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A History of Violence poster

Movies that feel likeA History of Violence (2005)

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.

If you loved A History of Violence, the closest films we have are Eastern Promises (2007), Phone Booth (2003) and Killing Them Softly (2012). All three share A History of Violence'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 The Yellow Sea (2010).

🍅 88% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. David Cronenbergcontemplativetensegritty
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · TNT

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If A History of Violence hit the spot, these will too

Eastern Promises poster
Eastern Promises
2007 · dir. David Cronenberg
🍅 89%★ 7.6thriller · crime · mysteryPrime Video

David Cronenberg working the same nerve twice

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than A History of Violence does

A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Phone Booth poster
Phone Booth
2003 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 72%★ 7.1thriller · crimePrime Video

Both land tension and grit at once

The difference: Easier on the stillness than A History of Violence

A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

Killing Them Softly poster
Killing Them Softly
2012 · dir. Andrew Dominik
🍅 74%★ 6.2crime · thriller

Common ground: robbery

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

Layer Cake poster
Layer Cake
2004 · dir. Matthew Vaughn
🍅 81%★ 7.2drama · thriller · crime

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

36th Precinct poster
36th Precinct
2004 · dir. Olivier Marchal
🍅 100%★ 7.1crime · drama · thriller

Thriller with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

In Paris, two cops are competing for the vacant job of chief of police, in the middle of the search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the French police before creating this story, taken in part from real events of the 1980s.

Law Abiding Citizen poster
Law Abiding Citizen
2009 · dir. F. Gary Gray
🍅 26%★ 7.4drama · crime · thrillerNetflix

Tense crime, and it commits to that

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 · dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
★ 6.5crime · thrillerNetflix

Gritty thriller in both cases

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

Irreversible poster
Irreversible
2002 · dir. Gaspar Noé
🍅 60%★ 7.3drama · thriller · crime

Drama built on stillness, twice over

A woman’s lover and her ex-boyfriend take justice into their own hands after she becomes the victim of a rapist. Because some acts can’t be undone. Because man is an animal. Because the desire for vengeance is a natural impulse. Because most crimes remain unpunished.

The Bank Job poster
The Bank Job
2008 · dir. Roger Donaldson
🍅 79%★ 7.2thriller · crime · dramaPrime Video

Both lean on tension more than on crime

Terry is a small-time car dealer trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Martine is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighbourhood who knows that Terry is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a bank, Terry recognises the danger but realises this may be the opportunity of a lifetime.

John Q poster
John Q
2002 · dir. Nick Cassavetes
🍅 26%★ 7.1drama · thriller · crimeStarz

Drama built on grit, twice over

John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

Traffic poster
Traffic
2000 · dir. Steven Soderbergh
🍅 93%★ 7.5thriller · drama · crime

Both play thriller straight

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

The Yellow Sea poster
The Yellow Sea
2010 · dir. Na Hong-jin
🍅 88%★ 7.3drama · thriller · crime

The crime is handled with the same confidence

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.

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The best-reviewed films that share A History of Violence’s defining feeling.