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Nightcrawler poster

Movies that feel likeNightcrawler (2014)

When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.

If you loved Nightcrawler, the closest films we have are Panic Room (2002), Hannibal (2001) and Joker (2019). All three share Nightcrawler's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Holy Spider (2022).

8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Hulu

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If Nightcrawler hit the spot, these will too

Panic Room poster
Panic Room
2002 Β· dir. David Fincher
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.8crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Precision-built night-time tension where every move is calculated

The difference: Confined home-invasion suspense with clear victims to root for

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Hannibal poster
Hannibal
2001 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 39%β˜… 6.8crime Β· drama Β· thrillerPrime VideoHulu

Watching a charming monster operate with total self-possession

The difference: Lurid gothic sequel where the horror is explicit, not everyday

After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI rival as well as the media.

Joker poster
Joker
2019 Β· dir. Todd Phillips
πŸ… 68%β˜… 8.3crime Β· thriller Β· dramaMax

An outsider curdling into something monstrous while the city rewards it

The difference: Sympathy-seeking and operatic, not a cold satire of an industry

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

The Chaser poster
The Chaser
2008 Β· dir. Na Hong-jin
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.8crime Β· thriller Β· action

A morally filthy hustler racing a predator through the night city

The difference: Korean-blunt violence and despair β€” no satire to cushion it

Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who's in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.

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

A desperate L.A. job hunt that curdles into confident criminality

The difference: Smaller and more sympathetic β€” survival, not sociopathy

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.

American Psycho poster
American Psycho
2000 Β· dir. Mary Harron
πŸ… 69%β˜… 7.6thriller Β· drama Β· crimePrime VideoHulu

A hollow careerist narrating his own success while doing awful things

The difference: Broader satire of eighties excess, funnier and more surreal

A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.

The Call poster
The Call
2013 Β· dir. Brad Anderson
πŸ… 43%β˜… 6.7crime Β· thrillerStarz

The dark churn behind emergency headlines, felt in real time

The difference: A straight abduction thriller β€” its third act goes lurid and silly

Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.

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

Grim crime-scene work where the camera keeps looking at the damage

The difference: A failing police investigation rather than one man's ruthless rise

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.

Compliance poster
Compliance
2012 Β· dir. Craig Zobel
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.4drama Β· thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: psychological thriller

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than Nightcrawler does

On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food restaurant, manager Sandra receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee has stolen money from a customer.

Holy Spider poster
Holy Spider
2022 Β· dir. Ali Abbasi
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.3thriller Β· drama Β· crime

One thread runs through both: serial killer

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.

Collateral poster
Collateral
2004 Β· dir. Michael Mann
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.5drama Β· crime Β· thrillerPrime VideoParamount+

Digital LA nights, freeway light, and a job that keeps escalating

The difference: A trapped everyman gives you someone decent to hold onto

Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin.

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

Common ground: murder

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.

In the mood for more gritty?

all gritty movies β†’

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