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The Element of Crime poster

Movies that feel likeThe Element of Crime (1984)

Fisher, an ex-detective, decides to take one final case when a mysterious serial killer claims the lives of several young girls. Fisher, unable to find the culprit, turns to Osbourne, a writer who was once respected for his contributions to the field of criminology. Fisher begins to use Osbourne's technique, which involves empathizing with serial killers; however, as the detective becomes increasingly engrossed in this method, things take a disturbing turn.

If you loved The Element of Crime, the closest films we have are Liquid Sky (1982), Born in Flames (1983) and Straight Time (1978). All three share The Element of Crime's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is LFO (2013).

🍅 83% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Lars von Triergrittycontemplativecerebral
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Criterion Channel · OVID

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If The Element of Crime hit the spot, these will too

Liquid Sky poster
Liquid Sky
1982 · dir. Slava Tsukerman
🍅 93%★ 6science fiction · thriller · drama

Gritty where it counts, contemplative underneath

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than The Element of Crime does

An alien creature invades New York's punk subculture in its search for an opiate released by the brain during an orgasm.

Born in Flames poster
Born in Flames
1983 · dir. Lizzie Borden
🍅 89%★ 6.6drama · science fiction

Cerebral drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Easier on the grit than The Element of Crime

In near-future New York, ten years after the “social-democratic war of liberation,” diverse groups of women organize a feminist uprising as equality remains unfulfilled.

Straight Time poster
Straight Time
1978 · dir. Ulu Grosbard
🍅 82%★ 7.4crime · drama

Both are built on the same subject: murder

After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.

The Face of Another poster
The Face of Another
1966 · dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara
🍅 86%★ 7.8drama · science fiction

Contemplative science fiction in both cases

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.

LFO poster
LFO
2013 · dir. Antonio Tublén
🍅 100%★ 6.6drama · science fiction

Both lean on ideas more than on crime

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

LFO is a dark comedy/drama/Sci-Fi about a man who realizes that he can hypnotise with sound. He starts experimenting on his neighbors, where the abuse of power takes over and, eventually, severe consequences for mankind are at stake.

Westworld poster
Westworld
1973 · dir. Michael Crichton
🍅 83%★ 6.9adventure · science fiction · western

Science fiction built on grit, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than The Element of Crime does

Delos is a futuristic amusement park that features themed worlds populated by human-like androids. After two patrons have a run-in with a menacing gunslinger in West World, the androids at Delos all begin to malfunction, causing havoc throughout the park.

The Thin Blue Line poster
The Thin Blue Line
1988 · dir. Errol Morris
🍅 100%★ 7.9crime · documentary

Common ground: police officer

One night in November 1976, after his car breaks down on a road outside Dallas, Randall Dale Adams accepts a ride from teenager David Harris. Harris is driving a stolen vehicle and, later that night, when Dallas police officer Robert Wood pulls the car over to check its headlights, he is shot and killed. A jury believes Adams is the killer, but stylized reenactments and interviews with key figures, conflicting testimonies and evidence are presented to argue that Adams was framed by a corrupt justice system, ultimately leading to his exoneration.

Blue Collar poster
Blue Collar
1978 · dir. Paul Schrader
🍅 96%★ 7.5drama · crime

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.

A Short Film About Killing poster
A Short Film About Killing
1988 · dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
🍅 91%★ 7.9crime · drama

One thread runs through both: murder

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.

Pixote poster
Pixote
1980 · dir. Héctor Babenco
🍅 94%★ 7.9crime · drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.

A Clockwork Orange poster
A Clockwork Orange
1971 · dir. Stanley Kubrick
🍅 86%★ 8.2science fiction · crimeMax

Cerebral crime, and it commits to that

In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?

Green Fish poster
Green Fish
1997 · dir. Lee Chang-dong
★ 7drama · crime

Both know what they want from drama

Returning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Element of Crime’s defining feeling.