Don’t you just love it when a good crime thriller movie makes your tea go cold and snacks untouched because you were so invested?
You can experience it again with our curated selection of independent, award-winning, and festival cinema in the crime thriller genre. Not limited to a region, language, or era, these films bring tense storytelling and unconventional techniques.
Get cozy and tune in.
The Body
Directed by: Oriol Paulo
#Crime #Spanish #Drama #Mystery #Thriller
When a woman’s corpse mysteriously disappears from the morgue, Inspector Jaime Peña is called in to investigate. The case takes a dark turn when all clues point to Álex Ulloa, the deceased’s husband, whose reaction seems just a little too rehearsed. As the night unfolds, eerie events, hidden secrets, and a tangled web of lies keep both Álex and Peña questioning what’s real. Is someone playing a cruel game, or is something even more sinister?
The Body (El cuerpo) delivers twists, suspense, and psychological tension in classic noir style. Directed by Oriol Paulo, the film was such a hit that it inspired remakes in India, South Korea, and Italy.
Tejano
Directed by: David Blue Garcia
#Thriller #Spanish
Tejano premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. The movie Tejano falls into the Texas noir thriller genre and has drawn comparisons to Breaking Bad, the Coen Brothers, and Quentin Tarantino. Tejano stands out as a relentless tale of survival, sacrifice, and the lengths one will go to for family.
In the scorching heat of South Texas, Javi dreams of getting out, and starting fresh with his girlfriend Lorena. But when his grandfather Arturo falls seriously ill, Javi’s plans are on hold. Desperate for money, he turns to Lorena’s brother, Adelio (Adrian Gonzalez, VIDA), a rising cartel member, who makes him a brutal offer: $10,000 to smuggle drugs across the border—but first, they’ll have to break his arm.
Terribly Happy
Directed by: Henrik Ruben Genz
#Crime #Danish
Probably the most critically acclaimed crime thriller movie of this selection, Terribly Happy (Frygtelig lykkelig) a Danish noir thriller based on Erling Jepsen’s novel of the same name.
Copenhagen police officer Robert Hansen is reassigned to the remote town of Skarrild, a place where the law is more of a suggestion than a rule. The town has its own twisted sense of justice, and outsiders don’t last long. As Robert struggles to adapt, he is unlucky enough to become entangled in a violent domestic dispute and seeks a way out.
Terribly Happy swept multiple Robert Awards (Denmark’s top film awards) in 2009, including Best Danish Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, and famously became Denmark’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010.
Insane
Directed by: Lee Cheol-ha
#Crime #Korean
Insane (originally titled 날, 보러와요; Nal, Boreowayo, meaning “Come to See Me”) is a gritty and suspenseful mystery thriller that delves into abuse, manipulation, and the fight for justice. Unlike many indie crime thrillers, Insane has proven to be a box office hit, earning $2.3 million in its first weekend in South Korea.
This thriller is not for the weak with its exploration of institutional abuse but keeps you on the edge with a strong investigative element. Kang Soo-Ah is kidnapped in broad daylight and forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital, where she is drugged, abused, and silenced. While pretending to obey, she secretly documents every horror in a hidden journal. A year later, journalist Na Nam-Soo begins investigating a mysterious fire that destroyed the hospital, leading him to Soo-Ah, now a murder suspect in prison.
Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Directed by: Dario Argento
#Crime #Mystery #Thriller #English #Italian #French
Four Flies on Grey Velvet (4 mosche di velluto grigio) is a 1971 Italian-French classic of the giallo genre. Giallo is an Italian film genre that blends mystery, thriller, and horror, often featuring stylized violence. These films usually revolve around murder mysteries and masked killers, being the influence behind later slasher films.
Roberto Tobias, a musician, finds himself in a nightmare after accidentally killing a man—only to realize someone was watching. A masked figure begins tormenting him, sending cryptic threats as people close to him start dying under mysterious circumstances. Roberto struggles to uncover who is behind the psychological game, and why he has been chosen as the target.
Four Flies on Grey Velvet features Dario Argento’s signature visual style, though not without controversy: Variety criticized it for “unneeded sex, coarse language, and trite dialogue.”
Phenomena
Directed by: Dario Argento
#Crime #Horror #Mystery #Italian
Another gem from the retro giallo collection by Dario Argento, Phenomena is a 1985 Italian horror-thriller inspired by a real-life murder case solved using insect evidence. The film was shot with elaborate practical effects involving real insects, trained animals, and prosthetics. The mix of atmospheric horror music and rock for the soundtrack was an unconventional choice for the time.
At an elite Swiss boarding school, the heroine Jennifer Corvino discovers she has an unusual gift of an ability to communicate with insects. When a serial killer begins targeting young girls in the area, Jennifer teams up with a forensic entomologist to uncover the truth. But the deeper she digs, the more terrifying the mystery becomes.
The film received mixed reviews, but they didn’t stop the movie from gaining a cult following, especially among giallo and horror fans, and inspiring a 1995 horror video game called Clock Tower.
Kabus
Directed by: Feisal Azizuddin
#Crime #Thriller #Malay
Kabus has an interesting backstory: it was independently produced with a minimal budget of RM6,000 (around US$1300) during the pandemic and was initially submitted for the Kuman Pictures Feature Film Challenge, which it won. Unlike traditional murder mysteries, Kabus is more focused on its characters’ psychological states rather than the “whodunit” aspect.
Set mainly in the present time of the “new normal’, the story follows Hazim and Ayang, a young couple giving conflicting testimonies in a murder investigation involving Ayang’s mother. Mental struggles and psychological trauma are central themes, explored through flashbacks and shifting perspectives. Put simply, it’s a compelling watch for fans of introspective thrillers.
Shadow Island
Directed by: Johan Storm
#Crime #Thriller #Swedish
Blending the tense, slow-burning suspense of Nordic noir with supernatural and psychological elements, director Johan Storm’s debut feature keeps audiences on edge with its eerie atmosphere. And the cinematography is just the beginning. This crime thriller movie is meant to leave you questioning what’s real and what secrets are meant to stay buried.
Aspiring meteorologist David sets out for a remote island in the Barents Sea, hoping to uncover the truth behind his father’s mysterious death. But as soon as he arrives, strange things start happening—unexplained lights flicker in the darkness, eerie radio signals cut through the silence, and a hidden cave suggests there’s more to the island than meets the eye. Just as the isolation begins to take hold, a woman’s voice reaches him over the radio. She seems to know something, but can he trust her?
Nordic Noir, Giallo, and Asian Mystery Сrime Thrillers for Any Taste on UVOtv
Singling out eight movies is barely scratching the surface of the genre. If you’re keen on digging in deeper, check out more indie crime movies and thriller movies, free to stream on UVOtv.
