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Hell or High Water poster

Movies that feel likeHell or High Water (2016)

A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.

If you loved Hell or High Water, the closest films we have are You Were Never Really Here (2017), Side Effects (2013) and The Devil All the Time (2020). All three share Hell or High Water's gritty and melancholy feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Charley Varrick (1973).

🍅 97% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. David Mackenziegrittymelancholytensecontemplative
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If Hell or High Water hit the spot, these will too

You Were Never Really Here poster
You Were Never Really Here
2017 · dir. Lynne Ramsay
🍅 89%★ 6.7crime · drama · thrillerPrime Video

Gritty and melancholy in the same breath

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than Hell or High Water does

A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered—leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Side Effects poster
Side Effects
2013 · dir. Steven Soderbergh
🍅 82%★ 7thriller · crime · dramaPrime VideoParamount+

Both land tension and stillness at once

A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.

The Devil All the Time poster
The Devil All the Time
2020 · dir. Antonio Campos
🍅 65%★ 7.1crime · drama · thrillerNetflix

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family.

21 Grams poster
21 Grams
2003 · dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
🍅 80%★ 7.6drama · crime · thriller

Melancholy drama in both cases

Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.

Hard Candy poster
Hard Candy
2006 · dir. David Slade
🍅 67%★ 7drama · thriller

Western built on tension, twice over

Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.

Short Term 12 poster
Short Term 12
2013 · dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
🍅 98%★ 7.9dramaPrime Video

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than Hell or High Water does

Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.

Death Wish poster
Death Wish
2018 · dir. Eli Roth
🍅 18%★ 6.3action · crime · thriller

Common ground: criminal

A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.

Thief poster
Thief
1981 · dir. Michael Mann
🍅 80%★ 7.4crime · thriller · dramaPrime Video

Both lean on grit more than on crime

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score.

Frailty poster
Frailty
2002 · dir. Bill Paxton
🍅 76%★ 7.2drama · thriller · crime

One thread runs through both: texas

A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · crime

Western built on melancholy, twice over

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

Good Time poster
Good Time
2017 · dir. Benny Safdie
🍅 91%★ 7.3crime · thriller · dramaRent or buy

The same two preoccupations: brother, and bank robber

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.

Charley Varrick poster
Charley Varrick
1973 · dir. Don Siegel
🍅 82%★ 7.5crime · thriller · drama

Tense crime in both cases

Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.

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The best-reviewed films that share Hell or High Water’s defining feeling.