It's safe to assume that in most crime movies, there will be consequences for a character's criminal actions. Hollywood in particular used to enforce the message of "crime doesn't pay" in a very strict manner, as the Hays Code dictated that criminal characters couldn't get away with their crimes. Things have loosened up a little when it comes to American films after the Code's dissolution in the late 1960s, but consequences of some kind are still fairly commonplace in most movies about crime.
The following movies take this idea a step further, and in some instances, punish characters who don't even commit criminal actions. The crime movies below are all extremely bleak, and offer pessimistic stories revolving around a variety of criminal activities. As such, they're not always fun to watch, but they do provide powerful experiences that'll prove difficult to shake for viewers brave enough to watch them.
1 'Memories of Murder' (2003)
While Memories of Murder wasn't Bong Joon-ho's first feature film, it did end up being his breakout movie, quickly making him one of the most exciting directors in world cinema. It's an unusual but highly entertaining police procedural, with a familiar premise - detectives tracking down a malicious serial killer - told in an offbeat, unique way.
Bong Joon-ho's style is all over this film, which makes it a highly engaging and consistently suspenseful watch. It is entertaining, but at its core - and by its ending - it does reveal itself to be a thoroughly dark movie. There's some entertainment value from seeing the detectives fumble their way through the case, seemingly getting further and further from the truth with every wrong move, but their incompetency ensures the murderer remains out there, active, and ready to kill again at any moment...
2 'Pixote' (1980)
Pixote is an iconic and powerful crime film from Brazil, and something of a predecessor to the more well-known City of God (2002). Both are Brazilian films that focus on a group of youths who are involved in a life of crime from a young age, but Pixote is considerably darker... and that's saying something, because City of God is also very bleak in parts.
Pixote pulls no punches in showing an unfortunate way of life for some, given these characters are born into a difficult situation and sometimes have to resort to crime to survive. The characters in Pixote escape their hellish detention center at around the film's halfway point, but life outside proves just as difficult; maybe even more so. It's not an easy film to watch by any means, but it's undeniably impactful.
3 'The Godfather: Part II' (1974)
While The Godfather (1972) had its dark, tragic moments, it's noteworthy for being a sometimes romanticized look at mob life. There's a grandness and classiness to many of its main characters, ensuring that even if they are part of an organization that does bad things, they don't necessarily seem like bad people because of it. After all, the Corleone family is depicted as a fairly loving one, all things considered, and the members of it are loyal to each other.
Things change in The Godfather: Part II. The family loses its eldest son, Sonny, and patriarch Vito during the first film. Michael Corleone takes over for Part II, and he runs the family very differently from his father, Vito. Everything becomes more tense and volatile, and the family connections that survived the first film all fall apart, leading to a tragic (yet perfect) ending. Part II's darker tone makes it stand out from the first film, and is likely one reason why the sequel is so revered.
4 'Angst' (1983)
There's no way to put it lightly: Angst is a horrifying film. It follows a serial killer as he terrorizes a family, making it a crime film by nature, but given the killer is the main character, it also serves as a twisted psychological thriller. And when the inevitable crimes play out, they're shown in such a visceral way that Angst is also classifiable as a horror movie.
It's truly stomach-churning stuff, and even though Angst only runs for a technically brief 75 minutes, it makes just about every single second tense, challenging, or both. It's a remarkably harrowing and expertly made movie, but isn't for everyone... in fact, it's probably flat-out just not for most people, so those intrigued should tread carefully.
5 'Violent Cop' (1989)
Actor/director Takeshi Kitano has made several notable films about the Yakuza, but Violent Cop might be the best of them. It's a film that paints its titular police detective - played by Kitano himself - as even more vicious than the gangsters he relentlessly pursues, leading to a very gruesome and nerve-wracking film.
It more than lives up to its title, because the cop at the center of Violent Cop is easily one of the most violent and temperamental in film history. It's a bleak film for sure, but it can almost be quite funny in a very dark and twisted way, just because of how far it pushes things when it comes to the immorality of its characters and the extremes they're shown to go to.
6 'A Brighter Summer Day' (1991)
It might be saying too much to label A Brighter Summer Day a crime film, because it doesn't feel like one at first. This is a mammoth Taiwanese film that clocks in at just under four hours, and for a good deal of that epic runtime, it feels like a coming-of-age story about a young boy growing up in Taiwan during the 1960s.
It's certainly a slow burn when it comes to the crime elements, which slowly make their way into the film, becoming more pronounced as things approach a dramatic climax. It all ensures that A Brighter Summer Day is a disturbing and ultimately sad movie, but it's a beautifully made one packed with impressively naturalistic performances, and is the kind of epic film that's hard to compare to much else out there released either before or since.
7 'Dancer in the Dark' (2000)
Dancer in the Dark lives up to its title in that there are musical numbers complete with dancing, and it is remarkably dark. The film centers on a single mother named Selma, who's going blind and wants to do all she can to prevent her only son from facing the same fate, no matter the cost.
As this is a film directed by the always pessimistic Lars Von Trier, that cost ends up being a great one. Dancer in the Dark is a crime/musical tragedy through and through. While it's a difficult film to watch, it's also beautifully shot and scored, and features an incredible central performance by Icelandic singer/musician Björk, who commits to the role with a ferocity and gutsiness few full-time actors have ever matched.
8 'Uncut Gems' (2019)
Uncut Gems tackles the theme of addiction in a unique and breathless fashion, painting a portrait of a man who doesn't know when to quit. Adam Sandler shines as Howard Ratner, a jeweler/hustler who's always on the lookout for a big score that'll make him wealthy, no matter how many loan sharks he has to get on the wrong side of in the process.
Thankfully, Uncut Gems is a film that balances its dark moments with surprisingly funny comedy, but it's still a grueling and intense watch. It's an abrasive and aggressive movie, so while it might not be for everyone, it is undeniably a thrilling and dark crime movie about hustling.
9 'Elephant' (2003)
Gus Van Sant is a director who's made plenty of challenging films in his career, but Elephant might stand as his most confronting. It's essentially a film about the build-up to a deadly school shooting, and while it's not specifically based on real events, it does indirectly depict scenarios that have tragically happened before.
Knowing what's coming doesn't make Elephant any easier to sit through, as it's a relentlessly unnerving and harrowing viewing experience. It's overall a powerful one for sure, but viewers should know what they're getting into, and steer clear if it sounds like it might be too much.
10 'Se7en' (1995)
Se7en is about as bleak as mainstream American crime-thrillers get. It follows two detectives - played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman - as they try to track down a serial killer who appears to be basing each one of his crimes on one of the seven deadly sins.
The film starts grisly and only gets grislier and more intense as it goes along. It all culminates with a brutal and horrifying ending that ultimately makes the movie the classic it's regarded as to this day... though it's undeniably hard to stomach in the moment.