Sometimes the best cinematic experiences are when a mystery grips you right away, and by the end, you don't see any of the twists coming. Taking pointers from the classic film noir genre, which had its heyday in the '40s-early '60s, neo-noirs do exactly that.
From the '70s to the present, great neo-noir movies borrow characteristics from the original genre: moody lighting and stark cinematography, a plot centered around crime or misdeeds, a main character who's conflicted but determined, and themes that center around ambiguity and tumult. They've also expanded to include action, comedy, and even sci-fi elements; in fact, the best neo-noirs take the iconic form and evolve it in some way. So if you like murder-mystery whodunnits or enticing thrillers, or you're hoping to try some more modern iterations, here are the best neo-noirs to watch as soon as you can.
'Angel Heart' (1987)
This movie flopped at the box office despite being critically lauded, and it was later reclaimed as being under-appreciated. It's a twisty plot, but the gist is that a PI (Mickey Rourke) is hired to find a missing person named Johnny Favorite, and things get dark (and supernatural!) very fast.
'Basic Instinct' (1992)
One of the best films from the '90s thriller era, Basic Instinct is not necessarily a murder-mystery because you know who the killer is about five minutes in. It's more of a whydunit, as well as a descent into quasi-madness for the detective (Michael Douglas).
'Blade Runner' (1982)
This sci-fi classic combines neo-noir and cyberpunk to tremendous effect: It's constantly dark and usually terrifying in an alternate dystopia where escaped robots are hunted and killed. If by some chance you missed this one but you like noirs, this one embraces the themes beautifully.
'Blade Runner 2049' (2017)
Some might say that the Blade Runner sequel is even better than the original—and that is saying something. Director Denis Villeneuve takes all the fascinating latent ideas from the first movie and explores them in full with the new hero K (Ryan Gosling).
'Blue Velvet' (1986)
Fair warning that this David Lynch movie might scare the crap out of you. A college student (Kyle MacLachlan) uncovers a criminal underbelly in his hometown in North Carolina. And in doing so, we meet Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), who's about as unhinged as a character can be.
'Bound' (1996)
In the pantheon of LGBTQ+ movies, this neo-noir is high on my list. This is the feature film debut of the Wachowski sisters and it is a capital-E Erotic crime thriller. An ex-con (Gina Gershon) and the girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly) of a current con meet, are immediately smitten, and plot to steal a bunch of money.
'Brick' (2006)
Before Rian Johnson started making whodunits in earnest (see also: the Knives Out movies), he was making a noir set in high school with Brick. It works unsettlingly well; the lives of high schoolers are already pretty dramatic, and then a murder happens among them.
'Cape Fear' (1991)
The original Cape Fear is technically also a neo-noir, but the Martin Scorsese-directed remake starring Robert De Niro as a violent con exacting revenge on a family is somehow even scarier. Robert Mitchum, who starred in the original, also makes a cameo in the 1991 film.
'Chinatown' (1974)
If you're new to neo-noir and you'd like to start with a quintessential film, try Chinatown. It's considered one of the best '70s films (and one of the best films of all time, to boot) and stars Jack Nicholson as a PI who gets in way over his head. This one gets dark.
'Collateral' (2004)
This movie is literally a noir in the sense that it takes place almost entirely at night. It also features a brilliant premise: A nighttime cabbie (Jamie Foxx) is hired by a hitman (Tom Cruise) to drive him all over town as he, you know, gets to murdering.
'The Departed' (2006)
This is probably one of Martin Scorsese's most chaotic films, and that's decidedly a compliment. It's hard to even talk about this film without spoiling it, but Leonardo DiCaprio plays a cop who infiltrates a Boston mob and tries not to get made or murdered.
'Drive' (2011)
Drive was marketed as an action film, but it's more a stylish neo-noir with action elements, as Ryan Gosling plays a stunt driver who also drives getaway cars. The Driver, as Gosling's known, gets pulled into a botched robbery—and noir-like things happen (no spoilers!).
'Fargo' (1996)
The Coen brothers do black comedies extremely well, and this melds together elements of neo-noir to make the ideal blend of crime, absurdism, and gore. The premise of this movie spawned a successful TV show, and it's also surprisingly sweet for one of their films.
'Gone Girl' (2014)
David Fincher's adaptation of Gillian Flynn's popular novel of the same name is a stylish noir thriller that you'll enjoy even if you know what happens. If you don't, go watch, and revel in the feminist drama.
