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Cold in July poster

Movies that feel likeCold in July (2014)

While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of a low-life burglar. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.

If you loved Cold in July, the closest films we have are Lady Vengeance (2005), The Square (2008) and The Salesman (2016). All three share Cold in July's contemplative and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ballerina (2023).

🍅 84% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jim Micklecontemplativetenserelentless
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Peacock Premium

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If Cold in July hit the spot, these will too

Lady Vengeance poster
Lady Vengeance
2005 · dir. Park Chan-wook
🍅 76%★ 7.5drama · thrillerRent or buy

Both are built on the same subject: revenge

Released after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 13 years, a woman begins executing her elaborate plan of retribution.

The Square poster
The Square
2008 · dir. Nash Edgerton
🍅 86%★ 6.7crime · drama · thriller

Common ground: murder

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Cold in July does

Ray, a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla. Carla's husband, Greg, is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.

The Salesman poster
The Salesman
2016 · dir. Asghar Farhadi
🍅 96%★ 7.7drama · thrillerPrime Video

Contemplative where it counts, tense underneath

Forced out of their apartment due to dangerous works on a neighboring building, Emad and Rana move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young couple’s life.

Kingdom: Ashin of the North poster
Kingdom: Ashin of the North
2021 · dir. Kim Seong-hun
★ 6.9drama · fantasy · thrillerNetflix

Both keep coming back to the same thing: revenge

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Cold in July does

Tragedy, betrayal and a mysterious discovery fuel a woman's vengeance for the loss of her tribe and family.

The Villainess poster
The Villainess
2017 · dir. Jung Byung-gil
🍅 85%★ 6.6action · thrillerPrime Video

Thriller with a pulse of relentlessness, in both cases

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Cold in July does

Honed from childhood into a merciless killing machine by a criminal organization, assassin Sook-hee is recruited with the promise of freedom after ten years of service. However, secrets from her past destroy everything she’s worked for and now she embarks on a roaring rampage of revenge.

Headshot poster
Headshot
2016 · dir. Kimo Stamboel
🍅 73%★ 6.3action · thriller · dramaNetflix

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

A young man washes ashore, his memory gone - but his past comes back to haunt him after he is nursed back to health and his killing ability is needed when he takes on a powerful drug lord.

Naked Weapon poster
Naked Weapon
2002 · dir. Tony Ching Siu-Tung
★ 5.5action · drama · thriller

Tense drama, and it commits to that

A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.

Dogman poster
Dogman
2018 · dir. Matteo Garrone
🍅 84%★ 7.2crime · drama · thriller

Relentless thriller in both cases

Marcello, a small and gentle dog groomer, finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship of subjugation with Simone, a former violent boxer who terrorizes the entire neighborhood. In an effort to reaffirm his dignity, Marcello will submit to an unexpected act of vengeance.

Jawan poster
Jawan
2023 · dir. Atlee
★ 6.9action · thrillerNetflix

Thriller built on tension, twice over

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Cold in July

An emotional journey of a prison warden, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago, recruits inmates to commit outrageous crimes that shed light on corruption and injustice, in an attempt to get even with his past, and that leads him to an unexpected reunion.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance poster
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
2002 · dir. Park Chan-wook
🍅 53%★ 7.5action · drama · thriller

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

Blue Ruin poster
Blue Ruin
2014 · dir. Jeremy Saulnier
🍅 96%★ 7.1crime · thrillerPrime VideoPeacock

One thread runs through both: shotgun

When the quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news, he sets off for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. However, he proves an inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.

Ballerina poster
Ballerina
2023 · dir. Lee Chung-hyun
🍅 91%★ 6.3action · thrillerNetflix

The shared currency is relentlessness

Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friend's last wish: sweet revenge.

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The best-reviewed films that share Cold in July’s defining feeling.