Thriller movies about criminals

List of the best thriller movies about criminals, crimes and violators of the law, selected by visitors to our site: Mirage, The House That Jack Built, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Bad Times at the El Royale, Matchstick Men, Red Rock West, The River Wild, Unknown, 127 Hours, The Town.

In the top there are new films of 2023, a plot description and trailers for films that have already been released.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genrefantastic, thriller, drama, detective
CountrySpain
Duration01:47

During a mysterious thunderstorm, Vera, a young mother, manages to save a life in danger, but her good deed causes a disturbing chain of unexpected consequences.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genrehorror, thriller, drama, crime
CountryDenmark, France, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Tunisia
Duration02:43

Failed architect, engineer and vicious murderer Jack narrates the details of some of his most elaborately orchestrated crimes, each of them a towering piece of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer for twelve years.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime, biography
CountryFrance, Canada, Italy
Duration01:53

Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
CountryUSA
Duration02:03

Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemption.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrethriller, comedy, drama, crime
CountryUSA, United Kingdom
Duration01:56

A phobic con artist and his protege are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the con artist's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.

Markimdb: 7
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:35

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialise in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrethriller, adventure, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:51

While on a family vacation, rafting expert Gail takes on a pair of armed killers while navigating a spectacularly violent river.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genreaction, thriller, detective
CountryUnited Kingdom, Germany, France, USA
Duration01:53

An American biologist attending a conference in Berlin awakens from a coma after a car accident, only to discover that someone has taken his identity and that no one, not even his wife, believes him. With the help of an illegal immigrant and a former Stazi agent, he sets out to prove who he is and find out why people are trying to kill him.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, adventure, biography
CountryUnited Kingdom, USA, France
Duration01:33

The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration02:04

Doug MacRay is a longtime thief, who, smarter than the rest of his crew, is looking for his chance to exit the game. When a bank job leads to the group kidnapping an attractive branch manager, he takes on the role of monitoring her – but their burgeoning relationship threatens to unveil the identities of Doug and his crew to the FBI Agent who is on their case.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:59

A con man on the run from a vicious gangster takes cover from his past by assuming the identity of his prison cellmate, Pete, “reuniting” with Pete’s estranged family, a colorful, dysfunctional group that threatens to drag him into a world just as dangerous as the one he’s trying to escape - and, just maybe, give him a taste of the loving family he’s never had.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genrethriller, drama
CountryCanada, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, USA
Duration02:32

Jack is a young boy of 5 years old who has lived all his life in one room. He believes everything within it are the only real things in the world. But what will happen when his Ma suddenly tells him that there are other things outside of Room?

Markimdb: 6.9
Genrethriller, drama
CountryUSA

Based on the true story of the events that led to the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder, who was killed during a conflict with police officers who were dispatched to check on him.

Markimdb: 7
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:43

    The Words follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch - he didn't write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's work, and for placing ambition and success above life's most fundamental three words.

    Markimdb: 8.2
    Genrethriller, drama, detective
    CountryUSA
    Duration02:18

    World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by his troubling visions and also by a mysterious doctor.

    Markimdb: 7.3
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration02:20

      A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.

      Markimdb: 8.5
      Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
      CountryUSA, Germany
      Duration01:46

      Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.

      Markimdb: 6.3
      Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, detective, military
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:48

        Sergeant John Tyree is home on a 2 week leave from Germany. He meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off the pier. John falls in love with Savannah who is a student on spring break helping build a house for Habitat for Humanity. A romance occurs and Savannah falls deeply in love with John. She promises to write John overseas until he returns.

        Markimdb: 7.4
        Genrefantastic, thriller, drama
        CountryUSA, Mexico
        Duration01:45

        A paranoia-fueled action thriller about an unsuccessful writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret "smart drug" that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life in this darkly comic and provocative film.

        Markimdb: 6.5
        Genrethriller, drama, crime
        CountryUSA
        Duration02:35

        Naomi Watts stars as Susan, a single mother of two, working as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands in this imaginative and emotional drama.

        Markimdb: 6.7
        Genrethriller, melodrama, drama
        CountryUSA
        Duration01:55

          A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.

          Markimdb: 6.3
          Genrehorror, thriller
          CountryUSA

          On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer gets a psychiatric evaluation during which he claims he is a demon, and further claims that before their time is over, the psychiatrist will commit three murders of his own.

          Markimdb: 7.8
          Genrethriller, drama, crime
          CountryUSA
          Duration01:58

            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.

            Markimdb: 7.3
            Genrehorror, thriller, fantasy, drama, detective
            CountryUSA, United Kingdom

            A traumatized, alcoholic Dan Torrance meets Abra, a kid who also has the ability to "shine." He tries to protect her from the True Knot, a cult whose goal is to feed off of people like them in order to remain immortal. Doctor Sleep is a sequel to Stephen King's 1977 novel "The Shining". Doctor Sleep is set several decades after the events of the first "Shining".

            Markimdb: 7
            Genrethriller, drama, detective
            CountrySpain, United Kingdom, USA, France
            Duration01:35

            Paul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.

            Markimdb: 7.1
            Genrethriller, drama, crime
            CountryUSA

            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.

            Markimdb: 6.8
            Genrethriller, drama, adventure
            CountryUSA
            Duration01:57

              An oil drilling team struggles to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wilds of Alaska. Hunting them is a pack of wolves that sees them as intruders.

