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Insomnia poster

Movies that feel likeInsomnia (1997)

Detectives Jonas and Erik are called to the midnight sun country of northern Norway to investigate a recent homicide, but their plan to arrest the killer goes awry, and Jonas mistakenly shoots Erik. The suspect escapes, and a frightened Jonas pins Erik's death on the fugitive. Jonas continues to pursue the killer as he seeks to protect himself; however, his mounting guilt and the omnipresent sun plague him with an insomnia that affects his sanity.

If you loved Insomnia, the closest films we have are The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013), One False Move (1992) and The Naked City (1948). All three share Insomnia's tense and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Deep Cover (1992).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Erik Skjoldbjærgtensegrittytwistydreamlikeatmospheric
8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

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If Insomnia hit the spot, these will too

The Keeper of Lost Causes poster
The Keeper of Lost Causes
2013 · dir. Mikkel Nørgaard
🍅 70%★ 7.2thriller · mystery · crime

Both are built on the same subject: nordic noir

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Denmark, 2013. Police officers Carl Mørck and Hafez el-Assad, sole members of Department Q, which is focused on closing cold cases, investigate the disappearance of politician Merete Lynggaard, vanished when she and her brother were traveling aboard a ferry five years ago.

One False Move poster
One False Move
1992 · dir. Carl Franklin
🍅 93%★ 7.1crime · drama · thriller

Two things both keep coming back to: shootout and neo-noir

The difference: Takes it somewhere less twisty than Insomnia does

Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.

The Naked City poster
The Naked City
1948 · dir. Jules Dassin
🍅 85%★ 7.5crime · mystery · thrillerMax

Tense where it counts, gritty underneath

The difference: Easier on the dream logic than Insomnia

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

Deep Cover poster
Deep Cover
1992 · dir. Bill Duke
🍅 87%★ 7action · thriller · crime

The same preoccupation in both: the investigation

The difference: Sits closer to action than Insomnia does

Black police officer Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LA—the Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss.

Stray Dog poster
Stray Dog
1949 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 100%★ 7.8crime · drama · thriller

One thread runs through both: detective

The difference: Made in the 1940s, in a different era of the craft

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

SPL: Kill Zone poster
SPL: Kill Zone
2005 · dir. Wilson Yip
🍅 80%★ 6.9action · crime · dramaPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: neo-noir

Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po. Martial arts expert Ma is set to take over as head of the crime unit, replacing Chan who wants an early retirement.

Body Heat poster
Body Heat
1981 · dir. Lawrence Kasdan
🍅 96%★ 7.4thriller · crime

Both lean on atmosphere more than on thriller

During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.

Shadow of a Doubt poster
Shadow of a Doubt
1943 · dir. Alfred Hitchcock
🍅 100%★ 7.8thriller · mystery · crime

Common ground: detective

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

The Big Sleep poster
The Big Sleep
1946 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 96%★ 7.9mystery · crime · thriller

Crime built on twists, twice over

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

The Killers poster
The Killers
1946 · dir. Robert Siodmak
🍅 97%★ 7.7crime · mystery · thriller

Tense mystery, and it commits to that

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

The Long Good Friday poster
The Long Good Friday
1980 · dir. John Mackenzie
🍅 97%★ 7.5crime · thriller · dramaMax

Gritty thriller in both cases

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

Night Moves poster
Night Moves
1975 · dir. Arthur Penn
🍅 78%★ 7.1thriller · crime · drama

Crime with a pulse of atmosphere, in both cases

Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case - a former Hollywood actress wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.

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