooked cops.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, exciting, serious, hood, tense, captivating, rough, realistic, independent film, non-linear
Similar in 83%
Shaft (2000)
Plot Summary:
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: stylized, suspense, intense, hood, rough, realistic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, action packed
Similar in 84%
Street Kings (2008)
Plot Summary:
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspense, neo noir, detective, hood, harsh, tense, brutal, serious, entertaining, crime drama
Similar in 86%
Gangster Squad (2013)
Plot Summary:
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 221000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, exciting, stylized, serious, suspenseful, suspense, intense, realistic, neo noir