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36th Precinct poster

Movies that feel like36th Precinct (2004)

In Paris, two cops are competing for the vacant job of chief of police, in the middle of the 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, taken in part from real events of the 1980s.

If you loved 36th Precinct, the closest films we have are Red Rock West (1993), The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Silence (2010). All three share 36th Precinct's gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Hyena (2015).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Olivier Marchalgrittycontemplativetense
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Peacock Premium

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If 36th Precinct hit the spot, these will too

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 · dir. John Dahl
🍅 95%★ 7crime · thriller

Both land grit and tension at once

The difference: Easier on the stillness than 36th Precinct

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

The Yellow Sea poster
The Yellow Sea
2010 · dir. Na Hong-jin
🍅 88%★ 7.3drama · thriller · crime

Contemplative crime, and it commits to that

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.

The Silence poster
The Silence
2010 · dir. Baran bo Odar
🍅 87%★ 6.9crime · thriller · drama

Drama with a pulse of grit, in both cases

13-year-old Sinikka vanishes on a hot summer night. Her bicycle is found in the exact place where a girl was killed 23 years ago. The dramatic present forces those involved in the original case to face their past.

Neighboring Sounds poster
Neighboring Sounds
2012 · dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
🍅 91%★ 7.1thriller · drama · crime

Contemplative thriller in both cases

An independent private security firm arrives at a middle-class neighborhood in Recife, Brazil.

Easy Money poster
Easy Money
2010 · dir. Daniel Espinosa
🍅 85%★ 6.7drama · thriller · crime

Both lean on tension more than on crime

When JW becomes a drug runner in order to maintain his double life, his fate becomes tied to two other men: Jorge, a fugitive on the run from both the Serbian mafia and the police, and mafia enforcer Mrado, who is on the hunt for Jorge.

Hyena poster
Hyena
2015 · dir. Gerard Johnson
🍅 78%★ 6.2crime · drama · thriller

Drama built on grit, twice over

Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 · dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
★ 6.5crime · thrillerNetflix

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

The Hypnotist poster
The Hypnotist
2012 · dir. Lasse Hallström
★ 5.6crime · drama · thriller

From the 2010s, and it lands the same way

After a young woman and her parents are murdered by a killer determined to wipe out the entire family, Detective Inspector Joona Linna works with a psychiatrist to hypnotize the son who narrowly escaped death in order to find the one surviving daughter before the murderer does.

The Wild Goose Lake poster
The Wild Goose Lake
2019 · dir. Diao Yinan
🍅 91%★ 6.7crime · drama · thriller

Drama in the same key

A gangster ends up making a mistake that causes every gun on both sides of the law to point at him. While on the run, he comes across a mysterious woman who might get him out of trouble or make things worse.

Mystery Road poster
Mystery Road
2013 · dir. Ivan Sen
🍅 91%★ 6.7thriller · crime · dramaPrime VideoPeacock

Cut from the same thriller cloth

The difference: Sits closer to western than 36th Precinct does

A murdered girl is found under a bridge on a remote road and indigenous detective Jay Swan gets the case. Jay finds that no-one is that interested in solving the murder of an indigenous teenager and he is forced to work alone.

Holy Spider poster
Holy Spider
2022 · dir. Ali Abbasi
🍅 82%★ 7.3thriller · drama · crime

Crime approached the same way

A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.

The Hit poster
The Hit
1984 · dir. Stephen Frears
🍅 89%★ 7drama · thriller · crimePrime Video

The same drama instincts

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1980s show

Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

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The best-reviewed films that share 36th Precinct’s defining feeling.