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Movies that feel like Holy Spider (2022)

If you loved Holy Spider, the closest films we have are The Plagues of Breslau (2018), The Wild Goose Lake (2019) and Memories of Murder (2003). All three share Holy Spider's tense and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Hulu and Sundance Now and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 82% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.3 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ali Abbasitensecontemplativegritty

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If Holy Spider hit the spot, these will too

The Plagues of Breslau poster
The Plagues of Breslau
2018 Β· dir. Patryk Vega
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6crime Β· action Β· thriller

Two things both keep coming back to: the investigation and serial killer

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Holy Spider

Every day at 6 pm a serial killer kills another person. Police officer Helena Rus thinks the killings are done by one man only and decides to reveal the killer's identity by getting back in 18th century history of the city.

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The Wild Goose Lake poster
The Wild Goose Lake
2019 Β· dir. Diao Yinan
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.7crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Tense and contemplative in the same breath

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.

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Memories of Murder poster
Memories of Murder
2003 Β· dir. Bong Joon Ho
β˜… 8.1crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: a true story

A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.

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The Traitor poster
The Traitor
2019 Β· dir. Marco Bellocchio
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.1drama Β· crime Β· thriller

Both are built on the same subject: a true story

Palermo, Sicily, 1980. Mafia member Tommaso Buscetta decides to move to Brazil with his family fleeing the constant war between the different clans of the criminal organization. But when, after living several misfortunes, he is forced to return to Italy, he makes a bold decision that will change his life and the destiny of Cosa Nostra forever.

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Neighboring Sounds poster
Neighboring Sounds
2012 Β· dir. Kleber MendonΓ§a Filho
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.1thriller Β· drama Β· crime

Gritty thriller, and it commits to that

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

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The Secret Agent poster
The Secret Agent
2025 Β· dir. Kleber MendonΓ§a Filho
β˜… 7.2thriller Β· drama Β· crime

Drama with a pulse of tension, in both cases

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival but soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven he was expecting.

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The Silence poster
The Silence
2010 Β· dir. Baran bo Odar
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7crime Β· thriller Β· drama

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

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.

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Hyena poster
Hyena
2015 Β· dir. Gerard Johnson
πŸ… 78%β˜… 6.2crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Gritty thriller in both cases

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?

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The Yellow Sea poster
The Yellow Sea
2010 Β· dir. Na Hong-jin
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.3drama Β· thriller Β· crime

Drama built on tension, twice over

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.

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Easy Money poster
Easy Money
2010 Β· dir. Daniel Espinosa
πŸ… 85%β˜… 6.7drama Β· thriller Β· crime

A 2010s answer to the same itch

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.

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Emily the Criminal poster
Emily the Criminal
2022 Β· dir. John Patton Ford
πŸ… 93%β˜… 6.7crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Both lean on grit more than on thriller

Desperate for income, Emily takes a shady gig buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a charismatic middleman named Youcef. Seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills, they hatch a plan to take their business to the next level.

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We Own the Night poster
We Own the Night
2007 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 57%β˜… 6.8drama Β· crime Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: the investigation

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

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In the mood for more tense?

all tense movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Holy Spider’s defining feeling.