              Markimdb: 7.6
              Genrethriller, drama, crime
              CountrySpain, USA
              Duration02:00

              A brilliant plastic surgeon creates a synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.

              Markimdb: 6.9
              Genreaction, thriller, crime, detective
              CountrySouth Korea
              Duration01:22

              In Cheonan, a serial murder case takes place, but the case becomes more and more of a mystery. Only Tae-suk, a cop, immediately senses that all the cases are by the same killer and starts investigation. One day, Dong-soo, a gang boss, got attacked by a suspicious man, and Tae-suk realizes that this man is the serial killer, K. Now, Dong-soo becomes the only witness and a survived victim from K.

              Markimdb: 7.1
              Genrethriller, drama
              CountryUSA
              Duration01:41

                Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.

                Markimdb: 7.3
                Genrehorror, fantastic, thriller, drama, detective
                CountryUSA, Japan
                Duration02:27

                Though Kevin has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher, there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey, Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him — as well as everyone around him — as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

                Markimdb: 7.8
                Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
                CountryUSA
                Duration02:14

                  The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

                  Markimdb: 6.7
                  Genrethriller, drama, crime
                  CountryUSA
                  Duration01:35

                  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.

                  Markimdb: 7.5
                  Genrethriller, drama
                  CountryUSA
                  Duration01:32

                    Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.

                    Markimdb: 7.3
                    Genrethriller, drama
                    CountryUSA, United Arab Emirates
                    Duration02:18

                    Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs out when a disastrous mechanical malfunction sends his plane hurtling toward the ground. Whip pulls off a miraculous crash-landing that results in only six lives lost. Shaken to the core, Whip vows to get sober -- but when the crash investigation exposes his addiction, he finds himself in an even worse situation.

                    Markimdb: 6.8
                    Genrethriller, drama, adventure
                    CountryGermany, USA
                    Duration01:50

                    Sir Robert Beaumont is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson to right the ship, Beaumont expects results. Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project's foreman, seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington, who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

                    Markimdb: 8
                    Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
                    CountryUSA
                    Duration01:20

                    Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.

                    Markimdb: 6.8
                    Genrethriller, drama
                    CountryUSA
                    Duration01:52

                    A Harvard Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.

                    Markimdb: 7.7
                    Genrethriller, drama, crime, biography
                    CountryUSA, Italy
                    Duration02:10

                    The real-life struggle of an honest New York City cop against a corrupt system.

                    Markimdb: 6.6
                    Genrethriller, drama, crime
                    CountryUSA, United Kingdom
                    Duration01:47

                    When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, they are forced to turn the tables on him to save their families.

                    Markimdb: 6.5
                    Genrethriller, drama
                    CountryUSA
                    Duration02:06

                    In a prison for the criminally insane, deranged anthropologist Ethan Powell is set to be examined by a bright young psychiatrist, Theo Caulder. Driven by ambition and a hunger for the truth, Caulder will eventually risk everything—even put his very life on the line—in a harrowing attempt to understand the bizarre actions of this madman.

                    Markimdb: 6.9
                    Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
                    CountryUSA, France
                    Duration02:00

                    The wife of an American doctor suddenly vanishes in Paris and, to find her, he navigates a puzzling web of language, locale, laissez-faire cops, triplicate-form filling bureaucrats and a defiant, mysterious waif who knows more than she tells.

                    Markimdb: 7.7
                    Genrethriller, drama, crime
                    CountryUSA, Germany, Australia
                    Duration01:48

                    Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.

                    Markimdb: 8.2
                    Genrethriller, drama, detective
                    CountryUSA
                    Duration01:28

                    Initially, "Mulholland Dr." was to mark David Lynch's return to television. It is a retooling of a script originally shot as a 94-minute pilot for a TV series (co-written with TV screenwriter Joyce Eliason) for the channel ABC, which had approved the script, but chose not even to air the pilot once it was done in 1999, despite Lynch's labours to cut the project to their liking. It was left in limbo until 18 month later French company Studio Canal Plus (also producer of 'The Straight Story') agreed to pay ABC $7 million for the pilot, and budget a few million more to turn the pilot into a two-hour, 27-minute movie. The cost of the film doubled to $14 million as sets had to be reconstructed and actors recalled.

                    Markimdb: 8
                    Genrethriller, drama, western
                    CountryUSA
                    Duration01:25

                    Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.

                    Markimdb: 6.5
                    Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
                    CountryUSA, Germany, Canada
                    Duration01:45

                    A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.

                    Markimdb: 7.4
                    Genrethriller, crime
                    CountryUSA

                    A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.

                    Markimdb: 7.2
                    Genrethriller, drama
                    CountryUSA, Germany
                    Duration02:10

                    When Rudy Baylor, a young attorney with no clients, goes to work for a seedy ambulance chaser, he wants to help the parents of a terminally ill boy in their suit against an insurance company. But to take on corporate America, Rudy and a scrappy paralegal must open their own law firm.

                    Genrethriller, drama, crime
                    CountryUSA, Mexico, Canada

                    An ambitious young carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is.

                    Markimdb: 6.4
                    Genrethriller, crime, detective
                    CountryUSA, Spain, Hungary, Serbia
                    Duration01:50

                    A fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet is in pursuit of a serial killer whose murders mirror those in the writer's stories.




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