'Heat' (1995)
Largely considered one of the best crime films of all time, the Michael Mann-directed film also makes exceptional use of the neo-noir genre. A detective (Al Pacino) and a career criminal (Robert De Niro) face off as the latter tries to disentangle himself from his work.
'Jackie Brown' (1997)
This Quentin Tarantino neo-noir is also an homage to blaxploitation films—and casting Pam Grier, who was a star of such films in the '70s, was an exceptional touch. This also stars Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bridget Fonda, and centers around a flight attendant who plans to free herself from some dangerous people.
'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (2005)
With its snappy banter that you find in hardboiled detective novels and films, this is the neo-noir that made director Shane Black more widely known. It works exceedingly well when your leads are Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer fighting and solving crime together.
'L.A. Confidential' (1997)
This is probably considered the classic '90s neo-noir. The film features a throwback style, while the story surrounds LAPD officers fighting off corruption externally in Hollywood and internally on the force. Plus, it's got a heck of a twist.
'Memento' (2001)
If you know anything about movies, you'll know this is an early Christopher Nolan film that adopts a non-linear structure—going in reverse order for a large chunk of the movie. But it's also a heady, twisty mystery that leaves us as rattled as poor amnesiac Leonard (Guy Pearce).
'Minority Report' (2002)
Largely considered one of the best sci-fi films of all time, this Steven Spielberg-directed movie is also considered a "tech-noir." Imagine that the police could determine who would commit a crime in the future, and use it aggressively in their "Precrime" division. And that's just the start!
'Mulholland Dr.' (2001)
This surrealist David Lynch film flummoxed some viewers at the time: It makes very little attempt to explain itself in an easy-to-understand way (and you could make several compelling arguments about what's going on). But it's probably the most fascinating neo-noir you'll ever see.
'Mystic River' (2003)
This neo-noir, directed by Clint Eastwood, is an intense iteration of a whodunit: a group of boyhood friends take wildly different life paths and are drawn back together after one of their daughters is murdered. Just so you know: This is not an easy watch.
'The Nice Guys' (2016)
While this wasn't as immediately popular as other noir comedies (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, for example, which was helmed by the same director, Shane Black), it's a solid example of the genre and considered a cult classic. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are—what else—two unlikely allies attempting to solve a teen's disappearance.
'Nightcrawler' (2014)
This is one of those neo-noirs that leaves you with an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. That's largely due to Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays an extremely slimy guy who starts working with a news station by going in search of horrible nighttime crimes he can film.
'No Country for Old Men' (2007)
The Coen brothers pull off a tricky balance with this neo-noir (which is also a neo-Western). It's sly and sardonic while also being baldly terrifying—thanks to Javier Bardem as sociopathic hitman Anton Chigurh—and it's entertaining without ever being maudlin.
'Oldboy' (2003)
Like all great noirs, it's best if you know very little going in. The original 2003 version of Oldboy is an incredible South Korean action film that also has a central mystery at its core: Why was Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) kidnapped and held captive for years?
'Reservoir Dogs' (1992)
If you've never watched Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut (and didn't know if it would be your "thing," per se), but just know that one of Tarantino's biggest inspirations was The Thing—mainly because that movie ratchets up the tension until it explodes off the screen. This movie, in turn, is thrilling.
'Se7en' (1995)
Similar to other movies on this list, you may already know the ending of this movie—so it's hard to overstate just how much of a gut punch this gritty noir is. Directed by David Fincher, the grimy (unnamed) city plays home to a Biblically-inspired serial killer. Two detectives try to stop him.
'Shutter Island' (2010)
If you haven't had this film spoiled for you—please, for the love of God, do not look up anything about it, and make sure to watch it as soon as possible. Martin Scorsese makes great neo-noirs, and this one does a great job of obscuring an impressive twist.
'Sin City' (2005)
Subtle and measured Sin City is not, but the movie is stylish and incredibly fascinating to watch. It's partially in black and white as a nod to its origins (including the Frank Miller comic series it's based on), but it lives up to the promise of intense, intense action.
'Taxi Driver' (1976)
This neo-noir leans in on the psychological elements to impressive effect. In a dirty, bleak N.Y.C., Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) treats his insomnia by working nights as a cabbie. His dreams about making the city safer take, let's say, a dark turn.
'The Usual Suspects' (1995)
Back when it was harder to spoil a movie, The Usual Suspects was right up there with The Sixth Sense for winner of best ending to a '90s movie. These days, even if you know the ending, the film still holds up as a tightly constructed mystery that never lets up the tension.
